Rich Stevens' Bird Trips
March 2000
March 27
- We decided to chase the Vermilion Flycatcher found the day before. While we did not
find it, the two hours spent at the Higbee Cemetery (Otero County) were quite pleasant.
Eastern Phoebe (2)
Say's Phoebe (1)
Mountain Bluebird (4)
Chihuahuan Raven (2)
On the trip down, we saw a Greater Roadrunner at the intersection of highway 71 and 96
(just north of the gas station/store). In addition, two Burrowing Owls on the west side of
Lake Meredith (5.0 miles north of highway 50 & hwy 71; this is near the crossing of the
high power lines across hwy 71).
- Highway 109 at the County Line of Otero and Las Animas
Short-eared Owl (I have observed a SEOW three of the last four times passing by here.)
We observed a second SEOW at Baca CR 10 and CR VV.
- Cottonwood Canyon (Baca County):
Western Screech-Owl (2 heard, north and south of camping area at 11:00pm)
Great Horned Owl (off to the west)
March 28
- Cottonwood Canyon:
Northern Cardinal (male, first heard in draw to south of camping area along
Carrizo Creek 7:30am, at 8:30am it stayed at the top of one of the tall cottonwoods
at the camping area for over 15 minutes; he then flew west along creek)
Rufous-crowned Sparrows (7+; 1.2 miles east of camping area)
Eastern Bluebirds (2 males, 2.5 miles east of camping area)
Eastern Phoebe (1 near cabin in south draw and two more 1.4 miles east)
Say's Phoebe (4 or 5 east of camping area)
Cooper's Hawk (in draw, 0.7 miles west of camping area)
Seven Canyon Wrens, 12 Spotted Towhees, and numerous Canyon Towhees.
- I just heard about the Common Black Hawk tonight, Wednesday. Four pairs of eyes
were desperately searching for our first Turkey Vulture of the year (without success).
We passed through CR M and CR 21 along our trip. An adult dark morph
Rough-legged Hawk was observed at CR 19, about 2 miles south of CR M.
Ditto to Walt Waltman's post. (This concerning the caution needed due to the similarity
of the dark-morph Rough-legged Hawk and the Common Black Hawk.)
- Picture Canyon:
We hiked the 0.75 miles south to see the Indian Pictographs
(Unfortunately, most of them are now defaced with graffiti).
Rufous-crowned Sparrows (4)
Scaled Quail (17)
Greater Roadrunner (2)
Rock Wrens (2)
- Comanche National Grasslands
Sage Thrasher (2, road north from lek road entrance)
Krider's Red-tailed Hawk (nesting)
Lark Bunting (2, Wildlife Habitat Improvement Area)
- Campo Lesser Prairie-Chicken Lek (Baca County)
Lesser Prairie-Chicken (10) another cobirder found 16 Tuesday morning.
March 29
We woke up to rain. By 10:00am, the rain stopped and it turned out to be
a beautiful day. The day stayed cool with temperatures in the middle 50's.
- Two Buttes Reservoir (Baca County)
White-throated Sparrow (2, working the thickets near the first parking area below dam.)
Greater Roadrunner (above the dam to the north, sixth year he has been observed here.)
- Highway 50, just east of CR 14 (Bent County)
Swainson's Hawk (2; beats my personal early date by one day)
- La Junta Sewage Ponds
American Avocet (2)
Least Sandpiper (1, watched from 10 yards for 15 minutes)
Burrowing Owl (2, just east of parking area for ponds)
- Lake Cheraw (Otero)
Greater Scaup (8; 2 near hwy 109 and 6 offshore at 1st street)
Clark's and Western Grebe
- Rocky Ford Sewage Ponds (Otero)
American Avocet (4)
Black-necked Stint (2)
Franklin's Gulls (4, adults in alternate plumage)
American White Pelicans (4)
- Rocky Ford (Virginia and Washington)
All four of us observed one Inca Dove while walking up the alley behind
1009 Washington street) The bird was eating gravel and then flew into tree,
18 feet from us. We were honored to watch the bird for over 10 minutes).
