Everybody is flying, swimming or perching ;)

Barr Lake is one of my favorite places to spend a few hours walking around the water and enjoying the fresh air and abundant wildlife. The lake is famous for being a winter home for bald eagles (don’t believe me? check it out - Bald Eagles on Barr Lake), but in November you can find all kinds of birds here - waterfowl, raptors, and everything in between. So, walking along the trail, we hoped to see them all…

 

One of the first birds we met that day was a Killdeer. Small and fast, it never lets anyone get close. The moment I stepped into its invisible “do not enter” circle, the bird simply vanished into thin air - all I managed to capture was its departing shadow.

Ring-billed gulls are a minority here, outnumbered by geese and ducks, but their bright white feathers make them easy to spot, and they’re fun to watch ;)

And geese… dozens of them… hundreds… maybe thousands, flying overhead and looking for a place to rest.

The gulls weren’t as skittish as the killdeer, but they also didn’t like people in their space and would take off right away. Honestly, it felt like everyone was flying that day and no one wanted to stay still :)

We kept walking, hoping to see some raptors. Soon enough, we spotted a small bird perched at the very tip of a thin branch. Not everyone was flying after all - some birds were perching :) It was an American Kestrel, the smallest and most common falcon in North America. A beautiful little bird, feeding mostly on large insects, small rodents, and sometimes small birds. This one sat high above our heads and didn’t care about us at all - it clearly felt safe up there.

But not for long. One moment it was perched, and the next it was gone, shooting through the air at full speed… definitely a day of flying birds :)

We said goodbye to the kestrel and hello to a deer calmly walking along the trail only about 30 feet away. Not a bird, but still a beautiful sight.

Speaking of “swimming birds”… I’ve seen geese swimming in the lake hundreds of times, but I don’t remember seeing them move in single file. It was strange and funny to watch, we even joked that this must be some sort of military unit in the bird kingdom.

While we were debating goose behavior, a flock of birds approached the swimming squad, making the whole thing look like a coordinated military operation - the main column protected by an escorting squadron ;)

Soon we found another kestrel perched high on a branch. Unfortunately, this one was too far away for a clear look. A pity - they’re such beautiful birds!

Water, silhouettes of trees, mountains in the distance… cloudy sky and bright sun… Hard to believe it was mid-November! The temperature was above 60°F and felt more like late summer than late fall.

This time of year bald eagles arrive at Barr Lake to spend the winter, and we hoped to see some of these stunning birds too. Before long we spotted one perched in a cottonwood tree, so we walked toward it, hoping for a closer view.

Well... this juvenile (probably two years old) wasn’t in the mood to show off.  When we were just under the tree, we realized that there was no angle to see the bird clearly. Hidden deep in the branches, we could only glimpse parts of it... and soon the eagle took off and whooshed away.

We continued along the trail, enjoying the views of the lake, trees, and the massive flocks of birds along the water’s edge. There were hundreds, if not thousands, and it was wonderful to see.

Another kestrel appeared, perched on a thin branch again, looking around and scanning the prairie. I don’t remember seeing so many falcons here before, but we certainly weren’t complaining :)

Looking across the water, I spotted yet another bald eagle, maybe a mile away. Walking there would’ve taken another couple of miles on the trail, so we decided to save the energy and slowly head back toward the car.

Off to the left, a huge colony of ring-billed gulls was noisily quarreling about something. Very important, I’m sure ;) But gull drama wasn’t on our list today, so we kept moving.

A couple minutes later we spotted another kestrel (should we call it "kestrel day"?) :)

This one didn’t sit long. It took off and began soaring above the prairie in search of prey.

Then we spotted another bald eagle, this one perched on a tree right next to the trail (on the right one). We walked slowly toward it to test our luck…

For the next ten minutes the young eagle (not more than a year old) watched us, looked around, and seemed more interested in a bee flying nearby than in any of us ;)

Was it sleepy? Probably - it kept yawning! Honestly, I had no idea birds could yawn, but this one certainly could do it so well, so we yawned too :)

We waited, hoping to photograph it in flight, but it stayed put. After a while we said goodbye, left it behind and continued on.

I think this is a favorite perch for bald eagles because I’ve seen them on this branch several times in the past :)

Soon we took one last look at the lake and decided it was time for a snack and then the drive home. We spent two or three hours walking, watching wildlife (mostly birds) flying, swimming, or perching. A pretty great way to spend a Sunday morning, what do you think?

Photos taken on November 16, 2025.