Yesterday I drove up to Lake DeWeese to "chase" a very rare bird for Colorado, a Reddish Egret. Though it failed to show-up, I had a very pleasant day. Lake DeWeese is located in the Wet Mountain Valley, a high park that lies at almost 8,000 feet between the very scenic Sangre de Christo Mountains and the Wet Mountains. So the temps were in the low 80's in the afternoon while back in the Canon City area they were in the low 90's.
There were good numbers of shorebirds in the mudflats of Lake DeWeese including Least, Spotted, Semipalmated, Baird's and 2 Stilt Sandpipers. There were also Greater Yellowlegs, an Eared Grebe in brilliant Alternate (breeding) Plumage, Western Grebes (as well as Mallards and Canada Geese) with young swimming close behind plus about 2 dozen American White Pelicans. In the grassy fields were Horned Larks, Brewers, Savanannah and Vesper Sparrows including the one in these pics. In the early evening the Vesper Sparrows were living up to the definition of vesper--"a religious service in the late afternoon or the evening." Their beautiful singing was like listening to a choir. One of the pics I took caught this Vesper Sparrow just as it was about to lift off giving an interesting view of it's wings and lower back not usually visible. If you look close (it helps to enlarge the pic by double-clicking on it) there are reddish lines close to the bottom of the wings that I think may be a bone showing through the skin and feathers. And do double-click on the top pic as it enlarges nicely for a great close-up view. SeEtta
Yesterday I drove up to Lake DeWeese to "chase" a very rare bird for Colorado, a Reddish Egret. Though it failed to show-up, I had a very pleasant day. Lake DeWeese is located in the Wet Mountain Valley, a high park that lies at almost 8,000 feet between the very scenic Sangre de Christo Mountains and the Wet Mountains. So the temps were in the low 80's in the afternoon while back in the Canon City area they were in the low 90's. 
There were good numbers of shorebirds in the mudflats of Lake DeWeese including Least, Spotted, Semipalmated, Baird's and 2 Stilt Sandpipers. There were also Greater Yellowlegs, an Eared Grebe in brilliant Alternate (breeding) Plumage, Western Grebes (as well as Mallards and Canada Geese) with young swimming close behind plus about 2 dozen American White Pelicans. In the grassy fields were Horned Larks, Brewers, Savanannah and Vesper Sparrows including the one in these pics. In the early evening the Vesper Sparrows were living up to the definition of vesper--"a religious service in the late afternoon or the evening." Their beautiful singing was like listening to a choir. One of the pics I took caught this Vesper Sparrow just as it was about to lift off giving an interesting view of it's wings and lower back not usually visible. If you look close (it helps to enlarge the pic by double-clicking on it) there are reddish lines close to the bottom of the wings that I think may be a bone showing through the skin and feathers. And do double-click on the top pic as it enlarges nicely for a great close-up view. SeEtta
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