Last summer I posted pics of a red racer/coachwhip snake I found up in a tree. Yesterday in Pathfinder Park in Florence, CO a California birder I was talking to spotted the red racer snake in these pics. As we watched, the snake watched us back and soon slithered down the tree and vanished in the vegetation much to the astonishment of the birder's daughter, Marissa. 
click here to go to the pics I posted last summer. SeEtta
I went back out to Brush Hollow Reservoir before Memorial Day week-end to try for some better views and photos of the Red-throated Loon that is far south of where it should be at this time of year. I was rewarded with closer views, only 2-400 feet away, as the loon preened, stretched and did a little diving when there were fewer fishermen on the shore and in boats to chase it into the middle of the lake. This allowed me to get pretty good pics with my telephoto lens combo (totally over 600 mm eqivalence) when I cropped and lightened them.
This loon appears to be in adult non-breeding/Definitive Basic plumage. The bottom pic shows the white spots on the back that is most prominent in Basic plumage than Alternate plumage. There were some dark smudgy areas on the front part of the loon's neck, possibly indicative of the beginnings of it's molt into Breeding/Definitive Alternate plumage. SeEtta
Least Flycatchers migrate through eastern Colorado during migration. I found this bird on the Canon City Riverwalk, a little far west of where they are usually seen. 
I heard it singing it's repetitive and loud "chebek". Since it sang almost continuously, with head raised up, there was a minimal time to foraqe. However it only stayed one day before continuing it's trip north. SeEtta
The past several days have been quite cool and rainy--what is most often the weather around Memorial Day. The fronts that have brought this weather also brought more waves of migrating landbirds including a number of warblers like the two in these pics that I photographed yesterday. 
Though not common during spring migration (they are very common here during fall migration), Wilson's Warblers breed in the more mountainous areas of Colorado. I caught the male Wilson's in the top two pics as he flew between branches while engaged in very active foraging.
The bottom warbler is a male Common Yellowthroat that was foraging in some deciduous trees near the Arkansas River along the Canon City Riverwalk. SeEtta
This is a family of Great Horned Owls that I have been following since the parents were beginning to nest. When I checked on them right before I left for my trip to Texas in April, there were two young nestlings on the nest. When I returned from my trip and checked on May 16, the nest was empty and the two young fledglings in the top pics were on a tree branch no more than 75 feet from the nest tree.
At this stage the fledglings have very weak flying skills and were still mostly hopping around on branches, which accounts for their being referred to as "branchers" at this stage. When I returned on May 18, I found one of the fledlings practicing it's flying skills. I saw at least one parent owl, the one in bottom pics, was nearby on both occasions. 
All of the pics can be enlarged for real close-up views though the 2nd pic isn't as good. In the third pic enlarging will show that the parent bird, though seemingly napping near it's offsping, actually has one of it's eyes open slightly. Just double-click on a pic to enlarge it. SeEtta
The "sweet-sweet" songs of Yellow Warblers have filled the air in the Canon City, CO for the past several days. Though many of these warblers are likely just stopping over to refuel during the migration elsewhere, some appear to be setting up territories as the males are displaying and chasing. This pic is of one male that was busy foraging along the Canon City Riverwalk over the week-end. Though my 400 mm Canon lens is very sharp, it does not have image stabilization so these hand-held shots challenge me to hold still (and since my 1.4 extender is a Kenko not Canon, I lose the autofocus feature on the lens). Do double-click on this pic for super close-up view. SeEtta
This Red-throated Loon was found this morning by local birder, Rich, at Brush Hollow Reservoir about 15 miles northeast of Canon City, CO, near the small town of Penrose. Though birds of this species do show up on inland lakes in Colorado in the winter, this is really late for one to be so far south since the adults are in Canada by now as they breed very far north in Alaska and other extreme northern locations. This is likely the first time this species has ever been documented in this county, a semi-arid area with few bodies of water. SeEtta
Western Tanagers have been moving through the Canon City area in very good numbers in the past week so I just had to photograph more of these bright, colorful migrants. 
The tanager in the bottom pic is in Definitive Basic while the one if the middle pic appears to be in 1st Basic. The bird in the top pic, a third tanager, isn't as clear but likely another bird in 1st Basic as it has a reddish tinge to it's head feathers. These pics enlarge fairly well so double click on them for very close views. SeEtta
Having missed the Black-throated Blue Warbler in So Texas, I was pleased to see one today back home in Canon City, CO. I was birding on the Canon City Riverwalk late this morning when I came across a local birder, Rich, who told me had just found a Black-throated Blue Warbler and had heard a Hooded Warber singing. I told him I was hearing a song I was unfamiliar with and we decided it was a Black-throated Blue then Rich refound the male in these pics (though it foraged where we could see it for several minutes, it was about 50 feet back in the dark foliage so the pics came out dark) and a male Hooded Warbler. Nearby a Gray Catbird was giving it's whiny call. While birding in different areas, Rich also found a female Hooded Warbler, a species that has nested in Canon City. We ran into each other again where the male Western Tanager in the bottom pic (demonstrating how a little light can really improve a pic) and a quiet Wood-pewee (likely Western) were foraging. SeEtta
I learned this because I saw a Common Yellowthroat that sang a song very different from the "witch-i-ty" song that is associated with this species. In fact, it sang a very melodic and complex song. This is a pic of that bird that is probably a "Brownsville Yellowthroat".
