Rich Stevens' Bird Trips
June 2003
Searching For Owls 6/25-7/2
I joined Bryan Ehlmann, Steve Spencer, and Mike Williams at the
entrance to the Colorado State Forest (at Gould, Jackson County, CO).
The weather varied much from hot and sunny to snow showers.
June 25
On the trip up I stopped by Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe County).
The few gulls around this summer include a couple of California and
a dozen Ring-billed Gulls. A Grasshopper Sparrow was a surprise;
it was in the fenced in area of the solar panels east of the campgrounds.
I drove up to Gould by way of Pennock Pass. Two Flammulated Owls were
found (1 heard, 1 observed) about 1.2 miles west of Pennock Pass' summit.
The summit is not well marked, but one drives through the only gate on
the trip along the 24-mile loop. I found Common Poorwill at three stops.
They had spent the day further west at Walden Reservoir and the Arapahoe
National Wildlife Refuge. The previously reported Arctic Tern was not
found at Walden Reservoir. They also missed the previously reported
Greater Scaup at Arapahoe NWR. Two Ospreys were observed however.
June 26
We checked some owl boxes during the day and came up empty.
The willows and woods just inside the pipe gate at the end of
the main road (Jackson CR 41) was interesting. Several Wilson's
Warblers, a Red-naped Sapsucker, and Swainson's Thrushes were
observed. Bull Mountain Road and 300 Road were not productive.
After dark we hiked along North Fork Canadian Road.
A Boreal Owl was heard about 1.8 miles from the junction of CR 41.
Note: I have distances marked, as I have been studying owls in
this area for five years now. So I pretty much know where I
am even in the dark. The hike continued for another 1.2 miles
without further surprises.
June 27
Again we started out mid afternoon and checked Grass Creek and
Gould Mountain Roads. Nothing exciting occurred. About 4:30am
we started up Ruby Jewel Road. A Flammulated Owl was heard
about 0.6 miles from the junction of CR 41. A Boreal Owl was
heard as we continued another 0.4 miles east.
June 28
Again waking in mid afternoon, we watched the hummingbird feeders
at the store in Gould. A dozen Broad-tailed Hummingbirds joined
one male Calliope Hummingbird and several Rufous Hummingbirds.
All three nuthatches can be seen in the area.
Our area of choice today was to hike Michigan Ditch Road and
camp overnight.
We started off in late afternoon. At the curve (bottom of road at
1.5 miles from highway 14 a Northern Goshawk was kicked up.
We came across our first Boreal Owl at 3.5 miles from hwy 14.
Our hike continued to 5.0 miles and was uneventful.
June 29
We woke up to a dusting of snow on the ground and
hiked back to the Cameron Pass parking area.
During the afternoon we drove up and down highway 14.
Nothing spectacular occurred. We did see a Blue Grouse when
we dropped down the hill at 0.5 miles west of Cameron Pass to
examine the small clearing south of the creek.
It was in this area that we had heard a Boreal Owl last winter.
We concentrated on the Lake Agnes area and the Crags Campground
this evening. Swainson's Thrushes sang at dusk. Several
Broad-tailed Hummingbirds buzzed around. A Blue Grouse
was found in the small hilly opening south of the campgrounds.
At dusk we heard a Common Poorwill, which seemed quite high,
as the altitude was 10,131 feet. Andrews & Righter
"Colorado Birds" have listed only one sighting above 9,000 feet.
No owls were heard this night.
June 30
Back at Gould, the hummingbirds continue. Behind the Colorado
State Forest Visitor's Center we observed Wilson's Warblers,
a MacGillivray's Warbler, Lincoln's Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows,
Violet-green and Tree Swallows. Several Gray Jays begged for food.
The only hummingbirds observed were Broad-tailed.
July 1
We returned to Denver yesterday afternoon. But not wanting to rest
for long, we headed up to Brainard and Longs Lakes (Boulder County).
While camping overnight, we managed to hear the Boreal Owl reported by
Roth and Cryder on 6/21. The bird was within 100 yards of their location.
July 2
Bryan and I returned to Denver. A stop at Doudy Draw and South Mesa
Trails was uneventful.
