Daughter said this was a LadyBug larva. I looked it up and she was correct.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Px...=w1698-h955-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/19...=w1698-h955-no
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Daughter said this was a LadyBug larva. I looked it up and she was correct.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Px...=w1698-h955-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/19...=w1698-h955-no
A group of Band-tailed Pigeons visited the tray feeder at the cabin today. Band-tailed Pigeons are a Colorado native that live in mountains and generally breeds in the Ponderosa Pine and Douglas Fir forest. Here they have moved up into the Englemann Spruce and Subalpine Fir at 8500'. They are not often seen in the flatlands. Nice birds, shy and somewhat skittish. Their primary predators are Goshawk and Cooper's Hawk.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...psf57ys8qs.jpg
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...pssduzmbah.jpg
We've invited this fellow to join us for dinner along with elk steak and boletus edulus mushrooms from the yard.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...psjbrn2ef9.jpg
Caught this little guy in the front yard tonight.
http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...pswquvwxqa.jpgs
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^^ That looks like a smaller version of one that was staring at me from under our rock steps all day today. I was working out back...he'd poke his head out and then disappear every time I got close.
That's a nice looking trout, Hummer.
Cool thread!
The male Hairy Woodpecker has found our hummingbird feeders again. They've become adept at popping the yellow flowers off to open the port so they can get their tongue into the sugar water. It's kind of comical, woodpeckers are cool characters.
Other birds besides hummers that will take sugar water include Downy Woodpecker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Western Tanager, Chickadees and more....
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...ugar-Thief.jpg
Why do most hummingbird feeders have a landing spot? I've never seen a hummingbird land to feed from flowers.
Awesome thread! I'll add some pics soon!
I have seen them land to rest but never feed while sitting.Quote:
Originally Posted by HoneyBadger
Hummingbirds feed from a perch whenever they can because it's energy efficient. They will drink from a flower using any perch such as an adjacent branch, the plant stalk or the flower petal itself. But most hummingbird flowers are small and don't have nearby branches or big petals for a hummer to perch on so most folks don't see it very often. (I see it every day because we have a lot of hummingbirds). A good hummer flower is one that gives them a chance to relax while they eat high calorie nectar and insect rich food. They are well adapted to hover to feed but smart enough to conserve energy when they can.Quote:
Originally Posted by HoneyBadger
Feeders are made with perches because that's what hummingbirds prefer--they can consume more food energy in a shorter time using less energy. Also, because feeder watchers can better view the birds using feeders with perches. A bird that's stationary is easier to see in detail than one that is hovering and moving constantly.
Here's a juvie male Black-chinned in our garden perching on a Mexican Sunflower petal to take nectar and insects. A natural feeder perch.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...psf23bac4d.jpg
Very nice.
Thanks for the info. We have lots of hummingbirds in this area, but most of their food sources are very small flowers. We have at least two that visit us several times a day and our kids love watching them buzz around. Sometimes they get very close to us and I always instruct HB Jr to stay very still when they do. Last week, one hovered about 2 ft in front of his face for 10-15 seconds while it appeared to check him out. He loved it!
In 2012, when I lived in this same area in CA for a few months, I took a few pretty good pictures in an area just outside my apartment. I'll see if I can dig them up.
I'm no professional photographer and I am still using a DSLR I purchased back in 2008, but I hope these meet your standards. ;) (Hopefully the forum sizes them properly... they are pretty big photos)
http://i.imgur.com/yidrGli.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ybgQqWd.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/PdVjuSg.jpg
And my personal favorite (Got it printed on canvas and it hangs on the wall by our kitchen):
http://i.imgur.com/X39NLB1.jpg
I saw about 4 or 5 bull elk standing in a field on my way to Loveland today. Just out in the open. They seemed very out of place. Pictures will probably be terrible, but I'll post them when I get home.
Sorry for the photo quality, I was driving. This was on the South side of 402 some where between I-25 and 287, at about 6:40ish am. A bunch of bulls with big full racks was the last thing I was expecting to see right out in the open like that.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wP...=w1698-h955-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/s7...=w1698-h955-no
Wow, beautiful photos HoneyBadger! This one really shows the different iridescent colors reflected at different angles to the light.
Anna's Hummingbirds are rare in CO, I've only seen a couple here. But they're year around residents in CA and AZ where I see them every year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HoneyBadger
Updated my post with pictures.
Wow... You guys are posting some good stuff. Love the h-bird photos and the little ducks and owls. And the elk...doesn't look like where you'd normally think about seeing elk. Good stuff.
