Eleven-mile SP photos

View of Rocky Mountains to the West.
Spruce trees growing on the rocks on The Point.
Root Loop still growing a tree

Prairie venture

My friend, Sandy, and I have done some exploring locally. We wandered thru the Pioneer Cemetery and looked at the gravestones. Many dated from the late 1800's and early 1900's. Pioneers had a hard life, coming to this wild land, building homes and communities.
A few days later we visited Eleven-mile State Park. The lake was still frozen and people were out there ice fishing. The north side of the lake is open dry grasslands. We hiked on the south side with Spruce trees looking like they had endured mountain winds, and many large granite boulders. I couldn't resist climbing some of them. Photos on the next posting.
Friday I drove south to the SE corner of the state, and into Kansas. The strong windstorm had blown over and the weather looked good. Saturday morning while the sky was still dark, I drove into Cimarron National Grasslands following directions to a lek. One car was already parked at the end of the road. We carried our 'scopes into the small viewing blind, and watched as the darkness slowly gave way to light. 6 Lesser Prairie Chickens were walking and displaying on their dancing grounds, the lek.
They erect black head feathers to look like horns, puff out orange air sacs on their necks, and raise yellow combs on their heads. Tail wagging, bowing, and jumping are also part of the display. It was exciting to watch them. Before sunrise 4 of the 6 flew away, as there were no females to be impressed with their dance moves. There was not enough light for my little camera to take photos.
I drove north thru the Grasslands listening to Western Meadowlarks and Horned Larks. A few Red Tailed Hawks sat on phone poles.
Photos of Deer that walk thru Sandy's yard often, and I finally found some pussy Willow catkins.

visiting Sandy

My friend, Sandy, lived in Florida when I first met her. We were room-mates at Grand Canyon-North Rim in 2009. Last summer she moved to Colorado, to a small town west of Colorado Springs. A few days ago I drove down from Greeley to visit. Her house is in a Ponderosa Pine - Aspen forest. The horse, Poncho, roams the yard at will, as do the cat and a small dog. The common squirrel in this area is a totally black Abert's Squirrel.
Yesterday morning I walked to the end of her road, and to the end of another short road. Bird list was: Mountain Chickadees, Grey-headed Juncos, Pygmy Nuthatches, Stellar's Jays, Robins, a Brown Creeper, Red-shafted Flickers, and a flock of Red Crossbills in the top of a Pine. That was exciting !! I haven't seen Red Crossbills in 4 years.
This afternoon Sandy and I drove east about 20 miles to Manitou Cliff Dwellings. Anasazi people did not live in this immediate area. The dwellings were constructed in the early 1900's as a tourist attraction using ancient stones from other collapsed Puebloan structures. Visitors are allowed to wander thru the rooms, climb up to the balcony, and take photos. For many years a summer event presented Native American dancers performing in a plaza.
......Photo of a Red Crossbill from Internet, not my photo. Photo of the reconstructed cliff dwellings is one I took this afternoon.

SPRING !!

The Meadowlarks are singing, Bald Eagles are nesting, and ice is melted off the ponds. Sun is warm in the yard where little green shoots are coming up thru the earth. So far we have identified daffodils, tulips, crocus, day-lillies, and rhubarb as little sprouts.
....Nearly a week ago I returned to Nebraska to witness migration on a large scale. Many hundreds of Sandhill Cranes taking off from cornfields, equal numbers of Snow Geese on the wing in huge flocks, and a few White-fronted Geese mixed in. I talked to a man at the little Nature Center in Wood River about Prairie-Chickens. He was the right person to ask, and directed to me an unlikely place north-west of Grand Island.
The weekend was incredibly windy, gusts 40 - 50 mph blew fiercely across the open landscape. Red-tail Hawks and Geese had difficulty flying. Cranes spent most of their time feeding in the harvested cornfields.
Monday morning the air temperature was 27 F, with the wind-chill much lower. I drove to the described location and looked around. Sure enough brown shapes were moving on a distant hillside. I set the 'scope up on the roof of my truck and had reasonable views of male Greater Prairie-Chickens displaying for a few brown speckled females. Very exciting.
My little camera doesn't photograph at that distance, so these are closer subjects, South Platte River, and Sandhill Cranes in a field.
.....Yesterday Nina and I drove into the mountains. The feeders where I saw Grosbeaks and Finches 3 weeks ago, are nearly free of snow. Spring melting is coming to the mountains as well.

