Birds of the Plains

Bill and I headed east to find another RC car track. We didn't have any luck with the track so we detoured onto some side roads to see what we could see.

We drove right past this Scaled Quail perched on a fence post and Bill had to back up so I could get a picture.

This Horned Lark seems to be advertising his wares. We have lots of these birds just east of the city and they have a beautiful song.

Another lark and another beautiful singer - a Western Meadowlark with what looks like lunch in his mouth.

In the grasses they are much harder to see.

The Western Kingbirds are easy to find. They perch on the fences along the roads.

Yes, this picture was really taken yesterday - May 30. This is not snow - it is hail!

This is a white-tailed jackrabbit also known as a prairie hare.

Check out those ears!!

Isn't this hawk beautiful? It is a Swainson's Hawk and we saw quite a few on our ride. They were all perched high on telephone poles.

They must have had quite a hail storm out here. It looked like this in an area about a mile square. The storm was the previous afternoon and I took this picture around noon the next day.

We also checked out a new birding spot here in the city - Stinson's Pond. I'm hoping this is an Olive-sided Flycatcher.

And I believe this is a Western Wood Pewee. I'm not positive on either of these identifications.

I do know this one - it's a Spotted Towhee!

Back in our yard, we continue to see the Western Tanagers - but not in the numbers we saw earlier in the month.

One of our faithful American Robins.

Just as I sat down for one of Bill's fabulous dinners, this female Black-headed Grosbeak landed on the feeders. I should have gone outside for a better picture - but dinner was too good to leave. Bill made a to-die-for broccoli salad. He used local honey instead of white sugar in the dressing. YUM!

I'm still working on my Amish With a Twist project. It's a good thing I bought this as a kit with the material included because I would NEVER put these colors together. I'm not sure yet whether I like it. It actually looks better in the picture.

Pictures from a Short Ride in the Country

This is a Mountain Bluebird. They sure look different than the Eastern Bluebirds we see in Florida.

Once we get outside of Colorado Springs proper, the Western Meadowlarks are everywhere singing and singing.

This one was flashing his tail...

over and over. I assume it's a mating thing.

I'm always surprised at how big they are.

The baby Robins are out of the nest and looking for food.

As are the Lesser Goldfinches.

Another baby Robin.

Nothing out of the very ordinary on this ride - which was disappointing - but it's always nice spending time with Bill.

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.

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.