I was up early and according to the weather channel it was going to be a beautiful morning… no excuse not to grab the camera and head for the wilderness! It seemed extra dark as I drove down the canyon and I worried that there would be no light on the river and the trip was going to be wasted. As I cleared the canyon a strange red glow steamed through the window into the front seat so I took a quick glance to the east.
I could not believe my eyes, the sky was on fire! I spotted a side road and quickly pulled over. My long lens was attached in preparation for wildlife photography but I knew that the effect would last but a few moments, so I quickly grabbed the camera and fired off a few shots. Seeing that there was a bit more time I put on a wide angle and snapped a few more. And then just like that, the color was gone. It’s amazing how fleeting these great moments can be!
The canyon was cold this morning… even though the day was supposed to be relatively warm, the nights are definitely getting colder! Luckily I had an extra hoodie and a pair of gloves in the back seat! I didn’t see the eagles but I brought my long visit chair along anyway, thought I might just rest awhile and hope for a herd of deer or a bear to wander into the meadow on the opposite side of the icy river.
The only action I could see was a few ducks milling around in the icy South Platte River and a few sparrows busying themselves along the waters edge. Pretty soon a fisherman came along to annoy me so I decided to wander over to the dam for a look see. I always approach slowly in hopes that I will catch the great blue heron, but I got to day dreaming as I approached and he flew right past me! I didn’t even have time to get my camera ready. But the heron made an unusual maneuver… a short flight and a landing near a vantage point on the shoreline. As stealthily as I could I crept through the reeds to the shoreline. There he was, standing in the shallow water… I ducked below a thicket of reeds and brought up my camera… That unfortunately was enough, off he went again… but at least I was ready and got a couple of him flying by 🙂
By then it was getting hot and I had to shed a couple of layers so I went back to the truck. As always I scanned the eagle’s area and noticed a spec of bright white up in the trees! So I quickly snapped a picture just in case and grabbed my chair again to take up an observation position. But by the time I got to the best spot though, the eagle was gone. In the meantime the two osprey that I thought had already flown south were soaring high in the clear blue Colorado sky! Far to distant for a good picture, but if you want to see him you can check my Instagram page where
I have displayed a few more from today’s action. I don’t know what there habits of the young osprey are these days, they are never at the nest or the wide spot in the river where I was accustomed to seeing them so I had assumed they were gone! Apparently the warm weather we have been enjoying has kept them around. A peregrine falcon also made a flyby and of course there were also a few geese randomly landing and taking off. Please feel free to follow my page if you don’t want to miss the next adventure!
All in all it was a spectacular morning indeed!
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