Last Sunday the wind was blowing hard but that did not deter these little Tree Swallows from spending their day looking for a suitable summer residence and it sure seemed like box 29 was high on their list of desirable homes.
The competition was high and words of caution we flying as freely as these swallows glide through the skies.
A quick resting spot on the roof was in order and acceptable to both shoppers at box 29.
Photographed on a very windy morning at Hutton Lakes NWR, near Laramie WY.
All puffed out and looking a wee-bit sleepy a Golden Crowned Kinglet rests after a cold winters night just a month or so ago. Mainly a bird that resides in the tree-top and is always on the move it was nice to get a glimpse of them resting down low. I bet the cold winters morning slowed them down this day.
Sitting in the tree-tops with a group of Pine Siskins and other small song birds was a beautiful looking small bird we decided was a female Hoary Redpoll. She was at the southern edge of her winter range and it was a pleasure to get a glimpse of her before she returns to the high arctic tundra for the summer.
No matter how often and for how long, seeing American White Pelicans on alpine lakes in Colorado and Wyoming, in the Sandhills of Nebraska or just in the City of Denver always seems just a bit odd. One of those things you experience over and over and should register as normal but just isn’t. Anyway, this good looking Pelican is perched on Lake John on a cloudy and cold spring day near Walden, CO.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Female White Winged Crossbill.
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.
A male Gambel’s quail letting it be know he is a very available bachelor on a nice spring morning in western Colorado.
nature has no boss 
You must be logged in to post a comment.