Day: May 4, 2017

Nine-Years Ago (04-May-2008) — Colorado

Springtime Nature in Colorado.

In addition to Rocky Mountain National Park, I also liked to go to Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge. It is a longer drive from Boulder, especially when the pass across the National Park is closed due to snow. The 23,464-acre wildlife refuge was established to provide suitable nesting and rearing habitat for migratory birds. Spring is a great time to visit as the migrating birds arrive when the snow in the wetlands is melting. There were a lot of birds, some I could identify and others that I need to identify. There were also a lot of prairie dogs, and a blind set up for a biologist to observe and study the prairie dogs.

Horned Lark in the wetlands of the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Horned Lark in the wetlands of the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/8, 1/1250 sec). (David J Mathre)
Prairie dog in the wetlands of the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)
Prairie dog in the wetlands of the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge. Image taken with a Nikon D300 camera and 80-400 mm VR lens (ISO 200, 400 mm, f/11, 1/200 sec). (David J Mathre)


Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed here.