Rich Stevens' Bird Trips
March, 2006
Birding Around Denver 3/31
This morning I walked the 8.0 miles around Aurora Reservoir.
Nothing was really expected; I just wanted to get out on this
fantastic spring day. Winds were mild; temperatures reached the 60s.
And, not much was found. Gulls seemed to disappeared here and
Cherry Creek Reservoir? There were plenty of Redhead Ducks,
a couple of Ruddy Ducks and the usual common ducks. A pair of
Western Grebes was probably the highlight.
Three American Tree Sparrows were at the southeast corner.
They should be disappearing any day now. Once they start to leave,
it seems difficult to find them anywhere around.
A female Northern Harrier hunted over the eastern edge of the
reservoir.
I picked up Donna Fortney and headed over to Cherry Creek
Reservoir. Again, not much was found. I did see 2 American
Tree Sparrows in the dead wood piles on the north end of the
campgrounds. The Greater White-fronted Goose of last weekend
could not be found.
The Great Horned Owl is still sitting on her nest. No Swainson's
Hawks yet. A Northern Harrier was eating something on the ground
at the Lake Loop. The Harlan's Hawk remains in the field east of
the Shop Creek Parking Area.
The Harris's Sparrow did not visit South Platte Park during our
one hour stay (1:00pm). In fact we saw no House Finches and
only 4 House Sparrows.
Walking along the South Platte, we did find a Greater Yellowlegs
and Prairie Falcon. The Cooper's Hawk remains in the north woods
(first observed about a month ago).
The Long-billed Thrasher came to the southeast corner of 2332
South Emerson Street (Denver) at 3:51pm.
That was the extent of my birding day.
Northern Colorado 3/30
A short note on today's birding; we found Greater Prairie-Chickens
at two locations without public access (Yuma & Logan Counties).
Could not find the American Woodcock on the east side of Tamarack
Wildlife Area (Logan). Bridge is over South Platte at County Road 93
(not 83). Thanks to Gary we found Long-billed Curlew on hillside west
of CR 95 and north of highway 138 (west of Red Lion Wildlife Area).
No Mountain Plover along Highway 14. McCown's Longspurs
(no Chestnut-collared) on Pawnee National Grasslands (Weld).
Birding Around Denver 3/25
Bryan Ehlmann, Sue Ehlmann, Rebecca Kosten and I birded around
Denver Saturday. Temperatures may have reached into the 50s;
winds were 15-20mph.
After getting a call from a friend who lives in Deer Creek Canyon
(Jefferson County), we headed over to check on a Northern Pygmy-
Owl sighting. Sure enough, he has a pair of Pygmy Owls nesting
on his property. (To protect the possible nesting activity,
we cannot divulge the location).
A quick stop at Chatfield Reservoir (Jefferson) did not turn up
the Sage Sparrow (now missed for the third time). A flock of
birds near the swim beach did included 4 American Tree Sparrows
and 11 Dark-eyed Juncos.
At Wheat Ridge Greenbelt (Jefferson), the Eastern Screech-Owl was
out at his usual hole in the tree overhanging the main path (and
just east of Jack's Place picnic table).
After finding no Burrowing Owls on the DIA Owl loop, we hiked the
east side of Rocky Mountain Arsenal (Buckley Road). A Burrowing
Owl was found approximately 2.5 miles north of 56th Avenue (inside
the arsenal in Adams County).
After lunch, we checked Arapahoe County Reservoirs for gulls. No
uncommon gulls were found at Aurora Reservoir, Quincy Reservoir,
and Cherry Creek Reservoir. In fact few gulls were observed
anywhere. We did find the juvenile Greater White-fronted Goose
I found yesterday at Cherry Creek Reservoir. It was with a small
flock of 12 Canada Geese (below the main road at the Dixon Grove
Picnic Area).
Half a dozen Double-crested Cormorants were on the water. No
Pelicans could be found. We did find 3 American Tree Sparrows
and 2 Song Sparrows in the thickets at the north end of the
campgrounds. The Harlan's Hawk is still in the northeastern
end of the State Park.
