Environment:
Start Time: 6:20 AM Temperature: 63 degrees Sky: Sunshine.
Fantastic walking conditions prevail at Lake Pueblo State Park. The birding conditions weren’t too bad either. Pictured here is what Google says is an Ash-throated Flycatcher – I was leaning toward Brown-crested but I’ll take Google’s ID which gives me a New Bird. Since I did make it out pretty early this morning I caught an Orb Spider waiting for breakfast to arrive. The featured image (above) is a Great Blue Heron who couldn’t wait for a delivery and just grabbed a snack right out of the Arkansas River. The mini-gallery at the bottom of this post is a collection of not-so-common sightings which I can’t believe I got all on the same day.
Sightings:
Birds: Mallards, Osprey, Common Starlings, Western Kingbirds, Eastern Kingbirds, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Mourning Doves, Barn Swallows, White-breasted Nuthatch, Redheaded Woodpecker, Common Grackle, American Robins, Great Blue Heron, Canada Geese, Common Merganser, Northern Flicker, Double Crested Cormorants, Great Horned Owl, Quail, Hawks, American Kestrels
Critters: Cabbage White Butterfly, Prairie Dog, Dragonflies, Grasshoppers, Mule Deer
Gear: Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, Panasonic Lumix 100-300mm
Redheaded Woodpecker looking for breakfast at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado July 08, 2022 
A juvenile Great Horned Owl perches in the morning light at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado July 08, 2022 
White-breasted Nuthatch working the trees at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado July 08, 2022