Environment:
Start Time: 6:55 AM Temperature: 43 degrees Sky: Mostly Sun.
One benefit of getting an early start is that the Great Blue Herons are still at work when I arrive at the Anticline Pond. This is how I captured today’s featured image of this big blue stalking the shoreline for something edible. There was also a Belted Kingfisher working the same area but that one proved to be too elusive to photograph. Elsewhere in the Canyon I found the Cooper’s Hawk pictured here looking pretty intense in the morning light. Another highlight of the outing was the appearance of an American Beaver who was slowly working its way up the Arkansas River with no apparent worries. I checked in on the baby owls who have not yet started to branch out of the nest – but I don’t think it is going to be long until they do.
Sightings:
Birds: Wood Ducks, Mallard, Double Crested Cormorants, Canada Geese, Starlings, Ospreys, American Kestrels, Doves, Great Horned Owls, American Robins, Red-winged Blackbirds, Cooper’s Hawk, Wild Turkeys, Red-tailed Hawk, Swallows, Barn Swallows, Blue Jays, Northern Flickers, Belted Kingfisher
Critters: Tree Squirrels, Mule Deer, Prairie Dogs, Beaver
Gear: OM System OM-1 Mark II, Lumix 100-400mm, Olympus EE-1 Dot Sight
