One of our favorite places to go not too far from our home base is the grand Mesa Wilderness. It’s only about 1/2 hr to the exit off I-70, then about another 1/2 hr all of the way to the top. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a lot of fun stuff from the canyon floor to the Mesa vista to see … to the contrary, there are subjects to see all along the way. On this couple of days in late spring, I thought I would share some fun images.
I was speaking to someone today about birds that you see in one locale (i.e. state) that you don’t in another … such birds are what I call “ho hum” birds … the ones that are quite plentiful. See, when i lived in south Florida, I loved to see white-crowned sparrows, since I didn’t see them all of the time … or hardly there at all. Here we see them pretty much all over … and in all stages.
Then there’s the pine siskin … a never seen (usually) bird in south Florida, but another uite common bird in the western Colorado geography. I have been having a great time photographing them.
The western kingbird is a beautiful flycatcher, which is common here and known to winter in south Florida … that doesn’t mean that I’ve photographed one there … for I wasn’t known for my knowledge of “non-raptor” birds. LOL
Some birds which migrate through Florida during migration, actually spend their summers here in Colorado … such as the beautiful yellow warbler. 
During the summer, they nest here and that’s when my skills as a bird ID’er really get challenged … fledglings are seemingly everywhere.
I absolutely love the yellow-dumped or Audubon’s warblers. They have the most striking combination of black, gray, and white, with a sprinkling of beautiful yellow as well (this is the male).
Speaking of beautiful … the lazuli bunting summers here as well and it’s quite a thrill for me to see it when I’m out and about. I was fortunate even to get a few who visited my back yard feeder.
Singing birds are such fun to encounter as well.
Not only do we have western kingbirds, but we also have eastern kingbirds (OK, truth be told I THINK that this is an image of one … but even if it isn’t, we do have them).
Of course, my favorite of all types of birds are the ones in the raptor heading. All kinds of raptors … from hawks to owls to eagles to falcons and everything in between. Prairie falcons are quite fascinating raptors in the falcon family. We never had them in Florida, so I’ve learned a lot about them lately. It nests on cliffs and can often be found there or searching for prey on the prairies.
The most common raptor we have is the red-tailed hawk. Contrary to belief not all red-tailed hawks actually have red tails, but you can be pretty sure if you see a red tail, that’s what it is. Other clues are things like belly bands and patterns on the back of the birds when perched.
Wait a minute … now that’s not a raptor or even a bird. Actually when up on the Mesa, Tom enjoys flying his RC glider sailplanes. LOL. It’s always fun to hear people talking about it when they see it flying about.
Of course, the Mesa is not only birds. In fact, there are lots of wildlife species up there too. There are smaller animals such as the squirrels and the chipmunks … which have been quite habituated.
Several times we’ve also encountered some nice healthy-looking coyote. It always amazing me how they freeze their action when spotted until they assess that you’re not a threat … at which time they go about their normal day and hunting.
Then there are yellow-bellied marmot and in the late spring, there are lots of them. Both adults and their young can be found scurrying about. Of course, the interactions of the young are simply fabulous to observe. Sometimes their play fighting takes on quite the realistic look. LOL
Like pika, young marmot gather up grasses and run their payload into the cracks and crevices of the rock piles they live in.
Then there’s the nighttime skies over the Grand Mesa. Trust me, it gets pretty dark up there and it’s fabulous to take in some astro photography up there. If not, you can still enjoy the millions of stars and the Milky Way as it rises over the night sky. The perfect way to end the day … or I should say night … on the Mesa.
Next Up: A favorite Colorado pastime in the autumn
© 2018 TNWA Photography / Debbie Tubridy
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I was fascinated by the lines in the groomed sand. It was a bit chilly so I passed on the sand in the toes thing … besides which sand in my toes wasn’t always a pleasant memory for me. LOL
We took the opportunity to re-visit Ecola State Park nearby … off the Tillamook Head. We found that while the views were just as beautiful, the landscape of the seaside slope had changed quite a bit and places that we had explored in the past were now too unstable to safely pursue. We learned that last winter storms had caused the deterioration by heavy and high seas.
