This morning I drove 40 miles each way in a vain quest to see a Snowy Owl that the Colorado Birds mailing list had been reported on a snowy field in Brighton, Colorado. If I had found the owl, it would probably have been just a speck in the distance. And the photo would certainly have been dull, because dark clouds hid the sun all day.

But sitting at my desk at 3:30, I saw that the sun had finally broken through today’s heavy cloud cover. Since I knew that the sun would sink behind the foothills in just half an hour, the undeveloped South Campus of the University of Colorado that adjoins the complex where I live was my best choice for exercise in the sun today.

The last light of day was beautiful, and all that I then sought was a bird. And walking down a side trail, I found one of our smallest woodpeckers.

A male Downy Woodpecker was pecking away in a small cottonwood right next to the trail and was oblivious to me. Just before the light faded, I got off 275 shots in three minutes flat.

These are my favorite shots today:

The Downy Woodpecker Rests Between Pecks

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Then, it flew away.

The Downy Woodpecker Leaves Me

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But, then, in less that five minutes the sun went down anyway.