Many mornings as I sip my coffee, I try to think of locations where I might find new adventure and capture amazing scenes that I haven't yet experienced. Most of the time nothing comes to mind, and I just head out to my nearby trail for some exercise. However, I'm also often astonished at the surprising experiences I encounter there.
I love this time of year in the canyon. Young wildlife is past the newborn stage and are just now experiencing the joy of their new legs and wings. Young osprey are especially excited about their newfound powers and unlike their more mature parents, they spend much of their day in flight. They don't realize it yet, but their games are preparing them for a 4000 mile journey that will begin in about a month.
A sure sign of the advancing season is the arrival of juvenile osprey to the canyon. Each spring our osprey nesting pair returns to mate and raise a new family of chicks. They travel thousands of miles from their winter vacation to meet at the same nest and greet their lifelong partner for the joyous event. As August nears, their young gain stength and skill and finally take flight in a burst of energy, hope and a bit courage too I imagine.
I know my July newsletter is a bit late, in fact tomorrow will be August. Summer photography is a struggle for me, the sunrise is way too early, all the good wildlife locations are crowded with tourists, and the animals scarce. However, in just the last few days beautiful song birds have returned to my usual hikng location, and the pelicans have reappeared at Manitou Lake. Stay tuned to my blog though, on the 1st of August, we will be visiting the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Area in search of burrowing owls and snowy egret!
The birds are back in town... at least they are at Manitou Lake. Our short adventure there yesterday yielded, blue heron, American white pelican, red-winged blackbirds, hummingbirds, an osprey, and one ground squirrel looking for a meal.
With all the new life popping up all over the Rocky Mountains, it's getting difficult to keep up with all the picture processing!
My Heart Still Flutters when I'm driving through the canyon and I spot the stunning white head of a majestic bald eagle in a tree ahead. And it was no different on this weeks sunrise Photography Adventure with the Bald Eagles of Park County Colorado.
It was another beautiful Colorado afternoon for a winter adventure with the bald eagles of the annual migration. Eleven Mile Canyon in Lake George was mentioned as a location for eagles making the long trip for the winter migration, so I thought I'd check it out.
Even though I knew it was going to be too cold, I decided to check on our bald eagle nesting pair anyway. When I arrived I was glad to find them both near the nest, guarding over their home for the next few months.
A new year of photography is off to a great start with the birds of Eleven Mile Canyon in Southern Colorado. The bald eagles are back in the canyon, red-winged blackbirds are migrating, and I saw a northern shrike hunting in the meadow.
Colorado Photographer / Author | Steven W. Krull 