It then flew into the tall evergreen tree on the side of the house.
- Rocky Ford ( Otero CR FF.5)
Eurasian-collared Doves (3) (The birds were in the tall cottonwood behind the
Barber Shop along highway 50 and to the south of the dairy along CR FF.5)
- Big Johnson Reservoir
As we pulled up, the Yellow-billed Loon and Common Loon were 10 yards
off the southwest shoreline of BJ! There were many Ruddy Ducks in alternate
plumage, many grebes (Western, Eared, and Horned), and many Lesser Scaup.
- Castlewood Canyon Road (south of Castlewood Canyon State Park)
We did not locate any Lewis's Woodpeckers. Within 1 mile south of the
State Park were 8 Mountain Bluebirds and 14 Western Bluebirds.
We stayed near the waterfalls in the park until well after dark in hopes of
hearing a Northern Saw-whet Owl (traditional location); without success.
Jefferson County 3/26
Donna Fortney and I traveled to Standley Lake in search of the Surf Scoters reported
on Sunday morning. We circled the lake for three hours and did not locate the Scoters.
There were two Pacific Loons, two Double-crested Cormorants, and six Western Grebes.
We then drove to the Wheat Ridge Greenbelt to see if the Eastern Screech-Owl was out.
The bird did not make an appearance between 5:30pm and 6:00pm. We did find a
Greater Scaup on Prospect Pond. There was nothing else uncommon on Bass or Tabor Lakes.
Adams County 3/25
Burrowing Owls are back in Adams County. We found two birds 0.7 miles east of
Picadilly Road and 120th avenue Saturday afternoon. This is at the first bridge
east of above intersection. The owls were directly north of bridge and 20 yards
west of the pipe (with iron fence around it).
We checked other areas where the owls have shown up in past years.
There were none found at these locations yesterday:
Rocky Mountain Arsenal (about 1 mile north of Eagle Watch Bunker which
is about 1 mile north of Buckley Road and 56th avenue).
3.4 miles east of the intersection of Tower Road and 96 avenue.
The Prairie Dog village here is about 3 times bigger than last year.
0.5 miles south of the intersection of Picadilly Road and 128th avenue.
The rancher is running bulls in this pasture this spring. Owls may not
return to this location (last year, we observed up to 19 birds here).
One of my favorite routes to Barr Lake is Tower Road to 96th avenue.
East on 96th until it ends, turn north on Harvest until it ends, turn east on 120th
back to Picadilly Road. Then driving Picadilly Road north until I reach Barr Lake.
After sunset, three times last year, I found Short-eared Owls along this route.
We also found two Great-tailed Grackles in the cottonwoods just east of Picadilly Nursery
(Picadilly road and 152nd avenue). There were many Common Grackles in the neighborhood.
Our two-vehicle caravan of CoBus members held the first half of our Saturday meeting at
Horse Creek Reservoir. We sat in lawn chairs at Imboden and 160th avenue (southwest corner)
and scoped the reservoir for 2 hours. Six Greater Scaup were among the assorted waterfowl.
Unfortunately, no Short-eared Owls appeared.
We were surprised by a pair of American Bald Eagles on a nest in the northeast cottonwoods!
South Platte River at 88th Avenue 3/24
Today I hiked for three hours along the South Platte between 88th avenue and I270.
My hunch was there were no uncommon birds to be found and this turned out to be correct.
The day was overcast and temperatures reached the middle 60's.
There was a definite shift in species observed along the river. The many Mallards and
Canada Geese have been replaced by Gadwalls and Green-winged Teal. I assume the former
are now nesting up around the lakes and ponds. No Common Goldeneye were along the river
(previously, I could find up to 100). On the gravel ponds, there were 27 COGO and no
Barrow's Goldeneye. No Buffleheads were found either.
The lone Loggerhead Shrike was joined by a second in the Riparian Area south of the East Gravel
Pond. I hope to see a nesting attempt (thanks to another cobirder, I am armed with a
description of what the nest would look like).
On the East Gravel Pond, there were 8 male and 2 female Red-breasted Mergansers. One pair
of Common Mergansers also searched for food here.
