Mark Trail - First Colorado Sightings

Mule Deer buck at dusk

We moved to Colorado about five months ago, but up to this time, I have had no time to do any birding - not even casually. We regularly drive past the Fossil Creek Wetlands area near our home, but I haven't tried to make a stop. There was an article in the Denver Post earlier this week about the Mallard migration having peaked. Also mentioned were Canada Geese, that I know, but also White-fronted Geese and Ross's Geese which I have no idea what they look like.

Dark-eyed Junco

For Thanksgiving week, our daughter and her family flew in from Oregon, and our oldest son and his family drove up from the Denver area for the long holiday weekend. Earlier in the week, we drove to Littleton, and our son drove the men to the near-by hills for a hike, while the ladies did some holiday shopping. Mount Falcon Park was only 30 minutes away from their place. After the short walk up to the Eagle Eye Shelter, I saw a few Dark-eyed Junco searching for seeds among dried grass tussocks. They would fly up into the trees when anyone would walk near them, but drop back to their places on the ground where they would keep up their search. There were many Mule Deer in the fields along the road leading up to the park. While walking down from the shelter, three deer ran across an open meadow when they realized their way up a road along a wooded area was blocked by four hikers coming towards us. On the drive out of the park, a large buck was grinding his antlers on a power pole next to the road. We stopped to snap some photographs - but our son kept his car in gear, just in case the animal decided to make a move our way.

Mountain Cottontail Rabbit tracks

I remember reading Mark Trail in the Fresno Bee Sunday comic section when I was the age of my grandchildren. Earlier this week on Sunday afternoon, our Daughter's son wanted to play in the little bit of snow that was still on the lawn on the north side of our house. There were Mountain Cottontail rabbit tracks running across a patch that our grandson had not trampled. Seeing the marks, I thought about seeing a piece about different animal tracks in a long-past Mark Trail episode.1
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1 A general guide example can be accessed here. A technical paper published by the U.S. Forest Service can be accessed by clicking here.