Clear Creek, Jefferson, Adams & Arapahoe Counties 3/24
I took Ron Klene up to Guanella Pass (Clear Creek County) before
sunrise this morning. He walks with assistance of a cane and did
not expect to venture far from the car.
My plan was to crisscross the hill south of the parking area and
hopefully find some White-tailed Ptarmigan which Ron would be able
to see with a window mounted scope. Fortune shined on us and
the hike was not necessary. We were able to scope a couple of
Ptarmigan East of Guanella Pass Road (at approximately 400 yards
south of the main parking area.
We were not as fortunate at Pine Valley Ranch Park (Jefferson).
No American Three-toed Woodpeckers could be found along
Pine Valley Road. I did not hike to Buck Gulch trail by myself.
After lunch we went over to 2332 S. Emerson, Denver. The Long-
billed Thrasher was again foraging below the eastern fence.
A drive of the DIA Owl loop (Adams) found my first Burrowing Owl
there of this season. It was at the usual location 3.4 miles East
of Tower Road & 96th avenue.
We did see a Say's Phoebe at the North end of the runways (112th Ave).
After dropping Ron off, I drove over to Cherry Creek Reservoir
(Arapahoe) (mostly looking for lingering American Tree Sparrows).
Three Tree Sparrows were at the north end of the campground loop
that goes west from just inside the entrance.
While looking around, I observed from a distance a goose that
seemed smaller than the White-cheeked Geese. It turned out to
be a juvenile Greater White-fronted Goose. The goose fed with
a dozen Canada Geese between campsite #1 and the restrooms
to the north. (Photos of Greater White-fronted Goose are
posted on the CoBus photo library).
Yuma, Arapahoe, & Jefferson Counties 3/22
Dave Darnell and I left Denver at 2:00am to be at the Kansas
border before sunrise. We counted 11 Greater Prairie-Chickens at
a lek on private land. Afterwards we got over to the Yuma CR 45
lek in time to see several birds there.
We searched for Eastern Screech-Owls at Sandsage Wildlife Area.
Found none but did see and hear two Great Horned Owls. Many
sparrows around included 29 White-crowned, 9 American Tree,
and 2 Song Sparrows.
The trip back was uneventful as Dave needed to catch a plane.
We did see 5 Rough-legged Hawks, 1 Merlin, 2 Prairie Falcons,
1 Ferruginous Hawk, and 13 Red-tailed Hawks. A shrike along
Hwy 36 looked like a Northern Shrike; however we did not stop
for confirmation.
This afternoon I checked several metro Denver locations.
The adult Harris's Sparrow did not show in the hour of my stop
at South Platte Park (Arapahoe). Phil Waltz said it was there
on Saturday (3/18).
The Sage Sparrow reported at Chatfield Reservoir (Jefferson)
was not found in an hour search (from 300 yards north of the
swim beach to 300 yards south).
We did see a flock of 19 Dark-eyed Juncos and 6 American Tree
Sparrows search for food under the picnic tables at the south end
of the swim beach. Two Red-tailed Hawks stood in cottonwoods.
Note: Andrew Spencer did find the Harris's Sparrow and the
Sage Sparrow at appropriate locations earlier in the day!
The Long-billed Thrasher was below the eastern fence at
2332 S. Emerson Street, Denver at 4:52pm.
Avoiding Cabin Fever 3/20
Suffering from Cabin Fever, I hiked the South Platte River from
88th avenue to I270 and back. Weather was not good. It was cold.
The Barrow's Goldeneyes were not found on the Platte River or East
and West Gravel Lakes. No other people were around to scare them
away; perhaps they are gone?
Barr Lake was slow. Many Red-winged Blackbirds and House Sparrows
visited the Nature Center feeders. Three White-crowned Sparrows
and a Song Sparrow were there also. A dozen American Goldfinches
still in winter plumage (basic plumage) visited the feeders on the
eastern side.
The DIA Owl loop was slow. Fifty Horned Larks were about all
observed. No Burrowing Owls are around yet.
Cherry Creek Reservoir was also slow. Less than 40 gulls were
mostly Ring-billed Gulls with a couple of Herring Gulls.
The Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk still hunts near Shop Creek area.
Observed the Great Horned Owl that is nesting in the old Cooper's
Hawk nest. Please be careful not to scare her away.
Nightmare of a Day, However Great Birds! 3/19
A nightmare of a day caused by the weather. We drove three and
a half hours this morning, two in thick fog. This evening we
ran into rain, hail and snow.
We managed to get to the lek on Yuma CR 45 while there were
still a couple of Greater Prairie-Chickens strutting their stuff.
A few minutes later however, they could have been missed.
We worked our way south to Springfield mostly on roads along the
Kansas border.
At Two Buttes Reservoir (Baca County), we observed 2 Mountain
Plovers on the road into the reservoir. They were along Prowers
County Road C in the field before CR C turns south toward the
reservoir.
Rough-legged Hawks are still around. We counted 7 during the day
(Prowers & Baca Counties). No Swainson's Hawks, my early date
for them is 3/13 near Granada. With five more dates before 3/19,
they could be around?
Burrowing Owls were found in three locations in Baca County.
The easiest relocation would be Pasture G across from the
Washington Work Center along Highway 385 (7 miles south of Springfield).
The pasture was checked for Mountain Plovers; without finding any.
All three longspurs were found during our trek. Lapland Longspurs
in Prowers County. McCown's & 2 Chestnut-collared Longspurs in
Baca County. No Lark Buntings crossed our path.
We saw 3 Lesser Prairie-Chickens on the Campo Lek before heading
to Cottonwood Canyon. A Short-eared Owl was observed hunting
along Baca CR M, west of CR 20. We managed to find one Western
Screech-Owl in Cottonwood Canyon before high trailing it back
toward Denver.
Our hope was to stay up all night and head to Cameron Pass to
search for Boreal Owls and then on to Steamboat Springs to search
for Sharp-tailed Grouse. We had heard about the storms back in
Denver and when we ran into rain and snow knew that such plans
were not to be. Winds had been 20-30mph all day. The added
precipitation was discouraging.
We just returned to Denver about 30 minutes ago (3:00am now).
All are glad to be back; it looks like the roads will not be good
later Monday. Driving into the mountains surely would not be fun
for anyone.
Mountain Birding 3/18
Dan Riggs and I searched for Rosy Finches in Silverthorne
(Summit County) at first light. Found a few birds including
Pine Grosbeaks, Evening Grosbeaks, Mountain Chickadees,
three species of Nuthatches, Hairy & Downy Woodpeckers,
and Pine Siskins.
No Barrow's Goldeneyes were at Blue River Water Treatment Plant
this morning.
A quick stop at Loveland Pass did not find any White-tailed
Ptarmigan, so we were doomed to hike Guanella Pass (Clear Creek).
Here we were lucky. It took less than an hour to find seven
White-tailed Ptarmigan. They were on the hill south of the
parking area. The birds huddled together just west and north
of the sign in box for the Rosalie & 603 trails.
Our next stop was Pine Valley Ranch Park (Jefferson). Again we
were fortunate to find a male American Three-toed Woodpecker in
about 30 minutes. He was up the hill at the south end of Pine
Lake. Later, we relocated him up the Buck Gulch Trail (south
from Pine Lake).
Unfortunately, we could not locate the Northern Pygmy-Owl that
Merlynn Brown is fortunate to keep finding. However, I am glad
for her!
Reynolds Park was not any more kind to us. NO Northern Pygmy-Owls
or Blue Grouse here today (for us anyway).
Visiting Local Reservoirs 3/17
We decided to visit several local Reservoirs today.
Aurora Reservoir; We did not want to spend the morning hiking
the 8.0 miles around the reservoir. Shortly after they opened
at 6:00am, the lake was scoped from the east end of the dam and
the swim beach. Gulls were already departing (for the city dump?).
We counted 551 Ring-billed, 19 California, 14 Herring, and one
unidentified dark gull. The Glaucous Gull and Thayer's Gull
reported previously were not observed. However, we could not
see down the coves they usually are seen.