Mountain birds

About 10 days ago I received the invitation from the Manager of Colter Bay operations. Would I come back to Grand Tetons Park for Summer 2012 ? Yes !! Its a long wait for May to come.
.......I joined the Boulder Bird Club on Saturday for a Tour of the Mountain Feeders. That morning in Boulder the wind was calmer and the sky was bright blue. Up the the mountains was a different scene; snow was blowing everywhere. Our first feeder stop was in Ward. A Clark's Nutcracker flew over and a female Pine Grosbeak sat in a tall Spruce. The 2nd stop was at a cabin. Brown-capped Rosy-finches and Mountain Chickadees came to seeds on a shoveled path. That was very exciting. In the small town of Allenspark we found Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Pine Siskins, and a male Cassin's Finch. The mountains were beautiful in their fresh snow blankets.
An Internet photo of Grey-crowned Rosy-finches, I did not take it.

Today we had the type of snowstorm my friend, Nina, likes the best. A few flakes fell for 5 minutes. My feeling is that if its not going to snow for real by this time, forget winter, let it Spring. We will look for green shoots coming up in the garden.

mid-February

Winter 2011-12 has been so different than last year. Wyoming had 300 % of normal snowfall in the mountains last winter. Yesterday I went to find winter.
Friday I joined a group for another snowshoe trip. We drove Hwy 14 just north of Rocky Mt Park into Colorado State Forest. Hwy 14 follows Cache de la Poudre River canyon up the eastern slope. Poudre River is still flowing, covered by a thick icy snowy layer. The Visitor Center is famous for the flocks of Rosy-finches coming to feeders behind the building. It was an amazing show. I have not seen such a big flock of Rosy-finches ever. 99 % were Gray-crowned, with a few Brown-capped. While we were snowshoeing the forest was very quiet.
Thursday morning I went to Poudre Learning Center for some volunteer work. They provide educational programs for school children in the Spring and Fall. High school students are allowed to do independent projects. Its still too early for the school groups so the Asst Manager sent me out to monitor the Bald Eagle nest and activity along the river.
A few days ago I received a phone call from the General Manager of Colter Bay operations at Grand Teton Lodge Company. He wants me to come back and work at Cabin Office for Summer 2012. I said Yes.
Photos from Friday along Poudre River. The full French name means "hide the gun powder," a reference to the early pioneer days when a large container of gunpowder was hidden in the brush along the river.

Winter birds

A Common Crane reported in Nebraska had us thinking, how would an Asian crane come to Nebraska ? Later I read that one has been found wintering in NE several times. The decision was made to drive into NE and find the Common Crane. The Platte River runs across the full width of Nebraska, creating a narrow riparian area with a few trees. Even in the winter it was pretty.
This Common Crane was foraging with the Sandhill Cranes in an agricultural area south of Wood River. Quite a remarkable bird with its black and white neck.
Today we drove south to Valmount Reservoir in Boulder. Fresh snow on the mountains was beautiful. Many Red-tail Hawks, 2 or 3 Ferruginous Hawks, and a juvenile Bald Eagle were sitting on phone poles along the highways. We found the Tundra Swan feeding on the reservoir. A NEW bird for Nina. Most of the duck ponds and marshes are frozen. Valmount has open water thru the winter because of the power plant discharging hot water into the resevoir.
The big snowstorm that hit Denver bought only 5 inches to Greeley, and less to Wyoming.

Photos by Nina of a Townsend's Solitaire in the bird bath with a female House Finch, and a Downy Woodpecker who ignores the peanut butter suet I made from them and eats out of the feeder.

.