From black to blue

On April 5, 2019April 2, 2019 By Mike and Christy9 Comments

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From tip to tail from black to blue.
Looking out into the last of the rapidly melting snow.
A Stellars Jay enjoys the spring sunlight filtering into the forest.

Have a great weekend.

Hello Junco

On April 3, 2019April 2, 2019 By Mike and Christy6 Comments

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Seed in beak a Dark Eyed Junco is a welcome visitor on a early spring day. Although quiet now in a week or two the shrubs along the road nearby will be filled with their calls. There is no stoping mother nature.

Dynamic Duo

On April 1, 2019 By Mike and Christy8 Comments

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Pine Siskins, always buzzing about in the tree tops letting you know when they are there. Sometimes you you see them and sometimes you don’t. Either way it’s wonderful experience and a great way to start the day. This dynamic duo perched upon a tree top just long enough for a quick photograph. Given the sounds a big group can make in a quiet forest it never ceases to amaze me just how little these guys are.

White Winged Crossbills

On March 26, 2019March 25, 2019 By Mike and Christy11 Comments

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A male White Winged Crossbill with meal close at hand.

Just a few weeks ago the forests we were visiting sang with the songs of White Winged Crossbills. Specialized beaks allow Crossbills to devour up to 3,000 pine seeds per day and the trails we skiied were littered with pieces of pine cone leftovers. Most of the time the birds were perched high up in the tree tops feeding, fortunately, every once in a while one came down into view.

What beautiful birds they are.

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Female White Winged Crossbill.

Pinyon Jay

On March 23, 2019 By Mike and Christy4 Comments

While getting ready to go for a hike a while ago we were pleased to have the company of numerous Pinyon Jays buzzing about in the parking area collecting seeds.

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Pinyon Jays are highly social birds of the lower mountain slopes of the western United States, the Pinyon Jay is specialized for feeding on pine seeds. Each jay stores thousands of seeds each year, and has such a good memory that it can remember where most of them were hidden.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pinyon_Jay/id

Now if only I could bottle that kind of memory and take a sip every morning I might never forget where I placed my keys.

Penitente Canyon, CO.

Hello…Quail Calling

On March 16, 2019March 6, 2019 By Mike and Christy10 Comments

A male Gambel’s quail letting it be know he is a very available bachelor on a nice spring morning in western Colorado.

Hairy

On March 8, 2019February 19, 2019 By Mike and Christy11 Comments

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A female Hairy Woodpecker visits an old spruce tree looking for a meal on a mid-winters afternoon.

Happy Friday and wishing you a wonderful weekend.

Horace returns

On March 6, 2019February 19, 2019 By Mike and Christy8 Comments

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While not the original Horace, a pseudonym we seem to have applied to most of the Ravens we meet along the way, his slightly muddy beak and side profile sent us on a trip down memory lane to the day we first met the original.