Cruising

Male and female Blue-Winged Teal at Old Bent's Fort National Historic Site near La Junta, Co.

Original photo had flat grey, hazy sky. I replaced it with a sky with some interesting clouds.

I like the feeling that the viewer is flying along with the Teals.

Be sure fly on over to Camera Critters.

The Trade Room

Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site is a reconstructed 1840’s adobe fur trading post on the Arkansas river along the Santa Fe Trail near La Junta, Colorado. Traders, trappers, travelers, and Plains Indian tribes came here for trade.

The fort now has living historians recreate the sights, sounds, and smells of the past. Many of the rooms in the fort have been laid out with items that one may have seen in its heyday. This room is the fort's general store, or trade room. It carried merchandise that was traded or sold to trappers, Indians, and travelers.

If you'd like to see more of my photos of Bent's Old Fort, point your browser here.

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.

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