Cherry Creek State Park

This is a travel blog, so I blog about travel. But, sometimes I forget that I don't have stay away overnight to travel. So, I am going to give some space to local spots in Colorado.

So, my first topic is Cherry Creek State Park, a wildlife-packed park that happens to sit right on the eastern edge of Denver in Aurora, just an hour and a half from my house.

As with many of the places I have gone recently in Colorado, Caty and I were attracted to the CCSP because we saw other peoples' pictures of Eagles posted on the Front Range Wildlife Photographers Facebook page. When we went in 2015, we got some very nice close-up shots of both a mature ...

Mature Bald Eagle

... and a juvenile Bald Eagle ...

Juvenile Bald Eagle

The 4,200-acre park and campground are open year-round, with day-use hours from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. There is a large dam and reservoir, bicycle and hiking trails, a shooting range, a model airplane area and lots of animals. And, at the top of our list is Bald Eagles. There are several residents and from nine-20 regular winter visitors. Recently, we couldn't get any up-close views because the Eagles like to sit on the frozen lake. When we spotted one and hiked close along the trail at the base of the dam, the Eagle just flew off. But, it was a pretty good show.

Mature Bald Eagle

Recently, I have become obsessed with getting a good photo of an American Kestrel. I thought I had never seen one until recently. But, then, when I recognized one in a tree on NORAD road, I realized that I just didn't know how small they are. They are easy to mistake for a Robin unless you look closely. Obviously, their beautiful markings are one clue. Another (and this is one that Caty noticed) is that they tend to twitch their tails when the perch. Songbirds tend to sit still. When we were at CCSP, I caught one in a tree and on some mulleins at CCSP. Still, not perfect pictures, but better than my last try

American Kestrel

And, with the beautiful blue skies, I managed to get some great shots of two Red-tailed Hawks. As I have gotten increasingly interested in photographing wildlife, I have also come to realize just how many Red-tailed Hawks we have in the area. They come in many shades -- ranging from very light to very dark, but they do tend to stay in an area better than lots of other Hawks, whether sitting or soaring.

Red-tailed Hawks

These two gave a very good visual on they identifying markings on the bottom-side of their wings. You can see how the coloring is slightly different.

Red-tailed Hawk

I use the Hawks to practice my birds-in-flight photo skills, but, seriously, I may have to stop photographing every Red-tail I see. 

I used to have only a passing interest in birds, except for the spectacular ones such as Eagles, Hawks and Owls and the adorable ones such as Hummingbirds.

Now, I need to talk a little about how three factors have converged to turn me into a (gasp!) birder. Yeah, I said it.

First, I live in Colorado and have big windows that look out onto trees and sky. So, I see lots of birds without really trying. In the summer, we have four varieties of Hummingbirds that come to our feeders and their behavior is always interesting to watch.

CW: Broad-tailed, Broad-tailed and Rufous Hummingbirds in my yard

Second, Caty and I took two classes focused on photographing birds of prey (still and in flight). So, I started looking at more birds and practicing my skills on them.

Captive Barn Owl from on of my classes

And, finally, I started casually compiling a Facebook photo album featuring every different animal I have ever photographed. Because I am a compulsive list-checker-offer, the album has become a compulsion in itself. Note: the album isn't yet published; I use the pix for my Facebook cover everyday.

Lots of photos

So, what started as primarily mammals has expanded to cover birds. So, now I am on it!!

CCSP is a great spot to feed the compulsion. So, now starts my quest for birds and ducks and herons and cranes and geese.

Common Mergansers: female, left, and male, right

Male Common Merganser diving for fish

And, although you see them everywhere ... and I mean everywhere --- even the Canada Geese can be entertaining ...

Canada Geese coming in for a landing

... and beautiful ...

Canada Geese flying

And, CCSP is also known for having lots of Coyotes. I mean, with all the birds, why wouldn't it? We've seen a few there. This one was the last thing we saw when we were getting ready to leave. It was fairly dark, so it was tough to get a good picture. But, he was a beauty.

Coyote

I am sure that Caty and I will continue to visit CCSP on a regular basis. It's great to have such an oasis right in the middle of civilization