Birds Critters Sightings Wildlife
March 28, 2021

March 28, 2021

Environment:Start Time: 10:50 AM Temperature: 57 degrees Sky: Sunny with few clouds; light breeze Back to Lake Pueblo State Park this morning. Surprisingly warm temperature really brought out the people – the parking lots were quite well utilized. I cut the walk short today partly due to the number of people out enjoying the park and partly because I was spectacularly over-dressed. I’m going to have to pay closer attention to weather conditions in future. Despite these “problems” there were two bright spots in today’s outing. First I spotted a Western Meadowlark on my way into the park – something…

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Birds Sightings Wildlife
March 27, 2021

March 27, 2021

Environment:Start Time: 9:00 AM Temperature: 43 degrees Sky: Sunny with light breeze Tried something different this morning. Instead of my normal walk at Lake Pueblo State Park I went to the Nature & Wildlife Discovery Center just East of Lake Pueblo and joined a group walk sponsored by the Arkansas Valley Audubon Society. We walked the “old” trail that follows the Arkansas River and had good luck in sightings. Today’s featured image is a Red-tailed Hawk who gave us a fly-by. These walks are going to continue every 4th Saturday through the Summer at least. Come on down! Sightings:Birds: Canada…

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Birds Sightings Wildlife
March 26, 2021

March 26, 2021

Environment:Start Time: 8:30 AM Temperature: 43 degrees Sky: Sunny with light breeze Morning temperatures are getting much more tolerable allowing me to get out even earlier. The stars of today’s outing turned out to be some Merganser ducks. The Arkansas River played host to both Red-breasted Mergansers (below) and Hooded Mergansers (above). As always, Mallards and Buffleheads were in good supply. The Osprey were quite active as well. I caught a nice shot of one of the big birds out collecting material to patch up the nest. I guess the honeymoon is over. Sightings:Birds: Canada Geese, Buffleheads, Mallards, Gadwalls, Osprey,…

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Birds Sightings Wildlife
March 25, 2021

March 25, 2021

Environment:Start Time: 10:30 AM Temperature: 44 degrees Sky: Sunny with light breeze A chilly start to the morning kept me at home until mid-morning. Great walking conditions was my reward. In the bird department things could have been better. Don’t think I’m complaining – the variety of birds is improving everyday – just not the quantity. Really, it is the scarcity of the smaller birds that puzzles me. Maybe the Juncos have moved on but where are the Sparrows, the Woodpeckers or the Nuthatches? Plus I can’t figure out where the deer are. Maybe off having babies? I still managed…

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Birds Sightings Wildlife
March 23, 2021

March 23, 2021

Environment:Start Time: 9:30 AM Temperature: 40 degrees Sky: Sun with increasing clouds, light breeze Managed, once again, to hit the trail early in the morning. Conditions were favorable though there wasn’t a lot of activity at first. Things picked up when I passed by the Osprey nest being settled by those first two Osprey I saw last week. I caught the two of them in an intimate moment and got a few pictures which I will not share because HSC.com is “G” rated. A little further on I spotted a Cooper’s Hawk nestled deep into the branches of a tree….

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Birds Sightings Wildlife
March 21, 2021

March 21, 2021

Environment:Start Time: 8:25 AM Temperature: 53 degrees Sky: Mostly cloudy, annoying breeze Early morning warm temperature brought me out early today. Despite the air temp a rather thick eastern cloud bank was quite effective at dimming out the Sun. I kept expecting the Sun to rise above clouds but that didn’t happen until I was back in my car headed home. Despite these challenges I had a pretty good walk and came home with some exciting shots. I got my first shots of the year of an Osprey fishing at the Anticline Fishing Pond. Though “he” was pretty far away…

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Birds Sightings Wildlife
March 20, 2021

March 20, 2021

Environment:Start Time: 10:25 AM Temperature: 47 degrees Sky: Equal measures Sun v. Clouds, light breeze Another excellent day to walk but the spotty sunshine made photography a bit more challenging. The first day of Spring turned out to be pretty impressive. Trees continue to bud but so far nothing is blooming. I saw many Robins, a few Starlings and one Cormorant not to mentions adding a new bird to my personal list – a Brown Creeper – pictured (poorly) below. I also got a good opportunity to shoot an American Kestrel perched at a sub-orbital height but he took off…

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Birds Sightings Wildlife
March 19, 2021

March 19, 2021

Environment:Start Time: 10:30 AM Temperature: 43 degrees Sky: Sunny, no clouds, light breeze Excellent walking again today with the birds remaining elusive. I worked hard to capture a Belted Kingfisher but he insisted on remaining on the other side of the river. Seems like there should be young owls about but I have yet to see one. My two Ospreys were perched (as they were yesterday) on and near the nesting stand (pictured below) they are claiming. Not sure why they are just sitting around – perhaps a little spat? Today’s featured image (above) is a detail shot of a…

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Birds Sightings Wildlife
March 18, 2021

March 18, 2021

Environment:Start Time: 12:10 PM Temperature: 48 degrees Sky: Sunny with thin clouds, light breeze Back out around noon today. No complaints – this was a perfect day for walking and photography, though quite a few others felt fishing was the thing to do. There was a good amount of the smaller birds flitting around and I discovered a duck on the fishing pond that I have never noticed before. Posted below is a shot of a Redhead Duck (research tells me that they are diving ducks) just starting a dive. I probably could have gotten a nice series of the…

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Birds Landmarks Landscapes Sightings Wildlife
March 16, 2021

March 16, 2021

Environment:Start Time: 11:05 AM Temperature: 45 degrees Sky: Mix of Sun and clouds, light breeze The sunny weather that greeted me as I woke up this morning started to deteriorate as noon approached. So I adjusted my walking plans and decided to have a stroll by the river before lunch. My flexibility was greatly rewarded when I spotted what I first though was a Red-tailed Hawk perched high up on one of the (too many) power poles that march through Lake Pueblo State Park. I did not change my mind about the bird until I heard him/her speak out clearly….

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