Quincy Reservoir; The 400+ gulls were mostly Ring-billed Gulls with
4-6 Herring Gulls. Distance did not allow further Identification.
Cherry Creek Reservoir; We stopped here twice (morning and
afternoon). Gull numbers were less than 200; where do they
all go during the day? Nothing uncommon was observed.
The five American White Pelicans observed earlier in the week were
gone. We counted 3 Double-crested Cormorants. The Harlan's Hawk
was observed in his usual location on the east side of the park.
Red-tailed Hawks totaled 9.
In the afternoon, again nothing unusual was found. Nine American
Tree Sparrows were around the campgrounds. No Bald Eagles or
Great Horned Owls could be found.
The deer population is rising. We counted 119; do they have
a deer problem? There must be a limit to the number the
park can support.
South Platte Park; The Harris's Sparrow did not show during
our 45 minute visit. They cleaned the cover on the east side
of the building. The birds have fewer places to hide now.
Chatfield Reservoir; Our main target for the day. We gave
a Sage Sparrow amble opportunity to show itself; none were found.
We hiked around the southeast marina, Plum Creek Delta (and
the gravel road heading south which has produced Sage Sparrow
sightings in the past), the model airplane area, and the swim beach.
At the southeast marina sand spit, we counted 29 American Tree
Sparrows. Total we found 58 for the day here. There did not seem
to be many waterfowl on the water. Our only raptor sightings were
of two Red-tailed Hawks.
A drive down to the Discovery Pavilion did not add much to
our day list.
We met several Boulder birders for lunch and then headed over
to 2332 S. Emerson Street, Denver. The Long-billed Thrasher
was circling the large tree south of the driveway at 4:00pm.
He visited the stump in the southwest corner of the yard and
then returned to searching for food below the eastern fence.
He was still there when we left at 4:30pm.
Fort Logan Cemetery; was checked on the drive back to Cherry
Creek Reservoir. Two male Greater Scaup were on Memorial Lake.
Other birds there included 1 Ring-necked Duck, 3 Lesser Scaups,
9 Mallards, 2 Gadwalls and 2 dozen White-cheeked Geese.
Veterans Lake had 21 White-cheeked Geese and no ducks.
Long-billed Thrasher 3/16
We arrived at 2332 S. Emerson Street, Denver at 4:45pm.
The Long-billed Thrasher showed at 4:50pm. It was still
searching for food below the eastern fence when we departed
at 5:10pm. It appears that 4:45 to 5:15pm are good times
to search for the bird.
It was quite dark (cloudy) and windy by the time we arrived
at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe County). We could not
find the Lesser Black-backed Gull. Pelicans, Cormorants,
and 3 American Tree Sparrows caught our attention near
the southwest marina.
Highlights:
A lone American Avocet was at the Wetlands Pond at the
Cottonwood Creek Loop. A Lincoln's Sparrow was in the willows
below (to the north) of the bike path (north of the pond).
Aurora Reservoir & Barr Lake 3/15
Gary Weston & I returned to Aurora Reservoir (Arapahoe County)
this afternoon. Winds were clocked at 23mph with gusts up to
34mph. Needless to say, few birds moved around.
The gulls seemed to stay in the same location; refusing to fly up
into the wind. The 1st or 2nd cycle Glaucous Gull was back.
The Gull was on the shore in the cove at mile marker 2.5. The 1st
winter Thayer's Gull was also back. It was below the eastern end
of the dam (along with 200+ Ring-billed, 3 California, and seven
Herring Gulls). We did not see any Franklin's Gulls today.
No Great-tailed Grackles were at the corral 1.1 miles East of
Piccadilly Road & 152nd avenue. We did see a lone Common Grackle
at the Barr Lake Visitors Center feeders. A second Common Grackle
was at the stables just outside the entrance to the park.
Several Red-tailed Hawks were observed inside of the park.
Four American Kestrels perched low on the barbed wire fences
around outlying fields. They gripped the wires tightly to avoid
being swept away by the winds.
