I Got to Wear a Jacket!

Finally, the temps cooled off a bit. When I left the house this morning, it was 57'. Just cool enough that I needed a light jacket for about an hour. I can't remember the last time I needed a jacket, so it was quite enjoyable.

I headed over to Barr Lake to see the burrowing owls and all the other birds that live around there. The burrowing owls are just outside of the park on a dirt road. I drove slowly down the road and there they were! This one was fairly close and posed nicely for me!

I was hoping for a flight shot but no luck. So I finally pulled myself away and headed into the park. Since it is a state park, there is an entrance fee of 7$. I stopped at the self service area to pay and a family of western kingbirds welcomed me......

After parking and walking over the bridge, you have a choice of going left into the refuge area or to the right which circles the lake. I usually go to the left, so today I headed to the right. I knew there were a family of osprey and maybe some barn owls.

This young kestrel was enjoying the morning.....

Here is a young western wood pewee...

I walked by a bush full of berries. Caught this young robin enjoying some breakfast!

Last year, I had found a couple of barn owls. They never had off spring that I know of. I checked the nesting box and there was a sleeping barn owl barely visible. Maybe baby owls are in there? I will have to check back soon and see.....

As I was walking towards the osprey nest, the weather turned to crap! All these clouds blew in and it got very dreary! Oh well, I continued on......

I walked down the trail to a blind that was fairly close to the nest. I didn't have to wait long for some action. One of the parents was gathering sticks for the nest. Not sure why as it looked like their off spring were pretty big and ready to leave the nest.

It was so cool. The osprey would fly over dead trees and grab a branch as he/she flew by. Wow! That made sense as they grab food with their talons, so they would also use their talons to grab nesting material. I had never seen that before...very cool for sure!

This is how gloomy and dreary it got.....

Here's a female yellow warbler.....

And a western wood pewee.....

I was headed back to the parking area when I spotted a swainson's hawk being harassed. That is a very brave kingbird.....

It was getting cloudier by the minute, so I decided to drive over to my favorite spot in Lakewood. It's about a 1/2 hr drive west, so there was a chance the light might be better there. Of course, I had to check on the burrowing owls on my way out.....so cute!

I got to my favorite spot and the light was much better. I went looking for the cooper's hawks but they weren't around. Bummer......
So I stopped by the heron nests. Looks like nest #1 is vacant as the youngsters have finally left the nest. This is nest #3. You can barely see the youngsters peeking their heads out.....
The youngsters in nest #2 were sleeping nicely and tucked in, so no pics available.....

I think this is one of the young avocets..looking good!

I did a lap around the lake and it was very quiet. I decided to go check to see if the hawks were around before I left and they were! One had caught some breakfast.......

The hawk was flying from branch to branch to find a good spot to eat. He finally found a spot and then he dropped his catch on the ground.

He dropped down, grabbed his food and took off. Even though I was ready, he was way too fast to get a flight shot.

He finally settled in and chowed down. He didn't seem to mind that I was watching.....

What a fun morning! Stay tuned for updates on the barn owl, burrowing owls and the cooper's hawks!