Rich Stevens' Bird Trips
October 2003
A Quick Hike Around Aurora Reservoir 10/31
Again temperatures were around 29 degrees; winds were strong.
By afternoon, I was going stare crazy and decided to hike Aurora Reservoir.
It was cold; this encouraged me to not stop long at any one place. My hike
around Aurora Reservoir (8 miles) only took 3 hours (normally a 4-5 hour walk).
I did not see any uncommon gulls during my brief scans of about 2000 birds.
A Common Loon was in the bay at mile marker 3.0. Not much else of interest
was moving about in the inclement weather.
Another Kelp Gull Search 10/30
We woke up to 29 degree temps and ice on everything out here east of DIA.
Windchill made the temperature feel like 14 degrees. So, we gave up on
hiking the 8 miles around Aurora Reservoir and headed to Larimer County.
Steve Spencer, Gary Zeeto and I checked the many lakes in Larimer County
for the Kelp Gull. Before sunrise we observed a large dark mantled gull
at Horseshoe Lake. We moved around the lake several times but never got
close enough for a proper ID. The bird eventually flew off to the North.
Note (added 11/1): The gull was a dark-backed gull and with the reporting
of the Kelp Gull at Horseshoe Lake on 11/1, probably means that the gull
we observed was the Kelp Gull.
We checked Donath, Duck, Fossil Creek, Terry, and Long Lakes without
finding the Kelp Gull or any other uncommon gulls.
Horseshoe Lake and Boyd Lake both had Bonaparte's Gulls (they are across
the road from each other and therefore gulls may be the same birds at both
locations). Horseshoe had at least one juvenile Thayer's Gull.
Not much was happening at Union Reservoir (Weld). Cherry Creek Reservoir
(Arapahoe) was slow again.
Guanella Pass 10/29
I went on the CoBus trip led by Gary Zeeto to Guanella Pass (Clear Creek
County). Participants were Heather & Henry Sisneros, Steve Spencer,
Gary, and myself. Winds were quite strong all day; especially on
the plains where they were 15-20 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.
We stopped at Guanella Pass Campground on the way up and back from
the summit. No American Three-toed Woodpeckers were located today.
Winds were so strong that little could be heard. Few birds moved
about the campgrounds.
Fortune was with us at the GP summit. We located an adult and two young
White-tailed Ptarmigan (in about 2 hours). The birds were found along
the Rosalie Trail. On the eastern end of the trail there is a large
rock uphill (West). A bowl with half a dozen fir trees is south of this
rock. The birds were feeding in the bowl, somewhat protected from the
wind. The wind up here almost knocked us off our feet several times.
No other birds were observed during our interesting hike.
Our next stop was Loveland Ski Basin. No Pine Grosbeaks or
Rosy Finches visited the feeder during our hour stay.
Gary, Steve, and I ended our birding day at Barr Lake (Adams).
No uncommon gulls were observed. Those observed were several Franklin's,
a dozen California, an adult Herring, and many Ring-billed Gulls.
Waves were quite high in the 45 mph gusts. Gary and Steve
located the Surf Scoter below the dam (north of the boat ramp).
I never could pick out the bird in the waves.
We stopped briefly and looked around the willows near the
banding station. No birds could be found.
Search for Kelp Gull in Larimer County 10/27
Gary Zeeto and I looked for the Kelp Gull in Larimer County this morning.
It was not to be found. We searched Donath Lake, Duck Lake, Horseshoe Lake,
Boyd Lake State Park, Lake Loveland, and Fossil Creek Reservoir. It is not
possible to see much of Fossil Creek (which is probably where the bird
spends most of its time).
Afterwards, I decided to go over to Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe).
It was such a nice day that I hiked the perimeter. The only problem
with this is the 0.5 miles of loose rocks below the dam on the west side.
Winds were 5-10 mph until 4:30pm. Then it was quite calm.
This may have been my slowest birding day ever. No loons, scoters,
or uncommon birds were found. The only sparrow observed during my
3-hour trek was a good one. A Swamp Sparrow responded when a tape
was played at the bird platform at the Cottonwood Creek Loop.
This was after sunset at 5:00pm.
Birds counted: 29 American White Pelicans, 18 Double-crested Cormorants,
34 Western Grebes, 23 Eared Grebes, and about 400 gulls (mostly Ring-billed,
about 49 California, and 1 adult Herring Gull). No hawks were found.
Three Black-capped Chickadees, two Dark-eyed Juncos, and 81 American Robins
were around the pond northwest of the swim beach.
Three Semipalmated Sandpipers were on the southeastern sandbar.
Eastern Plains 10/18-10/26
I had planned on staying home this weekend and tackling some chores.
