Environment:
Start Time: 6:35 AM Temperature: 62 degrees Sky: Wildfire haze filtered sunshine
Clouds were mostly absent this morning at Lake Pueblo State Park but the wildfire haze and a large dose of humidity more than made up for that. Birds were not super active (woodpeckers were the stars by number) and the woods were oddly quiet. Today’s feature image (above) is a group of nicely backlit Wild Sunflowers that I couldn’t resist shooting. Probably the most interesting subject of the outing was the juvenile Double Crested Cormorant that I spotted hanging out with the big guys at this year’s designated river overlook – image posted here. I can claim that I got a shot of a Redheaded Woodpecker in flight (most of him anyway) which I got by accident when he took off from the pose I had focused on. I like the detail. Posted below is a mini-gallery of some of the other birds who stood still a little longer than Old Red.
Sightings:
Birds: Mallards, Starlings, Osprey, Barn Swallows, Double Crested Cormorants, Western Kingbirds, American Robins, Canada Geese, Mississippi Kite, Mourning Dove, Northern Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker, Redheaded Woodpecker, Orchard Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, unidentified long legged wading bird, Great Blue Heron, Blue Jay
Critters: Cabbage Butterfly, Prairie Dogs, Mule Deer
Gear: Lumix GH4, 100-300 mm
Orchard Oriole looking over its shoulder at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado July 19, 2021 
A couple of Hairy Woodpeckers working over a fire damaged cottonwood at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado July 19, 2021 
Canada Goose reflecting on the Arkansas River at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado July 19, 2021