Environment:
Start Time: 9:10 AM Temperature: 49 degrees Sky: Sunshine, no clouds and light breeze
Much cooler this morning but also a lot more bird buddies to chase around. Today’s featured image (above) is a White-crowned Sparrow who was just daring me to get his picture. A little perseverance paid off. Also present on or near the Arkansas River were quite a few Northern Flickers and a Ring-billed Gull (pictured below). The big surprise came near the end of my trek when I spotted a good sized bird flying right at me. I figured it was a Hawk as I started focusing in on him. I was shocked to see that this Hawk was, in fact, a die hard Osprey who is still hanging around Lake Pueblo State Park instead of basking in the sunshine in Costa Rica! I didn’t even notice that he was carrying a good sized fish in his talons until I reviewed my daily catch back in the car. I wonder if this guy is planning to spend the Winter here.
Sightings:
Birds: Mallards, Ring-billed Gulls, American Kestrel, Osprey, American Robins, Blue Jay, Canada Geese, Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrow, Dark-eyed Juncos, Northern Flickers, Pied-billed Grebe
Critters: Prairie Dogs, Grasshoppers, Tree Squirrels, Rock Squirrels
Gear: Nikon D5600, 55-300MM
Northern Flicker busy at work at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado October 28, 2021 
Ring-billed Gull supervising the Arkansas River at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado October 28, 2021