Rich Stevens' Bird Trips
July 2002
Two Trips to Aurora Reservoir 7/29
I joined Bryan Ehlmann and three other birders on the CoBus trip
to Aurora Reservoir. The temperatures rose to the middle 90s by
late morning. Winds were calm.
I biked in from Gun Club Road, which gave me the opportunity to
count the birds along 2.5 miles of CO 30 (Quincy Road).
Hundreds of Western Meadowlarks walked the short grass prairie.
Dozens of Killdeer joined them. Western and Eastern Kingbirds stood
on the fence line. Two American Kestrels hunted from the telephone wires.
A family of three Loggerhead Shrikes stood atop the Rabbit Brush.
A Prairie Falcon flew over the garbage dump to the north of CO 30.
No hawks were seen throughout the day however.
A Sage Thrasher searched for food at the northwest corner of
CO 30 and the entrance to Aurora Reservoir.
I biked into the Arapahoe Race Track. Dozens of additional Killdeer walked
the fields. A lone Say's Phoebe hawked insects along the fence line.
The five of us walked the 7.8-mile loop around Aurora Reservoir.
Several American Pipits were on the cement dam. Two Baird's Sandpipers
walked the shoreline at the scuba beach. Several hundred Cliff Swallows
hawked insects just above our heads.
Two Sage Thrashers (first county sightings for all) stood on the
barb wire fence just east of the cove at mile marker 5.5. They seemed
to ignore us and flew down to the ground by the water's edge to feed.
As we continued around the reservoir, a juvenile sparrow caught our
attention at mile marker 4.0. We finally decided it was a Cassin's Sparrow.
This was confirmed when two adult Cassin's Sparrows came up briefly from
the short grasses to join the young bird. The adults did not stay long,
but the juvenile bird stood there for over ten minutes. We guessed that
it was too young to recognize humans as any threat.
Five White-faced Ibis and 6 Double-crested Cormorants were observed at
the cove at mile marker 3.8. A dozen Ring-billed Gulls were here also.
A Willet, one Greater Yellowlegs, and two Lesser Yellowlegs were
seen at the cove at mile marker 3.1.
Along the hike we also observed 2 Song Sparrows, 3 Chipping Sparrows,
5 Spotted Sandpipers, 3 Say's Phoebes, 1 House Wren, 4 Lark Sparrows,
7 Vesper Sparrows, 12 Great Blue Herons and one female Bullock's Oriole.
While biking out of the park a rancher stopped his truck to see what
I was looking at. I mentioned that Burrowing Owls were in the distance,
but I could not see them. He invited me to his ranch further east to
see the owls on it. It was arranged to return closer to dark.
Two hours before sunset Bryan and I returned to the area and the ranch.
Five Burrowing Owls were in a small prairie dog village east of
Aurora Reservoir. These were first Arapahoe County birds for both of us.
We decided to end our birding day back at Aurora Reservoir.
We set up our watch at the east end of the Aurora Reservoir dam.
Taking turns we watched the gullies to the north of the dam through a scope.
Sure enough one or two Burrowing Owls flew up. Unfortunately the area
is restricted and therefore we could not go down for a closer look.
Birding Around Rocky Mountain Arsenal & DIA 7/28
I drove my favorite owl loop North of Denver International Airport
late this afternoon.
Burrowing Owls were found at:
18 @ 3.4 miles East of Tower Road & 96th avenue
10 @ 0.7 miles East of 120th & Picadilly Road
7 @ 0.5 miles South of 128th & Picadilly Road
5 @ NE corner/ 128th ave & Powhaton Rd
21 @ Buckley Road 1.0-2.5 miles North/ 56th avenue
I did not see the three Northern Mockingbirds reported earlier in
the day by Greg Goodrich along Buckley Road North of 56th avenue.
I did observe 5 female Bullock's Orioles, 1 male Orchard Oriole,
5 Lark Buntings, 2 Grasshopper Sparrows, many American Goldfinches,
many Western Kingbirds, 4 Eastern Kingbirds, and one Great Horned Owl.
