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.

Happy Memorial Day

Bill and I started the day today with a short hike in Palmer Park followed with a brunch at Nancy and Joe's. Thanks Nancy for a great meal and even better company! We really enjoyed meeting your sister Susie and her husband Arturo.

The whole gang posed for me to take a picture: Nancy, her sister, Susie, Lucy, Joe, Arturo, Mike and Bill.

Nancy is a wonderful hostess and I couldn't resist taking a picture of the table before we sat down to eat our Memorial Day feast of baked French toast (I got the recipe) and a chorizo sausage casserole. Yum! I ate more than my share.

Last Thursday, Bill and his sister finally closed on a house in Denver that they have had on the market for over a year. Check in hand, we stopped on the way home and Bill bought himself a new set of binoculars and me a new camera. It is a Nikon Coolpix with 12.1 megapixels and a wide 24 X zoom. I have a huge learning curve with the new camera - so bear with me.

On Friday, Bill and I headed to the park, each with our own set of binoculars and me with my new camera.

A snow-capped Pikes Peak was peeking through and above the low clouds and early-morning mist.

We took one of the more difficult trails on the north end of Palmer Park.

Climbing up the rocky paths is challenging - but I love it.

I walk slower than Bill - so he has to wait for me to catch up. The sun washed out the center of this picture. I'll have to change settings when I'm in the bright outdoors.

I love this beautifully weathered gnarled tree stump that we passed on the trail.

This Spotted Towhee was deep in the bushes - but I was able to zoom in for a decent shot that didn't fall apart when I cropped it.

I think this bird is a Western Wood Pewee.

The Pewee is abundant in Colorado at the present, but populations are declining about one percent each year.

Both this picture and the next one are of Black-billed Magpies. The first picture is not in the correct focus - but it shows the blue colors of his wings and tail.

Magpies have beautiful long tails and markings - but are not well liked by most people because they are loud and obnoxious.

The wild Lilac bushes were in full bloom and they smelled delicious. The Humming-birds loved them too and were everywhere! We could hear them flying around the entire time we hiked.

We have a Lilac bush in our yard that Bill planted five years ago. This was the first year it had any flowers - we counted three. Maybe next year.

This Western Scrub Jay posed for a picture - but for only a very short time.

Bill took my picture as I rested on the rocks near the top of the bluffs. My blue socks have birds on them (Pileated Wood-peckers) and were a gift from our friends Mike and Mel.

Until we went to Florida, I thought they would be the only Pileated Woodpeckers I would ever see. Mike and Mel kept promising me I would see one in their yard - but I never did - so they bought me the socks instead.

I don't know what this is - but the bushes were beautiful and smelled wonderful.

I was practicing taking pictures with a close-up setting. If you look closely, you'll see an ant on the flower. I never saw it until I got home and enlarged the picture on the computer.

My camera lens was just inches from these yellow flowers. It's amazing they can grow in the arid, rocky soil.

More pretty yellow wild flowers. I didn't use the close-up setting for this picture and the focus is not as sharp.

I was delighted to see this cute chipmunk and be able to get his picture before he scampered away.

This is, I think, a Scaled Quail. Bill took this picture at his daughters house in Midway - north of Pueblo and south of Colorado Springs.

We were there for a party to celebrate the high-school graduation of his oldest grandson, Kyle. I think this cute bird wanted some of the delicious pulled-Pork Kyle's dad, Tim, made for the occasion.

Today we celebrated another grandson's eighth birthday and the fifth anniversary of the wonderful day when Bill and I first met. We were introduced with the help of E-Harmony.Com. We had corresponded for a short time before meeting face-to-face at a local coffee shop. The rest, as they say, is history.