Happy Earth day.
Hope you all have a chance to get out and enjoy the wondrous beautiful planet we all live on.
And just as an experiment how about we make every day Earth day.
A male Ruddy Duck cruises the waters of Lake John near Walden Colorado showing off his wondrous blue bill.
Two Antelope…they can be just dots on the landscape or present in the foreground but either way Pronghorn make the western landscape complete.
Looking west from the Pawnee National Grasslands two Pronghorn graze far in the distance with the northern front range of Rocky Mountains as a back drop.
This time looking east from the sage lands of North Park two Antelope graze west of the continental divide.
April, 2017.
There is nothing that says spring has fully arrived like the Song Sparrows song.
With just a few leaves springing forth this Song Sparrow perches between singing their song.
We watched and mostly listened as this male Sage Thrasher sang his long and complex song from the top a the sage brush on a quiet dirt road near Walden, CO.
According to All About Birds “males have long, complex, melodic songs, with remarkable variety. The rambling series of phrases, often preceded by soft clucking notes, is continuous and interspersed with moments of repetition and mimicry. Songs can be very long indeed; one male was recorded singing for 22 minutes straight.”
While this guys song was not a whopping 22 minutes it did go on and on leaving me out of breath just listening.
A little Female Downey Head Woodpecker woking diligently on construction of a fine new home.
She frequently checked her work to make sure the hole was just right on all sides
Then quickly got back to work.
No hard hats required in this construction zone but a well adapted skull like woodpeckers have helps keep their brains working after a hard days work.
http://www.livescience.com/19586-woodpecker-skull-concussions.html
Curious sea otter saying hello while on a morning kayak in the Elkhorn Slough.
Bison….making the landscape complete.
Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife refuge.
They sing with all their song.
And sing it all day long.
On a quiet country road in the grasslands of eastern Colorado.
A little Prairie Dog stands tall to survy their surroundings on the Pawnee National Grasslands. He appears perfectly dressed for the dry grass this spring. Blending in well to your surroundings is a fine way to avoid those nasty Hawks and Prairie Falcons buzzing about overhead not to mention the myriad other animals and perhaps a reptile to two who night find the this little guy a fine meal.
http://www.defenders.org/prairie-dog/basic-facts
Pawnee National Grasslands, 2017.
We spotted this guy patrolling along an irrigated ditch on a quiet country road in last weekend looking for a meal. Such a wonderful and beautiful bird and I sure hope to spot a few more this spring just for the fun of it.
Weld County, CO.
nature has no boss 
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