Fountain Creek Nature Center

It's always a nice walk at Fountain Creek. If we get to see some birds - all the better!

There are always lots of Barn Swallows flying around the Visitor's Center.

The Red-winged Blackbirds are certainly noisy!

This one had me stumped - but I've decided it is a female Yellow Warbler. What a cute little face!

The Yellow Warbler from the back.

I think I take this bunny's picture every time we visit.

This woodpecker really caught our eye because she was so big - much larger than a Downy. It must be a Hairy Woodpecker.

Another view.

No sooner did we tentatively identify the Hairy when we spotted this Downy so we could compare the two. I was amazed at the difference in size - a good 3 inches.

The White-breasted Nuthatches are cute little energetic birds.

I love listening to the House Wrens. They may be plain birds - but they sure can sing!

Lots of Phoebes hunting for insects.

A female Mallard and her babies.

So cute!

We saw other creatures including this unidentified butterfly....

...and this small lizard.

Another look at the House Wren. I wonder what she is pondering.

Back at the homestead, I decided I'd better take some pictures of the yard. We are having storms almost every afternoon with threats of hail and tornadoes. A good hail storm and these flowers would be done. Bill says he hopes these pics are not the "before."

We like to keep the yard somewhat rustic as it draws more birds.

We are seeing more House Finches than anything else these days. Yesterday, I saw only one Cedar Waxwing - so the major influx has ended. We are seeing a couple of Lesser Goldfinches - but certainly not the quantity we've had some years. But we keep looking!

Palmer Park

Bill and I had the best hike in Palmer Park! We hiked the north side starting at the stables, up and around and back down. The temperature was in the 60's and it was perfect! But why didn't we pack a picnic lunch to eat along the way? Boy was I hungry by the time we got home. Bill's homemade gumbo tasted dee-licious!

We stopped to check in on this Northern Flicker. We have flickers that stop at the bird feeder in our backyard everyday. Yesterday, I saw four flickers together and assume three were fledglings. I wonder if this female has babies in her nest.



All during our walk we hear more birds than we see. The Towhees - which are abundant in the park - were singing back and forth.

Look at this beautiful - all natural - rock garden beside the trail. I love the high desert terrain.

I call this a cute little bunny but Bill calls it hawk bait.

Three White-breasted Nuthatches were searching this old log for insects. This one stopped long enough for me to get this picture - my favorite of the day. We also saw a Red-breasted Nuthatch, but he was too quick for me to get my camera focused.

Mr. Lizard was resting on a rock.

He must be a distant cousin to the alligators we saw in Florida. Look at that scowl!

It's difficult to tell in this picture, but this little Hummingbird was bright green.

I was pleased to see that the Black-headed Grosbeaks are still in the area. I just wish they were still in my yard!

Look at these beautiful wildflowers. I just can't get over how vivid the colors are this year.

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!