Hawk count included 9 Swainson's, 2 Red-tailed, 1 female Northern Harrier,
and 2 American Kestrels.
Southeast Colorado 7/21-7/25
Bryan Ehlmann and I birded southeastern Colorado this week.
Temperatures reached 100 degrees; what winds there were felt quite hot.
Sunday 21
We spent the day at the RMORC office in Elbert County.
Dickcissels are still in the county. However we did not hear any
at the Elbert County Road location (during a brief 30 minute stop).
The highlight of the day was finding 3 Cassin's Sparrows.
I do not believe I have seen them before in Elbert County.
Update: Common Poorwills
Bryan Ehlmann & I went for a hike in Elbert County on June 13.
We evidently walked too close to a Common Poorwill nest for
the birds starting making hissing sounds. We backed off
watched the nest from 30+ yards through a scope.
The birds were still there on July 7 and we believe we saw at
least one egg. Today the birds were nowhere to be found and
our hopes to photograph some new Poorwills are gone.
There are no eggshells around the nesting area; we do not know
the outcome of the nesting attempt. We have no way of knowing
if this was a first or second brood for the year; however we
plan to keep an eye open for further activity this summer.
Monday & Tuesday 22 & 23
We heard about the possible Swallow-tailed Kites around noon and
drove down to Walsenburg for the hunt. Along the way, we searched
Pueblo and Huerfano Reservoirs. Our search led us south down to
Trinidad State Park and west over to Lathrop State Park.
We found no sign of the kites.
We also checked Greenhorn Meadows Park for the Carolina Wren
(without success) and Burnt Mill Road for Black Swifts
(without success). The White-eyed Vireo and Indigo Bunting
reported last week at Rye were not observed either.
The temperatures were hot; few birds were moving about.
Late Tuesday we headed for Las Animas County and the CoBus bird ranch.
The Hepatic Tanagers had at least one successful fledgling.
The nest was too high in the tree and we were never able to see
how many eggs were laid. Cassin's Kingbirds are still numerous.
Blue Grosbeak are quite obvious. A Gray Vireo found several
weeks ago could not be relocated.
Owls were quiet Tuesday night. Two Great Horned Owls were
the only owls heard.
Wednesday 24
We were sent a message that the pair of Painted Buntings was
spotted again in the Cottonwood Canyon area of Baca County.
Our two-hour search in the late afternoon turned up empty.
There are many Wild Turkeys (21), several Greater Roadrunners (3),
and Rufous-crowned Sparrows (3) to be seen. After dark we heard
a Western Screech-Owl north of the campground along Carrizo Creek.
Thursday 25
After a brief excursion into New Mexico and Furnish Canyon (Baca),
we headed home. The Vermilion Flycatcher was not seen at
Higbee Cemetery (Otero). Though a Northern Mockingbird
sang constantly during our search.
We stopped at Rocky Ford to search for Eurasian Collared-Doves and
see if previous years Inca Doves were around. None were found.
We were surprised by a White-winged Dove however. The bird was
first observed along Otero County Road FF.5. It later flew north
and was seen again along CR GG. The bird is pretty ratty looking
from molting and or wear and tear.
We drove north through El Paso County along Squirrel Creek Road and
Judge Orr Road. No Mountain Plovers or longspurs could be found.
Three Burrowing Owls were counted at the northeast corner of
JD Johnson Road and Log Road. (First reported in May).
Did I mention it was hot! :-(
Owling This Week 7/15-7/19
Up to six of us enjoyed searching for owls this week in Jackson & Larimer
Counties. Success was medium but we did escape the heat of the plains.
Monday & Tuesday 15 & 16
We checked Pella Crossing Park in Northern Boulder County on the
trip up to the Colorado State Forest. The park was not birdy today.
The many Dickcissels, Bobolinks, and Grasshopper Sparrows
observed on July 7th now seem to be gone.
Bryan Ehlmann and I worked our way through the Colorado State Forest
(Jackson County) west of Gould (75 miles west of Fort Collins).