Return to Rocky Mountain Arsenal 3/14
Gary Weston & I hiked the east side of Rocky Mountain Arsenal
(Adams, inside/ Denver, outside) this afternoon. We did not
relocate the Burrowing Owl first found on 3/6. Nothing uncommon
was found during the six mile hike.
Few gulls were found at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe).
We did count 5 American White Pelican & 1 Double-crested Cormorant.
The Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk was back and I captured a few shots
(now on the CoBus photo library).
Search for Glaucous Gulls 3/13
Gary Weston and I decided to see how many Glaucous Gulls we
could find in one day. We hoped for at least two and maybe four?,
however did not succeed it that.
Lakes checked included (Boulder County) Baseline, Valmont,
Boulder, Erie Reservoir (only Glaucous Gull of the day),
Prince Lakes #1 & #2, Thomas Reservoir.
Weld County Union, Woods.
(Larimer County) Lake Loveland, Boyd, Horseshoe, Cattail Pond,
Bud Mielke, Ryan Gulch, and St. Vrain State Park.
(Arapahoe County) Aurora, Quincy, and Cherry Creek Reservoirs.
Not a good answer to how many Glaucous Gulls are presently in Colorado.
Other birds of note included:
An adult Thayer's and adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Erie
Reservoir (Boulder). A Franklin's Gull at Boyd Lake (Larimer).
Five White Pelicans at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe).
A 1st cycle Thayer's Gull at Aurora Reservoir.
Arapahoe County Reservoirs 3/12
Inserted by Gary Zeeto:
"Rich Stevens and I decided to circle Aurora Res. We were at the
halfway point when the snow started falling rapidly.
A 1st or 2nd yr Glaucous Gull was on the shore at mile marker 4.0.
A 1st winter Thayer's Gull was below the east end of the dam.
Total gull count was well over 1100 with 14 Herring, 3 California,
2 Franklin's!, two unidentified dark gulls, and rest Ring billed.
Visibility decreased to the point where we could not see far from
shore. A couple of Ruddy Ducks and a pair of Western Grebes
were seen. Two Great tailed Grackles were back at the corral,
1.1 miles east of Piccadilly Road and 152nd avenue."
Gary & I got a call about a "large Black Gull with a white head"
at Quincy Reservoir (Arapahoe County) and headed over there.
Unfortunately, it was not there when we arrived.
So we tried Cherry Creek Reservoir about 4 miles west.
No Black backed Gull there; however we did find the adult
Thayer's Gull on the swim beach.
From there we went back to Aurora Reservoir. Again no Black
backed Gull; we did relocate the 1st cycle Thayer's Gull at the
swim beach. We did not have enough daylight to walk around
to the southeast side (3 miles away). Visibility was poor,
so no telling what gulls were still there. Two American
White Pelicans were visible from the swim beach.
Cherry Creek Reservoir 3/11
Rebecca Kosten & I drove through Cherry Creek Reservoir
(Arapahoe County) yesterday afternoon.
At 3:40pm the gulls on the poles around the southwest marina
included 3 Herring Gulls, 1 adult Thayer's Gull, and 129 Ring-
billed Gulls. They were joined by 2 Double-crested Cormorants.
At 4:05pm, three American White Pelicans circled the swim beach
area and landed near the handicap fisherperson area.
We did see 7 American Tree Sparrows in the campgrounds.
Three Bald Eagles were also around the campgrounds.
A Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk was near the jet ski rental area.
Return to Long-billed Thrasher Denver Location 3/10
After visiting a friend at Porter Hospital, I drove over to
2332 S. Emerson Street, Denver. I was there about 5 minutes
before the Long-billed Thrasher made an appearance.
The bird kicked up leaves along the Eastern fence from 4:30pm
to 5:15pm. It worked its way out into the open and allowed
great looks.
By the time I arrive at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe County)
it was becoming quite dark. I was not able to pick out any
uncommon gulls around the southwest marina.
Lesser Prairie-Chickens 3/9
Four of us checked out the Campo Lesser Prairie-Chicken Lek.
Three birds briefly started to perform their dance. They left
after a coyote came across the lek.
We did not want to wait to see if they would return and searched
for Cassin's Sparrows on the road into the lek; without success.
