Rocky Mountain High - Mount Evans

The Wrenegades went up into the high country today. Some of us had never been to Mount Evans and we were looking for the Elusive White-tailed Ptarmigan. We especially wanted to see BABY White-tailed Ptarmigan.

We found this awesome herd of Mountain Goats, lots of babies playing king of the mountian (ahem. and other stuff)
Most of them still had tons of winter fur left on. This majestic beast on the right didn't. Beautiul. How many goats can you see in this picture?
We found Pika carrying bouquets of fresh flowers to their hay barns for the winter.
We found a lovely juvenile Brown-capped Rosy Finch - later joined by a stunning adult we couldn't get photos of.
And yes we found Ptarmigan. A mini flock of babies were moving up the hill as we were driving. It's tough to find spots to park, but there was one nearby so we got out and followed them awhile. We never heard or saw any adults with them. They were so, so gorgeous and cute.
Acting all grown up and adult like.
Who you? You don't scare me, not one bit.
Have you ever seen Ptarmigan or Mountain Goats? Tell me about it - or tell me how bad you want to if you haven't!

Birds Of Pearl Lake State Park

We went camping recently north of Steamboat Springs at Pearl Lake. What a beautiful place. Believe it or not, the focus wasn't on bird watching, though we did hang a hummingbird feeder. I was a very lazy photographer, only got one shot of a Broad-tailed Hummer. We were visited by Broad-tailed Hummers, male and female. Rufous male hummers and one very cute and tiny Calliope Hummer. I did compile a nice little list of birds though.
Red Crossbills , Gray-headed Juncos (feeding fledglings), Crows, one lone Stellar's Jay. Common Grackles believe it or not, Tree and Violet Green Swallows. Sandhill Cranes with a baby in the fields below us. It seems so strange that they nest here in the hay fields.

It was a nice time, really. I didn't get any good photos of birds, but I heard many and just enjoyed the area. We did have a very persistant singing Ruby-crowned Kinglet that sang non-stop during the day below our camp.

A lucky find on our way out was a lovely Dusky Grouse along the roadside.

What fun birds have you seen lately?

Wordless Wednesday

This Gate Needs BLUE.

Yep, that's right. I think most everyone thought I'd go red, which was the color I really thought I'd go too. But it just wasn't right for this particular gate. Votes were nearly tied, with red and blue with a few votes of purple, orange and yellow. I've also stained the fence so you can see the finished look. I may also have one of my artistic daughters add some flowers and vines or something.

What'cha think?