Highlights were seeing a Flammulated Owl on Ruby Jewel Road and
hearing a Boreal Owl the next night below Mount Richthofen
(canal trail from Cameron Pass Summit).
During our two-day stay we also observed Fox Sparrows, Red-naped Sapsuckers,
Swainson's Thrushes, Wilson's Warblers, Lincoln's Sparrows, Song Sparrows,
Gray Jays, and a Three-toed Woodpecker in the Colorado State Forest.
Hummingbirds zoomed about along the North Fork of the Michigan River.
Three species of hummers were observed at feeders in Gould.
Wednesday-Friday 17-19
The air in Estes Park and Rocky Mountain Park (Larimer) is filled with
heavy smoke. We wondered if this kept our bird count down. The only
owls found in three days (two nights of searching) were a Great Horned Owl
in Upper Beaver Meadows (RMNP) and a Northern Pygmy-Owl in the Summit
Subdivision Area of Estes Park (south of the YMCA of the Rockies).
Several evenings we stood around Copeland Lake in the Wild Basin Area
(Boulder) of RMNP. No Black Swifts made an appearance during our hunts.
Walking the road west from Copeland we did find Red-naped Sapsuckers
and Williamson's Sapsuckers feeding young. The young made quite
a racket and we had little difficulty finding the nesting trees.
Common Snipe called along St. Vrain Creek, which runs through the area.
A trip to Endovalley Picnic Area (RMNP) produced sightings of three species
of hummers, 7 adult & 5 juvenile Red-naped Sapsuckers, Gray Jays,
Green-tailed Towhees, Steller's Jays, Lincoln's Sparrows, Song Sparrows,
Warbling Vireos, Wilson's Warblers, and Yellow-rumped Warblers
(a male feeding a fledgling).
Today Bryan and I returned a found a male Three-toed Woodpecker just
west of the picnic area on the road to Bog Pond.
We followed a new book out "Birding Rocky Mountain National Park"
by local Estes Park resident Scott Roederer. It came in handy and gave
super directions to our interested birding locations. Thanks much Scott!
We visited feeders at the west end of highway 66 (south of the
YMCA of the Rockies) and observed at least 4 Calliope Hummingbirds,
2 Rufous Hummingbirds, and 80 Broad-tailed Hummingbirds!
(The count was most likely higher. The Calliope Hummingbirds included
four males and at least two female birds. The Rufous Hummingbirds
included two males and at least three female birds.)
Four of us stayed up all-night and listened for owls at various locations in
the park. The Great Horned Owl was our only owl. The wind was nil and
with the half moon and clouds of smoke the experience was surreal.
We tried to find the earlier reported Flammulated Owl at Upper Hidden Valley,
Northern Pygmy-Owl at Upper Beaver Meadows, Boreal Owl at the old ski area,
and several new locations of our own picking. The night however was quiet.
Bryan and I decided to hike the Medicine Bow Curve area at first light.
We hiked about 3/4 mile to the north to the steep drop-off. We observed
a White-tailed Ptarmigan about 300 yards uphill from the trail.
(We had hiked about 1/2 mile north of the parking area.)
The plan was to climb closer on our trip back. We searched the the
snow chutes below the trail (in search of Rosy Finches; without success).
Then we climbed 300 yards higher and ran into two coyotes. The two
coyotes chased two White-tailed Ptarmigan around to the east and
we never got closer.
I ended my birding day driving my favorite owl loop north of DIA runways.
The Burrowing Owl count today was 73 birds! A surprise Ferruginous Hawk
flew overhead during my trip.
Pawnee National Grasslands 7/13
I lead a trip to Pawnee National Grasslands (Weld County) this morning.
Temperatures were in the warm 90s; winds were mild but hot.
At first light, six of us drove the Mountain Plover Loop described on
the CoBus website.
Two Mountain Plovers were observed east of highway 14 & CR 51
Five Burrowing Owls were seen from this intersection also.
Continuing North we found three Mountain Plovers east of CR 51 & CR 90.
