Southeast Colorado

After experiencing so much rain and bad weather on my May trip last year I had not completely decided whether or not to head out west this month.  Rain dominated the weather scene (think Nashville!) and I waited until 9:00 AM Friday (May 14) before I finally decided there was a non-threatening stretch of weather ahead.  I spent the first night in Blue Springs, Missouri and arrived in Lamar, Colorado in the early afternoon.  It was, of course, threatening rain.

Lamar is well-known for nesting Mississippi Kites at its Willow Creek Park.  The Kite is a striking bird of prey which is perfectly happy catching cicadas and other large insects in mid air with their talons and devouring them while flying.  I had visualized a quiet small town park where I could set up and take pictures undisturbed.  Instead I walked into "Lamar Days Rod Run" which was a classic car show/carnival/dance exhibition/motorcycle show/ arts and crafts/grilling contest.  They had all their bases covered.  I heard the music from two blocks away and knew things would probably not work out according to my preconceived plans.

Sign at Willow Creek Park, Lamar Colorado

I found a parking spot three blocks away and went kite hunting.  I managed to find two individuals.  They were perched high behind vegetation against a gray sky-not very photogenic.  I first imagined they were huddled shell-shocked against the blaring music, crowd noise and carnival rides but more likely hunting was tough in the cold windy weather.  I decided to see if conditions would improve, and if not, to come back early in the morning.

Meanwhile, to make the best of things I checked out the classic cars and since I was rather hungry decided to conduct my own evaluation of the grillers.  My first try was "Grillers in the Mist" and I thought I had an instant winner but to be fair I tried the ribs of "Skin & Bones " from Arcadia, Florida and reluctantly awarded them first place.  I might have been biased by all the awards and trophies they displayed, or maybe I just liked the huge parrot they had in front entertaining the customers.

Despite a rough looking sky at night the next morning was beautiful.  I arrived at the park before sunrise and didn't see anybody for almost two hours.  The kites seemed a little sleepy at first as I began to relocate them.  Around 8 o'clock they began to get more active.  The pair below were definitely getting quite cozy.

Around ten I decided to make a long trip to Carrizo Canyon and Cottonwood Canyon near the Oklaoma and New Mexico border From hind sight this was a bad decision.   The roads are dirt and earlier rains had turned them slimy in places.  With relatively large distances and reduced speed, time for photography became limited.  I contemplated camping out of sight somewhere so that I could shoot in the morning but then remembered I hadn't told anybody where I would be and there was no cell phone or internet connection in case of a breakdown.  For anybody comtemplating birding this area make sure you carry good maps and a gps.  Despite these problems the canyons are beautiful and worth the trouble even if the grasslands you cover to get there can be quite monotonous. 

Carrizo Canyon