It was a beautiful spring day. We decided to go out and scout some local locations for future YouTube videos. To make it more interesting we made it a goal to find newborn critters to photograph. We did find a few but we were for the most part a little early. For additional background related to this outing check out our YouTube video

Our first stop was Benson Sculptor Gardens in Loveland. This was a nice large park with a multi-lobed lake. On one end of the park was a well-manicured lawn. The banks of the lake were well-trimmed and neat. All in all, it looked very civilized. As one moved to the other end of the lake the scene changed. The other end of the lake was less well maintained. There was a band of overgrown bushes and flowering trees that lined the bank. The bank itself faded into cattail beds. The closer we came to the end of the lake the thicker the cattail beds became. It was a nice blend of groomed and wild in the center of the city. Alas, there were no newborn babies. We observed a Great Blue Heron for a while. Tried photographing some of the small songbirds flitting about and took a few photos of the flowering shrubs and trees. The closest we came was a goose sitting on a nest. A promise of new babies next week.

Next in line were a couple of driveby checks. We drove past our favorite heron rookery and Equalizer Lake looking for newborn ospreys. No newborns at either location. Next was a stop at an owl tree that we knew of. We knew that there were owlets there. We watched for some time while the mother owl stood guard at the entrance. The young ones wouldn’t come out. We were on to the next location.

Photo of a mother Great Horned Owl guarding her nest in a tree cavity while a squirrels played around her nest with no fear. — Mother Great Horned Owl Guarding Her Nest - phot by Steve Eckes

The next stop was Chapungu Sculptor Gardens at Centerra near Loveland Colorado. The Chapungu Sculpture Gardens are always onsite for observing wildlife. In the past, we have seen turkeys, raccoons, hawks, etc., etc., etc. Here, we were rewarded with a gosling troop. The new family was scouring the banks of the largest pond, feeding all the way. We watched the goslings for a while as they moved along the pond bank. Occasionally the young ones would plunge into the water. Often from a point on the bank that was too steep for them to get back out. We caught ourselves on a couple of occasions wondering how they would get back out. No need to worry, however. There was a particularly low area on the bank where they could bet out. Apparently, their parents had taught them well, as they utilized the same exit route several times while we watched them.

Photo of a mother Canada Goose and goslings on the pond bank. — Mother Goose and family - photo by Steve Eckes

To further enrich our stop there we, once again saw many other signs of spring. Chapunga did not disappoint. The first critters that we saw was a muskrat couple preparing for newborns. We were greatly entertained by -displays of other spring-related creatures. A Yellow-rumped Warbler, which is migratory in our area, helped to keep the tone of our visit springtime. Some frogs in the pond that had over-wintered in the mud and various songbirds that are spring arrivals helped keep the tone intact. We finished up the tour with a young rabbit that paused for some photos.