While we search for various shorebirds … I really was on a quest for 2 in particular … black oystercatchers and tufted puffins. Of course, that didn’t stop me from photographing this lovely whimbrel.
So off I went to Cannon Beach again … towards Haystack Rock.
Close attention must be paid to the tidal tables, so that one can get close to the nesting colonies of birds. After some time and patience, I finally spotted a black oystercatcher.
Contrary to the American oystercatcher found in coastal Florida (as well as other select areas), the black oystercatcher is just that … black plumaged (as opposed to the black and white plumage).
I was quite excited to see the mated pair of black oystercatchers too. They are known to the area and have bred successfully in that locale. They are year-round residents on the Pacific coast.
I found myself quite fascinated with their brightly colored beaks and their bright yellow eyes with that notable bright orange ring around it. 
This pair was getting ready for their breeding season. They build their nest among rocks or grass on inaccessible areas of cliffs or islands … just above the high tide lines.
I found this one in a quite interesting position in the rocks. Must have been signaling that it was ready for action. 😉
They would fly in and out, though always returning to the same general area.
They would spend some of their day preening themselves, as well as searching for food.
Of course, the rock formation was home to many other birds as well, such as the cormorants. I could be wrong, but I believe this one to be a pelagic cormorant.
Then I saw these birds flutting around in a fast and furious manner … though from the backside of the rocks. At first, I really didn’t pay it much attention at all, then I decided to take a closer look through my binoculars. To my surprise, and delight, they were tufted puffins!
Again, being nested on the other side (i.e. inaccessible) of the rock, I couldn’t get very amazing shots by any stretch, but I did manage a few fun ones. Yep, they were speedy ones for sure.
All of a sudden, I heard major squaking and commotion going on. A pair of gulls seemed to be having a great time on the cliff.
Apparently she had enough and reached back to bite the neck of the male.
Meanwhile getting back to the black oystercatchers foraging around on the tidal floor of the water moist rocks searching for mussels and limpets.
Such beautiful birds and I was tinkled pink that I found them.
A coastal storm started rolling in, so we called our time just a little bit short of what the tide would have mandated. Back to our cabin along the coast … grabbing some images along the way.
There were so many beautiful blooms around town as well. I turned into an iphone photographer at that point on my way to dinner. LOL
Before we entered the restaurant, we took one more long glance at the setting sun … gosh it was so beautiful and the perfect way to end our stay.
Well what a beautiful sunset … and a wonderful Citrus Mule to seal the deal! Until the next time ….
The male blue grosbeak is another that is easily spotted and identified in good light. Its behavior of feeding is quite similar to that of orioles. It’s quite a beautifully colored bird.
Though I can’t identify birds by their songs and sounds to save myself, that doesn’t mean that I don’t try. LOL. Often I hear songs that I believe are one species … only to find a northern mockingbird instead. They are the masters of mimickery (is that even a word?) for sure. I always wonder why a bird named “northern” would be primarily found in the south … right? It’s the state bird of 5 states (Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, and Mississippi) … those aren’t even remotely “northern”. Go figure.
Another beautiful bird that we never had in Florida is the lark sparrow. I personally love its striped head and social nature. An interesting fact about lark sparrow is that when on the ground, they only hop around, as opposed to walk around, when they’re in courtship mode, which in itself is quite fascinating. Love this one with its “bonus bug” in its beak.
There are many different types of swallows here on the western slope, including the ever-abundant barn swallow, whose range is almost the entire lower 48 + AK + Canada and Mexico. They have deeply forked tails and the females tend to prefer those males with the longest tails … I guess that (tail) size does matter! LOL 
Northern rough-winged swallows have a similar geographical range. They are pretty much less colorful or striking to view as the others. This pair I would see on the same branch almost every time I looked. 
