endings

I am leaving Denver.  Anthem announced a large number of  employee lay-offs across the company.  Many managers, Claims adjusters, Medicare workers, Customer service people, and others were laid off.  The official reason is  "reduction in staff for budget reasons."   Rumors point to the attempted merger with Cigna.  Anthem wanted to become the largest insurance company in the US by swallowing Cigna.  Negotiations did not go well, and the process was costing Anthem alot more money than anticipated.  So they announce lay-offs.  Then the US Justice Dept, the US Attorney General specifically,  blocked the merger.  Of course Anthem is appealing that decision.
     The corporate world has cast me off and no longer has need of me.  The mountains have quickly welcomed me back.  I was accepted at Mt Rainier Park in Washington-state for the remainder of the season.
     It is true, the best laid plans of anyone will go astray.  I did not plan on this, and my crystal ball is fuzzy.
     There is not much cell phone reception in the mountains, I will have an Internet signal for email.
Photos next time.

Avocet saga

Avocets had a long courtship at Belmar Park.  In early May I thought they might be nesting, so many times I saw them feeding together away from the island that I was not certain if eggs had been laid.  Then one week the  (likely)  male was chasing all other birds away from a section of the island shore.  Even a Great Blue Heron yielded its bit of shoreline to the insistent Avocet.  One morning I saw a tiny Avocet chick on the far side of the lake with adults nearby, who were chasing off Mallard families and Spotted Sandpipers.  The next morning I saw 2 tiny fuzz-balls with legs walking the shoreline, closely guarded by parent Avocets. 
A week later they were in a more accessible location and I could take better photos.  A few days later I could see only one chick feeding along the lakeshore. Parents were not chasing away other birds as they had previously.  When I returned from my niece's wedding I could not find any little chicks, altho the adult Avocets were still feeding in the lake.  So sad to see the nesting efforts not be successful.

Chicks have big feet from the beginning.

"Mom  where are you ?"

Walking across the mudflats with those big feet.

City Park rookery

City Park is big. This land includes the Zoo, the Denver Nature and Science Museum, an area for music performances, a few lakes, gardens and more.  Double crested Cormorants have been nesting in a set of Cottonwood trees on an island in a small lake for many years.  A larger lake has an island covered with shorter trees that serves as a nesting area for Snowy Egrets and Black-crowned  Night-Herons.
     Here is Mama Night-Heron with her 2 little heronlets.   (above)

Snowy Egret parent with 4 little Egret nestlings.

Some weeks later I returned to City Park to check on the nests.   3  mostly grown Snowy Egrets from that same nest are flapping their wings and demanding more fish from the parents.

A juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron calling from the brushy tangle of branches.

At a different lake a family of Wood Ducks stands together at the edge.

Mama Wood Duck watches.











All photos are taken with serious zoom on my camera and did not always focus well.  Branches do get in the way sometimes.