Tag: birds

Oh Look!! An LBJ!

Posted on by Joy

Hello and hope you are doing well in this strange summer minus much travel and vacationing. I thought I’d take you to a few local places in search of LBJs. What is an LBJ you ask? If you have never spent time looking at birds or searching field guides to find their official names, it is a name you can use and people will think you have an inside scoop on bird ID. How can that be bad? I know, rather lame, but still fun.

Actually LBJ is a fun as well as good initial identifier–Little Brown Job. With so many darting brown to grayish brown smallish birds, it is a quick naming start as we look for indicators that will lead to identification such as its size, body shape, size and shape of bill, color pattern, habitat, and behavior.

So here we go, looking at some of the many LBJs here on the Front Range of the Rockies. I’ll be giving you a link to each LBJ to explore more as you desire. Cornell University’s Lab of Ornithology has wonderful online bird guides which explain so many amazing aspects of their unique lifestyles!

Let’s Go!

Songbirds–Gems of the Sky

Posted on by Joy

Hi all, have missed you! Hope you are well, taking precautions, and figuring out life again. While staying closer to home longer than I’m used to, been hiking locally and seeing many new birds in the parks and open spaces. Some staying for the summer, some just passing through, some year-round residents. Come along to see the beauty of these Gems of the Sky!

Look, over there!

Relishing Small Wonders–COVID–Changing Our Perspectives

Posted on by Joy

Hi there and welcome back. Hope you are well and staying sane during these very different days. All my 2020 trips have been canceled which has lead to reimagining life with the coronavirus and reflecting on what is truly important. Are you having similar thoughts?

For the last years I’ve been sharing the “big stuff”. Bison, wolves, Pronghorn antelope, Bighorn sheep, Sandhill Cranes, Harlequin Ducks, Yellowstone, Glacier, and amazing landscapes in the East, West, and all along the way. Slide down the right column to view past adventures–relax, smile, and enjoy.

For now, however, it is time to explore the close by. Beautiful county park’s trails, although closed visitor centers. Amazing city parks and open spaces plus close-by state parks. Taking the time to enjoy the often-overlooked close-by places and abundant small wonders they hold.

Come along and enjoy our amazing natural world as we explore Fountain Creek Nature Center and surrounds late winter into early spring this year. Many birds migrate through, some stay to have young, others make it their year-round home along with many plants and small mammals. Remember my friend, to really enjoy the great outdoors you MUST slow down and look around. Never know, you may find “friends” in other forms along the way.

Let’s explore!

Beauty, Diversity, Partnerships Commingle at Ninepipes

Posted on by Joy

We only have one day to explore Ninepipes National Wildlife Refuge. The weather is not too promising, but such is spring in Montana. Over the course of the day we may see sun, then rain, then sun, then clouds. An ever-changing landscape, but the birds are consistent. Waterfowl, songbirds, and raptors alike are nesting and beginning to raise their next generation.

We are 18 miles south of Flathead Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi in the lower 48 states, with over 200 square miles of water and 185 miles of shoreline. The refuge sits in the Mission Valley with the Mission Mountains east and the Salish Mountains west, but the center of our attention is the 1,672 acre lake in the middle of the refuge surrounded by many smaller ponds.

Entrance to Ninepipes is right across the road from the Lodge. You can see a bit of light above the grass line which is the lobby/restaurant entrance. Let’s explore a while before breakfast. It is a bit before 6am and the birds are calling as the sky brightens. Let’s see what surprises we find at sunrise!

Mission Mnts sunrise

So much to see . . .