Yellowstone Birds

 There are over 300 species of birds in Yellowstone. I had the official list and expected to spend time looking for them all but with only a couple of days in the park - dedicated birding didn't happen. Most of the time we were in the car driving the figure 8 inside the 3-thousand square mile area. There are lots of stops, lookouts, picnic areas, short walks and photo opportunities but many of the hiking trails away from populated areas were closed because of bear activity.

Western Tanager

This was the first year we didn't have migrating Western Tanagers in our backyard, so I was thrilled to see them in Wyoming.

Western Tanager

Western Tanager

This handsome, hungry guy was posing for me along the side of the road where we had stopped to check out a bear sighting. 

It's common in the park to see a gathering of people where wildlife has been spotted. As we were hiking back to see yet another beautiful mountain stream vista, several tripods and cameras with ridiculous lenses were set up along the walkway. We assumed the friendly English visitors were looking at the far-away hills for wolves, but they had their cameras aimed at a small hole in a large tree stump not a dozen feet from the path where a Williamson's Sapsucker had a nest. Hearing that, I joined the long wait for the birds to make an appearance.

Williamson's Sapsucker (female)

The female was inside the nest. When she left, we knew it wouldn't be long before the male appeared. The female looks very different from the male.

Williamson's Sapsucker (male)

Soon, the colorful male appeared. He landed on the back of the stump and quickly walked around to the side so I could get a great look at his colors - black and white with a bright yellow belly and red chin.

Williamson's Sapsucker

 I wish my picture was clearer but I was focused on the hole in the tree.

Williamson's Sapsucker

 His back is not as interesting. This was a Life Bird for both Bill and me.

Canada Geese

 We saw lots of Canada Geese along Lake Yellowstone.

Barrow's Goldeneye

 Our first day in the Park was extremely windy - so windy that trees blew over closing roads until they could be cleared. The lake was so choppy that many of the ducks were hugging the shoreline. It was very difficult to get decent pictures. We have Common Goldeneye Ducks here in Colorado, but this was my first sighting of a Barrow's Goldeneye.

Cliff Swallow

 I don't think I've ever seen as many Swallows as I saw this trip; Tree Swallows, Violet-green Swallows and Cliff Swallows. They are impossible to photograph in flight so I was glad to have some pose in their nests.

Cliff Swallow

 These mud nests were lined up on the back-side of one of the clean, well-stocked rest rooms that are abundant throughout the Park.

Violet-green Swallows

Dark-eyed Junco

Green-winged Teal

 All of the many, many ducks were far away so pictures were challenging - especially in the wind. We saw 3 kinds of Teal - Cinnamon, Blue-winged and Green-winged.

Red-breasted Merganser

 And we saw lots and lots of Mergansers with their unique profiles.

Lesser Scaup

 I hope I have these Scaup identifications correct!

Greater Scaup

Red-winged Blackbird

I was surprised to see so much water in the Park - lakes, ponds, streams, rivers - water everywhere. And where there is water, there are Red-winged Blackbirds.

Violet-green Swallow

It happened again. I was dressed in my jogging shorts, t-shirt and speedy runners; headphones in my hand, ready to head to the gym when Bill came home from flying and asked if I'd rather go hiking. Heck yes! We headed to the north end of Palmer Park - my favorite part. The hiking is more technical and challenging - but the views are beyond compare. I'm excited to share some of the pictures I took.

This Violet-green Swallow made my day. He was perched fairly close and the sun was in exactly the perfect position. Look at those colors!

My goal for the day was to get a decent picture of a Black-headed Grosbeak so I was pleased when we spotted this one early in the walk.

The view of Pikes Peak from the top of the trail is gorgeous. We were at an elevation of about 6600 feet.


This isn't a very good shot of the Downy Woodpecker - but it's the best of the couple I was able to get before he scooted around to the other side of the tree and disappeared. We haven't seen many this year and only saw one in the yard since returning from Florida. Last year they were daily visitors so we don't know what has changed.

This afternoon I'm heading over to Colorado College to sit in on my son's Colonial Numismatics class. I hope he doesn't call on me to answer any questions!

Mountain Climbing (well almost)

Wednesday was a beautiful day for a hike in Palmer Park. We left home around 10 a.m. to begin our 4 hour hike up and around the top of the park and back down again.

Just minutes from our house by foot, Palmer Park is about 500 acres of beautiful views and challenging mountain-like trails. It is frequented by mountain bikers, hikers, birders and horse-back riders.

Pikes Peak was in the distance as we went around the bend.

Since Wednesday was the Air Force Graduation, we were treated to an aerial display by the Thunderbirds.

Who says bees are endangered? This was a busy hive!

This is probably the same Western Wood Pewee we saw the other day.

There is a large, flat prairie at the top of the trail and the wild-flowers were beautiful in the sunlight. I'm working on my close-up shots - but I don't have the technique perfected yet. I need lots more practice.

The swifts and swallows were flying everywhere - but they are impossible to photograph as they move so quickly and erratically - so it was a real treat to get this picture and even more so when I found out the bird is a Violet-green Swallow. They are the only swallows in the area to have white above the eye. I had never identified one before.

Colorado Springs, along with other parts of the west are famous for red rocks. The color comes from the high iron content.

I'm pretty sure this is a Cooper's Hawk. Look at the dark head, grey neck, red eye and banded tail.

This is a different Cooper's Hawk - and a lousy picture - but it shows the bands on the tail better than in the last picture.

We don't see too many hawks in the park - maybe one every other day - so we were pleased to spot two in the same day.



On Thursday we decided to hike somewhere new and went to Red Rocks Canyon - 787 acres of open space between Manitou and Colorado Springs, just south of Highway 24. The property features rock formations comparable to the Garden of the Gods.

We packed a picnic lunch, lots of water, our binoculars and cameras and headed out.

We hiked one of the more difficult trails - around four and 1/2 miles with an elevation of over 600 feet. There are over 13 miles of trails, so we will return again.

This is a young male Bullock's Oriole and is more yellow than the orange adults.

We identified two White-breasted Nuthatches, one in the thick pines at the top of the trail and this one near the end of the trail.

There is a small lake, home to a family of Canadian Geese. All of the adult geese were banded.

I suspect this cute little guy will be banded in the near future - but for now he is just learning to peck for food and use his legs.

The red rock formations in the canyon are a haven for rock climbers. We saw several groups with full gear and what seemed to be instructors teaching them to climb.

Maybe sometime soon we will try Barr Trail - the trail that goes to the top of Pikes Peak. My father climbed to the top when he was a teacher at Colorado College in the early part of the 20th century - before he was called to serve in World War I. At age 62, I probably won't make it to the top - or even close - but you never know if you don't try!