Spring is exploding in Beulah!

MPEC Board Member Mary Twinem, who lives across the Beulah Valley, emailed this morning that she was listening to the song of the black-headed grosbeak in the soft morning light. The black-headed grosbeak is an attractive migrant that has apparently just returned from its winter grounds south of the border. Its song is one of my favorites, long, sweet and very melodious. The last few May mornings have been magical - plants are greening, trees are beginning to bring forth their leaves, and birds are busy with breeding behaviours: pairing up, claiming or guarding territories through song, nest building, and bringing the sounds of spring to the days. Wildflowers coming into bloom include Nelson larkspur, creeping holly grape (mahonia), and I've been seeing lots of mountain candytuft. May is a lovely month in Pueblo Mountain Park and a great time to pay the park a visit.

Mountain Park Alive with Nature!

This past Saturday, I was out along the park's trails doing some trail maintenance, and couldn't help but notice that the flowers are probably at their peak for the park, easily 3 or 4 weeks later than usual. Pictured in this blog are senecio, yucca, stonecrop, dwarf penstemon (p. virens), and mountain harebell, a few of the many wildflowers blooming right now. And at yesterday's birding hike, we saw several western bluebirds and at least a couple of western tanagers, two of the more colorful avian species found in the park at this time. It's a great time to take a leisurely hike in Pueblo Mountain Park to enjoy Nature's loveliness.

A busy May @ MPEC!

May has been humming for MPEC in Pueblo Mountain Park. Along with lots of school programs (photo of stream ecology session of Earth Studies), we had another great Nature Toddlers session (playing drums before the hike), and a special treat when Diana Miller of Pueblo Nature and Raptor Center released a couple of flammulated owls among the ponderosa pines in front of the Horseshoe Lodge (a "flam" pictured with MPEC member and supporter Tyson Bennett).

Birdwatching in Beulah on New Year's Day 2008

2007 ended with a wintry December in Beulah, with many cold days and several very cold nights, plus about 28" of snow. 2008, and the beginning of MPEC's ninth year, began with a chilly and sunny day. The birds knew not that us humans were acknowledging the turn of the year, but they were busy at the bird feeders. My son-in-law Erik took plenty of good photos of some of them, including a very hungry male hairy woodpecker, a loud but camera-shy Stellar's jay, a busy mountain chickadee, and a red breasted nuthatch that just wouldn't stay very still.