Here's my garage garage guest from the other day. Little guy came in and stayed for about two nights and left. The women in the house is who left the dish of water and couple prices of dog food btw. He could have fit in the palm of my hand.
Attachment 66146
Wife got a few decent cell phone pictures of pelicans at Barr Lake the other day. Pretty fun watching all the different birds flying around. A couple times several hundred birds would fly back and forth across the lake all at once. Took more than a minute each time for them all to fly past.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Lf...=w1698-h955-no
Love the American White Pelicans. Watching a group of pelicans herd fish on a lake is pretty amazing. I know they're common on the plains of northeast CO, but pelicans are unusual on the West Slope. I've only seen a few here.
Funny you posted the pelican picture. There are a group of them on the Snake River I've been trying to get some pictures of. Fascinating to watch them fly. They're far more graceful in the air than you'd think they'd be watching them on the water or just looking at them.
Saw this little guy at the feeder and noticed the odd looking beak/tongue. Any of you experts know what type hummingbird this is and is this normal?
http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/t...pslyhedthm.jpg
Saw this little guy at the feeder and noticed the odd looking beak/tongue. Any of you experts know what type hummingbird this is and is this normal?
ETA: Mrs BG says it's a female broadtail. There was just another, much smaller one, on the feeder with the same issue on the beek.
http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/t...pslyhedthm.jpg
It's not normal but bill injuries are somewhat common in hummingbirds. This bird's lower mandible is offset and curved upward, preventing the tongue from correctly laying in the channel. It's probably due to a collision, possibly with a window or screen.
Mrs. BG is probably right about it being a Broad-tailed, and it appears to be a juvenile female. Another photo might provide more information. Rufous and Calliope hummingbirds are migrating through now, too.
He doesn't look happy at all!
Five-lined or blue-tailed skink? Not sure what to call this guy. But they're tails are a pretty amazing shade of almost neon blue. He's probably about 6 or 7 inches long. Had to take the picture through the kitchen window. They are very skittish.
http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps15x64ppp.jpg
Osprey at Brush Hollow last summer.
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Have tons of rabbits around house this year.
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On our bike ride today, crossing the Platte, the little one almost got washed away.
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Here's one of our many yard bunnies, a desert subspecies of the Nuttall's Cottontail, eating wormwood. The lower leaves on this plant have been eaten off so bunny has to reach. Another popular plant we have in the yard is winterfat, so named because it is used by deer, rabbits and other animals through the winter.
Our rabbit numbers have dropped recently. Last evening we spotted a Long-eared Owl in the yard and suspect it has been feasting in the rabbit garden.
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...psph6xsv4s.jpg
Yeah...I like the bunnies. I have a couple of young ones hanging outside my kitchen window every morning. I watch them as I make coffee. One is always running around like his cotton tail's on fire...he's a hoot. Unfortunately for the bunnies we have 3 Jack Russells. I do my best to keep them from chasing the rabbits...but so far it's Terrier 1, Bunnies 0.
Saw this little guy on another Platte adventure today.
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...835ac444c3.jpg
Poor thing, gotta be rough trying to survive with a broken beak. I've gotten to be a real softie for little birds. Lord knows I was a terror on them with a BB gun when I was a kid, now I'm their friend. I'd LOVE to have hummers hanging around.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bailey Guns
Here is a related video. Anyone else picture Lobo doing this?Quote:
Originally Posted by buffalobo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA8pxzawUGM
While I think it would be a great challenge, very unlikely to happen. I have had a couple of run ins with badgers and unless absolutely necessary, will not mess with them.
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Out for another adventure today, chased this guy off of a heavily traveled dirt road, to avoid being ran over.
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Bonus pic from the same area
http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...a5c815ce0d.jpg
My mom has had some hawks around her place the last few days. She first saw it when it landed on the porch while she was outside reading and the cat was sitting in the sun. She said the wingspan was the same as hers.
The next day my brother sent photos of one hawk carrying a rabbit and dropping it onto the neighbor's roof where the two hawks shared it together. She sent me these pictures today. Mom is frustrated because the cat hangs outside a lot and is one of those cats that kills mice and stuff in the yard. So, the hawk is interested in the cat, as is evidenced by showing up while my mom was on the porch, but the cat is also interested in the hawk because she doesn't know any better. I guess it's a Red Tail hawk.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ug...=w1698-h955-no
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Mm...=w1698-h955-no