Barr Lake is a state park located in central Colorado, very close to Brighton. I had always seen the lake from the highway but made my first trip there this year. The Colorado Bird Observatory is on the north shore of the lake and after reading a local magazine article about the wildlife seen there I set off to see for myself. I was prepared for specific birds and hoped I’d be lucky enough to spot a deer. I arrived at 6 a.m. and walked along the trails behind the dam of Barr Lake. About halfway through my hike I spotted some fresh deer tracks. I followed them across a canal and looked up from checking the settings on my camera to look right at a doe. She stood and looked at me and I stood and looked at her. The animals there are obviously somewhat used to humans; she let me fire off several shots before wandering off into a field. I followed and got a few more shots before she had enough of the posing. Later as I was walking back to the car across the top of the dam I looked up to see a deer running off into the trees. It had been spooked by a bicyclist and by the time I got my camera up and focused, the deer was gone. I was comforted by the knowledge that I had some (hopefully good) shots in my camera.
Another day I went into the park by way of the nature center. I walked along the eastern side of the lake but ran out of steam before I got as far as I had wanted to go. The lake is 9 miles around—too far for me! I saw the most gorgeous orange birds in the grasses and trees. They are Bullock’s Orioles and I’ve never seen a more spectacularly colored bird! I knew none of my shots would be good enough so I stopped in the nature center before I left and asked a ranger if he had any tips on getting closer to the orioles for a good photograph. He asked me, “How close do you want to get?” I must have stood there with my mouth open. How do you answer that? He said they love oranges and he would cut one and put it on the feeder. That would surely draw one. He had me sit on a sofa inside the center, right in front of a bay window. I wasn’t too sure about taking the pictures through the glass but knew I’d scare off the birds if I was outside so what did I have to lose? It turned out great. I got some fantastic shots and you’d never know they were shot through a window.
Earlier that morning I’d walked along a boardwalk over the lake’s edge. I saw a white pelican flying toward me so got my camera locked on it and was fortunate enough to have the bird fly very close by overhead. I recommend a trip to Barr Lake if you are ever in the area. Meanwhile, sit back and see it through my eyes!