Roger Danka called and said that he had seen two Smith's Longspurs
on his property on Friday. He also had been watching 2 Sprague's Pipits
for several days. Gary Weston and I could not miss this chance and
back to Sedgwick County we went.
October 18
We arrived just after sunrise and accompanied Roger over to the
northeast corner of his property. It took about 10 minutes to
find the two Smith's Longspurs!!! They flew around in a flock
of McCown's Longspurs and Chestnut-collared Longspurs.
The flock continued to land near a mostly dried up alkaline pond.
A half-mile to the east and flock of Horned Lark also had two
Sprague's Pipits. Every once in awhile the pipits would land
on the telephone wires along the county road!
Back near Roger's house, the Harris's Sparrow and 2 White-throated
Sparrows continued to be observed.
October 19
We relocated the Smith's Longspurs and finally got one photo that
was not blurry. Gary managed to get 2 shots of the Sprague's Pipits.
We called back to Denver and later in the day were able to show the
birds to Lisa Novin, Sue Dorsey, Terry Michaels, Steve Spencer,
and Mike Williams.
While everyone else headed back to Denver, I decided to stay the
week and help Roger on his ranch. It turned out to be a strenuous
week and my respect for ranchers grew tremendously.
October 20
Roger's Eastern Screech-Owl called about 5:00am.
Always a nice wake up call!
We managed to relocate the Smith's Longspurs and Sprague's Pipits.
After a day of chores, we headed south of I76. The Smith's Longspur
and Sprague's Pipits reported along CR 30 could not be found.
Winds were stronger today and made identifying birds more difficult.
October 21
Winds were strong. The Smith's Longspurs and Sprague's Pipits could
not be found this morning.
We ventured further south and east in the afternoon. A Sprague's Pipit
was found near the intersection of Sedgwick CR 26/61. Again the birds
reported along CR 30 could not be found. The Long-eared Owls
observed back on 10/1 were not around today.
Sand Draw Wildlife Area (Sedgwick) was slow. One Field Sparrow was
located along the eastern border.
Our birding day ended at Mark's Butte (southwestern Sedgwick County).
We hoped that the Greater Prairie-Chicken observed 9/27 might make
an appearance. It did not.
October 22
At first light we drove to Ovid Woods (Sedgwick).
Two Eurasian Collared-Doves stood atop the dead cottonwoods near
2nd street and Morgan Avenue. A male Red-bellied Woodpecker was
on one of the telephone poles at the east end of the ball field.
We sat for an hour at the north end of the woods. A male Northern
Cardinal worked the trees along the east side and gave us great looks.
I have not seen a female Cardinal for over two months now?
No Eurasian Collared-Doves could be found around the Julesburg
Elementary School this morning.
October 23
Morning was spent mostly doing chores. I had brought Roger an old
computer and finally got him hooked up to the Internet. After dinner
we ventured over and watched the Harris's and a White-throated Sparrow
pop up from under his Russian Olive trees.
October 24
Chores again, we did drive down to Jumbo Reservoir in the late afternoon.
Waterfowl count was very high with many Mallards, Gadwalls, Redheads,
Ruddy Ducks, and Canada Geese. No uncommon birds were found however.
The eastern campgrounds were extremely silent except for the wind.
Our birding day ended at Sedgwick Draw (northwestern corner of Sedgwick
County). No Short-eared Owls hunted during our stay this evening.
October 25
Gary Weston drove out from Denver around sunrise and we decided to head
into Nebraska to look for owls, Eastern Meadowlarks, Smith's Longspurs,
and Sprague's Pipits. Winds were quite strong throughout the day.
Most of our day was spent at Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge
(Garden County, Nebraska). Anyone wanting a complete trip list just ask.
Meadowlarks were few and far between. We did find two Eastern Meadowlarks.
They were watched and listened to for an hour. At least two Western
Meadowlarks were also found. Unfortunately, close approach for photos failed.
Other highlights were a Sharp-tailed Grouse crossing one of the 4-wheel drive
roads, Northern Shrike, and several Lapland Longspurs. We also thought a
Northern Bobwhite crossed the road. However we were told that they were
quite rare up here and did not make a positive id. Again, what other
bird could have been that size?
A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was observed in one of the groves as we
watched a Hermit Thrush. The only warblers were 2 Common Yellowthroats
and an Orange-crowned Warbler. Sparrows included Savannah, Lark,
Harris's, White-throated, White-crowned, Swamp, and Song Sparrows.
A stop in Sidney added 2 Eurasian Collared-Doves to our trip list
(along railroad tracks at Hickory Street).
October 26
Again we looked one last time for Smith's Longspurs and Sprague's
Pipits on Roger's land; without success. I watched the Harris's
Sparrow and found 2 White-throated Sparrows before leaving.
Gary and I headed back toward Denver.
A quick stop at Jumbo Reservoir (Logan/Sedgwick) added a Common Loon
to my week's birding list.
