It is a sure sign that spring is coming when the male Goldfinches begin to develop just that bit of yellow beneath their beak. In a few weeks time we will watch his feathers turn and he will be wearing his breeding suit and become a brilliant lemon yellow.
Oh how Time marches son.
A male Gambel’s quail letting it be know he is a very available bachelor on a nice spring morning in western Colorado.
But then again with the sun out and the rain no longer pouring down this might be a Cormorants idea of a picnic.
A fine day for all.
A skier watching a duck watching a skier all surrounded by sun and steam.
Well, yes it is only March, and winter will be hanging around, but who can resist a splash of summer just a little before it’s time.
A flash of red moving in the canopy lead us to a beautiful Summer Tanager perched overhead. These birds are specialized hunters of bees and wasps. Catching them on the wing and managing to avoid getting stung and removing the stinger by rubbing thier prey on a tree branch prior to confining their meal.
Most of our encounters with the brilliant colored males were looking through dense foliage however once and awhile one managed to land in clear sight and in camera view.
A little splash of summer on a late winters day.
On a crisp and sunny February morning we spent some time watching a group of Crows playing around on an iced over lake. We were unable to tell what they were doing even after half an hour of observation. Could it have been looking for food, either embedded into the ice, or under it? Or were they just admiring their handsome reflections on the ice? Or who knows what. Anyway, it was fun to observe them walking ever so gingerly to avoid slipping around and peering into the ice for a reason we were unable to determine.
A little eye to eye with a Black Capped Chickadee on a chilly and snowy afternoon.
A Townsend’s Solitaire foraging for Juniper berries as February rolls along.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend.
Or mountain Women.
Make no bones about it, Mountain Chickadees are tough little birds. Surviving the northern winters while many other songbirds have migrated to warmer climates in the south.
A male Redheaded Duck enjoying the late afternoon sun on a chilly winter afternoon.
nature has no boss 
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