After picking up Rebecca Kosten at the airport, we headed over to
Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe County).
We could not find the previously reported Caspian Tern, but did see
the male Black-chinned Hummingbird reported yesterday by B. Brown.
The hummingbird was east of the southeast corner of the wooden fence
around the visitor's center. We could see three hummingbird feeders
from the above corner. The bird seem to favor the feeder along the
fence line of the second house south of the circle (Chenango Drive, sp?).
Burrowing Owls were seen at three locations along the Owl Loop
north the DIA runways and also along the eastern side of the
Rocky Mountain Arsenal (Buckley Road between 56th and 88th avenue).
Back to Denver 6/21
Bryan and I stopped at Cherry Creek Reservoir on the way back
from Centennial Airport. The evening was cool and the sunset beautiful.
Mosquitoes unfortunately were quite numerous.
A Green Heron, 6 Black-crowned Night-Herons and a Great Blue Heron
were all hunting at the Cottonwood Creek Wetlands Pond.
Few gulls (where are they are this year?) were at the southwest marina.
The swim beach did not have any gulls either. Double-crested Cormorants
and many American White Pelicans swam in the southeast corner.
We ended the day driving the Owl Loop North of DIA Airport. About twenty
Burrowing Owls were observed at five locations along the route.
Colorado Eastern Plains 6/9-6/16
I am sitting in Arizona at 5:00am and thought to update my
trip reports. By the way it is cool down here right now,
but it is too hot during the day for us Colorado boys.
But the birds!!!
Bryan Ehlmann and I birded Colorado's Eastern Plains this week.
The weather was horrific and kept our success down for sure.
We experienced severe thunderstorms with lightning almost everyday.
A couple of tornadoes were reported within 10 miles of us.
We decided to bird the heck out of northeastern Colorado
and get a feel for the summer birds up here. Most nights we
wandered around (with purpose) looking for owls.
Success was pretty good in this as we found Long-eared (2 sites),
Short-eared (3 sites), Eastern Screech-Owl (5), Barn (5),
Burrowing (many), and Great Horned (even more).
The end of spring migration brought a couple of good birds also!
June 9
Bryan and I headed up I76 toward Julesburg.
Jackson Reservoir (Morgan County) was quiet. No warblers were found.
The resident Eastern Screech-Owl could not be located either.
Prewitt Reservoir (Washington/Logan) was no better.
A few Yellow-rumped Warblers were the only warblers moving
around below the dam (outlet canal). A Common Yellowthroat
was at the northeastern end of the reservoir. While a male
Red-bellied Woodpecker was in the cottonwoods just west of
the camping area at this end.
Overland Park in Sterling had few birds and many mosquitoes.
No Cuckoos could be found in this traditional location.
Pioneer Park at the other end (western) did not add any
birds or owls to our trip list.
June 10
We spent the night in Sterling and headed out early for
Tamarack Ranch Wildlife Area (Logan County).
Again no warblers were found. We did get good looks at
2 Bell's Vireos west of CR 55 at site 1W. A male
Red-bellied Woodpecker continues in this area also.
Two Yellow-billed Cuckoos called from the taller cottonwoods
at 2W. We could not confirm reports of an Eastern Towhee at site
1W-2W. Red-headed Woodpecker numbers seem to be up this year.
The eastern side of Tamarack was slow this morning. We did not
run into the male Northern Cardinal that hangs around 13E
(Tamarack Pond area).
Sedgwick Bar WLA was our next stop. Another male Red-bellied
Woodpecker was observed. No Upland Sandpipers or Eastern Bluebirds
were found today. A couple of Northern Bobwhite were the only
interesting birds found. Sparrows were rare here today.
We wondered if last nights storm kept them quiet?
Two Eurasian Collared-Doves were at the Ovid Woods.
The Northern Cardinals and Red-bellied Woodpeckers were missing.
I usually experience better success in the first hour of daylight
(not the middle of the day) with these birds.
We drove the northern Sedgwick county roads in the late afternoon.
Two Dickcissels were located on Sedgwick County 32 (east of hwy 59).
Two Mountain Plovers were found on private land in extreme
northern Logan County.
June 11
We stayed on a friend's ranch in Sedgwick County.
