My owl friends: Happy Mom's Day!

As promised, I headed over to the owl nest at first light. So that means I was there around 5:45am. Molly dog and the kitties were excited that I got up early. It meant they got a very early breakfast. Luckily, no one else has figured out that this is the best time of the day to get owl pics!
I found Nike about 10 feet from where she was last night. She posed for me nicely....

She was mostly dry and seemed ready to explore her new surroundings. So after sitting for a bit, she went walking......

She headed down towards the stream. I was able figure out how to also get down there to get more pics. It was a bit slick and I could have easily slid into the creek. Whew! Luckily that did not happen!

Nike sat here for a bit then started walking again. I went back to where I saw her before and got the best pic! Check this out....

After a fun time with Nike, I drove down to my favorite spot in Lakewood. It was a bit drizzily and very overcast. We sure needed the rain and everything smelled soooo good!

First thing I noticed was there were hundreds of tree swallows flying around and perching in a nearby tree. I always see the swallows here but not in this amount!

Next thing I noticed were so many baby mallards with their parents....

Over at the next pond, I saw this handsome guy. He's a redhead duck....I've seen these guys all over Colorado but never got a good pic until today!

I was over near the gazebo and saw mr. and mrs. wood duck eating rice off the deck. I'm guessing there had been a wedding there and this was leftover rice that everyone threw. Guess they didn't get the memo about using bird seed instead of rice.

The wood ducks finally headed down to the water where they decided the female mallard was too close to them.....

I decided to drive back to see what the owls were doing and possibly meet my friends, Mary and Georgia there. I figured there would be a big crowd of people there, so I mentally prepared myself to deal with it.....

I found Nike had gotten up off the ground and had tucked herself in nicely.

She was in a good place! It wasn't good photographically and to get to her, it was necessary to walk on a green pipe that went over the creek. So that meant that no one came over and bothered her......

Mary and Georgia came by, so we took a walk around the lakes. Got to see my first snapping turtle of the year.They look so prehistoric,huh?

Finally it was time to go home but had to stop by to see the owl still in the nest. We think we're naming him Elmo cause he looks like a muppet :) He was napping as I got this pic...