No clouds this morning. None. Not even any of those little whispy ones you sometimes see near the mountain tops. We started out in 57 degree temp in a very light breeze. Even this low temp at 6:40 in the morning became less and less comfortable as the sun rose ever higher throughout our walk.
The later start on our walk was because of a distraction that arose as we were driving out to the park. That distraction was an amazing full moon that was close to setting over the Wet Mountains. Instead of going straight to our walking grounds I kept going until I was on the North side of Lake Pueblo right at the dam. I walked out to the access gate and shot a number of landscapes from the top of the dam. The featured picture (above) is a shot across the lake at the prairie buttes greeting the rising sun. The two gallery shots at the bottom of this post are of the sunrise/moonset that brought me to this spot. I could have waited a little longer until the moon got lower in the sky but I was afraid that the moon might be too washed out by then so I settled for the higher moon position.
After watching a number of YouTube videos on using autofocus for birding with a mirrorless camera I found myself on the trail this morning once again lugging my Panasonic GX-85 fitted with the 100/300mm zoom. I’m still hoping to make some kind of peace with this camera because it has a lot of features that I like. So I’ve set up the camera for best chances to capture birds in flight – Aperture Priority, f 7.1, high speed burst mode, Auto ISO, continuous focus with the central area of the viewfinder as the focus area. To top that off I am using the inbuilt digital telephoto feature with a small image setting. So if I am zoomed out to 300mm I am effectively shooting with a 1200mm lens. I’m loaded for bear!
Any one who knows me knows how this story ends. No flying birds to be seen. So the result of my grand experiment is the photo on the right – a perched Tropical Kingbird. Maybe next time.
Sightings:
Birds: Starlings, Robins, Swallows, Barn Swallow, Osprey, Cormorants, Kingbirds, Canada Geese, Common Merganser, Flicker, Blue Jay
Critters: Mule Deer, Cottontail Rabbit
Gear: Nikon D5100, 55-200mm, Lumix GX-85, 100-300mm
Early Summer scenic at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado. The full moon sets past the Wet Mountain Range with Lake Pueblo in the foreground. 
Full Moon Setting Over Colorado’s Wet Mountains