Choices, choices, choices......so many places I wanted to go photographing but I finally decided I wanted to check on my avocets. So I was off to my favorite spot this morning.
I walked right by the GBH nests as I could see them later. I hustled over to where the avocets hang out and no one was around. Hmmmmmm....that's not normal. Every other summer they have always been by the board walk. Well I thought, maybe with all the rain this week, they took the chicks back to the island. Oh well, I saw this cute family of mallards so I grabbed a pic......
The spotted sandpipers are everywhere.....and so are the gnats! Yes those specks are little insects. They are annoying but they don't bite so I'll take that any day!
A better pic of a sand piper......
From where I was I could see nest #3 and #4 very well.....just as I was focusing to get a pic, the parent took flight!
Yes, those are the kids! Just about as big as their parents!
As I was walking towards the north end I heard a familiar sound. Ha! There was momma wood duck! She and her ducklings were tucked in nicely, so this was the best pic I could get.
Another mallard with her brood.....
As I walked along the north end I quickly spotted this great blue heron doing some fishing.....
The GBH caught a fish and some gunk too.....
I headed back to the west side of the park to check on the swainson's hawks. I could see one of them was sitting on the nest and then finally spotted the other one very close by. Looking forward to some youngsters!
I continued on and spotted one of the geese families with their young. They are almost as big as their parents!
I made it all the way around to the gazebo to check on the GBH nests. Not much was going on except for this cute mallard family swimming towards me. I think this is the same family I photographed first thing this morning.....
I thought about heading up to Prospect park but decided to do one more lap. As you will see, I am so glad I did!
I went back to check on momma wood duck and got some decent pics.....
And now the snowy egret was fishing in the north end.....
While I was photographing the snowy another photographer showed up and we watched the egret. The snowy was staying tucked in among all the branches, so I moved on. I was almost to the small walking bridge when I spotted a pair of redhead ducks mixed in with some geese! Sweet!
So I am shooting away, the other photographer that was shooting the snowy egret walks by. He never even looks over to see what I am photographing and he keeps walking! He totally missed these guys! If I see a photographer pointing their camera at something, you can bet I stop to see what it is!
I went back to see the swainsons but all was quiet, so I continued on. A robin flies by with a big mouthful of nesting material and I see where her nest is. She placed her stuff in the nest and flew out for more. So I waited for a minute or so and she returned. That was so cool!
Next I went to check a tree swallow nest that was off the trail. This guy was peeking out at me as I walked up...
He flew out and another head appeared! It was the female! She also flew out.....
The male flew around and then landed back on their nesting box.....
And then the female returned too. Looking forward to seeing their youngsters!
I went back to see the redhead ducks but they were gone. I looked up and a pair of osprey was circling the main pond. I hoped to get a fishing shot but they did a few laps and moved on....
The red winged blackbirds had fun harassing them....
Well now it felt like I could leave and I decided to stop at Prospect park in Wheatridge. I had not been there in months. Last summer there was a momma hooded merganser and her young at the main pond. so I thought it would be a good idea to see if she was there this summer.
I did not see her so I walked towards Tabor lake. There's an island that is filled with cormorant, GBH, black crown night heron and snowy egret nests. It's a bit too far for good pics but I decided to wait and see if anyone would do a fly by.
Oh yeah! A snowy egret took off and then circled back right in front of me!
Here's the island. Not the prettiest, thats for sure!
Got lucky again with a black crown night heron flying by with a tiny twig in his mouth....
I moved on to see if I could find some yellow warblers. I heard them but couldn't see them. I did find my cat bird friend from last summer....
By now it was almost 11 am and it was hot and humid! We do not do humidity in Colorado, so I knew it was time to go home.
As I was driving by the open space office on Cherryvale, I stopped to see if the bobolinks were around. Bingo! One handsome guy was posing nicely for me!
Well, it was a very fun day! But I am very concerned about the avocets. I never did see them, so I am wondering if all the rain killed the avocet chicks and then the adults left the area. Sometimes the circle of life sucks!
Thanks for reading.....
No comments:
Post a Comment