Wednesday started out quiet enough but soon we heard quite a commotion outside our house.  Dozens of Steller's jays were making quite a racket.  We knew the likely cause.  A great horned owl must be nearby.  Sure enough, we spotted a great horned owl "trying" to nap on this chilly day.  Below, you can see a video of the jays and some photos of the owl.  Notice how it puffed out its feathers to stay warm.  Luckily, the jays left after about 10 minutes and we got to watch the owl nap for the next 5 hours.  

Last year there was a very bold broad-tailed hummingbird that camped out in a thicket of choke cherries next to Lily Lake.  The most dominant birds protect the best food sources and this one knew the drill.  No other male or human was going to get in his way. This year, I'm guessing the same bird has claimed that spot.  I practically ran into him as I walked along the path! Since my camera has a minimum focus distance of 8', I had to back up a bit.  Once ready, he decided to put on a show and flew over to some golden banner flowers for a drink.  Wow!

Years ago I painted a bunch of bird houses and hung them up under our awning.  Almost every year we have either chickadees or wrens that make their nest there.  This year, it is a pair of very anxious black-capped chickadees.  They spend at least a minute scanning the area before approaching their house.  Then, while on a walk the other day,  I saw a VERY fast black-capped chickadee fly straight into a hole in a tree!  No scanning the area before entering for this bird.  What an ingenious home! It was a hole in the knot of a tree.  It was right at eye level and I didn't even disturb them.  In the first picture you can see one parent going into the nest with a grub. In the final picture you can see a parent taking out a "fecal sac" from the baby.  It is always good practice to keep one's house clean.

When the sun gets hot, we have to keep our house shades down during the day.  It makes us go a little crazy, so we keep the top part open just a bit so we can still see outside. One day, I saw what I thought was a Western Tanager fly by.  I got my camera and ran outside with Andy. We didn't see the Tanager but saw a bigger bird chasing a bunch of little birds. It looked like it had caught one.  Then there was stillness.  As we scanned the dense Douglas fir tree we saw it -- a Cooper's hawk had caught a finch and was enjoying her meal.  Wow.  That was fast!  I've seen her again recently so there must still be plenty of birds to eat.

Since all the parks are closed, Andy and I have been walking in the neighborhoods.  It was very bright and sunny this afternoon and we marveled that there weren't as many Wyoming Ground Squirrels scurrying about as yesterday.  Then a Common Raven flew overhead and I got the camera ready for a photo.  Soon we realized why it was circling around.  There was a Wyoming Ground Squirrel that had strayed too far from its den.  For the next 52 seconds we watched as the ground squirrel tried to fend off the raven.  Just when it looked like he had escaped to a nearby bush, a Red-tailed Hawk swooped in!  He/she must have known it wasn't his or hers, though, and quickly left.  We wondered if the ground squirrel had gotten away, but soon the raven came back and seized its prize.  There is one less ground squirrel in the world today, but it put up a gallant effort.  We are in awe.  RIP little one.

I've been walking a lot lately.  It has been fun trying to find a picture for the day.  I almost walked by this napping American Robin! He/she opened his/her eyes when I stopped but then just continued basking in the sun.

My mother thinks that March means spring, but as a many-year resident of Colorado, I know there can be months of cold and snow to come.  On this beautiful spring day, the birds were out and the chipmunks emerged!  How exciting!

It is fairly rare to see Black-capped Chickadees at RMNP, but they do occasionally appear.  Their crisp call is so distinctive.  Here is one digging into a branch to find a treat.  The Red-crossbills have been active since last summer, but on this day the sky was blue and I was able to get a great photo of this male. Isn't that beak amazing?!

It was snowy and windy today so Andy and I decided to head up to Sprague Lake for a quick run/walk.  On the way back we saw a car stopped in the middle of the road and wondered what was going on.  Then we saw it.  A coyote, raven and magpie all negotiating for a piece of elk.  It had been months since we'd seen a coyote, and we were so excited to see this healthy one enjoying the last bits of a hearty meal.

November is when most animals have left the Estes valley.  Too cold and too windy.  There are a few animals who stay through the winter, though, and they have various strategies for surviving the season.  The Red-breasted Nuthatch stashes pine seeds so that it can eat through the winter.  The black bear takes a long nap (not quite true hibernation) and this one was out early on a snow-covered morning to see if it was really nap time.  The bobcat eats lots of rabbits and scavenges carion.  Here is a kitten  who is waiting for his/her mom. Finally the Black-billed Magpie scavenges for anything and everything and looks beautiful doing it.