No Hawks or Eagles were observed at all today. Four Killdeer walked the river's edge.
It is time for my hikes to shift to other areas.
Clear Creek County 3/22
Bob Varnon (of Ohio) and I traveled to Clear Creek County with hopes of finding
White-tailed Ptarmigan and Rosy Finches. The weather was cloudy with just traces of snow.
Unfortunately, Guanella Pass was closed due to the large snowfall earlier in the week.
We searched for 1.5 hours for Rosy Finches around Georgetown. Finding none, we headed for
Silver Plume (located a few miles further west along Interstate 70). Driving to the northern
end of town and searching the hillside, we found a flock of 27 Gray-crowned Rosy Finches and
9 Brown-capped Rosy Finches. That was the extent of our Rosy Finch sightings for the day.
We stopped back at Georgetown and discovered Guanella Pass still closed.
Our trip then took us to Mount Falcon Park.
Here we observed 14+ Townsend's Solitaries. The highlight of the trip was a Northern Goshawk
flying through the trees at the southwest end of the park. We stayed until dark in hopes of
sighting or hearing a Northern Pygmy Owl. None were found.
Wheat Ridge Greenbelt 3/17
I hiked the WGB today starting at 6:30am. The Prospect Park area was covered twice and
then I hike from Youngfield to Johnson Park (Wadsworth) and back. The Eurasian Wigeon
of 3/14 was not relocated by me. The skies were clear, no wind, however it was quite
cold in the morning. By 12:00pm, the temperatures rose to the cool middle 40's.
The Eastern Screech-Owl was back at his favorite tree near the eastern parking area.
At 6:40 am, he stuck out only his eyes and ears. However, by 10:00am he came completely
out of his hole. He sunned himself for the hour I passed back and forth through the area.
There was a Racoon sunning himself, outside of one of the owl's favorite holes of past years.
No uncommon birds were observed during the eight mile hike.
Weld County 3/16
It was a nice day even with of the wet roads, cold temperatures left by yesterday's snow storm.
Having some business to conduct in Greeley, I could not pass up the chance to visit
Crow Valley Campground and Lower Latham Reservoir.
Unfortunately, few birds were out and about today.
I could not find the Northern Saw-whet Owl at the Work Center of Crow Valley. Few birds
were visiting the feeders behind the Work Center. At the campground, the only flock of
sparrows contained American Tree and White-crowned Sparrows.
The return trip produced only two Red-tailed Hawk sightings and three American Kestrels.
The gravel road into Barr Lake was too mushy to bother with, so I did not check on its birds.
There were no Great-tailed Grackles at the feedlots around Picadilly Road and 152nd avenue.
St. Vrain River, Longmont 3/15
I arrived at Longmont around 8:00am Wednesday. The snow had started just about then.
Along my first pass between Sunset and Hover, I missed the Varied Thrush. By 9:00am the snow
was quite heavy. Along my second pass, I found the Varied Thrush about halfway between
Sunset Street and the footbridge to the west. It was on the far shoreline of the St. Vrain.
As I returned to my car to get my camera, I ran into two other birders. We searched from
10:30 to 11:30 and could not relocate the bird. However, by this time, the snow came down
quite fast and the ground was completely covered.
A quick stop at Golden Ponds produced sightings of two Belted Kingfishers and
a Marsh Wren (below the dam). Two Song Sparrows were also there.
Cherry Creek Reservoir 3/13
I circled Cherry Creek Reservoir for seven hours today. The weather was fantastic.
Temperatures reached 60 degrees and except for a brief 20 minutes, there was no wind!
The trip started in the northwest corner so that I could negotiate the rocks along the dam
on fresh legs. These small rocks constantly move and make navigating the 1.2 miles difficult.
Once at the south marina, I sat and scoped the 400 gulls for two hours. The adult Mew Gull
was not to be seen. The day warmed up nicely and made the search enjoyable.
A White-belly 1 or 2, American Bald Eagle flew overhead several times!
As I hiked toward the Lake Loop and Prairie Loop, two female Northern Harriers hunted.
