Birds and Nature

(Note: I have delayed posting as I have traveled by car to So Texas and I don't like to post my absence until the people who will stay in my house while I am gone are there. They have now arrived so I feel comfortable putting out the info publicly) I found very large numbers of Lapland Longspurs totally more than 300 northeast of Lubbock, TX. The close-up above is one of at least 200 Lapland Longspurs in several flocks in an agricultural field. The distinctive dark frame on the auriculars is easily seen in that photo. The birds in the middle and bottom pics are from a playa, one of few that have any water in it. I also saw Sandhill Cranes and white-cheeked geese in addition to about a hundred Lapland Longspurs. SeEtta

There are hundreds of both white geese (Snow and Ross's) that have been added to the thousands of dark geese (primarily Canada) in Pueblo County, CO. In the top photo there is a 'blue' goose (the blue phase) right in the center. Since it finally got quite cold, there is a limited amount of open water so I found that potpourri of geese and ducks all crowded into this pond. SeEtta

This is one of two Prairie Falcons I found today in Otero County, Colorado. SeEtta

I photographed this Bald Eagle in Otero County, Colorado this afternoon as I was listening to reports on the radio of the Sandy Hook tragedy. I would like to think those victims will soar on the wings of an eagle like this. SeEtta

These are photos from yesterday afternoon when the Tundra Swans were disturbed by a greedy photographer--they were not at the pond today and I doubt they will return. The impact that this one person had on these swans is demonstrated by the fact I observed these swans when a train went by, sounding it's horn as it crossed the busy intersection very near the pond--they didn't fly off, they just swam to the side of the pond more distant. I had to remember their exquisite beauty and gracefulness in the photos I took yesterday as they circled and circled, rising higher and higher, as they gained altitude as they flew away. SeEtta

I drove down MacKenzie Ave in mid-afternoon as I wanted to check to see if any more swans had been added. I spotted the birds taking off from the water so I quickly turned into the drive across from the ponds to take these photos. All 10 swans circled as they rose higher and higher, appearing to be gaining altitude to take off from here. I couldn't understand why they would leave at this time then I spotted a man with a camera that had been far back inside the private property on which he trespassed. He said he had flushed them but had gotten some very good photos. As can be seen by his camera in pic below, he only has a mediocre zoom lens and this guy is clearly an amateur photographer.  That sucks. I checked late this afternoon and they had not returned. Who knows how far these swans had traveled to find a pond where they could rest undisturbed. And the two that arrived today had little time to rest up. SeEtta

This morning I stopped across the road from the Valco Ponds where the Tundra Swans were. Due to warm temps and chinook (snow and ice eating) winds, the ice that had kept the swans closer to the road was gone and the swans were far back and difficult to see from the road. There looked to be more swans so I drove down the road looking for a better viewing location. That turned out to the the bridge over the Arkansas River. These pics were taken from the bridge looking northeast to the pond where there were now 10 swans, one of which was an immature. The bottom pic is a tightly cropped photo showing the immature closer up. SeEtta