Additional Burrowing Owls were found just south of CR 61 & 94.
Crow Valley Campground was quite slow. Common Nighthawks flew about
and we observed two Orchard Orioles. No uncommon warblers or sparrows
were counted. The area is quite dry. The work center was quiet also.
While driving Murphy's Pasture (map of self driving tour found at campground),
we observed many McCown's Longspurs and two Chestnut-collared Longspurs.
Chestnut-collared Longspurs were just east of the windmill along CR 96,
2.0 miles west of CR 77. We also found two Ferruginous Hawks and a
Prairie Falcon while driving the tour route.
Several Lark Buntings were observed. Many Brewer's Sparrows and three
Grasshopper Sparrows were added to our trip list.
Lower Latham Reservoir was quiet.
Continued Owling 7/10-7/12
Below is the rest of the CoBus owling trips for this week.
First an exciting bird report. Thursday John Wilson of Bailey reported
a large hummingbird that visited his 11 feeders since the day before.
He thought it to be a male Magnificent Hummingbird.
Friday morning three of us watched the feeders for several hours.
The male Magnificent Hummingbird visited briefly around 10:00am.
This is the second Magnificent Hummingbird to visit John's home
in the past 9 years!
Wednesday 10
Steve Spencer, Mike Williams and I hiked round trip the 7.5 miles
to Webster Pass and back. We timed the trip to hike up in daylight
and return in the dark. Webster Pass trailhead is accessed from
CR 5 (less than 1.0 mile south of Montezuma).
We parked at 10,000 feet and went to the summit at 12,100 feet.
The trail goes along the Snake River in Summit County.
A Northern Saw-whet Owl was the only owl heard during our trek.
Thursday Morning 11
We hiked round trip 6.0 miles of Fall River Trail (Clear Creek).
The trail starts at 9,600 feet and ends at Fall River Reservoir 10,800 feet.
One Northern Pygmy-Owl was heard within a mile of the trailhead.
No other owls made a sound during our hike.
We drove to Bailey (Jefferson) and chased the Magnificent Hummingbird
report. The bird did not show up in the afternoon.
Thursday Afternoon 11
We hiked round trip 10.5 miles along the Waldorf Road Trail to the
Waldorf Mine (Clear Creek). This trail is above Georgetown and is
accessed from Guanella Pass Road. Elevation starts at 9,600 feet
and goes to 11,600. No owls were identified during our trek.
We thought several Northern Saw-whet Owls called briefly;
this was never confirmed.
Friday Morning 12
We arrived at Bailey at 8:00am. The Magnificent Hummingbird made an
appearance at 10:05am. He came twice, but was not observed after 10:30am.
The hummingbird did not show up Saturday morning. John and several of
his friends sat on his patio all morning. John was around most of the
afternoon and did not see the hummer. I will arrange visits if the bird
reappears Sunday, Monday or again.
On my way home Friday afternoon, I walked Buckley Road, the east side
of Rocky Mountain National Park (Adams County). From 1.0 mile north
of Buckley Road and 56th avenue (Eagle Watch Bunker, which is closed),
I counted 33 Burrowing Owls. Several juvenile birds were observed.
Two male & one female Lark Bunting and one Orchard Oriole were observed
during my hike. Hundreds of first year Common Grackles were found.
Sixty-three additional Burrowing Owls were counted while driving my
favorite owl loop North of DIA's runways. The total of ninety-six
Burrowing Owls was my highest count for this area.
Owling 7/9-7/10
I stopped by home after two days of owling in mountains west of Denver.
After a few hours sleep and a shower I head back for two additional days.
Just now I had an adult Rufous Hummingbird come to my hummingbird feeders.
In eight years of living east of DIA, this is my second Rufous Hummingbird.
My yard list also includes two Broad-tailed and one Calliope Hummingbird.
Monday 3:00am
We parked at 10,000 feet and hiked up Grizzly Gulch (South of Bakerville).
Owling was slow; we did not record any owls.