I’ve had quite the hummingbird education since I’ve been in Colorado. In my backyard, the black-chinned hummingbirds are my most common hummingbird visitors. I saw my first hummingbird nests and was astonished to see just how very tiny they are. Did you know that this species’ nest can also expand to accommodate the growing nestlings? Now that’s amazing to me!
The water birds can be fun to photograph as well. Two of them are my personal favorites for this area. The American avocet is quite beautiful with the daintiest long curled upward beaks ever. 
Another favorite of mine are the killdeer … which you will undoubtedly hear long before you see them scurrying about. Such characters they are … and quite beautiful as well.
Now, of course, anyone who knows me knows that birds of prey are my favorite birds. This amazing Cooper’s hawk is just one of many that call my area home.
During the late spring and summer, we also get Swainson’s hawks. When they call out, to me, they sound just like red-tailed hawks and their call is sure to make your hair on your neck stand up. LOL
Being from Florida I was quite used to reptiles (lizards, alligators, non-native iguanas), but here we have numerous species of our own lizards.
My favorite one is the collared lizard, which I was in search of and when I finally found one, I stopped in my tracks. I was so impressed with their colors and patterns in their skin.
They’re also quite tolerant of the observer … but rest assured I photographed these using my car as a blind because I was so excited and really didn’t want to alter it from sunning itself.
I’m also quite impressed with those long claws … such fascinating creatures too. When the mom lays her eggs, she leaves and the young emerge having to fend for themselves right from the start. Amazing, huh? Can’t wait until next spring/summer to see more!
Hope that everyone enjoyed this week’s post. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment if you would like.
That’s right … the Grand Valley Audubon Society, who incidentally had the highest record of western screech owls in the U.S. in 2017, was going to be visiting some known nests in the area and banding the mom and the young owlets. Most of the owls were from owl boxes that the Audubon group or residents had erected to promote good environments for them to breed in and raise their young.
One of the coolest things to me was that this event focused on youth and so lots of children were in attendance. I remember thinking how cool this would have been for me as I was growing up. Once the owls were gathered, they would examine them for age, past banding (if applicable), etc. Records are kept to aid in the scientific studies of the species.
When one of the moms was held, Kim (the biologist who was banding them) educated kids and adults alike on many things, including the “brood patch” which is evident when mom is caring for her very young … keeping them warm.
The young owlets, of course, were a bit unaware of what was going on, but they didn’t seem to mind too much.
Once a band was placed, that number and location would be recorded on the record sheets.
Each owlet of the brood would take their turn in banding and would then get huddled up together for security and warmth. Here you can see 5 babies … which was a new one for me.
Could these sweet little faces be any cuter?
Mama would always keep a close eye on her young and though seemingly irritated at first, would calm down in no time.
It was interesting to me to see the variation of number of young at each nest and also the timing of their new arrivals … as some were clearly older or younger than others.
One thing was for sure … they were all adorable! Look at those iconic lemon yellow eyes and all of that down looking feathers. I was in heaven as I happily snapped off images at each stop.
Yes, I was bitten by the western screech owl bug for sure! Can’t wait to do it again next year. ❤
Hope that everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. I would highly encourage any of you owl-lovers out there to take advantage of any programs that you might have in your town to spend some time with this worthwhile educational event. Be forewarned though … you might just have your heart melted. 🙂
Early in the season, both parents are often found at and above the burrow. Sometimes they’re coughing up pellets …..
….. sometimes they’re simply spending some much needed time preening themselves …..
….. sometimes they’re staring upward towards the sky looking at predators, other flying birds, planes, insects, or the errant helium balloon.
After a call is issued to dive into the burrow, they eventually emerge … cautiously I might add. The owl on the left is one of the parents, while the other is a young owlet which is obviously a bit more timid and cautious.
