Environment:
Start Time: 8:45 AM Temperature: 47 degrees Sky: Cloudy to start – Sunshine at the end.
The weird weather we’ve been experiencing locally kind of broke a little this morning so I took the opportunity to hit the trail and check out the damage. The heavy wet snow that fell over the weekend brought down some tree limbs and created some good sized puddles – but the birds seem, mostly, unaffected. The Arkansas River is running quite high and fast which kept the number of active waterfowl to a minimum. The Swallows were out in force – zooming all over the place. The mini-gallery featured at the end of this post has a good shot of a Violet-green Swallow who took pity on me and sat quietly on a branch. Also pictured near the bottom is a New Bird for me – a Gray Catbird! The Starlings seem to be busy raising their young – below is a shot of a parent depositing some chow into its child. I guess this method leaves no dishes to wash. The featured image for today is a Western Wood Pewee who took flight after posing for me on a branch. Such cooperation certainly merits two photos.
Adult European Starling deposits some nourishment directly where it needs to be at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado May 23, 2022
Sightings:
Birds: Wood Ducks, Mallards, Canada Geese, Osprey, American Robins, European Starlings, Double-crested Cormorants, Gray Catbird, Western Kingbirds, Mourning Doves, Barn Swallows, Violet-green Swallows, American Kestrel, Western Wood Pewee, Bullock’s Oriole, White-breasted Nuthatch
Critters: Red Ants
Gear: Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, Panasonic Lumix 100-300mm
Osprey rises from the Arkansas River with a meal in hand at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado May 23, 2022 
Violet-green Swallow taking a break at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado May 23, 2022 
Gray Catbird looking for a seat at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado May 23, 2022