mistressofmuses (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mistressofmuses) wrote2025-09-20 07:10 pm
mistressofmuses) wrote2025-09-20 07:10 pm
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Monday, September 08: Colorado Wood Stork
This summer we've had a birding celebrity here in Colorado. A wood stork!
Wood storks are typically a tropical bird, so while they're common in places like Florida, they're almost unheard of in Colorado! The last one seen here was back in the 1930s.
This one has been pretty comfortably hanging out in the same pond up in the Broomfield area, and lots of people have been excited to go get his picture.
We found him! (My cell phone pictures are not amazing. We did see two guys out with serious business cameras. Maybe someday. Even with little cell phone snaps, I was happy to get to see him.)
Though it wasn't why we came, we were also surprised by there being so many pelicans. (Plus some egrets on the far side.)
The park is just a little neighborhood park, with a path around a large pond. We parked in the neighborhood, and went for a walk.
A squirrel with a snack.
Looking at the pond, as I said above, the much more obvious thing was...
A bunch of pelicans. Just so many pelicans. (There were two large groups, pretty sure 30-some total on the pond.)
Zooming in on the pelicans... there's a white bird on the far side along the shoreline. It was obviously bigger than the egrets we'd also seen around, so we were hopeful that was our sought-after wood stork.
'Twas! :D
Pelicaaaaaans.
I love him and his weird head feathers and his huge bill... He was neat to watch.
Bella was less enthusiastic about birdwatching.
One last picture of the wood stork.
It was fun to see our celebrity visitor, and I'm glad we got a chance to go up and see him before he leaves. (As far as I know he is still there, but it's likely he'll migrate away before too long.)
Wood storks are typically a tropical bird, so while they're common in places like Florida, they're almost unheard of in Colorado! The last one seen here was back in the 1930s.
This one has been pretty comfortably hanging out in the same pond up in the Broomfield area, and lots of people have been excited to go get his picture.
We found him! (My cell phone pictures are not amazing. We did see two guys out with serious business cameras. Maybe someday. Even with little cell phone snaps, I was happy to get to see him.)
Though it wasn't why we came, we were also surprised by there being so many pelicans. (Plus some egrets on the far side.)
The park is just a little neighborhood park, with a path around a large pond. We parked in the neighborhood, and went for a walk.
Eight more pictures:
A squirrel with a snack.
Looking at the pond, as I said above, the much more obvious thing was...
A bunch of pelicans. Just so many pelicans. (There were two large groups, pretty sure 30-some total on the pond.)
Zooming in on the pelicans... there's a white bird on the far side along the shoreline. It was obviously bigger than the egrets we'd also seen around, so we were hopeful that was our sought-after wood stork.
'Twas! :D
Pelicaaaaaans.
I love him and his weird head feathers and his huge bill... He was neat to watch.
Bella was less enthusiastic about birdwatching.
One last picture of the wood stork.
It was fun to see our celebrity visitor, and I'm glad we got a chance to go up and see him before he leaves. (As far as I know he is still there, but it's likely he'll migrate away before too long.)
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LOL Bella!
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I love herons! I haven't seen many this year; a couple in flight, and pictures other people have gotten locally, but not many any of the places we've been. (Though bummer about the dogs chasing yours away!)
Bella is basically always lol.
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And thank you: I was quite happy with the pelican picture.
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Definitely a "should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque..." situation though, I'm pretty sure, haha.