Happy Father's Day Walk at Fountain Creek

It was an absolutely beautiful morning for a walk at Fountain Creek Nature Center. The sky was clear and the sun was warming the crisp morning temperatures.

Colorado Springs has had a difficult week with a couple of devastating wild fires. One of our major tourist attractions, the Royal Gorge Bridge Park was leveled - but the famous bridge remains intact with only slight damage. Black Forest lost almost 500 homes to the worst wildfire in Colorado Springs' history - but today the television stations have stopped their 24/7 coverage, the fire is mostly under control, and life goes on.

There seem to be more butterflies this year than we've seen in past years - and they are beautiful.

This Hairy Woodpecker was close to the start of the trail looking for breakfast.

The Swallows are plentiful. Can you see the little mouth looking for food?

What a nice Father's Day sighting! The baby Robin was out of the nest but papa was still bringing food.

...and the baby was most appreciative! Thanks Dad!

Our first Bullock's oriole of the season.

A Black-headed Grosbeak is always nice to see. We were serenaded by the many Yellow Warblers flitting in the tree tops, but they weren't in the mood for pictures today.

The twins were out having a drink...

...while mamma duck stayed close by.

As we headed back this beautiful Red-tailed Hawk flew overhead. The skies are beginning to darken and we are all hoping for rain - even thought it will bring the Father's Day barbecue indoors.

Out & About

Bill and I try to get plenty of exercise. I take a water aerobics class twice a week while Bill goes to the flying field, we're busy in the yard and we walk/hike/bird as often as possible. You'd think we be nice and thin - but our other passion is food. Bill cooks and I eat.

We didn't have to go far to see this juvenile Black-headed Grosbeak - he was right in the back yard!

An adult male Black-headed Grosbeak was close by.

The weather has been warm but extremely windy the last few days. Bill took this shot of Pikes Peak from the flying field (which here in Colorado Springs is the parking lot and yard of a local church). The snow is slowly melting.

 We've had several Spotted Towhees in the yard and we also see them in Palmer Park.

 

We've been back to Fountain Creek Nature Center. It's a great place to walk. The 2-mile loop is fairly flat for Colorado and passes through woods and by water. A Downy Woodpecker was busy looking for insects.

I wasn't sure what this was but I posted the picture on a Colorado Birding website and it was identified as a House Wren. I thought the wings and tail looked Wren-like, but the position of the tail and straight beak had me stumped.

 There were dozens of Yellow Warblers flitting around in the tree tops and positive identification is absolutely no challenge!

I've decided this is an Olive-sided Flycatcher but I'm open to other opinions.

 Belted Kingfishers are always fun to watch - but they are terrible to photograph. This was the best I could do with the sun shinning in our eyes.

More Yellow Warblers.

Today we headed to the Eastern Plains to see Bill's grandson play baseball. Afterwards we drove around. Even though we were only about 25 miles from home, we saw completely different birds on the Prairie.

This is a Horned Lark showing us how he got his name.

Where there is a wire or a fence, there is a Western Kingbird.

I hope no one was watching us when we spotted this guy - a Lark Bunting. He refused to stay still and we kept backing up the car, turning around, backing up again and turning sideways hoping for a decent shot. We followed him for about 20 minutes - and this was the best I could do.

But, the picture is good enough to check another bird off our list!

Fountain Creek Nature Center

I didn't see a barn - but I did see this Barn Swallow while walking at Fountain Creek Nature Center. They are so pretty!

Usually they are flying around so quickly, I can't get a shot!

This was a very pleasant surprise - A Western Grebe.

I'm pretty sure this is a Bank Swallow. Please let me know if you think otherwise.

...another view

Look at those long wing tips!

Teal, Blue-winged.

I certainly didn't expect to see this in Colorado - an Eastern Kingbird. Apparently, they overlap into the territory of the Western Kingbird - but it's a first for me.

Red-winged Blackbirds are plentiful anytime we are near water.

Another view of the Barn Swallow.

We often see Wild Turkeys - but I don't think I've ever seen so many Tom's looking for attention from the ladies. Too bad they were so far away!

Back to Palmer Park

Bill and I went for a short hike in Palmer Park. I'm still working to increase my stamina after hip surgery and the altitude here in Colorado Springs has slowed the process a bit; but, it was great to get out in the park again. 

We were amazed at the number of Black-headed Grosbeaks we saw and heard. I don't think I realized before what wonderful song birds they are.

This happy, happy male was singing his heart out.

The view of Pikes Peak from high up in the park is awesome. Note the amount of snow still on the top. I'm sure more will melt as the day progresses as it is already in the 80's.

 Scrub Jays were out in numbers. They usually sit on top of a pine tree.

I always love the Spotted Towhees with their bright red eyes and signature song.

We occasionally have towhees in the yard - but sightings are guaranteed in Palmer Park just around the corner.

For those faithful followers who never tire of bird pictures, I created a Picasa album with the birds from our recent Texas trip here: https://picasaweb.google.com/114212275063587599345/SouthTexasBirds?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLbczLW0-szTmAE&feat=directlink . Since this is my first try with a Picasa album, let me know if the link does not work, please.

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.