He is quite happy to have a pair of Eastern Screech-Owls
nesting on his property this year. A Harris's Sparrow was
observed while hiking around his property. a
Our day was spent driving the county roads looking for
additional Mountain Plovers and Dickcissels; but none
were found. We did locate two Barn Owls at one stop.
June 12
We returned to Logan County to see if the Mountain Plovers
could be relocated (they were)!
At first light we wandered around Ovid Woods. A Whip-poor-will
was reported to Richard last night, but we could not confirm
the sighting. The same reporter had found one for me a
couple of years ago in the same area. A male Northern Cardinal
wandered through the north woods during our stay.
The thickets and weeds around the Ovid Sewage Pond added
a White-throated Sparrow to our trip list.
Sedgwick Bar WLA was again quiet. No Upland Sandpipers could be
found at Red Lions WLA or at their traditional location to the south.
June 13
We braved the mosquito filled woods at Julesburg Wayside Rest Stop
in search of Eastern Towhees (none found). A male Baltimore Oriole
sang from the cottonwoods just west of the parking area. Several
Chimney Swifts flew overhead. Again no warblers were observed.
We thought a Black-billed Cuckoo called briefly.
It only called twice and could not be located.
DePoorter Lake (across hwy 385) added 12 Northern Bobwhite
and 2 Eastern Bluebirds to our day list! Sparrow numbers
were better here. Savannah, Grasshopper, Brewer's, Song,
and Lark Sparrows were observed. Two White-crowned Sparrows
surprised us along the S. Platte. A pair of Wilson's Snipe
was also along the river.
Lark Buntings seem to be doing well up here this year.
We wandered down to Wray during the day. Sand Draw WLA
had few sparrows. A pair of nesting Loggerhead Shrikes and
three Spotted Towhees was added to our trip list.
Bullock's and Orchard Oriole liked this area much.
We had hoped to look for Greater Prairie-Chickens at dusk.
However a thunderstorm convinced us that driving the wet,
muddy, sandy roads would not prove successful.
June 14
Saturday proved to be our best day of the trip. We stayed at
a friend's home and woke up to a fantastic breakfast, which
included watching a pair of Northern Cardinals come to her feeders.
Sandsage WLA was our first stop. An Eastern Screech-Owl
answered our tape, which was really met to bring out some sparrows.
The sparrow count was high, but included no uncommon ones.
An Eastern Phoebe hawked insects along Yuma CR CC.
Wray Fishing Unit was a good stop. A Northern Waterthrush
walked along the Republican River at Stalker Pond.
A Northern Cardinal flew around the trees at the S.F.U.
Another Eastern Phoebe was located also.
A stop at the Wray City Park was the best. Bryan spotted a
female Canada Warbler high in the trees at the southeast end.
She gave us good looks for over 10 minutes before disappearing.
This was only my second Canada Warbler in Colorado.
We wandered the eastern Yuma county roads until dark.
June 15
We spent the night at Hale Ponds (below and east of Bonny Reservoir,
Yuma County). The Eastern Screech-Owl that hangs around Hale Ponds
was not heard this morning. Two Yellow-billed Cuckoos, nine
Eastern Bluebirds, and 2 Red-bellied Woodpeckers were observed
while hiking a 2 mile loop along the Republican River.
A couple a male Baltimore Orioles continue along the road south
of Bonny Reservoir and west of the Wagon Wheel picnic area pond.
Wagon Wheel Campground was slow. A few Red-headed Woodpeckers
and many House Wrens were about. A Red-bellied Woodpecker was
0.3 miles west of the picnic area. Western and Eastern Kingbirds
were all around. The Reservoir proper added no uncommon birds
to our trip list. One Great Egret was spotted in the distance.
We spent the day driving the eastern Yuma county road.
Mostly it was uneventful and we ended our birding day at
Flagler Reservoir (Kit Carson). Flagler was quiet too.
June 16
Drove Kit Carson and Elbert County roads counting birds.
Lark Buntings were in higher numbers than last year.
We dropped down south far enough to check on the
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher at Woodmen and Black Forest
Roads (northeastern Colorado Springs). It was not found.