These are two of the migrating warblers (Chestnut-sided Warbler above and Blackburnian Warbler below) that I saw at the Sabal Palm Audubon Sanctuary about 2 weeks ago (and larger photos posted on below on my blog on April 27). They were foraging actively with other migrating warblers including 2 Black-throated Green and several Black-and-White Warblers. 
The Sabal Palm Audubon Sanctuary provides important stopover habitat for many migrating birds. This is another reason that we must Save Sabal Palm from being isolated behind the Border Wall, which is a taxpayer rip-off as well as a disaster for conservation in the Rio Grande Valley. SeEtta
The Sabal Palm Audubon Sanctuary also has a blind that reaches out over a pond and wetland area that allows closer views of a number of waterbirds and waterfowl that might be shy. I watched this Green Heron as it actively foraged, stalking frogs/fish/snakes unseen by me.
The Green Heron in the lower pic was in the process of thrusting it's bill to grab some prey, making the pic a little blurry--but the heron was successful. SeEtta
Help us Save Sabal Palm: call or send an email to the White House and ask them to not wall-off the Sabal Palm Audubon Sanctuary behind the Border Wall--
What makes Sabal Palm Audubon Sanctuary so valuable is the habitat including the sabal palm forest that was extensive along the Rio Grande Valley until man cut them down for agriculture and other development. The Sanctuary has several miles of interconnected trails, including boardwalks like the one pictured here. Many of these trails are fairly level so accessible to those with ambulation problems plus they have a wheelchair accessible deck.
According to the Sabal Palm Audubon Sanctuary website, "The Center is home to many native species of plants and animals that reach the northernmost limit of their Mexican range here and do not occur elsewhere in the U.S. Cradled in a bend of the Rio Grande along the U.S./Mexico border, the Sabal Palm Audubon Center harbors one of the most beautiful and critical ecosystems of South Texas and Northern Mexico. Sabal Palms once grew profusely along the edge of the Rio Grande in small stands or groves extending about 80 miles upstream from the Gulf of Mexico. Today, only a small portion of that forest remains, protected on 557 acres of this Audubon sanctuary." SeEtta 
I spotted this nest and could see there was some movement in it so I took some photos. PLEASE NOTE: I HAVE TELEPHOTO LENS THAT AMOUNT TO OVER 600 MM EFFECTIVE LENS SO I WAS NOT CLOSE TO THE NEST. I was surprised when this male Golden-cheeked Warbler came in to the nest to attend to the 2 hatchlings. I took a few more quick photos (without flash) and left so as not to disturb the nesting.
Birds of North America online notes that males of this species "very occasionally brings food to nest during incubation, and either feeds female or eats the food in her absence." This male appears to have something in it's bill. Double-click on the pics to enlarge them. SeEtta
I stopped back in the Texas Hill Country as I began my trip back to Colorado (and away from temps in the 100's). I birded again at Neal's Lodges in Concan, some public areas around there and at Lost Maples State Natural Area (a really scenic location that is reported to have the largest population of Golden-cheeked Warblers). This is one of at least 2 Golden-cheeked Warblers I saw.
SeEtta
Today I birded again at Quinta Mazatlan World Birding Center in McAllen,TX. The weather really sucked--the winds were gusting up to 35 mph, the humidity was awful and it got to 96 degrees in McAllen and was that temperature when I returned later this afternoon. I almost never wear shorts when birding but it was so bad this afternoon I couldn't bear to put on long pants. 
I found the female but a McAllen resident who used to be on the board of Quinta Mazatlan told me about the male. They were both in the same area near the golf course. 
Both redstarts were actively foraging. The female stayed up in the trees but the male bird did go down on the ground by a small pond as shown in the bottom 3 pics. 
Quinta Mazatlan had other migrants including a possible first year female Hooded Warbler and 2 other warblers I didn't get a good look at plus a male and female Orchard Orioles. SeEtta
Besides all the cool birds at the So Padre Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary, I also saw two lizard species including this brilliantly colored lime green lizard. Unfortunately I'm not skilled at lizard identification so I'm hopeful that someone will let me know what species it is. SeEtta I got an email letting me know that this is a Green Anole, Anolis carolinensis. Thanks to Joshua Rose, Ph.D., a Natural Resource Specialist at Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park. Joshua is a great resource on birds, butterflies, insects, reptiles and probably more. 
This is another bird that I saw at the So Padre Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary. This bird appears to be a male but it certainly is not in full Definitive Basic/Alternate (same for males) plumage like the Painted Bunting a few posts below. I suspect this bird is in partial Pre-Alternative Molt. According to Birds of North America online, this molt occurs for this species between Jan 1 and May 31. SeEtta