Birds and Nature

When I looked through my binoculars at this nest today I thought the eagle wasn't on it as her head is so light and small--this nest is located more than 500 feet from the public road. Even at that distance I took the pics from inside my car and did not get so I didn't disturb the eagle. This nest has been used by Bald Eagles for a number of years as is evident by its' amazing size. The above pic provides a little perspective on the size of this nest. As I took the pic with a 210mm lens this pic is approximately 4X enlarged. This is in Crowley County on Colorado's southeast plains. SeEtta

I found these Lark Buntings that were part of a larger flock of close to 50 birds yesterday in Crowley County. Like in this group composed of males with 1 female, most of the Lark Buntings I saw were males with a few females. These are either gathering for migration or may have started migration. SeEtta

Field marks are shown in these pics including the large head (relative to the body), long tail (clearly very long on this bird), long tarsi (bare part of legs), tail feathers longest in center then proportionally shorter as they move to outside, tail pale gray banded with broad black bands with a broad white terminal band. Adult field marks also quite evident: dark grey crown, nape and auriculars paler grey, remainder of upper parts bluish/medium gray and underparts white with rufous barring. I believe this is a female as it has rufous auriculars. Double-click on each pic to enlarge them for close-up viewing. SeEtta

This is one of the two Cooper's Hawks I saw perched on the ground near a stock pond in Crowley County,CO day before yesterday. There were no trees nearby but this is (or was before it was converted to agricultural fields) grassland. Though I stopped by car well over a hundred feet away, both hawks flushed (likely because they get shot at a lot here) and this one landed in this narrow row of trees along a ditch that must get a lot of irrigation run-off as it had a lot of vegetation and clearly enough water to support the trees. SeEtta

I found this Red-tailed Hawk near the small town of Ordway, CO. Though it appears to be a Western ( caluru ) subspecies it has some features found in Harlan's ( harlani including a light supercilium and whitish color below and right behind the eye. It is necessary to enlarge this photo by clicking on it to see these details. It's tail also looks more like one found on Harlan's hawks. SeEtta

One of the Forster's Terns was still in it's breeding plumage (Alternate) as shown in these pics. The bird in the top pic was preparing to dive. SeEtta

Though common at lakes on Colorado's plains, these are fun birds to watch as they hover then dive straight into the water as shown in the bottom pic. The bottom pic is a little fuzzy but clicking on it provides a nice view and the top pic enlarges well. SeEtta

I drove down to lakes north of LaJunta and Rocky Ford, Colo for awhile yesterday. My very elderly dog has been quite ill and this was the first chance I have been able to go very far with him (I have to give him meds every 6 hours and can't leave him for long). I found 3 Forster's Terns diving around the edges of Lake Henry including this one that is now in Basic (winter ) plumage. SeEtta

I photographed this Vesper Sparrow this week in Crowley County, Colo on the eastern plains in the company of several other Vesper Sparrows. It's rufous lesser coverts are visible, a feature rarely visible on perched birds. Visible field marks are darkly outlined cheek patch, distict white eye-ring, conspicuously streaked back. SeEtta

I saw this little owl earlier this week when I made a quick trip down to the Rocky Ford, CO area. Burrowing Owl's large eyes take up most of their face. Those sultry looking eyes are probably what makes them so appealing to us. SeEtta