Environment:
Start Time: 7:10 AM Temperature: 53 degrees Sky: Sunshine.
Mother Nature screwed up today and delivered spectacular hiking conditions instead of the recent rain/fog offerings. The afore mentioned rain has delivered not just lots of greenery but also lots of flying bugs. No one is happier about this than the Kingbirds (pictured here) who are also plentiful in the park. I wish them good luck. There was no activity at the Cooper’s Hawk nest – if the parents were hanging around the Cottonwood leaves are making them impossible to spot. The Red-tailed Hawk nest was being monitored but showed no signs of activity either. The only three birds I saw on the very high water of the Arkansas River were the three Canada Geese at the bottom of the post. Two adults with their youngster were all hugging the shoreline in a calmer stretch of water. Today’s post-top image is a highly focused Osprey that I though was going to take a plunge into the fishing pond but, instead, flew off over the prairie.
Sightings:
Birds: Wood Duck, Starlings, Ospreys, Canada Geese, Double Crested Cormorants, American Robins, Mourning Doves, Western Kingbirds, Eastern Kingbirds, Orioles, Red-tailed Hawk, Wild Turkey, Yellow-breasted Chat, Turkey Vulture, Blue Jays, American Kestrel, Northern Flicker, Brown-headed Cowbird, Great Blue Heron
Critters: Prairie Dog, Rock Squirrel, Red Ants, Ornate Tree Lizard, Tree Squirrels
Gear: Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, Lumix 100-300mm
