It is a big week for me. The first phase of my medical “bad boy” sentencing is up this Thursday! Fingers crossed everything looks good so I can transition into the next term consisting of a walking boot and physical therapy. I cannot wait to be at least semi-mobile again. Before the good advice comes pouring in, Linda already gave me the “treatment” yesterday at dinner. {With a stern look that would be truly forbidding to those less conditioned to it hehehe} “Now, you know what to do the next time you think you turned your ankle in a race RIGHT!?!” “Yes” I proudly responded without a moments hesitation “..not tell you about it!”. She may seem flabbergasted, exhausted, disappointed and claws out ready to pounce, but deep down inside she knows me better than that (and still agreed to marry me – crazy eh!). Honestly, I will try to be more careful – these last couple of years have been rough on the body. While I mentally prepare for what is going to be some brutal first therapy sessions, going to let Brad take you with him on another Colorado adventure. Oh, Brad’s suspicions were correct, I just finished processing almost all the tins of the 2024 birding season (over a terabyte). Just have a quick trip to Colorado to get through from last September and then I’ll be current to this year!!
Take it away Brad…
At Wildlife Intrigued, most of the photography team (OK, Brian and I) have a backlog of photos as you might expect. Brian’s backlog is an order of magnitude greater than my backlog, though I suspect with his upcoming ankle “upgrade” he’s going to have lots of time to sort through photos. Writing a story isn’t necessarily a linear event. Oh sure, I could go back to the oldest photos and start from there. However, sometimes a story just sings to me and keeps working its way through my brain until my fingers hit the keyboard. Voila! A story is born. Stories are usually not published, or written, in sequential order either, meaning that back-to-back stories published on Wildlife Intrigued come from different assignments on different years. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.
As Jan and I neared the exit of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Preserve (RMANWP) Wildlife Drive we began to notice the large bison fences. In reality, I’m not sure these wire fences would stop a determined bison from going where it darn well wanted to go. Growing up, there was a farm near us that had exotic animals on it, including a camel (one hump), an ostrich, and a very small herd of bison. Did you know that bison are extremely agile despite their large size? One evening, at my parent’s dining room window we heard a loud snort. Glancing up, there was a large bison looking straight into the first story window. The large furry face stared at us for a few seconds before something off to the side caught its attention. The bison was off like a shot because two people on horseback were chasing after it. We were later told the chase lasted several minutes until the bison decided it was tired and hungry. Once the bison neared the 5-foot-tall fence marking its home, it simply leaped over the fence, in stride, back to its normal corral and began quietly munching on a big bowl of bison chow. Problem sorted. That’s when I learned how agile and strong these animals are. Important safety tip from the National Park Service: Don’t pet the fluffy cows.
Back to the previously scheduled story.
Today’s feathered friend is not new to Intrigued. You may have seen today’s featured guest before here. The prior story is from nearly the same location, just a few miles closer to the mountains of Colorado than I am today.
Sitting on the top wire of the bison fence was this guy, or girl, I’m not really sure. Unless a pair is sitting side by side, the subtle color differences are not as obvious. Males can have slightly brighter, or more vibrant, yellow coloring, some might say “lemon” colored. The black “necklace” may also be darker or more sharply defined. Not seeing another one nearby for comparison, I’m sticking with my original assessment.
Hit the jump to read more about this winged lemon with a dagger of a bill.
Continue reading Singin’ in the Sunshine…by Brad Marks
Wildlife Intrigued 