images as thoughts
This little guy was hanging out up in the tree tops munching on an old dried berry from last year with cobwebs clinging to the branches where surely leaves now reside. They were the first Chipmunk we noticed this spring and reassurance that winter had finally given way.
Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge.
Much to our surprise the big bird we spotted moving about in the cattails across the river was not a Heron but a fine looking Sandhill Crane. Well camouflaged and perhaps waiting for a meal to flow by.
A beautiful Cinnamon Teal pair making the most of a well placed log in the marsh. Time to preen and time to nap as the water floats on by.
A very well dressed Western Kingbird striking a nice 3/4 profile for the camera on a warm but slightly overcast morning.
A female Greater Sage Grouse making her home in the vast sea of sage near Walden, CO.
Ahhh…the return of the Yellow Headed Blackbirds and their wonderful squeaky-raucous chorus making a walk around the local wetlands a wonderful springtime ritual.
“With a golden head, a white patch on black wings, and a call that sounds like a rusty farm gate opening, the Yellow-headed Blackbird demands your attention.”
That description from the Cornell Lab of Orinthology pretty much sums up these wonderful birds. Every spring we sit, listen and love to photograph the males belting out their tunes. If you have never heard these guys sing it is a sound you will not soon forget.
It’s always nice to get a good look at a Brewers Blackbird either through the binoculars or the camera lens. They are anything but black and the button eye always brings a grin to my face. In fact all the black birds we have in our area are a joy to observe and anything but ordinary when you get a good peek at them. Go….blackbirds!
