We went pika patrolling at Halfmoon Creek above Leadville this weekend, and I’m happy to say, I was wrong! Last year I said there would be no more pika at the site until a fire cleared the trees away from the talus. But this year, we saw one pika, and heard several. Not great, but more than I expected!

What’s more, they were very shy. I didn’t actually get a photo of a pika from the Halfmoon Creek site this year, so I’m showing one from the last time we saw a pika there — 2020!

This year, the best photos were on the drive back down the Upper Arkansas Valley …

There were several turkey vultures in the field next to the road, feeding on a deer carcass. Look at the size of this bird’s middle toe! I have no idea why it’s so long, but I’d love to find out.

A little further down was a field of sunflowers being feasted on by 30 or so yellow-headed blackbirds.

These birds evidently aren’t very common in the Upper Arkansas Valley, so I felt especially lucky to see them.

And across the drive from the blackbirds, a female hairy woodpecker was determinedly pecking at a woolly mullein seed stalk.

Can’t wait to see what next year brings!