You may have noticed a slight difference in the color of the eyes in the adult and young in the above image. See, while burrowing owls usually have the traditional lemon yellow eyes, they don’t always. As you can see below, sometimes the adults or the owlets have very dark (almost alien looking) eyes. It’s not that the younger owl dark eyes will change, it’s just how they’re born. I find both to be so fascinating … as well as the variety of variations in between. 🙂
The young owlets are quite the inquisitive bunch … and you can almost see their minds working as they try to figure out the significance of everything that they see.
This trio is all from the same burrow and much like our own children can have different eye colors, so can these owls … all from the same set of parents. I just love how they tend to follow each others focal point.
Burrowing owls, as their name implies, make their homes in burrows on the ground. Now that I live in Colorado, which also has burrowing owls (more on that later), an obvious difference between them is that in Florida, these owls dig their own burrows in the grasses. In Colorado, they make residence in abandoned prairie dog burrows. They are also residential in Florida, while transient in Colorado, though they raise their young in both.
The stare of any owl is quite intense and powerful and these little guys are no different.
What seems like silly antics in these owls are actually how they see and interpret their world. They perform these extreme head twists in an effort to triangulate coordinates, distances, etc.
One of the most endearing moments is that when the young owlets are interacting with the adults, such as this moment of the mom feeding a worm to its young. Such patient parents.
It’s usually not long before the young owls are out and about and testing their own skills for securing their own food. Soon they will be on their own and obviously that’s a very important life skill.
Looks like this one was pretty successful in tearing into its meal and devouring it.
Each owl has its own personality and believe it or not, the observer can tell them all apart for the individuals that they are. I mean, how could anyone not love these cuties?
While mom plays more of a role feeding the young the food that the dad hunts down, the dad sometimes needs a break and retreats into a nice shady tree for some rest, relaxation, and mainly quiet time. LOL
Yes the life of a burrowing owl is quite an interesting one … and whether they’re warm and dry … or wet and soggy as this one is … their expressions are endless and personalities varied, but they all are pretty social and definitely ADORABLE!
I hope that everyone enjoyed the burrowing owl images … I do have one more installment coming up in the near future.
People tend to ask when the best time to visit there (or anywhere else for that matter) … well, it all depends on what you’re looking to find. We didn’t pick our visit time for any particular reason, other than that’s when we were on holiday. 🙂 Of course, springtime is always a pretty safe bet if baby birds are on your agenda.
While there were female wood ducks and young ones in tow, I tended to concentrate on the striking males.
Speaking of striking males, the cinnamon teals were also present … male and female … but the most photogenic were again the males.
I just love the way the frothy waters and floating feathers ornamented this beautiful one.
There are lots of hiking trails along the way and quite a few bird boxes, some affectionately labeled as “Apartments”. Nice to see some tree swallows making good use of them.
They were also plentiful outside of their nesting homes as they flew around in search of bugs and other dining choices. So very beautiful they are.
It wasn’t just tree swallows either … quite a few barn swallows had nested in the rafters of some of the gazebos in the area.
Of course, no Canada trip could be complete without some Canada goose and their goslings swimming by us. I just love how the young ones are usually bookended by the adults. LOL
Along the boardwalks we found several spotted towhees feeding seeds left by the tons of visitors that had come by before us. I just love that red eye of these quite beautiful sparrow-like birds.
A beautiful song sparrow was spotted as it darted through the marshes. Thankfully it pause long enough for a few snaps of the lens.
Singing away so beautifully was this adorable marsh wren, also spotted in the marshes and very cooperatively perched on an open reed. Just love the way their tail feathers stand up like that.
There was also a pair of sandhill cranes who were nesting there. They reportedly had nested earlier in the season and lost their eggs, but re-nested soon enough. Hopefully they became proud parents of a baby colt or two just a few weeks later. 🙂
Nearby the sanctuary, we found this beautiful great horned owl, which had 2 fledgling owlets perched high up in the trees as well. Try as I might, I couldn’t get a clear shot of them. Ugh.
Of course, being in British Columbia (near waters) bald eagles were numerous. We were thrilled when this pair flew overhead past us.
