Birds and Nature

As I sat quietly waiting for the Least Bittern at Holcim Wetlands this rather disheveled Rock Wren 'appeared' by a log less than 10 feet away. It seemed curious about me and kept hopping out from the safety of the log coming within only about 5 feet. My little dog was lying beside me but the bird seemed indifferent to him,maybe because he was lying still also. From the looks of this wren it is molting. After hopping around for several minutes it flew off away from the wetlands and towards the RR tracks--the only location nearby with rocks is around the RR tracks. Maybe the wren had gone down to the wetlands for a bath. I cropped the top pic in order to produce the super close-up in the bottom pic (very fine details can be seen by clicking on the bottom pic then clicking on it again). SeEtta

I had to post these close-up's of the Rock Wrens I photographed near Canon City. Though I was hand-holding my camera, I got good enough pics to crop them for big enlargement. And they are good enough to enlarge more by double-clicking on them. SeEtta

Though I don't know of any relationship to the previous post about birds wintering further north related to Climate Disruption (better term than Global Warming or Climate Change), Canon City has had wintering Rock Wrens at Tunnel Drive for some years. This is noted in "Colorado Birds" that was published in 1992. And it has been my experience at least for the past 10 years. This pic is one I took of a Rock Wren I found at Tunnel Drive. Double-click on it for a nice close-up. Tunnel Drive is an area right at the mouth of the Royal Gorge canyon just on the west side of Canon City. The Arkansas River flows just south of the location while the foothills begin here. This area also is the site for Rufous-crowned Sparrows that are resident here. This species is usually found in the southwest United States and only found in 3 other Colorado locations, all in southeast Colorado over a hundred miles from here. SeEtta