The first time I visited the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge, I
didn’t get a good look at the bison (click here to see what I mean -
Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge - first time here...).
They were all far away, and I left a bit disappointed. So I decided to
try again the following Saturday… and this time, I got lucky with a much
closer encounter.
The morning was chilly, and the sky was clear and cloudless. The
mountains created a perfect backdrop for the trees and the bison. I
drove slowly along the road, scanning the prairie - and before long, I
spotted one buffalo calmly munching on fresh grass just off the
roadside.
And wow… this guy was
huge! I mean really
big.
I’m not sure why he preferred to graze alone, far from the herd - all
the others were even farther away than during my first visit - but this
one slowly wandered within a few hundred feet of the road.
I pulled over and spent a few minutes watching him and taking pictures. The wide-open prairie dotted with trees, framed by the mountains… this is what Colorado is all about. Absolutely stunning.
As much as I enjoyed watching the bison, I had another goal that day: to find a creature I’d missed on my first visit.
And again - I got lucky. I spotted a
burrowing owl! These small, comical-looking owls live in abandoned rodent burrows, often surrounded by prairie dog colonies.
To give you a sense of the setting - imagine a wide prairie, with
downtown Denver in the distance… and the owl peeking out from the bottom
right corner of the frame :)
Yep, they’re tiny - not the smallest owls, but still quite small. They
feed mostly on insects (grasshoppers are a favorite) and small rodents.
Since they aren’t a threat to the larger animals, they often live
peacefully among the prairie dogs.
As I enjoyed the landscape, a second owl popped up from the burrow. The
two owls called to each other and clearly enjoyed each other’s company.
It looked like a sweet little pair, possibly preparing to bring some
more owlets into the world. A few minutes later, the female disappeared
underground while the male stood watch, guarding the nest.
Such a fascinating little creature - I’ll definitely return to learn more about their lives.
Moving on from predators, I turned my attention to prey. Prairie dogs
are always fun to watch and photograph, and these ones were no
exception. They looked a little nervous and didn’t stray far from their
burrow, which meant something had them on edge...
A few hundred yards down the road, I found the reason why. A Swainson’s Hawk -
the same species I struggled to identify last time - was perched on a
fence post, unconcerned by its surroundings and letting me get
surprisingly close. These elegant hawks are common over the Great Plains
during summer but migrate all the way to South America in winter.
Although they can hunt rodents, snakes, and birds - especially when
feeding young - they mostly eat large insects for most of the year.
This particular hawk was busy preening and preparing for the day ahead.
It was fun to watch such a sleek predator go about its morning grooming
routine.
Honestly, I don’t remember the last time I saw any bird looking so
ruffled and disheveled - it made me like it even more! Like watching a
behind-the-scenes moment from “The Real Lives of Birds”.
Eventually, I left the hawk to finish tidying up and came across another
prairie dog family. Four little ones peeked out of their burrow,
cautiously scanning the sky. And who could blame them? I’d seen three
hawks in just the last stretch of road. You’ve got to keep your eyes on
the skies out here if you want to stay alive.
As I exited the bison area, I stopped briefly to say hello to a small
group of deer. Or maybe they said hello to me - they looked up with mild
curiosity before going right back to breakfast.
By this point, I’d seen all the birds and animals I’d hoped to find -
but I wasn’t quite ready to head home. I had plans to hike around the
lake and look for a few more species…
But that’s a story for next time, isn’t it?
Thanks ChatGPT again. What would I do without it doing proofreading? ;)
Photos were taken on May 10, 2025.
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