At another nearby park, we came across a absolutely stunning red-breasted sapsucker. Often one might find rufous hummingbirds near these woodpeckers which drill sap wells in the riparian trees, but we just saw this guy who entertained us for quite some time. Such a gorgeous bird!
Well, that’s just a sampling of the various birds we found during our stay in British Columbia. Before I close, I’ll leave you with one more image. 🙂
Hope that you enjoyed that …
Before long, another appeared over the dirt berm and my heart began to skip a beat.
To witness such sweetness makes it difficult for me to photograph. I want to stare directly into it mesmerizing eyes and follow that up with squeals of delight. Look at that dirty nose, indicative of the rooting around that it had been doing.
Wasn’t sure how it would react to me, as I respectfully kept my distance, though never let it willingly out of my sight. I think it was a contest of intrigue and curiosity of the other. I absolutely loved that it showed no fear whatsoever with my presence and continued to act so naturally.
Birds flew about and called out periodically, which made the fox kit turn its attention to them as well.
Before long, the two began to attempt at playing, which furthered my happiness. There’s nothing as wonderful to me when photographing wildlife as to have them acting like the young kits that they were … much like bear cubs or owlets, their entire day is filled with learning about their environment and other life lessons that will serve them well. Of course, there’s always time for playfulness too.
It was all I could do to keep my excitement to myself when I was met with stares like this.
As 2018 progressed, I had other fox kit encounters … so much so that it felt like it had become the year of the fox for me … that is, until I returned to Alaska recently. LOL
I really hope that everyone enjoys the little fox kits … for there are so many more to go. Until then, I look at this image and my heart reignites. Any other fox lovers out there?
Common terns also call my new area home and often seen flying overhead.
One species that we never see in FL (I guess one should never say “never”) are the western grebes. These birds tend to summer with us and are quite beautiful, especially with that red eye that they possess.
American wigeon taking off across the lake.
Of course, raptors pass through in numbers too. Take the American kestrel for example … always flying by seemingly in such a hurry.
Along the water’s edge one can find an assortment of shorebirds, such as this wonderful spotted sandpiper.
Up in the trees, yellow warbler congregate as they flutter in an out of the branches.
Western kingbirds are quite the noisy bunch and difficult to miss when they are present. 
This male black-headed grosbeak is a routine visitor as well.
While a western kingbird is a type of flycatcher, we also have ash-throated flycatchers. I just love their head feather crest.
Of course, closer to home, I can always count on the house finch, as well as a variety of other sparrows and finches. We had so many outdoor cats in our neighborhood in FL, so we never did the bird feeders, but we have here … and also the bird bath fountain, which is a personal favorite of mine to observe. 🙂
Next up: 3 letters … beings with “f” and they get me quite excited when I see them.
Greater sage grouse (centrocercus urophasianus) are the largest species of grouse. They reside in the sagebrush environment and during the spring, they congregate – males and females – on ceremonial mating grounds called leks, which they return to year after year.
Males would sometimes confront each other almost seemingly sizing each other up.
The females would gather in the center of the action, as if to judge the displays of the males.
It’s incredible to witness this display, as the males transform themselves into a semblance that one wouldn’t recognize just hours earlier. 
Basically, the males perform mating rituals on the lek through strutting displays. The more dominant males gather on the inside of the lek “circle”, where the females are hanging out.
….. then its yellow eyecombs follow, along with its “ponytail” filoplumes.
As the male begins to strut, he inflates a pair of yellowish throat sacs, which are underneath its white breast feathers. 
An incredible popping noise is audible … which we became very attune to in knowing when the press the shutter. 
Then the courtship dance ritual is repeated over … and … over … as many as 6-10 times per minute for an incredible 3-4 hours daily.
On this particular day, there were about 47 males on the lek, courting approximately 11 females. The more dominant males would enter the center of the lek, where the females were congregated, while the younger and thus less dominant males would strut their stuff further outside the inner circle, unlikely to get noticed.
They say that 80% of the females mate with the dominant or alpha male, while the next male in line mates with the remaining 20%.
