Birds.

Birds; I'm definitely learning about who I am as a birder. Today would've been the day I'd have gone down to look for the Ross's Gull (if I'd been motivated to do so...) As I contemplated going down I kept thinking "Well if it was an owl, I'd want to go down immediately!" Granted there were all these great excuses: I'd just been in Littleton yesterday...It's COLD....I would've been stuck in Denver all day and probably would have succumbed to SHOPPING...you get the idea.

I decided I would feel best getting outside and moving a little after the Turkey Day bloat. I'm aware that while I started my excel life lists last spring I haven't updated them in months, even though I've seen several new species.

Here's another thing I'm realizing: I can appreciate the visual of the bird itself, or I can appreciate it somewhat abstractly. Today I got some more opportunities to watch some Golden-crowned Kinglets. They're fabulous - they have a sweet tiny sound and they're very fast. While continuing to fail at capturing them on "film" I'm enjoying some of the visual abstractions my failures make.

I did get some better glimpses of the tiny birds...but still not the shot I'll keep hoping for. 

They might be like the elusive Belted Kingfisher shots I've never really gotten.

Also at Young Gulch today:

Dark-eyed Juncos

Townsend's Solitaire

Stellar's Jay

Clark's Nutcracker

Mountain Chickadee

and a Mystery Raptor

Ice.

Ice; Cold today at Young Gulch! My Camelback waterline froze an hour into the hike. I don't remember being at Young Gulch before with the stream in this state.... After I bit I grew brave and started walking on some of the shallower ice - even enjoying the startling feeling when my foot would sink an inch. Cool to practice just barely touching the ground as I stepped. Kind of exciting, though I did keep hoping for a bit of sunshine!

Mount McConnell Trail

I drove past Grey Rock and Young Gulch today and decided to hike the McConnell trail in Mountain Park. I hike this trail so infrequently that it always feels new... sometimes to the point of feeling lost and confused. Today I felt lost or confused for approximately an hour. :)

I arrived to find the Poudre River flowing but icy in spots.

A quiet hike...lots of Townsend's Solitaires. Then, little wisps of chirps. A mixed flock, and in the flock

Poor, Poor Proof of my first real glimpse of a 

Golden-crowned Kinglet!!

A little later, slightly better proof:

Maybe next time we'll have a full-on photo shoot!

I encountered these mixed flocks a few more times; in addition

to the kinglets I viewed chickadees, nuthatches and Brown Creepers.

More hike images:

As is often the case though, I was most excited by the water:

More Photos from today:

and Some Play Photos:

and just for fun...a little video

Wintery.

Nice to actually need to wear my fleece up at Lory State Park today! I was hoping it would snow a little while I wandered but it never happened.

Plenty of cool snow and ice sculptures around....

Everywhere I went the sound and sight of melting snow 

plopping down -  several times on my head. I kept seeing bird shadows

that I think were often really snow shadows.

Chickadees, Juncos and Nuthatches galore. Noisy flocks of 

Red-breasted Nuthatches, Brown Creepers and these

sweeter-than-sweet Pygmy Nuthatches. I watched 

two wrestling White-breasted Nuthatches drop from a tree,

float down to the ground still entangled, and then

peacefully separate.

Also of course the resident Cackling Stellar's Jays, Magpies and 

Clark's Nutcracker.

A Great Fall Day at Young Gulch

Almost November and really wonderful weather for a hike up the Poudre Canyon at Young Gulch. On a Saturday, you've got to get there early if you want avoid crowds. I arrived with perfect timing just before 7:00.

The coolness of having multiple cameras on hand:

The Moon at Sunrise from the Little camera...

and from the Big one.

Mostly, a quiet hike. Chickadees, Nuthatches and several Townsend's Solitaires. I focused on the hike and decided to be a slightly less lazier bum than usual and hike the whole trail.

After reaching the trail's end, I happily turned back and headed for home. I was moving and not paying tons of attention when I spotted a light-colored bird across the stream sitting on a branch in the sun:

Oh my gosh, so not-just-any light-colored bird!

My very first [un-assisted] Small Mountain Owl sighting!! A Northern Pygmy-Owl!! Oh MY Gosh. This would be the point at which a great hike became a fantastic hike!

More on the way home:

Clark's Nutcracker making a general commotion

Mountain Chickadee

Exciting Trail Growth.

More photos from today's hike:

Water Play in Breckenridge

An energizing Land Art workshop today had me following light and flow along a small stream. The task was to compose and create (think Andy Goldsworthy or Robert Smithson) but as usual I got sidetracked:

and a little video too:

Getting Outside

On the Photos

One of my favorite questions today: If its fun and easy, is it still legit? Also, if you compose, pick a subject matter and insert yourself in a specific location, is it yours? These questions come from the now long-running dialogue around digital modifications of photos. I love this conversation (a few years ago some photos of mine were criticized because they were beautiful, but un-pure.) I think it's a great, rich discussion. Here's some more, a photographer's take on exploring iphone photography.

As such, a series from today's hike up Deer Mountain 

in Rocky Mountain National Park:

more...

On the Day

My strategy worked! I got to the trailhead at 6:15, before sunrise and before the elk-watching hordes. (It is after all Elk Fest weekend....) Didn't see a soul 'til after the summit, and the hike did me all sorts of good. Granted I wouldn't recommend driving around Estes this weekend, but it was a beautiful day for Fall Aspen viewing and bugling.

Birds and Mammals: Juncos galore, Stellar's Jay, Pygmy and White-breasted Nuthatch, Western Bluebirds and Downy/Hairy Woodpecker. Fox, 1 million chipmunk and some tired-looking Elk.

Fall Rocks

Fall Rocks at Running Deer.