Monday 8:00pm
We parked at 10,200 feet and five of us hiked up Butler Gulch (accessed from
Jones Pass Road). Again owling was slow. We did hear a Flammulated Owl
approximately a mile up the trail and beyond the Henderson Mine Area?
The bird never came close enough for a sighting.
Tuesday 3:00am
We returned to Saints John Trail that is accessed from west of Montezuma.
At the fork in the trail we first hiked south on Saints John trail for
about a mile. We recorded a Boreal Owl here on July 3; none were heard
this morning. We then returned to the Hunkidori Mine Trail and hiked to
the end. No owls were heard along this walk either.
I return in a few minutes to Webster Pass. Clouds and rain to the west
do not make tonight's trek look hopeful.
Elbert & Boulder Counties 7/7
Rebecca Kosten & I spent Sunday morning in Elbert County. On private
land we observed Dickcissels in three locations and Bobolinks in two.
Burrowing Owls and our Common Poorwill are doing well.
We stopped briefly at Elbert County Road 4.6 miles south of highway 86
and counted at least two Dickcissels.
After dropping Rebecca off, I continued to Gregory Canyon (Boulder County).
Another cobirder and I heard a White-eyed Vireo sing about 5 or 6 times
(halfway between the two sets of log pole fences). We never saw the bird.
The other birder had heard the Ovenbird closer to the parking area earlier
in the afternoon.
As I drove over to Pella Crossing Open Space, I stopped briefly at
Bobolink Meadow off Baseline Road. At least two male Bobolinks flew up
from the tall grasses. They were quite far north of Baseline Road.
I spent an hour or so walking around the ponds at Pella Crossing Open Space
(Boulder County). I could see four male Bobolinks in the field south of
the most southeast pond. I counted at least four Dickcissels here also.
Several Savannah and at least one Grasshopper Sparrow were there too.
(I thought two sang about 20 yards south of the path).
Much thanks to Bill Prather for reporting the Dickcissels and Bobolinks
and Bill Schmoker for the heads up on the sparrows.
As I walked back to my car, I heard another Dickcissel singing close to
the path. The bird was just south of Webster Pond (most southwestern pond).
I circled around for a closer look and observed another male Bobolink in
the field with taller grasses just south of Webster Pond.
A lone male Blue Grosbeak sang from the southeast end of Webster Pond.
Several Swainson's Hawks and a Red-tailed Hawk hunted overhead.
The air was filled with songs of Dickcissels, Bobolinks, and
Red-winged Blackbirds; it was a pleasant ending to my birding day.
Over 50 Burrowing Owls were seen North of Denver International Airport
along my favorite owl loop on the drive home.
Searching for Owls 7/2-7/5
Rebecca Kosten & I spent the week mapping owl locations in Clear Creek
eastern Summit & northern Park Counties. The object was to graph
locations and not necessarily to see the birds. Therefore we took
sound as presence and did not disturb the birds any more than necessary.
The weather frequently changed from hot to cold, mild to strong winds,
and clear skies to rainy skies (and snow briefly once).
Tuesday 2
A drive up Mt. Evans Road and stopping every 0.5 miles found two
Northern Pygmy-Owls and a Flammulated Owl. This is probably not
the best time of year to look for owls (which may be nesting).
We did not find any Northern Saw-whet Owls.
At Echo Lake Campground we found a female Three-toed Woodpecker.
A two-hour search around the west side of Echo Lake did not produce
a sighting of the Three-toed Woodpeckers recently reported there.
Many hummingbirds were coming to the feeders at the restaurant.
After dark, we heard a Flammulated Owl southeast of Echo Lake Campground.
Wednesday 3
We searched for owls on the trip to Guanella Pass.
No owls were heard up South Chicago Creek Road to its end.
One Northern Pygmy-Owl was heard south of Clear Lake Campground.
We joined the CoBus Bird Trip led by Bryan Ehlmann.
Gary Weston found two White-tailed Ptarmigan on the south side
of the hill southeast of the parking area. Later we found a
Three-toed Woodpecker several hundred yards west of the
Silver Dollar Lake trailhead (below the switchbacks north of the summit).
