Environment:
Start Time: 6:55 AM Temperature: 61 degrees Sky: Wildfire haze, bright sunshine with light breeze.
An otherwise perfect walking day was diminished by wildfire smoke streaming in from a fire in Arizona. Activity was pretty subdued as well, though I think the high water level of the Arkansas River was mostly to blame for that. There weren’t a lot of birds that I saw and those that I did see were only briefly seen. Except for the goslings I caught resting on the river bank – today’s featured image. They are getting bigger but the adults are still keeping them on dry ground. The mini-gallery below is a collection of wildflowers I found blooming around the park. I was starting to wonder if any Wild Sunflowers were going to pop up this year but they are finally showing up.
Sightings:
Birds: Mallards, Wood Ducks, Canada Geese, Osprey, American Robins, European Starlings, Double-crested Cormorant, Western Kingbirds, Mourning Doves, Bullock’s Orioles, Swallows, Barn Swallows, Wren, Common Grackle, Cooper’s Hawk, Blue Jays
Critters: Mule Deer, Butterflies, Wood Louse
Gear: Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, Panasonic Lumix 100-300mm
Wild Sunflower entertaining a guest at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado June 14,2022 
White Prickly Poppy are starting to bloom at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado June 14, 2022 
Walking Stick Cactus are starting to bloom at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado June 14, 2022