A flock of 8 Black-capped Chickadees called in the cottonwoods.
Throughout the day, I would search every cottonwood and willow within 75 yards of
the water's surface. I was hoping to stumble upon a Long-eared Owl. None were found all day.
The Red-shouldered Hawk was encountered within two hours of reaching the Prairie Loop.
It was in a most inaccessible area. I took the marked path (marked with 4x4s) east of
the prairie loop. As the path turns south (another 4x4 is here), I departed it and
walked 30 yards to the creek. From here, I turned north along the creek.
The RSHA was in cottonwoods about 600 yards north. The thickets are quite thick here and
this made the walk slow going. I scoped the RSHA for about 15 minutes and backed off.
Then I continued around the reservoir. Many times along the journey, I would stop and
scope the gulls on the reservoir. The Mew Gull continued to elude me.
At the swim beach on the northwest corner of the reservoir, there were another 800 gulls.
They were mostly Ring-billed with several dozen California. One adult Herring Gull
joined the group. I finally departed without observing the Mew Gull.
It was quite an enjoyable day of birding.
Southeastern Colorado 3/8-3/11
I set out to Rocky Ford with hopes that the Inca Doves were still there.
The weather the next four days was quite a farrago. I encountered
rain, snow, wind, and even a short period of sunshine.
March 8
- Rocky Ford
I could not locate the Inca Doves in a two hour search.
There were two Eurasian Collared-Doves at their usual
location along CR FF.5 (north of highway 50).
- Lake Meredith
There were eight Great-tailed Grackle at the feedlots along CR G.
Not much else was observed at Lake Meredith proper.
- Lake Henry
I setup camp at Lake Henry and hiked around the area at sunset.
Nothing uncommon was observed. At 9:00pm, a Western Screech-Owl called.
Unable to sleep, I broke camp and headed for Cottonwood Canyon in Baca County.
I arrived at the camping area at Carrizo Creek and CR 5 around 2:00pm.
March 9
- Cottonwood Canyon
At 5:30am, two Western Screech-Owls called along Carrizo Creek.
Off in the distance, a Great Horned Owl also called.
In the early morning, I hiked along CR 5 to the cattle guard
1.2 miles east. Three Rufous-crowned Sparrows were singing after
the sunlight hit the rocks. On the walk back, a Cooper's Hawk
was observed in the thickets along the road. Several Red-tailed Hawks
hunted above the northern canyon walls.
Continuing my hike up the draw to the south, I observed a male
Ladder-backed Woodpecker searching for food. A Canyon Wren sang in the distance.
My trek than proceeded to the canyon 0.7 miles west. A flock of
50+ Cedar Waxwings were the only birds encountered. I left the area
without seeing any owls or Greater Roadrunners this trip.
- Picture Canyon
A hike to the canyon 0.75 miles south, did not produce any unusual bird sightings.
Except for two Scaled Quail observed on the drive in, no birds were found.
- Upland Game Bird Improvement Area (Baca CR 24 and D)
I did not observe any birds on a hike to the Windmill three miles east of the
intersection. On the return trip is was quite windy and started to rain.
Two Western Meadowlarks were the only birds observed.
In the pouring rain, I headed for Dinner and a motel in Springfield.
March 10
- Lesser Prairie-Chicken Lek at Campo
No Prairie-Chickens showed up at the lek this morning.
An hour after sunrise, I hiked to Bird Management Area
south-southeast of the lek parking area. A few Song Sparrow
and 20 American Tree Sparrows were seen.
Two additional Scaled Quail walked along CR G as I drove back to Springfield.
A Ferruginous Hawk and two Red-tailed Hawks soared in the distance.
- Two Butte Reservoir
An adult and immature White-throated Sparrow fluttered around the thickets at
the parking area below the dam. Several Wild Turkeys sauntered across the road
as I hiked up to the dam. The resident Greater Roadrunner was above the dam.
Many Redheads and American Coots were on Two Buttes Reservoir. Not much else.
- Lamar Community College
Many Robins, Black-billed Magpies, and Northern Flickers were the only birds observed
in the woods behind the college today. One Sharp-shinned Hawk hunted at the north end.