Prewitt Reservoir (Washington/Logan) was quiet. A Red-naped Sapsucker
was found below the dam at the Russian Olive Trees along the outlet canal.
Cherry Creek Reservoir 10/17
A two hour stop at Cherry Creek Reservoir this morning was pretty dull.
No uncommon birds (waterfowl or passerines) could be found.
The highlight was one Orange-crowned Warbler at the Prairie loop
(oops, I guess it has been renamed Cottonwood Creek Loop).
A lone American Tree Sparrow accompanied 29 White-crowned Sparrows
fluttering about in the dead wood north of the campgrounds.
Aurora Reservoir 10/16
Gary Weston and I were the only two birders on the CoBus trip around
Aurora Reservoir today. It was a beautiful day with warm temperatures
into the 80s and little wind.
Unfortunately, we did not find many birds. The only sparrows observed
were 2 American Tree, 5 Song, and 19 White-crowned Sparrows.
We sat for an hour at the sand spit at mile marker 2.0 which had the
largest gathering of gulls (1500+ Ring-billed, 49 California, 14 Franklin's).
We eventually picked out the 1st year Mew Gull out of the group!
Another 1200 gulls at mile marker 1.0 did not contain any uncommon ones.
Waterfowl counts were similar to last week.
Again no uncommon birds were observed.
Colorado's Eastern Plains 10/10-10/15
I spent the weekend on the Eastern Plains of Colorado.
Temperatures were mild; winds 10-15 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.
October 10
I stopped at Jackson Reservoir (Morgan County) on my way to Julesburg.
The adult Mew Gull reported several days earlier was not found.
However, I only walked the west and southern sides of the reservoir today.
A lone Black-bellied Plover and American Golden-Plover were observed
on the western shore. While there are many shorebirds still there,
few uncommon ones were spotted.
The trees around the western campgrounds were empty of birds?
No warblers at all could be found.
No Burrowing Owls were observed along highway 138 West of Red Lion
WLA (Logan County). Jumbo Reservoir did not add any interesting birds to
my trip list. No Burrowing Owls have been found along the DIA Owl loop
in a week either. They may have snuck quietly out of Colorado this year.
I have not seen any Swainson's Hawks in a week either.
Usually I find a kettle or two getting ready to fly south.
Have they left the state already this year?
October 11
Roger Danka and I found several Harris's and a White-throated Sparrow
on his ranch. The Eastern Screech-Owl did not make an appearance.
Later, we checked several locations for Sprague's Pipits, but found none.
Winds were quite strong and birds were not moving about today.
The last hour or two of daylight were spent at Julesburg Wayside Rest Stop
and DePoorter Lake. Two Harris's Sparrows were along the South Platte River
at the extreme southwestern corner of DePoorter Lake's property. A covey of
Northern Bobwhite was kicked up from the tall grasses on the hill south of
the lake. Julesburg Wayside RS had only a couple of Northern Flickers.
Near dusk we checked Sedgwick Draw. No Short-eared Owls were observed
this evening.
October 12
Roger and I journeyed over to Lake McConaughy. Again winds were quite strong.
We hoped to find an Eastern Meadowlark or Smith's Longspur. Ironically,
a Smith's Longspur was located by several birders in Colorado at
Neenoshe Reservoir (Kiowa). The best bird at McConaughy was an adult
Lesser Black-backed Gull. Sandhill Cranes flew overhead throughout the day.
October 13
I headed south toward Neenoshe Reservoir. At civil twilight, I walked
the farmhouses at Sandsage WLA (Yuma). The resident Eastern Screech-Owl
returned my call at 6:16am. Two Harris's Sparrows were found while
walking along the Republican River (south of the farm houses).
No unusual sparrows were found at the western end of the property today.
Two Wild Turkeys walked across the southern parking area at sunrise!
My next stop was the Wray Fishing Unit. A male Northern Cardinal
called at the Stalker Ponds parking area. The rest of the property
was quiet this morning.
Stan Roth called and we arranged to meet later in the morning at
Neenoshe Reservoir. I skipped the rest of the wildlife areas in
Yuma County and arrived at Neenoshe Reservoir in two hours.
We found the "flock" of Horned Larks and longspurs in which was
reported a Smith's Longspur. Winds were strong and id was difficult.
I took many photos and videotaped the birds. I saw no bird that
could be positively called a Smith's Longspur, but will review
the tape and photos next weekend with Stan, Bill, and others.
Our birding day ended at Mike Higbee WLA (Prowers).
No uncommon sparrows were found in a 2-hour hike.
Earlier, we struck out at Lamar Community College.
Few birds moved about in the wind.
October 14
We headed toward Pueblo and stopped at Blue Lake (Bent/Kiowa Counties).
