Christopher Columbus Lake

So, now on to Christopher Columbus Lake. This is a typical city park with a lake stocked with fish. There are many picnic tables, horseshoe pit, and other common park amenities. I always see a few "old" (and I use that word kindly now that I am getting old) fishermen who bring their lawn chairs and sit by the lake's edge with their line out in the water. I can't help but to stop and hear a "fish story" or two. They are hoping to catch a nice 14 - 16 inch trout. I don't have the heart to tell them I lived in the Northwest and fished throughout Washington and British Columbia where the "small" ones were 18 inches and the average was 22 inches. I talked with one nice gentleman whom I remember talking with the first time I came to Columbus Lake nine years ago. I think he is there every single morning. It's nice to be retired. 

What was there? Well, there always seem to be a Great Blue Heron or two, and a Great Egret; lots of Great Tailed Grackles; an assortment of ducks and domesticated geese. There was another bird I photographed but can't identify. It's not a great photo. But I would like to know what it is. It is the size and shape of a Robin, but the white on the wings and vent suggests something else. The breast is a "burnt" orange color.  Maybe someone can help with this:

?????

Here are the other photos from Christopher Columbus Lake:

Great Egret

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

Great Tailed Grackle

Lakeside Park - II

Just a couple more photos from Lakeside park:

Juvenile Vermillion Flycatcher

Great Tailed Grackle

Northern Mockingbird

Phainopepla

Imperial National Wildlife Refuge: Odds and Ends

Finally, a few miscellaneous odds and ends. I went to Imperial NWR looking for Wild Burros and Desert Bighorn Sheep. And, I was totally focused in doing just that. Although known for its waterbirds, I spent NO TIME in or even around the water. Most of my time was spent in the mountains or on the ledges. I guess having spent 18 years in the Northwest US and Canada, I have done more than my share of photographing water birds. Won't find any Wild Burros or Desert Bighorn Sheep up there, so ....

The closest I came was the Great Tail Grackle (last photo below) I photographed from one of the edges looking down into one of the ponds off the Colorado River. Other than the Grackle, here are a Black Tailed Jackrabbit, Canyon Lizard, and Ash Throated Flycatcher taken while searching for the Burros and Sheep:

Black Tail Jackrabbit

Canyon Lizard

Ash Throated Flycatcher

Great Tailed Grackle