Then, with no warning it seems, the party is over and they revert to their pre-mating ritual selves … and fly away!
Once they have all vacated the lek area, it’s safe for us to emerge.
As I gather up my belongings, I can’t help but think back to the privilege I had just experienced in watching the Greater Sage Grouse. 
Their numbers have been declining overall due to loss of habitat (secondary to a number of reasons) and efforts to get their protections that they desperately need via the Endangered Species Act have been unsuccessful. I sure hope that one day everyone can have the privilege to witness their amazing courtship/mating dance for themselves and appreciate their instinct in returning to the lek year after year. Please read up on these amazing creatures and assist in protecting them for generations to come. Thanks.
It wasn’t just the deer either … we came across several groups of wild turkeys. It was such a cool sight to see this tom turkey chasing one of his ladies. LOL
The herds of elk were much more elusive and stayed relatively higher except for a herd that was crossing a field down low.
One of my favorite sightings is a northern harrier (as some of you know) so when I saw these two fly by, soaring over the field, I was thrilled. Funny, but to me they almost seem to be holding hands … or should I say … wings. ❤
Other birds witnessed along the way were the ever abundant horned larks …
… and a personal favorite of mine, the American dipper. 
Once we arrived into Walden, we drove around the area to see what we could see. Canada geese were plentiful everywhere, and it was quite a thrill to see several northern pintails.
In addition to that there were also northern shovelers… so very pretty.
Pied-billed grebes were also plentiful … and they were sporting their breeding plumage.
Then the white pelicans flew in and sort of stole the show. In Florida, we got our share of white pelicans, as well as brown pelicans, but we never got the white pelicans in their breeding plumage. See the horn on their bill? That is present when they are ready to breed and then afterwards they lose them.
The pelicans worked with much effort and speed to feed in the waters.
Probably one of the more interesting observations with these pelicans was the interaction between 3 of them. One was clearly in the lead and when it would change course, the two immediately following changed course. The two following would also get quite aggressive with each … challenging and snapping beaks.
Finally, one of the two grabbed the first one by the neck and thrashed it left to right and then eventually straight down into the water, while the other simply watched. Not sure what that was about … but I have my hunch. :-O
Later the two were swimming together notably alone. I just love how for “white birds” they are quite colorful and full of detail.
Driving down a dirt road, we came across this lovely hawk. It was calling out repeatedly in what could only be compared to as a red-tailed hawk call. However, this wasn’t a red-tailed hawk, but rather a Swainson’s hawk. It was then that I realized how similar their calls sounded. It was quite persistent too … calling over and over.
During our travels we came across a pair of American kestrels, which I believe might have been beginning to prepare their nest. The pair were flying around and announcing their territory. Isn’t the male just gorgeous?
Now one of the star raptors always is the golden eagle and there was no shortage of them. Quite beautiful in flight as they make their way past us over the landscape.
Being that Tom and I have been doing a lot of raptor observation lately, I knew right away from its field marks, that this was indeed another golden sighting.
Of course, there were a variety of birds spotted throughout the sagebrush landscape.
Some were even showing off for the camera. 🙂
We then headed back to the lake and found several otters playing … of course, they were a bit camera shy and headed out for a more distant view.
We also found muskrats and beavers in an adjoining waterway. The surface of the water was like glass and as such the beaver’s head had a perfect reflection whether it was coming or going.
Well you can’t come to Walden and not look for moose, right? OK, so we did eventually do that, but at first I had to get some beautiful mountain bluebird poses and images. Is there any prettier bird out there?
So we did finally get our moose sightings … about 5 if I remember correctly. Early spring moose are not that exciting, as the bulls have already lost their antlers and re-growth hasn’t started. Also, they tend to be more secretive and deep into the brush foraging for food.
The sunset was also fabulous and I think, the perfect way to end this blog post. There was so much seen and photographed. Too much to include everything in this post, so forgive me for not sharing it all. Yes, Walden is a magical place.
TNWA Photography 