Environment:
Start Time: 7:10 AM Temperature: 62 degrees Sky: Sunshine, haze with increasing breeze.
Another morning encased in wildfire haze. No air quality alerts which I don’t understand since Pikes Peak was not visible from Reservoir Road as I drove into Lake Pueblo State Park. Still not a lot of birds who seemed inclined to be photographed. I shot a lot of smaller birds but did not end up with anything really good. Most of these little guys only gave me one chance to make the capture. A Belted Kingfisher taunted me by landing on my side of the Arkansas River but made a hasty exit once I had established a clear shot. Pretty frustrating day. The featured image of an Eastern Kingbird is about as close as I got to anything wearing feathers today. He looks so satisfied because he had just finished eating a good sized bug right before I got him in focus. At least someone was making some good captures today.
Sightings:
Birds: Mallards, Osprey, Double Crested Cormorants, Canada Geese, Mourning Doves, Gull, Blue Grosbeak, Chipping Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, American Yellow Warbler, Eastern Kingbird, Great Horned Owls, White-breasted Nuthatch, Common Grackle, Belted Kingfisher
Critters: Cabbage Butterfly, Prairie Dogs, Stink Beetles
Gear: Nikon D5600, 55-300mm
Vesper Sparrow perching at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado August 16, 2021 
White-breasted Nuthatch conducting a tree inspection at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado August 16, 2021 
American Yellow Warbler pausing briefly at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado August 16, 2021