Dickcissels continue along Elbert County Road (4.1 miles South
of Hwy 86). No Bobolinks seem to be around this year?
Bobolinks do continue on the Winkler Ranch on Castlewood Canyon
Road (1.5 miles south of the State Park). Western and Mountain
Bluebirds were counted along the road; but the male Eastern
Bluebird was not found this evening. No owls were found
in the State Park after dark.
Trip to Pueblo 6/8
Paul Langendorfer and I traveled to Pueblo City Park this morning.
A two hour search did not relocate the Yellow-throated Warbler.
The park was not birdy. A Snow Goose, young Wood Ducks and
young Mallards were the only interesting birds.
A quick trip to the Swallows Road west of the Reservoir added
a Curve-billed Thrasher, Loggerhead Shrike and Scaled Quail
to our trip list.
We drove Elbert County Road on the trip back to Denver.
Eight or so Dickcissels were observed 4.5 miles south of Highway 83.
The birds were on the east side of the road and quite far back
(approx. 30 feet from the row of willows and cattails). The birds
were three telephone poles north of the electric box and 0.5 miles
North of the Red Barn across from the white & yellow house.
A few Mountain Bluebirds were near nesting boxes along Elbert road.
Cherry Creek & Barr Lake State Parks 6/7
While doing various chores Rebecca Kosten, Bryan Ehlmann,
Sue Dorsey and I passed through several state parks today.
The two White-rumped Sandpipers were no longer on the sandbar
in the southeast corner of Cherry Creek Reservoir. Few birds
were around the rather crowded state park today.
A Green Heron was observed again at the Cottonwood Wetlands.
As the case on Thursday, we could not see the bird from the
parking overlook. We had to walk around to the northwest
side of the wetlands and look back to the southeast.
We split up at Barr Lake. I found a Northern Waterthrush just
North of the Nature Center bridge (at mile marker 8.9).
A Hermit Thrush sulked about at mile marker 8.5.
There were plenty of Mosquitoes around also.
Bryan Ehlmann and Sue Dorsey found a Blue-headed Vireo.
The vireo flew about the cottonwoods approximately 100 yards
southeast of the Bird Observatory's Office.
They called me on the two-way radio. I picked up Rebecca,
who had hiked south at the bridge where she had found a
Wilson's Phalarope and we headed below the dam. The
vireo was relocated about an hour after the first sighting.
I took witness shots which show the contrast between
the blue head and olive-yellow back. Nothing of high
quality was taken however.
Many Burrowing Owls were observed while driving the Owl Loop
North of DIA's runways. A few Lark Buntings were along
Powhaton Road (between 120th & 128th).
A Grasshopper Sparrow stood on the chain link fence across
from the entrance to the airport parking along Tower Road.
Boulder County 6/6
Bryan Ehlmann and I continued our owl searches, now in Boulder County.
At 4:00am, we heard a Flammulated Owl on Flagstaff Mountain.
The bird never came into view; however it called for 20 minutes.
We search areas of previous Northern Pygmy-Owls reports; found none.
Two Common Poorwill called from 0.4 miles north of the sign with
a map of the Gross Reservoir area. This is near the southern
road that goes to the Reservoir.
Four Red Crossbills landed briefly about 0.5 miles south of the
northern parking area of Gross Reservoir. A flock of 100 Cedar
Waxwings did not contain one Bohemian Waxwing.
Walden Ponds and Sawhill Ponds were passed on our trip back to
Denver. They did not add any uncommon birds to our trip list.
More Owl Searches 6/3-6/5
Bryan Ehlmann & I continued our owl hunt in Northern Colorado.
June 3
We checked the Colorado State Forest Visitor's Center (Jackson County)
for birds. Nothing uncommon came to the feeder. Tree Swallows flew
overhead. No Rosy Finches or Hummingbirds were observed.
Three-toed Woodpeckers had been reported recently south of the marsh at
the Visitor's Center. However we did not hear any during our two-hour stay.
After dark we checked many locations along highway 14.
We heard a Boreal Owl at only one stop.
No Flammulated Owls were heard.
June 4
We hunted for Hummingbirds, Blue Grouse and uncommon birds during the day.
