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| Sites along northbound Highway 285 |
It is amazing how it can snow in the Rocky Mountains, and by late-morning on a sunny day, the
road conditions can be back to bare pavement. I drove from
Monte Vista back to Fort Collins via
Highway 285, and made quick stops to specifically catch photographs of hawks, a few other birds, and
Mule Deer and
Rocky Mountain Elk. Snow covered everything in northern San Luis Valley through
South Park and the rest of the way to Denver. Over the five hours of driving it was easy to see the upper reaches of the
Rio Grande,
Arkansas, and the
South Platte
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| More Highway 285 views |
Rivers. Colorado is the high ground from the middle of the continent, and
many waters flow out of here. The only song birds I saw were two
Dark-eyed Juncos, the rest, larger birds like the hawks, one
Common Raven, numerous
American Crow, and the occasional
Black-billed Magpies that crossed over the highway in front of me, and one in a thicket of trees who wouldn't let me get close of a clear picture, but gave
calls from its perch. It is a curious phenom that these animals can survive in this environments. Along the way toward the upper end of the San Luis Valley, water was being released from a well to a creek, and
Mallard Ducks were making the best of single digit temperatures with snow on the banks.
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| Rough-legged Hawk |
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| American Crow against the mountain |
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| Red-tailed Hawk |
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| Ferruginous Hawk |
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| Common Raven |
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| Mule Deer |
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| Black-billed Magpie |
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| Mallard Ducks |
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