I was able to get these super close-ups by using my car as a blind. The heron was less than 20 feet away but undisturbed as I was very quiet and moved slowly and stayed in my car. I took the pics with my Canon Xti with a 400mm lens,a 1.4 extender--as the camera is not full framed there is another 1.6 multiplier that nets about a 1000 mm equivalent--plus I cropped the photo but only a little. 
I really like the deep chestnut color on the plumage of this young heron. SeEtta
Yesterday I was delighted to find this Green Heron on a farm pond at my friend's near Canon City,CO. I have seen adult Green Herons at this location every summer for the past 5 or so years and can't believe they would keep coming around this area unless they are breeding near here. This is the first evidence of local breeding since I saw a Green Heron carrying nesting material in the middle section of the Canon city Riverwalk which is about 2.5 miles away. This heron is in juvenal plumage but still has a few pin feathers which would indicate it is pretty young. More pics to come. SeEtta
My last stop yesterday was in Rocky Ford which is one of the towns along the Arkansas River with Mississippi Kites. I only saw 3 kites including the one in this pic. As it was early evening I was also treated to the chittering of foraging Chimney Swifts flying above. SeEtta
I caught this beautiful dragonfly in flight at the John Martin Res State Wildlife Area. It was patrolling some emergent wetlands and about 75 feet away, in a tree, was a singing male Dickcissal! Not far away in one of wooded areas of this SWA I heard a Yellow-billed Cuckoo call. Though it called 3 times I wasn't able to spot it and I didn't want to spend much time as I was being devoured by female deer flies (the females need blood meals to lay eggs just like marsh mosquitoes) and mosquitoes. For super close-ups just double-click on each pic. SeEtta
Yesterday I birded in the lower Arkansas Valley during a very unusual cool spell (usually close to 100 in this area but lower 70's yesterday). I found these Black-necked Stilts in the yucky water of a stockyard wastewater pond in Ordway,CO. Also enjoying the yuck were some American Avocets and a few Franklin's Gulls. Like other yucky places, this pond is a big hotspot for lots of birds species so I always check it when I'm in the area. SeEtta
I spotted these 7 very young Mallard chicks swimming in the Arkansas River near my friend's place with no sign of a parent bird. As these no more than a few days old, their chance of survival was not good. I had hoped that some Canada Geese upriver might adopt them but though they swam towards the young siblings, they soon moved away. The chicks did survive that night as I found them still swimming together the nest day. I hadn't been back for several days and though I looked for them today, there was sign of them. Makes me wish I had a very long-handled net to scoop up these needy birds. SeEtta
Today I found this Barrow's Goldeneye on the Arkansas River a few miles east of Canon City, CO which is a very unusual place to find this species in the summer. I think this male is in Alternate I plumage which is found in first year birds. SeEtta
I also spent some time in Pueblo Mountain Park which is adjacent to Beulah. Though it is predominately ponderosa pine forest, it is a very pleasant location with nice birds. I saw this Broad-tailed Hummingbird, which is either a female or an immature, in one of those ponderosa pine tree. SeEtta
I stopped at the Canon City Riverwalk for a short time this morning to see what might be around while I drank a cup of coffee after my class. I heard then saw 1 Cedar Waxwing, something akin the poster child for an oxymoron (we always expect to see them in a flock and only rarely find one alone). I walked a little further and soon heard the sounds of more several Cedar Waxwings including this one. SeEtta
Yesterday I had a little time after the Colo Water Conservation Board meeting that I drove up to attend so I got a some birding in around Salida where the meeting was held. I have posted some pics and video clip of a very large flock of Pinyon Jays I found in a subdivision that was carved out of some very nice pinyon-juniper habitat (possibly where this flock has foraged before this human sprawl invaded) on the north edge of Salida. I had found that flock there previously so I went looking again and was rewarded with these two members of this very large flock of more than 75 members. These pics are good enough to enlarge further-just double-click on each pic. SeEtta
The American Goldfinches are pretty feisty and fend off Lesser Goldfinch that try to feed on the best sunflowers. 
