The Little Nuthatch

Last month I had a craft show in St. Pete and headed to Sand Key Park for a bit of birding and a peaceful walk at the beach to unwind before the long drive home. I also had a beach picnic of take out from Love Food Central, a delicious vegan restaurant in St. Pete. Lots of birds, and so many fledgelings screaming at their parents and being ignored, ha!     Love those shy Oystercatchers!

I am happy to announce that I redid my old "water birds" painting so it is now the Wading Birds of North America. The previous version of it was specific to Florida, however, the only thing I had to ad to make it North America was a White-faced Ibis, and even those can be seen in Florida from time to time. One of the things I love about Florida is that these beautiful birds can easily be observed regularly. Anyway, here it is: Prints are available in the shop. I also made the favorites from it into magnets that can...

I recently finished this Animals of Africa commission that is specific to the African animals at the Cincinnati Zoo. Now I wish I could go there and visit these animals! It features Giraffe, Hippo, Lesser Kudu, Lion, Meerkat, Ostrich, Painted Dog, and Ruppell's Vulture. I will shortly be listing some magnets featuring these animals in my shop as well.

Paint Mines Interpretive Park is way out there down dirt roads (thankfully well-kept) through farm country and a couple cute little towns. As a birder I found the drive to be AWESOME, with opportunities to see raptors, grouse, and an abundance of Western Meadowlarks. After the drive, it's kind of amazing when seemingly out of nowhere you come upon the colorful rock formations of the Paint Mines. The photos don't do it justice. There's much to explore and the rocks are towering over you. They are colorful and have different textures. Small flowers are found growing out from the rocks....

After a couple days of rocky mountains in Colorado, I was all about getting to some flat easy terrain! Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR is near the Denver airport, it is a wildlife drive with walking trails throughout and with lovely grasslands that are known for their Bison and Burrowing Owls. I really wanted to see the Burrowing Owls, and was thrilled to find a pair posing on some flowers, their burrow below in the grass.   Besides the owls, here are some more photos of this beautiful place near the city.