Birds and Nature

The Green Heron in the top pic was feeding at the outfall of a stormwater pipe where it flows into the Arkansas River across from the Canon City, CO Riverwalk. There were also several Yellow-rumped Warblers feeding by sallying and even picking insects from the rocks at this same outfall. The Olive-sided Flycatcher was next to the Riverwalk bluff trail. And the Indigo Bunting was in the same area. It is always good to see Olive-sided Flycatchers as their numbers are dwindling. It was very overcast when I photographed the flycatcher and bunting so their pics are darker than the heron which had some sunlight to brighten that pic. SeEtta

Evening Grosbeak invaded Canon City, CO about 3 weeks ago and have been seen in varying parts of town. I have had them in my neighborhood which is near the Canon City Riverwalk and they are on the Riverwalk in very good numbers including this one feeding along the bluff trail yesterday. I have had 2 different residents on the north side of town, from more than one to about 2 miles from the riparian corridor, who described having these birds in their yards in the past 2 weeks. SeEtta

Here are two more pics of the White-eyed Vireo I found on the Canon City, CO Riverwalk yesterday. Both of these pics show the whitish throat and yellowish wash on it's flanks found on this species. I birded the Riverwalk again today and did refind this bird but only briefly as it was mid-afternoon by the time I made my way to it's location (lots of other enjoyable, though not rare, birds along the way). SeEtta

I found this White-eyed Vireo yesterday on the Canon City, CO Riverwalk. They are very rare birds in this part of Colorado. Though I see lots of them when I travel to So Texas, this is the first one I have seen not only on the Riverwalk but anywhere in Fremont County. The top pic shows the very distinctive white iris. The bottom pic shows the gray nape noted by Sibley as a one of the field marks for this species. SeEtta

When one is very still and quiet they can get intimate photos of birds like these I got this afternoon of one of the close to 2 dozen Western Tanagers I saw on the Canon City, CO Riverwalk in less than 3/4 mile of trail. The bottom pic is a super enlargement of the top pic and it is of sufficient quality that it can be enlarged even more by double-clicking on it. SeEtta

I found this beautiful Yellow-throated Vireo on the Canon City, CO Riverwalk this afternoon. A rare visitor here, it was busy foraging on an unusually cool (mid 40's) and very cloudy day for this area.

I watched this small (many Canada Geese have 6,8, 10 or even more goslings) family of Canada Geese traveling down the Arkansas River near the Canon City, CO Riverwalk last week-end. I found the shared 'rhythm' that the parents exhibited in their head and neck movements most interesting. Being the good parents they are, Canada Geese almost always swim with one parent in front and one in the rear with the children safely ensconced in the middle. SeEtta

I found this male Yellow Warbler on Saturday on the Canon City, CO Riverwalk as it got a few songs out in between mouthfuls of food. It was a very busy day on the Riverwalk so this warbler may have just arrived. Evening Grosbeak can be heard calling, loudly, in the background SeEtta Sorry that the pictures jiggles a little but if you have ever followed a warbler with binoculars you know it is a challenge to keep up with their almost constant movement and I am hand-holding the camcorder (I can't imagine how one could put the camcorder on a tripod because of the difficulty tracking them). If the picture is black, just click on the start button on the bottom right of the screen.