Lakewood’s Belmar Park was calm and quiet this morning, yet it is an urban oasis less than six miles from downtown Denver, the heart of a metropolitan area where 2.7 million people live. The heart of the 127-acre natural park is Kountze Lake, which has an uncanny attraction for migrating waterbirds and is therefore an equivalent attraction for nature photographers.

Autumn Has Arrived at Kountze Lake in Lakewood

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The first birds that I saw immediately after arriving at sunrise were a flock of cormorants still roosting on an island in the lake. They were impossible to miss because they were the only birds already in the sun.​

Three Double-crested Cormorants Welcome the Sun

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Lower on the island where the cormorants roosted, a bit later I spotted a Belted Kingfisher taking a rare rest.

A Belted Kingfisher Before Going to Work

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​Mallards were the most common bird at the lake, and I must have seen thousands of them. While they can be colorful birds, I am spoiled by seeing them every day from my livingroom window. The second most common bird at Kountze Lake today is one that I still get a kick out of photographing.

A Northern Shoveler Swims Through Still Water

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A Northern Shoveler Swallows

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It’s a big lake, and I saw the Buffleheads almost as soon as I arrived. But they were too far from any place that I could get to without swimming. After waiting more than an hour for one of them to get within range, I captured the image I wanted.

A Bufflehead Comes Close

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I took 750 more shots this morning of these and other birds, but this is probably enough to show.