FALL 2013

Several people have nudged me nicely about my failure to update this blog.  My bad.  This then will be a long one, with a retrospective of the summer.

JUNE 2013 

I had another robin's nest right outside my dining room window.  I blocked that side of the yard so AJ couldn't terrorize the mom and babies.  They all made it just fine, but I was pretty nervous those first few vulnerable days they were out of the nest.  Robins don't exactly "fledge," but rather they walk around on the ground and get their bearings for a bit.  Two of them camped out on my front porch before they finally took flight and joined a big flock of them in the pine trees behind my house.

I've been doing some exploring on the country roads nearby and I came across this guy with some others including youngsters.  He was not happy with me and gave me the stink eye the whole time I shot photos.

I found an area with a bald eagle nest (another one!) and these two friendly horses close by.  A bit frustrating to photograph because of the wires, but you can see two adults in the trees and there were two chicks who successfully hatched.

 



This isn't a great photo but shows the vigilance of the parents in watching over their chicks and the size of the nest.

 

JULY 2013

July brought even more wildlife and afternoon rain, a welcome and frequent event in NoCo.

 

A beautiful double rainbow.

 

Timmy's mischief making continues.  Here he is, caught in the act of making a big mess with the seed I needed to patch some spots in the lawn.  His response to me reminded me of this kitty's reaction to being accused of wrong doing:

 

Sydney and Chicken continue to flourish as best buddies at The Gabriel Foundation (TGF).  Here they can be seen doing their a cappella singing routine.  It's hard to understand their language sometimes, but I suspect they are singing about white birds - pajaros blancos son bonitos!

 

This blue and gold macaw is a favorite of mine at TGF.  His name is Arthur and he is quite a feather picker, but beautiful nonetheless and so interactive with people.  He enjoys the special treats I bring him.

Pepe Juan Carlos continues to stay with us when his moms go on trips.  He and AJ are hilarious together and he fits right in with the cats as well.

 

 

This was something new this year - a western kingbird nest with four chicks.  They are apparently common but I hadn't seen them anywhere before.  I heard them first but didn't know where they were until mom and dad started complaining whenever I went into their corner of the back yard. 

 

 

More foals out with the aunties and moms now.  They are a joy to behold!

 

4th of July bald eagle desserts!

We had a great 4th of July BBQ at Stacie's house and I contributed the bald eagle heads for dessert!  We had two "swimming" pools, one shallow for the little dogs and one deeper for the big dogs and kids.  Everyone got to keep cool that way.

 

Nicholas in the big kid pool.

 

Sara and Emma Jane, aka "Little"

 

Logan resting after his romp in the pool.

 

Here's AJ hoping to find a scrap.

 

Here are AJ and Pepe resting after the big day.

 

 

 

Here are AJ, Timmy the cat and Pepe in a snuggie together.

 

AUGUST 2013

August brought more events, including the two year anniversary of my move to Colorado.

 



I had a genuine Santa Maria BBQ for 20 with grilled tri tips, pinquito beans, salad, garlic bread and multiple desserts.  The big boys did the BBQ work and the little boys had water cannon fights.

 

 

 

 

Dodgers score!

Val the anniversary celebration hostess!

 

 

 

 

 

 



BIRDING IN NO CO

Lots of nests, including my own personal robin's nest right outside my dining room window.  Here is Rosie giving me the stink eye for opening the shutters.

Next up is a great horned owl's nest in the adjacent town of Windsor.  Actually, this is one of the parents standing guard over the nearby nest where three owlets are growing up.

Then today was osprey/bald eagle nest day.  We had heard of a baldie nest up in the foothills on the property of a water treatment plant in an area called Bellvue.   Took a run up there and the boss was nice enough to lead us out to where the (unoccupied) nest is located.  The last heavy wet snow we had on May 1 did a lot of damage to nestlings and eggs.  Nests without good drainage were reduced to ice because we had two nights of freeze immediately following the snow.  Many eggs and chicks did not survive and the nests, for this year, are called "failed" nests.

These photos show the gorgeous area and perfect location of the bald eagle nest and they will return.  The tree is right next to the Cache la Poudre River, which is running great guns right now.  Fish is the favorite food of ospreys and bald eagles.

 Here are some shots of the gorgeous countryside of this perfect area for raptor nesting.

Next up was to check the three known osprey nests in the Fort Collins area.

This nest is called the Hwy 287 nest.  The female is with the chicks in the nest and this male
became her mate after her first mate was killed by impact with a car.

This is called the Shields nest.  Note one adult in the nest with chicks and another on the power pole on the right.

This nest is the Prospect nest.  Last year these two ospreys built their nest on an electrical set up so the utilities people erected this platform nearby to encourage them to build in a safer spot.  Success!

I have become so fascinated with the raptors of Northern Colorado and am learning a lot about them from the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program.