My sunflower garden didn't take much work as the plants were volunteers from a couple of plants that grew from sunflower seeds dropped from feeders. I just had a small garden plot rototilled and the sunflowers 'volunteered' themselves there. SeEtta
These Lesser Goldfinch have been enjoying my backyard sunflower garden. I have been trying to add more natural food sources so I can reduce my birdfeeding--I enjoy watching birds pick sunflower seeds from the flower more than out of a tray. Additionally the food sources, especially native food sources like sunflowers, provide food and habitat for other species as well as the seed-eating birds. I have been pleased to be hosting many bees on these sunflowers plus a hummingbird will stop by from time to time,likely to grab a small spider to provide protein. SeEtta
This is my neighborhood Gray Catbird that visits my yard and others around me frequently. I expect this is the male as I was engaged in some counter-singing with it when it popped out of a shrub less than 10 feet from me--it appeared to just have to see who/what was doing that terrible whistling that mimics catbirds. I got only one quick shot as it looked at me for less than 20 seconds then flew off--in a huff(now that's really anthropomorphizing). I have had Gray Catbirds visit my yard for several years beginning the year after a pair nested in a messy shrub under my dining room window (that was really cool). SeEtta
There is a big advantage of having a super long telephoto lens for many shots but none more comforting than when you want to take a photo of a Prairie Rattlesnake like this big guy that is likely around 5 foot long. I was actually standing more than 10 feet away which is a comfortable distance since they can strike up to 1/2 their length from a coiled position. The triangular flattened head and relatively thin neck as well as the "vertically elliptical eye pupils" of this species easily seen in the pic. If you double-click on the pic to see it ultra enlarged, the pits ("lateral heat sensory organs") can be seen between eye and nostril.
I spotted this Common Nighthawk as I drove out of Neenoshe Reservoir last week with a group of folks conducting a site survey. I couldn't stop so I returned the next day expecting the bird to be there since they sleep during the day and would likely use the same roost as long as it wasn't disturbed. SeEtta
While doing a little birding at Lamar Woods in Lamar,CO two days ago, I spotted a Mississippi Kite appearing to build a nest. All she had was a few sticks on a branch as shown in the top pic. She appeared to be easily disturbed and though I wasn't positive initially, I didn't want to take a chance of interfering with breeding behavior so I left and returned later that day. I found a Mississippi Kite (sexes look the same) in the area both in the afternoon but no bird went near the apparent site. I came back near dusk but didn't find any kites. I had some conservation stuff to do yesterday morning so didn't get to check on her again until yesterday afternoon--again I saw a kite perched in the area and also one flying high above but no indication of activity around the apparent nest. 
So I was beginning to think I had imagined that the kite was building the nest until I stopped there this morning and took the bottom pic--this is clearly a nest and I got to watch her building it for awhile. I also got some very good video of her nest building behavior so check out the next post. SeEtta
Though a little far away for good pic of these small bird, these fledglings were just too cute all lined up on a branch especially with the one facing the opposite direction to pass up for a passable pic. SeEtta
I spotted this Common Yellowthroat skulking around in the cattails in the John Martin Reservoir State Wildlife Area. I love their very bright yellow plumage. SeEtta
While driving on H50 in Bent County I spotted some small animals right beside the highway ahead of me. Since I take active measures to avoid hitting animals, I slowed down and honked lightly when I close enough to scare them away from traffic. At first I thought they were probably racoons, but as I passed I saw that they were badgers. I turned around as soon as I could to get a better look and hopefully some pics. As I had scared them, they had retreated about 20 feet from the highway which is where I got the top pic. It was late in the afternoon with a overcast sky so the light wasn't good and I had to take my photos quickly before they got away (that's ok, I'd rather keep them off the highway than get close-up photos).
Everything on the web describes American Badgers as solitary except during mating and raising young so I expect that these are 3 young sibling badgers. In support of this, these 3 stayed close together like seen in the top pic (they were all 3 together as they climbed up the rocks but I only got 2 of them in the bottom pic). Also from what I've read on reputable internet sites, young badgers don't leave their mothers until late summer or early fall so it seems likely that something happened to the mother of these young. In keeping with their reputation of aggressiveness, one of them responded to the clicking of my camera by hissing at me. Note the long, furry tails visible in the lower pic. SeEtta
In the top pics the Green Heron makes the final adjustments of the fish before swallowing it in one large gulch. The bottom pic is right after it swallowed the fish--looks like a very satisfied heron.
Be sure to double click on any of the Green Heron pics to get a super close-up view. SeEtta
I photographed this Green Heron on a small pond on the Canon City, CO Riverwalk. There have been Green Herons fishing at this pond for a number of years. Sometimes I have found 2 adult Green Herons in this pond at one time and several years ago I saw one carrying nesting material (which, had it been during a Breeding Bird Atlas survey year, would have been considered confirmed breeding). Thoug I have never found an immature Green Heron at this location nor further evidence of breeding, I can't imagine that there would be Green Herons at this location year after year if they weren't breeding either here or somewhere not too far away.
As is not uncommon, this bird was out in the open while many people were walking by; but as it stood motionless for much of the time no one, except me, saw it. I took this pics handheld with the heron about 60-75 feet away on the other side of the pond and it was a good thing as when I returned from going the few hundred yards back to my car for my tripod and camcorder it had been flushed by someone (it's hard enough to carry my dslr with the 400 mm lens on it, and I'm just not up for schlepping my tripod too). 
The fish the heron caught may be a Brown Trout--whatever it is, it is certainly a good size fish. The heron is adjusting the position of the fish so it can just swallow it (unfortunately I didn't get good pics of it swallowing the fish). More pics follow. SeEtta