We ventured into Summit County and up Montezuma Road.
A Northern Pygmy-Owl was heard approximately two miles
east of the Peru Creek trailhead. We had a real treat by finding
a Boreal Owl along Saints John Creek trail approximately
0.5 miles after the intersection with Hunkidori Mine trail.
Thursday 4
Our trek took us next to Hoosier Pass. We searched briefly for
White-tailed Ptarmigan west of the pass however found none.
American Pipits, Gray Jays, American Crows, and two
Clark's Nutcrackers were observed.
We continued South and East to Kenosha Pass. One of my favorite areas
of many is the road east from Kenosha Pass summit. The road leads to
a trailhead to Twin Cone Peaks. Hummingbirds come to the feeders at
the few homes along the road. Williamson's and Red-naped Sapsuckers
fly through the small Aspen groves along the road.
Yellow and Wilson's Warblers flew around the willows at Kenosha Creek.
Hermit & Swainson's Thrushes sing from the taller trees. Many
Broad-tailed Hummingbirds flew over the willows in the swampy
meadow (1.5 miles from the trailhead at highway 285).
We heard a Flammulated Owl on the south side of this meadow.
The bird was quite far from the road.
After leaving the private area and entered Pike National Forest
we heard a Northern Pygmy-Owl approximately 3/4 mile east of
the forest entrance. We continued for about 2 miles however
heard no additional owls.
Friday 5
A walk around Kenosha Pass Campground (west side of hwy 285) did not
add any owls to our trip list. We thought a Three-toed Woodpecker
was heard, but we were not able to confirm it.
We decided to drive to Empire. A flock of 5 or 6 Band-tailed Pigeons
were found east of town. Our final trek was up Bard's Creek trail.
We hiked up the trail about 2 miles and heard our first
Northern Saw-whet Owl of the trip calling about halfway back to our car.
We returned to Denver quite tired.
Cherry Creek and Boulder County 7/1
I visited Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe County) at first
light Monday morning. The Swamp Sparrow, which called last
week and the week before was not found this morning.
Fourteen Black-crowned Night-Herons and one Great Blue Heron
were at the Prairie Loop Wetlands pond. Yellow Warblers,
Song Sparrows, Western Kingbirds, and an Eastern Kingbird
sang from the willows below the dam.
Seven Gray Catbirds hunted for food on the main road where
the stream flows into the wetlands pond. The Gray Catbird
count seems quite high at Cherry Creek this year.
I observed another 9 birds at the beaver pond later in the day.
New sightings for this trip were one Lincoln's Sparrow below
the dam and on the pond a male and female Cinnamon Teal
accompanied by a juvenile bird about 3 inches big (or quite small).
At the 12-mile Beaver Pond Common Snipes, Spotted Sandpipers,
Song Sparrows, and Common Yellowthroats sang. At least five
Virginia Rails including one juvenile scurried around.
The juvenile Virginia Rail is getting quite big but is
still black. I only found one today and wonder if something
happened to the second bird observed last week.
I briefly heard one Sora about 300 yards south of the most
southern bench at the beaver pond. I had walked through
the Russian Olive Tree grove and around to the southern end
of the beaver pond which is covered with many cattails.
In the afternoon I picked up Rebecca Kosten from the airport.
We headed up to Walden Ponds in Boulder to check on a
Little Blue Heron sighting that I received around noon.
We did not find the bird. Walden Ponds and South Boulder Creek
were quiet. The temperature by now was in the upper 90s.
After dinner we decided to try the Walker Ranch Burn Area.
A short hike up the trail just east of mile marker 8.0 of
Flagstaff Mountain Road produced a Three-toed Woodpecker sighting!
The bird was foraging about 0.4 miles up the trail.
Next we drove to Gross Reservoir and then to the White Ranch Area
to check several past Northern Pygmy-Owl locations. We did not
hear or see any birds at three previous sighting locations.
About halfway between Gross Reservoir and the Sign
(with the map of area) we found two Red Crossbills.
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