Sparrows were scarce. We managed to find 2 Vesper Sparrows
and not much else.
Birds we missed (however did not necessarily expect to find)
included; no Lark Buntings, no Burrowing Owls, few sparrows,
and few hawks (no Ferruginous Hawks).
Two Rufous-crowned Sparrows were found 1.7 miles east of
the campgrounds at Cottonwood Canyon (Baca County).
Several Lewis's Woodpeckers were in the taller cottonwoods
0.3 miles East of the campgrounds at Carrizo Creek. At the
campgrounds, a Western Screech-Owl responded to out tapes.
On the way out, we found two McCown's Longspurs along CR 10.
Our last stop was a search for doves in Rocky Ford (Otero County).
Eurasian Collared-Doves seemed to be everywhere. However we
did not find any White-winged Doves or Inca Doves.
Search for Chicken-like Birds, 3/8
Bryan Ehlmann, Pete Owens, John Marks, and I waited for Rosy
Finches at sunrise at Fawnbrook Inn, Allenspark (Boulder County).
After 20 minutes a flock of 30+ Rosy Finches showed. All three
species were represented (with 1 Black Rosy Finch). Other birds
observed included a Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker,
Pine Siskins, Mountain Chickadees, a Red-breasted Nuthatch,
2 White-breasted Nuthatches, and dozens of American Crows (flyovers).
We then headed to Guanella Pass (Clear Creek County). When we
pulled up to the parking area, we quickly found 4 White-tailed
Ptarmigan under the wooden fence at the south end of the parking
area! We scope the hill to the south, found no additional birds,
and headed back down. It was snowing quite Harlequin Duck as we departed.
We made a quick trip west through the Eisenhower Tunnel and found
three Barrow's Goldeneyes at the Blue River Water Treatment Plant
in Silverthorne (Summit County). The snowstorm made our decision
to head east an easy one.
We ended our birding day on a private ranch where previously
Greater Prairie-Chickens had a lek. Four Greater Prairie-Chickens
showed up about 30 minutes before sunset. We were close to the
CR 45 lek and headed over there to check it out. We scoped the
hill and found another 2 or 3 Greater Prairie-Chickens.
Denver Long-billed Thrasher 3/7
After visiting a friend at Porter Hospital I drove over to 2332
S. Emerson Street, Denver. The Long-billed Thrasher showed at
4:45pm. It walked twice around the base of the tall tree south
of the driveway. Then it went over to take a drink of water and
flew under the dead fir in the southwest corner of the yard.
It was about to jump up on the dead stump when a car alarm went
off. The thrasher, several flickers, and all the House Sparrows
disappeared at 5:10pm. I did not see them again in the next 20
minutes.
An elderly man that I gave a Field Guide to last week came by
and said that he sees the bird most afternoons at around 4:00pm.
Today it came by for a drink at 4:00pm and then flew west into
Harvard Park. Obviously, it returned later.
A woman who lives in the neighborhood stopped by to see what the
entire ruckus has been about the past two weeks. After explaining
about the thrasher she mentioned hearing an owl in her yard.
She drew me a map to four neighborhood yards (two of relatives)
where Eastern Screech-Owls are being heard.
I went over to her yard and sure enough, an Eastern Screech-Owl
stood in a hole in one of the larger trees. While checking out
the other yards, I heard an Eastern Screech-Owl in a yard east
over on Downing!
It was worth the trip back over! What a fantastic Colorado winter
day! Snow is predicted for Wednesday and Friday. Winter returns.
Rocky Mountain Arsenal 3/6
Yesterday, Rebecca & I hiked Buckley Road at the Arsenal.
It runs about 3.0 miles along the east side of Rocky Mountain
Arsenal. Adams County inside the arsenal and Denver County
outside. Buckley is permanently closed to cars; hiking and
biking the road are allowed.
With Dixie Smith’s Grasshopper Sparrow sightings last week,
we had something to look for, however did not expect any success.
His sightings were early by 6 or 7 weeks. Maybe a Burrowing Owl?
Again we did not expect any as my early date is 3/21.
