The Rest of the Trip HOME

 Driving from Ocala to Colorado Springs is usually a 1700 mile trip. We added an additional 1000 miles with our birding excursions - but it was worth every mile - one of our best vacations.

We knew we were getting closer to Colorado when we starting seeing antelope and mule deer. 

There were lots of Meadowlarks on the wires - and in the fields.

 One of my favorite Texas birds is the Scissor-tail Flycatcher and we saw a lot of them along the way.

I wish I knew my hawks better. I think this is a Swainson's Hawk - but can never be sure.

We finally arrived home to find that Spring in Colorado had waited for us. The trees and bushes were bare and there was cold white stuff coming out of the sky. But after a couple of days, things started looking up.

Our faithful House Finches returned as soon as we filled the feeders and we had a new visitor - a cute little gray Bushtit.

They have long tails for their small bodies and are about the size of a Chickadee.

We had about a half dozen flitting around in the bushes - but I think they've left for higher ground now.

I always enjoy the Western Scrub Jays.

I heard there were orioles passing through so I put orange slices in the trees - but you can see the result.

We had a couple of Western Tanagers but I failed to get any decent pictures. One of our first chores was to get the pond up and running. We couldn't believe it when we discovered we still had fish! AND, five or six baby fish!

Bill rebuilt the falls and I think they look great. The jug was even on sale. Check out our nifty new pond plant. It really looks cool - and it was under $30! The trees and bushes are finally starting to leaf, I've planted some colorful flowers and the weather is once again beautiful. Life is good.