Several Swainson's Hawks were overhead along Highway 14. No Hummingbirds
were found. No Grouse were found as we drove the county roads east of Gould.
After dark we checked several locations for owls. It was snowing on
Cameron Pass. However there was absolutely no wind and we could hear
for miles (or thought so). Boreal Owls were heard at three locations
(observed at one). The most accessible was just west of Cameron Pass'
summit. Flammulated Owls were heard at two locations. The most
accessible being on Ruby Jewel Road, 0.5 miles east of Michigan Creek Road.
June 5
Neither Bryan nor I were tired at 2:00am. We decided with the snowstorm
and more snow predicted, to head back toward Denver. We stopped over
10 times at campgrounds and picnic areas on the trip down highway 14
to Fort Collins. Winds picked up as we approached Fort Collins (Larimer).
No owls were found along the trek. We stopped briefly at dawn to
search for Common Poorwills at Lory State Park. None were found.
After crashing for many hours Thursday morning, I picked up
Rebecca Kosten and we headed over to Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe).
We watched for an hour two sandpipers on the sandbar south of the
Jet Ski Launch area. The birds appeared to be White-rumped Sandpipers.
Their wings were longer than their tails, the scapulars were patterned
like WRSA and not Baird's Sandpipers, their bills looked thicker at
the base and more curved than we expected for BASA. Both of us would
have been happier if we had observed the birds fly; but they did not.
A Green Heron, 4 Black-crowned Night-Herons, and a Great Blue Heron
were searching for food at the Cottonwood Wetlands (formerly the
Prairie Loop Pond area). Few gulls and no terns were around.
I could not find any Swamp Sparrows north of the pond
(they were thought to nest in the area last summer).
Search for Owls Continue 5/30-6/2
Inserted by Lisa Novin 6/3
May 30
Our Southwestern bird trip continued as we drove around Costilla County.
No additional Bendire's Thrashers were found. Sage Sparrows were
observed at two locations. The Saguache County nesting pair was relocated.
Next we headed North. The Salida area added few birds to our trip list.
We checked several passes for owls after dark. A Flammulated Owl was
heard on Poncho Pass (Saguache County). Two Great Horned Owls were
not far away. A Northern Saw-whet Owl was heard in Chaffee County.
Finally we heard a Great Horned Owl from Monarch Pass (Gunnison).
Access for locations of possible Boreal or Spotted Owls were not found.
May 31
No Gunnison Sage-Grouse were found in the morning (not expected).
Birds around Gunnison were few and far between. Blue Mesa Reservoir
did not add any birds to our trip list and we ran out of daylight
at Black Canyon National Park. Here we found 2 Blue Grouse and
relocated the Northern Pygmy-Owl. Spotted Towhees, White-throated
Swifts and a few Juniper Titmice were the majority of birds observed.
Just before midnight, we heard a Flammulated Owl on the Uncompahgre
Plateau (Mesa). The bird was along the Telephone Trail.
June 1
Our first bird of the day was a Northern Saw-whet Owl on the
Uncompahgre Plateau. One or two Grace's Warblers called a mile
or so north of the Telephone Trail. Most of the day was spent
counting birds on the Plateau. We did stop at Uravan to see
that the two Black Phoebes continue at the San Miguel River (Montrose).
At sunset we searched for Chukars at Escalante Wildlife Area.
None were found, but two Sage Sparrows were observed.
After dark we located two Boreal Owls on the Grand Mesa (Mesa).
We managed to see one of the two birds.
June 2
Our birding day started south of Craig. We looked for the
Dickcissel reported 6/1 by Forrest Luke. We did not find
the Dickcissel but did see a male Bobolink (also reported by F. Luke).
A quick stop along 80 route north of Hayden (Routt) did not find
any Galliforms. Again none were expected, but we gave it a try.
We spent the rest of the day north of Steamboat in search of
White-winged Crossbills and such. Weather limited access and
we found none. A couple of empidonax species were observed
in the Steamboat State Park (Routt County).
Our owl hunt was pretty successful. A Flammulated Owl was heard
north of Steamboat. A Boreal Owl was heard on Rabbit Ears pass.
June 3
We plan to spend the next couple of day in the Colorado State Forest.
Headed out to hunt for owls tonight!
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