Our first surprise was near the creek that runs under Buckley at
about 0.5 miles north of 56th avenue. A quite early Savannah
Sparrow landed on the eastern fence. It later fed along the road
and gave us 3+ minutes of great views. Finally it flew into the
arsenal allowing listing for both counties.
Along the trek we encountered 1 Ferruginous Hawk, 1 Prairie
Falcon, 1 adult Golden Eagle, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, and 2 pairs of
American Kestrels (Kestrel pairs were each near a nesting box).
Sparrows included 14 White-crowned, just 4 American Tree, and
9 Song Sparrows (near creek).
When we reached the gate blocking Buckley Road at the north,
we returned the 3.0 miles to our car. Just south of the Wildlife
Bunker (no longer called the Eagle Watch Bunker because there
are no Eagles to watch since Pena Blvd was put in just to the
east) we found a Burrowing Owl!
The owl was just inside the fence to the west. As a marker,
it was on a Prairie Dog mound at 7 telephone poles north of
where the telephone wires cross over Buckley Road as
one walks north from 56th avenue.
This sighting is quite early and probably a fluke. We will
continue to return until the major wave of Burrowing Owls
comes in for the spring.
Other birds included 2 American Robins, 109 European Starlings,
pair Mallards, 9 Horned Larks, 4 Red-winged Blackbirds, and one
Great Horned Owl. We timed our hike to be around the arsenal near
dusk. Surely there are Short-eared Owls out there; we did not see any.
One last surprise, just south of the cellular phone tower, we
observed a White-tailed Prairie Dog. My first thought was that it
was an old dog and lacked the Black tail because of age? However,
its coat looked normal.
Anyone know more about the range of Prairie Dogs? I thought the
range of White-tailed Prairie Dogs reached into Colorado at North
Park and the Walden area. I did not think that it extended east
to Fort Collins or South to Denver? It was too dark to get a
photo, however we plan to return for further looks (if it does not
snow tomorrow).
On further research on Prairie Dogs, someone asked me last week
about the range of the Gunnison Prairie Dogs (they have short
tails, no white or black tip). I knew that one use to be able
to see them around Antero Reservoir (Park County).
I called the American Prairie Dog Society (which happens to be in
Boulder) last week and they thought that Antero Reservoir would be
the extreme eastern end of their range. Looking at range maps
this morning, it looks like at least “historically” that Gunnison
Prairie Dogs may be seen along the western side of Pueblo
Reservoir and on the parks (flat valleys) in South Park up to Bailey?
In any case, Gunnison Prairie Dogs most likely hibernate and can
normally be seen April to October, so a March sighting was
unlikely. Anyone have more experience on this!
Long-billed Thrasher Again 3/3
Richard Stevens reported the Long billed Thrasher was
along the eastern fence at 2332 Emerson Street, Denver
this morning. He watched the bird from 10:30AM to
11:05AM. At that time a birder showed up and slammed
their car doors. The bird took off up the alley to
the north.
After visiting 2332 S. Emerson Street, I stopped briefly
at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe County).
A group of gulls standing on the ice included an adult
Thayer's Gull and a 1st or 2nd year Glaucous Gull.
As I was pointing out the gulls to Glenn Walbek, a Bald Eagle
flew over and scared most of the gulls away. We were not
able to relocated the Glaucous Gull.
Long-billed Thrasher Once Again 3/2
A friend is in Porter Hospital, so while visiting yesterday I
went over to Long billed Thrasher yard (2332 Emerson Street)
to get some fresh air. Sat in front of home from 2:00 to 3:30pm.
The bird appeared about 3:07pm.
Just after flying into the bushes above the fence and just left
of the telephone pole, two cars came down the alley. The bird
disappeared at 3:09pm and I did not see it again. It is still
around anyway.
I then drove up the alley at 3:35 PM. The LBTH was feeding in
the backyard two houses south of 2332 Emerson. Previously in
the week, it was also seen in the backyard four houses north
of 2332 Emerson.
More Bird Trips
HOME
Please feel free to contact CoBus and
Rich Stevens at the following address:
E-mail: