Tag: photography
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Cold wet weather forces birds to feeder
The last week has been cold and wet here along the Front Range. A bedraggled, while still handsome, male lazuli bunting landed on our feeder for a few moments. Male Bullocks Oriel dropped in, then almost immediately flew on. I usually see these birds in the foothills just west of my house, so he probably…
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Baby Owls have Fledged!
It’s official — all three of the baby owls that I’ve been watching have fledged. The owlets have left the nest! We found the babies and one of the adults in a tree across from their nest. I know it looks like one or two of them are hanging from the branches, but that’s just…
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Baby Owls Fledging … Sort Of.
I went back over to the green belt to check on the baby owls today. They are doing well, but two of them are a little reluctant to leave the nest. Mama and a big bundle of feathers, to the right, were spotted first. Mama kept prying up bark. My husband asked if it could…
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Baby Owl Day
You know how it seems like there is an official Day for just about everything? I’ve decided to officially declare this Baby Owl Day. Why? Because I finally got to see them! I’ve been told that there are three owlets in the nest. Here, I can only see two for sure, and then mama in…
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Upslope Storm
We’re having a classic wet, sloppy, snowy spring storm today. It started last night and is expected to continue through tomorrow. So far, we’ve gotten about 9 inches of very wet snow, with about the same amount expected through today. This is called an “upslope storm” because winds circling around a low pressure in the…
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Raven in Cottonwood Tree
I love ravens. I know, they have a bad reputation in some circles, but they are smart birds, and their behavior can be fascinating. My dogs told me about a raven in the cottonwood tree across the street this morning. For some reason, every dog I’ve ever had has gone into a barking frenzy whenever…
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Wonder Returns
When I started my blog, lo these many years ago, it was, in part, to celebrate that unexpected wonder around us. But it’s been a hard few years for all of us, and I just wasn’t feeling so wonderful. Yesterday I went out birding with Anne, one of the folks I met on my recent…
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2022 Pika Patrol Part 1
Every year, my husband and I look forward to hiking up to the high country to check on the pika that live there, as part of the Colorado Pika Projects‘ monitoring efforts. We’ve been doing it for five years now, but when pressed by friends as to what it is that we enjoy so much,…
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Butterflies Galore
I’m not really an expert on butterflies. But while hiking recently in the Front Range foothills , I saw so many of such varied species that I had to check into them a bit more. All these different butterflies are from just one hike. Females lay single eggs near violets. Caterpillars do not feed, but…
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Hummers Are Back
Hummingbirds are back! I was alerted to a hummer at our feeder by a distinctive ringing zip overhead. All hummers make a buzzing or humming sound that gives the birds their name, but only one hummer makes that metallic zip sound: A male broad-tailed hummingbird. A male broad-tailed hummingbird has an iridescent green back and…
Amy Law, Science Geek 