Sharon and I visit Adams County Regional Park every couple of years and each time have found it a good place to go birding. On the prairie 28 miles east of my apartment in Boulder, the park attracts migrating and resident birds with its lakes and ponds along the South Platte River.

Like the good birders we try to be, Sharon and I got to the park at sunrise. But the sun hadn’t yet hit the pond where we found an adult Black-crowned Night-Heron at 7:30. I shot it anyway.

An Adult Black-crowned Night-Heron in Early Morning

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An hour and one-half later Sharon and I returned to the pond, and this time we found two juveniles, undoubtedly the offspring of the adult Night-Heron.

A Juvenile Black-Crowned Night-Heron on Its Own

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On the last leg of our hike half an hour later we walked upstream along the west side of the South Platte through the least developed section of the park. While the banks of the river are a green oasis in a parched land, we were back just far enough that we went through a desert. Cactus was everywhere, particularly prickly pear or, in Spanish, nopal.

Nopal and Tuna, the Fruit of this Cactus

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The only animal life we encountered in the desert was miniature frogs. We saw three of these little guys, and one of them was good enough to stop long enough for me to get my macro lens on it.

This Frog Calls the Desert Home

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Less than one inch long, this frog made me get down by the cactus patch to get close enough for me to capture its portrait. But like a good model, it stood stock still.