Yesterday we decided to get away from the lingering smoke and ash and head south to one of our favorite places - the Huerfano River Valley. We packed a picnic lunch and met up with daughter Laura and her hubby Tim at o'dark thirty for the drive south on I-25 to Walsenburg. After an always delicious breakfast at George's, we turned west, past Gardner and the Singing River Ranch (that recently sold for 6-million dollars!) into the high elevation (above 10,000 feet) San Isabel National Forest. The road is long and bumpy - but the views are sensational.
While Laura and Tim hiked back towards Blanca Peak and Mt. Lindsey to do some fishing and gold-panning in the Huerfano River, Bill and I took our time on the trail and looked for birds. We were not disappointed!
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| Wilson's Warbler (female) |
We found a spot with lots of little yellow birds flying around and spent a couple of hours getting pictures and trying to identify them.
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| Wilson's Warbler (female) |
Our first new Life Bird was the Wilson's Warbler. It's diet is insects - and only insects.
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| Wilson's Warbler (male) |
The male Wilson's Warbler has a black cap on his head and at first look, we thought it was an American Goldfinch - but the goldfinch cap is over the forehead and they have black wings.
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| Wilson's Warbler (male) |
Beautiful little birds!
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| Audubon's Warbler (male) |
The Audubon's Warbler is a subspecies of the Yellow-rumped Warbler.
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| Audubon's Warbler (female) |
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| Lincoln's Sparrow |
The Sparrow with the Mohawk! When I was on Sanibel with my sister, Beth, there was a Lincoln's Sparrow near the beach - but I missed it. My sister didn't and got a great picture. I was jealous. On this trip, we saw several sparrows flitting around, but it wasn't until I got home and checked my pictures that I was able to make final identification. The Lincoln's Sparrow was our third Life Bird of the day!
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| Dark-eyed Junco |
We saw a couple of other favorite birds - a Dark-eyed Junco, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a spectacular Western Tanager.
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| Western Tanager (male) |
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| Ruby-crowned Kinglet |
The red spot on the head of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet is hard to see and nearly impossible to photograph. Without it, the bird is plain.
After a couple of hours, the rain started coming over the peak so we headed back to the car and were soon joined by Laura & Tim. We headed down the road and picnicked in a rustic campground by the river. This fawn was by the road.
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