Birding at 70 Miles an Hour

Bill and I took an impromptu 24-hour trip to the NE corner of the state. I read about the birding mecca that is Pawnee National Grasslands and specifically the Pawnee Pioneer Trail, a 128-mile scenic highway through the area. We left Colorado Springs mid-afternoon and headed to Sterling Colorado in Logan County to spend the night. The trail heads west out of Sterling, a small agriculture-rich town of about 14,000 people. We stayed at the new Best Western and ate at the town's gathering place - the J & L Cafe. The people were friendly and the service was great - but they needed Bill to help them back in the kitchen.

The Barn Swallows were plentiful - especially at the intersections looking for the Miller Moths which are just beginning their annual invasion.

There was a large open area behind the hotel that we explored at dusk (hence the terrible pictures). This Brown Thrasher was singing his heart out.

It was quite dark when I took this shot of a Lark Sparrow. I knew there was a bird on the fence post but it wasn't until I lightened the picture that I could identify the sparrow.

Early the next morning we headed west on Scenic Route 14. We were expecting a picturesque, meandering country road through public lands where you drive slowly and frequently pull off to enjoy the plentiful birds. In reality, the road is a major truck route with 70 miles-per-hour speed limits and very few places to even slow down, never mind pull over! Barbed wire fences protect the private properties on both sides of the road. Birding at 70 miles-per-hour takes talent and really hones your skills!

We turned off onto a dirt road and slowly drove through some of the farmland. We had no idea there was so much agriculture in the state north of Interstate 70. We actually saw more birds where there were fences than where there were not. Pictures are two Kingbirds; the black and white one is an unusual (around here) Eastern Kingbird and the gray and yellow one is an extremely common Western Kingbird.

Since I was taking pictures, we drove very slowly and stopped frequently along this dirt side road - passing farms along the way. Before long a farmer pulled up along side of us in his pick-up truck and wanted to know what we were doing. Why did we stop in front of his house? Apparently, they don't take kindly to strangers!

This is a Horned Lark. You can see the "horns" that give him his name.

The State Bird is the Lark Bunting - and they were EVERYWHERE! It's hard to get a decent picture as they do not sit still very long!

Another bird that was WELL represented was the Western Meadowlark. Their song filled the air everywhere we went.

After our "friendly" farmer begrudgingly left us to our bird watching, a Killdeer walked along the side of the car...

...and Bill spotted this wonderful Swainson's Hawk sitting on a phone pole.

What a fabulous bird!!

Heading back to Route 14, we drove with the trucks for a while before turning north at the small town of New Raymer and headed towards the Pawnee Buttes. Driving along, I was thrilled to see this adorable Burrowing Owl perched alongside the road.

We passed a lot of farms - we were really remote (or so we thought). This isn't really a good picture of a Lark Bunting - but I thought his back was really pretty.

This is a typical view in the area. We couldn't figure out why so many of the trucks followed us on this back road. They passed us in both directions.

Then we started seeing HUGE industrial structures. They looked way out of place and they were everywhere.

Energy is apparently a huge business in the Grasslands with enormous wind farms that stretch for miles, and ugly natural gas and oil drilling operations. We were on a dirt road with trucks, cranes and industrial machinery. Lots of the operations looked new. We could see the Pawnee Buttes in the distance but the view was obstructed with the oil and gas rigs. It was sad but understandable.

Since it looked like rain, we decided to try and find a paved road. We did not make it to the Buttes, large geological formations rising out of the grassland with promises of many different species of birds. The trails are closed from March 1 to June 30 to protect the many nesting species of hawks and falcons.

Once we found our way back to Route 14, we set our GPS towards home.

We saw lots of Antelope - but not nearly as many as we saw in Wyoming.

Prairie Dogs were also out in numbers. I had to keep checking the burrows in case there were more Burrowing Owls. (There were not)

Typical scenery...

We really enjoyed hearing the songs of the various larks that populate eastern Colorado...

...especially the Meadowlarks.

It was an interesting trip - but not what we expected.

"Dogging" in Pueblo

Bill and I went to the Pueblo Reservoir Park to do some birding - but we felt more like we were "dogging." The Prairie Dogs were everywhere! Yes, they are cute. The park has been affected by the drought with ugly brown grass and dying trees. The water levels are as low as I've ever seen them.

We are not sure what the next rodents are - they looked like squirrels on steroids.

Finally some birds!

This is a young Mockingbird. He still has spots on his chest.

We can always count on the park for Western Kingbirds with their beautiful yellow breasts.

I've decided this is a Say's Phoebe.

I was surprised to see a Killdeer splashing in the water near the dam. It was far out so the picture quality is poor - but the double ring on the neck definitely means it's a Killdeer.

We also stopped by the Pueblo City Park where I can usually spot a few Wood Ducks. I believe these are late eclipse males. All of their beautiful colors will return in the fall.

