It was a breezy Spring day, pretty cool at 7000 feet. Some snow was still on the ground. It was a delightful stroll 2.1 miles around the lake. Even for a Sunday, it wasn’t too busy. Don and I saw quite a number of birds. I liked that there were several distinct ecological areas surrounding the lake. The pine forest came right up to the lake in several locations. There were a couple low-lying marshy areas with sparrows, wrens, and red-winged blackbirds. (We kept hearing the blackbirds but not seeing them, so I was not able to record that species on this day.) Then at the southeast end of the lake is a small aspen grove where we saw chickadees and the playful nuthatches were chasing each other about. The lake itself seems to be a lovely spot for the various ducks and a grebe that we observed. Most impressively, an osprey (maybe a pair of them, not sure) was seen patrolling about the lake. My husband saw the osprey dive into the lake to catch a fish; unfortunately I missed that shot, but I did get a few good ones of this impressive bird of prey.
Today I added 13 species to my list. I’m off to a satisfying start to my Big Year!
Bird Observations at Spooner Lake
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