Some American Wildlife

I was fortunate to be able to visit the states of Colorado and Utah during the first fortnight in October. Here are some photos of wildlife observed during the visit. Firstly I came across Mule Deer, I guess so called because of their large ears. They were not too timid so I was able to get some close photographs of them.

Squirrels were very common in the Highlands suburbs of Denver. They were slightly larger than our grey squirrels and had a slightly rusty colour too.

Up in the Rocky Mountains the most common wee critters were chipmunks.

In Utah I managed to see this lizard sunning itself on a rock. It was about the size of my hand.

It’s always interesting to see different kinds of birds when abroad. One of the most common ones that I heard and saw was the Northern Flicker, a type of woodpecker.

I also saw a downy woodpecker, which was smaller than the flicker.

In Utah some small birds were making the most of autumn sunflower seeds. One was a common rose finch.

I could be wrong but, having looked up my “Birds of North America” field guide, I think this may be a lesser goldfinch below. Nothing like our goldfinches in the UK!

And this wee one looks like a young one?

One of the most striking common birds was the Steller’s Jay which is a royal blue colour and with a black crested head. I didn’t manage to capture one on camera, that’ll have to wait for another visit.