Never a Dull Moment

It has taken me some time to learn that it’s best for my mental health to set out on a nature walk without any preconceived notions or expectations. While some birders are predominantly chasers, who look only for new or rare species to add to their life list, many more simply sally forth to explore … Continue reading Never a Dull Moment

Rarabbit For Breakfast?

My blog post “Fish for Breakfast” last May talked about an osprey’s partiality for sushi. Not many of you seemed to share the bird’s preference for a pescatarian meal early in the day, and I suspect that even fewer will relate to today’s offering. Unless you are an eagle, or have eagles in your family … Continue reading Rarabbit For Breakfast?

Hide and Seek

Dry? Desiccated? Sere? These impressions might come to mind when viewing this typical winter landscape along Colorado’s Front Range, especially if you happen to live in lush and verdant surroundings year-round. But since I’m used to this paucichromatic scenery, I was mostly enjoying the fact that no wind was blowing on this last day of … Continue reading Hide and Seek

No Aquatic Insect

All I knew was that American Dippers ate aquatic insects. Neither flashy nor flamboyant, unlike the waxwings you met recently, dippers’ charisma derives less from their looks (though they are by no means unattractive), but rather from their behavior and—not to forget—from their mellifluous vocalizations. One of five global species of dippers, the range of … Continue reading No Aquatic Insect

70-plus Reasons to be Happy

  When one studies this map of North America, courtesy of Cornell’s website “All About Birds,” and looks at the rectangle that represents Colorado (the NE quadrant as seen from the Four Corners), one notices that the southcentral and southeastern portions of the state are shaded a light blue, indicating that the bird in question … Continue reading 70-plus Reasons to be Happy