Memorial Field Day

Some of the change I eluded to is my Mom is on her way back to SC as I type this...my sister M who lives in Greenville flew over rented an SUV that we filled to the max with all mom's things, we have made the decision to move her back to SC for now.  Sure do miss her but I'll be seeing her again soon! Meanwhile I spent my Memorial Day creating memories. 

I figured I'd hit...all of what I consider my local patches here,  Like Harvey Gap.  Right off the bat Clark's Grebe!! Yessir!  The photo is a little fuzzy but they were pretty far out on the water he/she was with a couple Western Grebes. 

#442 Clark's Grebe.

It's one of those things like the first time you see the Empire State Building you don't realize the difference between it and other sky scrapers till your eyes see it. Now I see the difference the bright orange bill the brighter white face, the duller back it's all there.   Of course this bird is rare for here but not unheard of...I saw reports from previous years and one on the Colorado list over at Rifle Gap last week so I checked there next....

BINGO! 

Another one!  Swimming with Westerns...(Clark's in the background) 

I did my little celebratory sound ca-ching, also around lots of Violet Green Swallows, 2 Eared Grebes too far for decent photos, I didn't stay long because I didn't want to have to buy a day pass...I had to return my library pass last Monday.  I wanted to check Fravert Reservoir next. 

Most of the ducks have moved on, had one mallard pair, one cinnamon teal maybe a mate in the reeds and one Gadwall also maybe a mate in the reeds...

There were more Bullock's Oriole's than ducks...

Also had lots of Western Kingbird, Red-winged Blackbird, European Starlings, Yellow Warblers, and tons of Barn Swallows around. 

PHOTO MISSING

Red-winged blackbird Female

E. Starlings 

with the long primaries, Western Wood Pewee

I moved over to Lions Park at the Rest Area to check on the birds there...

Black Headed Grosbeak

The 2 pairs of nesting Osprey are doing good.  One is feeding young and the other was still on her eggs when I went there on Memorial day I will check her again before I leave.  This nest is across the river and pretty far away but she is clearly feeding young. 

The cactus are all in Bloom....some yellow and some pink...

Had a spotted sandpiper down by the Colorado river that runs right behind the rest area....

And walking back to my van had this Wild Turkey in a tree...

I've got one more post I hope to get prepared and schedule to post sine I'm leaving on Thursday.  My letter C has been sticking lately so I hope I found all of the missing ones. 

I left my sister's on Thursday 5/31 So as you read this I am out there somewhere... my plan is to stay in Colorado for about 14 days, and drift from county to county mostly in the northern and eastern counties,  hoping to fulfill some of the gaps in my bird goal before heading east...I will update if I can make that happen...I have one more scheduled post to share with you...

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

Highline Lake Mesa County, CO

I like to try and photo the sign of a park, for 2 reasons one, it tells me what photos follow and to remind me where I was! This time I forgot to snap one of the official sign at the park entrance but I did take the trail sign..I drove to Mesa County and the town of Loma, it's only a stones toss from the Utah Border to Highline Lake State Park.  I hoped to find Burrowing Owls in this area they have been reported recently and it's only an hrs drive, but didn't  see nary a one!  But there was plenty of other good things to enjoy so didn't walk away empty handed.

                                                                          Site #5

Over in that clump of trees is the "crampground"...(pun intended) Yet again I arrive on a Holiday Weekend...Mother's Day!  I will be back for Mother's Day, this was Friday when I arrived...I'm only staying one night this time...I'll be gone by the time the generators kick in. 

Casey and I ended up in site 5 the last available spot! Thursday is not a good day anymore to find a camp spot unless you plan to boondock.  I really wanted shade tho....because in this area the public lands  is open arid and sunny.  It's perfect for Prairie Dogs and Burrowing Owls do take up residence. I'm sure some were hiding out of the wind in their burrows.  

  

This is 2 & 8/10 road, one BUOW was spotted on this fence line but on Thursday a dry hot wind blew so hard Horn Larks had trouble hanging on...riding the wire  was surfing a wave.

The road ends here at this bluff...an ATV could probably continue but I turned around...

There is no bad view here..and more prairie species of bird hanging out like the Western Meadow Lark. 

I'm supposing, I am not so worried to separate Eastern from Western in this case.  

  

This awesome desert prairie road is off Old Highway 50 and 6 and there is Public Land access here... McInnis Canyon National Conservation Area.  75,000 acres of wilderness!  I took the Sidewinder Road and was rewarded by this awesome wildflowers...

Mostly it's Orange Globe Mallow, and the pinky white specks are what I know as Mariposa Lilly and there was some blue, yellow, and white  tossed in as well none of which I know the name of. 

That dark spot is on my lens, it looks like smoke but its not...

It got hot so we headed back to the lake where cool breezes made it feel really nice.  This lady decided to fly a kite.. I decided to check the lake for birds...

A couple of Great Tailed Grackles entertained me with all those weird sounds and whistles they make; one sound reminds me of when cars crash on the highway...

In the morning after a fairly quiet night,  I drove over to the other side of the lake to make breakfast and enjoy the peace and solitude of a sun coming up behind clouds over the lake.  

Soon a few boaters came out to disturb the calm waters.  

Some quietly and eventually the not so quiet arrived.  

After breakfast I got things back in it's place and started birding along the laketrail and the coves.. four Bullock's Orioles came around...  

Flocks of mixed gulls came in, too far away for decent looks, but there was Franklin's, Ring Billed, California, and even a couple of big Herring Gulls in the mix. 

and a large flock (about 40 in total)  of Western Grebe with an Eared tossed in for flavor...

Overhead a large flock of what I assume to be White Faced Ibis flew over... the afternoon before a flock of about 75 did the same thing  they didn't land either. 

Northern Mocking with different mimics than what I'm used to hearing back east serenaded me. 

The upper end has a small lake called Mack Mesa Lake.  

Found three Snowy Egrets up there...

Barn Swallows not in large numbers like the Northern Rough Wing and the Violet Green Swallows over by the dam.  

In shallow dried mud a Killdeer was faking a nest site to draw me off and a small number of Spotted Sandpiper flushed away.  

In the afternoon I visited this area...

The wind picked up again so not much was out and about...had quite a few Lark Sparrows holding on and singing...

A nice Swainson's Hawk watched from atop...

...and up on this wire the Loggerhead Shrike. 

It really is a beautiful area to explore...
Casey and I made a couple of stops for him to get out and stretch and I explored a few rocky areas, sooo

very beautiful 

And that was my overnight trip!  The drive home was easy but tiring, and I was glad to be back...
Here is something from last week, a courtship video, a special moment between 2 courting Cedar Waxwings!

So much more is coming up....

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.