Knowing we were heading up to Breckenridge (Colorado) this summer, I asked my children what sort of things they wanted to do while we were there. A ‘14er’ (aka fourteener) topped their list since they knew hiking would without a doubt be on the agenda. This way they could obtain a personal goal (doing their first 14er) and appease me with a hike. The bonus for me and for them turned out to be the numerous mountain goats we saw on the way up and down Quandary Peak! We checked out the weather and picked a day during the week that had the littlest chance of rain, and hopefully, thunderstorms. Then we went online and made our reservations which are necessary in order to hike Quandary. We decided to be at the parking lot by 6am so that we had plenty of time and would hopefully miss those dreaded summer thunderstorms.

I promised more owl babies and here they are! This second family was located by Twin Silo Park. Sadly, sometime in mid June their nesting tree was cut down due to safety issues (rotten inside). They had used this tree for many years. Thankfully, they moved on to surrounding trees. Baby owls typically stick around the nest for up to 42 days. I will be sad next year when they have to find a new nesting tree, and me, new owls to photograph. As you can see by the fluffy feathers and large leaves, these owls were much younger and born later than the other ones I had photographed. This family also had three owlets in their brood. Great horned owls can have anywhere from 1-4 owlets. How many owls do you spot in the photo below?

This year I found a couple of new spots for baby great horned owls. A great amount of time goes into visiting various locations in Fort Collins to get glimpses of these cute and fluffy birds as they come of age. The owl search begins in mid to late April and May. After searching various apps I thought I had found a couple of good options. I headed out to my first location once I learned that the babies were out of the hole/nest. You’d think it’d be easy to locate the babies, but time and time again over the course of the spring, they would stump me. I even began to look forward to the challenge of finding them. It was an owl version of Where’s Waldo.

The natural areas of Fort Collins are hotspots of bird activity in the spring. Cattail Chorus Natural Area has a colony of blue herons in the surrounding cottonwood trees that are entertaining to watch. While I was there, I observed them coming and going building their nests, courtship rituals, their fancy plumes bobbing in the air along with their gawky bodies, and even a beaver swimming in the pond.

I’d been so excited by all the heron nests easily accessible around town that I hadn’t given the eagles much thought. All that changed one morning as I heard a snap, crackle, pop and looked overhead to see a bald eagle flying through the air with his prize held tightly between his talons. Mid flight, he grasped this twig and kept on flying right over my head! I was amazed and then started wondering what would happen if he bit off more than he can chew? Has an eagle ever tried this maneuver and then been stopped midflight by a branch not breaking and tumbled ungracefully to the ground or into a tree? I’ll probably never know…it’s a bit like the question, “If a tree falls in the woods and no-one is around to see it, did it really happen?” Either way, it was a great experience!

I know it’s not Thanksgiving yet but I ran across this wild turkey strutting his stuff for his female friend and was able to get some lovely photos! When I first spotted him, his tail was up and he was sending out his call. I didn’t see the female for a bit but she was following about 50 feet behind. Occasionally, he would slow down, fan his feathers, call out, check to see she was still there, and then continue on his way.

It never ceases to amaze me when I have extraordinary chance encounters with wildlife. My golden rule should be if you don’t get out there, you won’t ever see anything! I spent a lovely morning in April walking around the Riverbend Natural Area in Fort Collins, Colorado. It was about an hour and a half after sunrise, not exactly the ideal time to catch wildlife waking up, but it was the earliest I could get out that day. Either way, I thought I’d at least see and hear the red-winged blackbirds chirping from last years leftover cattails and get a little dose of the outdoors to tide me over for the day I had planned, parked in front of my computer. There’s something about their never ending loud calls to each other in the spring that makes me realize spring really is here even if the weather is not indicative of that.

I can’t tell you how excited I am for spring! I love when the blackbirds return, the animals start frolicking outside again, the bulbs start blooming, nests are built, and the baby animals hatch or are born. Every day in the spring is an adventure and I plan to record my outings and post here on my blog. The first edition of my spring blog will focus primarily on the blue herons return to Northern Colorado and their nesting habits.