Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Flyby

We've been having a lot of spring snow storms lately. Sunday, the weather broke and it was warm and sunny. So, I took the opportunity to take a little road trip. This photo is of a Blue-Winged Teal flying over the cattail marshes near the highway entrance to Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site. The fort is located in southeast Colorado near the town of La Junta. The area draws lots of waterbirds due to the reservoirs and cattail complexes along the Arkansas river. In addition to this Blue-Winged Teal, I saw (and heard) large numbers of Red-Winged Blackbirds, Canada Geese, Buffleheads, Cinnamon Teal, American Coot and various unidentified species.

I look forward to returning to this area to see the Mississippi Kite and the Colorado Black Rails.

If you're interested in any of these birds, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a great resource.

This is part of my world. To see others from around the globe, visit My World Tuesday.

10 comments:

Martha Z said...

Great photo, the composition and sharpness of the duck against the bluring of the backgroud, perfect.

Bryan said...

Nicely captured. Echo Martha.

These guys would look really weird without their wings.

Louise said...

Wonderful capture!!

Unknown said...

Great piccie, so sharp.

airplane5312 said...

That is a great catch!

Linnea said...

Wow! That is an amazing capture. I love the soft background and the clarity of the details of the bird is exceptional. Awesome that the wing tips are blurred...that really give the shot a sense of motion.

Arija said...

A nice capture of flight, very pretty against the wintery marsh grasses.

The Explorer said...

you made emphasis on the bird...and made the background blurry..still you had a good shot

Misty DawnS said...

I've had some Blue Winged Teals frequenting my pond. I certainly don't mind, because I love taking their photos.

Russ said...

Thanks everyone! I'm still pretty new to birding, so, I didn't know what they were until I opened up my id book.

Bryan - that would be especially true if they were still flying :)