はるになったらまたこのこうえんにきます。- I will come to this park again later in

the spring. 🍀

You asked for more birds. Well, I got birds! But you'll have to wait for it. Why? I have too many! 🤣

Let me explain. My moment from earlier this week generated so many comments about birds that it got me thinking. Today, I wanted to go skiing, but the weather just wasn't good skiing weather. Too warm and windy! So, instead I found a lake that I could visit down on the plains, take a walk, bring a sandwich, see something new.

The 11 square km lake is part of a state park, close to the city and about an hour's drive for me. Within the park, there is a wildlife refuge with a nature center and boardwalks.

There was still snow on the ground from the recent storm and some areas were pretty wet. However, it was a warm day, about 10 degrees, just fairly hazy. At the nature center I found this little bird, a male house finch (photo #1). Then I went to explore...

A portion of the lake is lined with old cottonwood trees, providing perfect habitat for many birds. It wasn't long before I spotted my first eagle. As I found out, this park is home to many bald eagles, at least for part of year. Over 50 bald eagles have been counted this winter! I have never seen more than two bald eagles in one spot before, so this was a huge surprise to me. The bald eagle is of course the national bird of the United States and photographing one in the wild is always a thrill.

The bird in the fourth photo is a juvenile bald eagle. The eaglets keep their brown and black feathers for up to four years.

I found this interesting nest (photo #5). I wonder what kind of bird builds a nest like that. The lake is not natural, it was built for irrigation purposes 110 years ago.

There are many more photos I'd really like to share. I stayed there for five hours, taking some 600 photos. Therefore, this shall be just part one of a multipart post... 😎