- Upper Queens, Thurston, and Neenoshe Reservoirs
A lone American Avocet walked along the southwestern edge of Upper Queens Reservoir.
No other uncommon birds were observed.
- Mike Higbee Wildlife Area
I ended the day by hiking 1.0 miles east along Fort Bent Canal and then hiking along
Clay Creek for about a mile. There were at least two Harris's Sparrows along the creek.
Many American Tree Sparrows, Song Sparrows, and White-crowned Sparrows added their
songs to the melodious trip. A pair of Cinnamon Teal were on one of the ponds.
March 11
- Rocky Ford
I had debated on whether to head toward Bonny Reservoir or return to Rocky Ford.
One of the Inca Doves was found because of the fortunate choice to return.
I could not locate the second bird, nor the nest that the pair attempted to use.
- Rocky Ford Sewage Ponds
My second American Avocet of the year was observed at the sewage ponds.
None of the gulls around were uncommon.
- Rocky Ford Wildlife Area
A quick walk around the wildlife area did not produce any sightings of unusual birds.
The lone hawk observed was a Red-tailed Hawk.
The only woodpeckers were Downy Woodpeckers.
- Lake Holbrook and Little Holbrook
There were two Lesser Yellowlegs along the canal to Little Holbrook.
Two Baird's Sandpipers were at the south end of Lake Holbrook.
- Lake Cheraw
One lone Greater Yellowlegs walked the shoreline on the north edge of the lake.
Up to three Baird's Sandpipers were also there (I could only identify one before they flew).
I think they were all the same species; however will never know for sure.
- La Junta Sewage Ponds
The last minutes of light were used at the sewage ponds. No sandpipers were found.
Two Scaled Quail were in the field as I walked in from the gravel road to the dump.
Larimer County Gulls 3/7
Donna Fortney and I traveled to Loveland to search for the Larimer County gulls.
Early morning, we were able to observe 1st and 2nd basic Lesser Black-backed Gulls,
1st basic Great Black-backed Gull, 1st basic Glaucous Gull, several 1st basic
Thayer's Gulls, and an adult Herring Gull. The Slaty-backed Gull did not appear.
After checking Boyd Lake and Lake Loveland (no gulls at either),
we returned to Horseshoe Lake and found a 2nd basic gull that did not "look right"
for a Glaucous Gull. It was later identified as a Glaucous X Herring hybrid.
John Vanderpoel was the birder to identify it as a Nelson's Gull.
After lunch we returned to the southwestern corner of Horseshoe, where new additions
to our daily list were an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull and an adult Thayer's Gull.
Steve Messick came by and reported the Slaty-backed Gull and Franklin's Gull down
the road at Robert Bensen Lake. We rushed up north and observed the Slaty-backed
Gull along with the adult Franklin's Gull and many other observers.
Birding North and South of Denver 3/1
Orville Williams and I birded several areas near Denver today.
Skies were overcast, temperatures were on the cool side, and it was windy.
- South Platte River at 88th avenue
We relocated the Oldsquaw in the pond west of bike path and the
green and white water tower. No Barrow's Goldeneye observed again today.
- Highway 85 & 124 avenue
The lone Sandhill Crane was still here. It was feeding further west than the pond
along highway 85 today. One Greater Yellowlegs walked the shoreline.
- Castlewood Canyon State Park
We entered the park from highway 85 and hiked to the overlook. There were two
Golden-crowned Kinglets along the path. At the overlook, we found a Canyon Wren
on the cliffs across the creek. Hiking along the cliffs to the west, we were
able to find all three nuthatches (2 Red-breasted, 5 White-breasted, & 8 Pygmy).
We could not find any Lewis's Woodpeckers at the Winkler Ranch (south of Castlewood).
There were three Mountain Bluebirds west of the ranch and Castlewood Road.
Back at Castlewood Canyon, we stayed until dark in hope of hearing
a Northern Saw-whet Owl. No owls were heard.
More Bird Trips
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Rich Stevens at the following address:
E-mail:cobus@worldnet.att.net