Back home, it was a beautiful pre-fall evening so we sat outside and enjoyed all the birds in the yard. We have hummingbirds everywhere, the usual quantity of House Finches and Goldfinches and more than our share of Chickadees. Many birds are starting to form larger flocks - getting ready to head south.

The cute little Black-capped Chickadees are some of our favorites. Bill took this picture of one of our guests enjoying the berries in our bush.

This little guy entertained us for the longest time! As the evening light faded, we watched the Nighthawks in the sky. Yes, I tried to take pictures, but was unsuccessful.

Bill noted that the weather-vane is pointing towards Florida and that maybe it's getting to be time for us to migrate. I could be ready in about an hour.

Marsh-an Sunrise

No trip to Fort Myers would be complete without an early morning visit to Harns Marsh in Lehigh Acres. We arrived at sunrise.

The colors were amazing - with the early morning light dancing on the water. Limpkins are found in abundance at Harns Marsh and usually you can hear them even before you see them.

Even thought we arrived early, another photographer was already in place. Check out his equipment - I had terrible lens envy! What you can't see is the large wagon he needed to transport everything as it was too heavy to carry.

The early morning light brought out the reds and golds in the landscape.

But the reflections off the water made some shots more challenging. I used the sports setting to capture this Osprey in flight.

This Tri-colored Heron and his shadow-mate were having great luck finding small fish to eat for breakfast.

Last year the Wood Storks did not nest because the water levels were too high and the fish were not concentrated enough for the adults to hunt successfully. Each Wood Stork chick eats 450 pounds of fish before he fledges. We saw quite a few storks heading south and I hope the conditions are more favorable for breeding this year. The species can not afford another barren breeding season.

One of my favorites: a Roseate Spoonbill. We found several on the back side of the marsh. The looped trail is about 5 miles around, but we had already hiked 3 miles before we started the loop so we certainly got our exercise for the day! There was just so much to see that we kept walking, and walking and walking. It was afternoon before we got back to the car and I had aching muscles, sore feet and 2 disks full of pictures!

I like the reflection in the water.

At first we were stumped when we saw these pink growths around the marsh - but then Bill identified them as Roseate Spoonbill feces. (To quote Bill, he knows everything - and what he doesn't know, he makes up.)

Snail Kites may be endangered, but we saw a couple of dozen on our walk. Harns Marsh is one of their last major habitats with lots and lots of the apple snails that they eat.

This Snail Kite had just plucked a juicy snail out of the grass and was having a hearty breakfast of escargot.

The Snail Kites did not let me get too close.

Just when I think I can get a really decent picture, they fly away.

Sandhill Cranes are huge birds and I'm always thrilled to see one. On this trip, we saw a total of four.

They have a loud trumpeting call and this guy could be heard all over the marsh.

We saw these on the other side of the main lake just before we got back to our car, having a late lunch with a couple of friends.

Osprey are fairly common in southern Florida, but, so far we have not seen them in Ocala. Since they eat fish, they are found by water - and the lakes are not as common in the central part of the state as they are in Fort Myers.

And there he goes - on the lookout for more fish.

We saw several Little Blue Heron - but when I checked my pictures, I realized I didn't have any Great Blue Heron. Interesting!

This beautiful Limpkin was close to the trail. He had a gimp leg - but had no trouble flying.

Killdeer are the only shore birds that are routinely found inland.

Check out this beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk! He must have been trying to scare us away with his loud call.

One of my favorite action shots - a Great Egret. It's interesting to see how the different birds fly, how they hold their necks and feet and the shape of their wings; some glide, some flap. Often birds in flight show colors you can't see when they are perched. You'd never know this guy has a really long neck as he folds his head in close when he flies. I love his white wing feathers against the blue sky.

Lots and lots of Mottled Ducks call Harns Marsh home. We also saw a few Pied-billed Grebe and later in the year, we should see Coot, Teal and Moorhen.

Florida doesn't have the traditional seasons that other parts of the US have. When we arrived it was Love Bug Season and now it's Dragon Fly Season. Soon it will be Tourist Season (or just "Season" to the locals.)

This was a real thrill - and a new life bird: an American Bittern. I would never in a million years have spotted it all the way on the other side of the pond perfectly blending in with the grass and reeds - but our photographer (the one with the humongous lens) pointed it out as we came back around the trail. We have a rule in our family - you didn't see it unless you got a picture. The picture is lousy - but it's a picture! Now I want to see (and photograph) a Least Bittern. That one is a REAL challange!

I love this picture! How many different birds do you see - and can you name them all? You can click on the image for a larger view.

An interesting thing happened when I got back home with all these images. After selecting a few for this blog, I moved them from the camera disk to a DVD - then cleared the disk so I had room for more images. When I went to access the images on the DVD, it was corrupted and all the pictures from the second part of our walk were lost. Lesson learned - check first THEN delete!