My owl friends: Happy Earth Day

What better way to celebrate Earth Day than to go out photographing! So I was up by 5:30am and headed down to my favorite place. The sun was just coming up as I got there and it felt like it was gonna be a fun day! I saw a pair of wood ducks but they weren't in a good place to get a pic. So I started a lap around and quickly spotted this cute killdeer.

I liked the way the geese looked.....

And here a robin working on their nest.....

The flicker was deciding on making this their home for the summer.....

I completed the loop and went to check in on the great blue herons and cormorants....

Here is what the island looks like where the GBH and cormorants nest.....

So I am watching one of the GBH nest. One was on the nest and the other one flew in.....

They said hi to each other.....

Then they switched places....

And the one that was on the nest left for a break! I did not know they did that! It was so cool to see that in person!

Yes, I do love the avocets! Last summer there was two pairs and this year there are three pairs! Here is one pair making baby avocets!

Ha! The cormorant popped up to say hi........

All three pairs put on quite the show by flying back and forth.....

And the GBH were very active too!

All the GBH pics and the avocet pics were taken from the gazebo. I am fine to hike around to get photos but I will take easy any day!

While at the gazebo, I met two gals who were birders and photographers. I had the best time chatting with them. Bev has been birding for over 50 years and Sharon is a nature photographer. I learned quite a bit about birds in a very short time! And Bev comes to Boulder quite often to visit family, so I am sure we will cross paths again very soon!

I finally pulled myself away from the gazebo and did another lap. I got to the back pond and there was the blue winged teal! And it was an added bonus to get a reflection shot!

And there was the wood duck couple I had seen earlier!

After enjoying the wood ducks I headed back to the gazebo and the gals were still there. So we chatted for a bit and then Bev spotted a snowy egret across the big pond. Sweet! I headed over to track him down......

And the turtles were out and about enjoying the beautiful day!

While chatting with the gals, I offered to show them where the cooper's hawks were nesting.
No one was there then, but as I left to head home, I spotted them in the tree.....

After spending over three hours there, it was time to go home but I was not done yet.
After getting Hazel out for some swimming and getting study done at home, I headed over to see the owls.
I full expected the owlet to be high up in the trees but he was in a perfect spot for more pics!

Momma Cher was close by supervising.....

After about an hour, Cher flew off and returned with some rabbit for the kid.....

This little guy did all kinds of antics to get mom to bring food. He even climbed up this tiny branch. Eventually he made it to a bigger tree but it was getting dark with a cold wind blowing. So I headed home before he got fed......