Nothing unusual was found there. My late date for Least Terns is 9/28.
A few Clark's Grebes and 2 dozen Sandhill Cranes were the highlight.
Next we decided to meet at Fort Lyons WLA. We could not kick up any
LeConte's Sparrows (or uncommon birds) there and Stan and Bill headed
back to Denver. I headed to the Picket Wire area South of La Junta.
Higbee Cemetery (Otero) was quiet. Two Chihuahuan Ravens were the highlight.
No sparrows, thrashers, or mockingbirds were about.
Vogel Canyon (Otero) was quiet also. I could not find the Rufous-crowned
Sparrow observed last month. A few ravens flew off in the distance and
were not identified. I could not hear them. No owls called after dark.
October 15
Several locations were checked for owls on my trip back to Denver.
Lake Henry was quiet. Ordway WLA also was quiet except for the howling wind.
I returned to Denver about 6:30am. After a few hours of sleep, I received
an email that the Yellow-billed Cuckoo had been spotted at 8:10am at
Walden Ponds (Boulder), so I headed North with Donna Fortney.
At Walden Ponds, I made the mistake of walking the road toward the ranger's
office. Donna walked the boardwalk. She observed the Yellow-billed Cuckoo
above her head at the end of the boardwalk. By the time I reached the area,
the bird had flown north along the eastern edge of the trees.
The bird was not relocated in the next hour.
Three Yellow-rumped Warblers were the only birds that I found.
We drove to the northern parking area at 75th avenue and Boulder Creek.
I then hiked back to the Yellow-billed Cuckoo location. Birds were
scarce. Maybe because the only two birds found were a Sharp-shinned Hawk
and Cooper's Hawk?
After a late lunch we hiked the first mile at Doudy Draw on the
southern end of Boulder. Winds were quite strong; again few birds
were observed. A Prairie Falcon zipped through headed north.
Aurora Reservoir 10/9
Four birders went on the CoBus trip to Aurora Reservoir Thursday.
Steve Spencer, Mike Williams, Bryan Ehlmann and I hiked the shoreline.
The bike path is 7.8 miles around the reservoir; walking the shoreline
adds at least another mile (at southern end one has to make a 0.5 mile
detour and back to get around the inlet canal).
The trek took 7 hours. We got off to a slow start; it took 1.5 hours
to go the first 0.5 miles. Two interesting sparrows just east of inlet
canal south of the visitor's center gave us fits. The two sparrows
scurried about in the weeds along the shore. We sat in chairs and
waited for better looks. The sparrows looked like Baird's Sparrows,
but we could not get good looks at the crown stripes. Eventually we
did see the white crown stripe and concluded them to be Savannah Sparrows.
We did enjoy a good sparrow day. Sparrows found Cassin's, Grasshopper,
Savannah, Clay-colored, Brewer's, Chipping, Song, Vesper, Lark, and
White-crowned Sparrows. Most of the sparrows were along the southern
end of the reservoir. Several required close scrutiny of the bushes
and weeds, as they did not come out in the open.
The 2+ Grasshopper Sparrows were near mile marker 1.0. The 2 Cassin's
Sparrows flew about the fence line in the extreme southeastern corner
(mm 3.4). Clay-colored and Brewer's Sparrows were near mm 2.0.
Vespers were everywhere. Lark Sparrows were near mm 3.0.
We choose this date for the trip because in 2002, an adult Great
Black-backed Gull (we believe to be the bird that eventually went to
Pueblo) visited from 10/9-11/29. The gulls here seem to congregate
on several corners of the Reservoir especially mm 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.2.
Unfortunately only the first can be scoped from the western shore;
the others requiring the 8-mile hike.
Temperatures rose throughout the day and I may not convince anyone
to return with me next week for another hike as it was a strenuous trip.
Winds were almost zero after 10:00am and the water looked like a mirror.
Gulls numbers were Ring-billed (3,116), California (179), Herring (2 adults),
Franklin's (78), and the highlight of the day, a 1st winter Mew Gull.
There were many fisher persons and boats on the reservoir today. The gulls
were chased around several times. The Mew Gull was observed both at
mm 1.0 and later 2.0. The Franklin's Gulls stayed mostly at mm 2.0.
Shorebirds included (only) 3 Baird's Sandpipers walking the shore just
north of the swim beach (mm 7.7), one Long-billed Dowitcher (mm 1.2),
and 4 Killdeer. We were surprised at the low number of Killdeer.
Other birds or lack of: 5 Great Blue Herons (rookery at mm 3.0),
no flycatchers, no towhees, several hundred Horned Larks, and
21 American Pipits. An out of place Red-naped Sapsucker worked
the 24 trees uphill (west) of the swim beach. We did not go up
to the visitor's center and observed no House Sparrows or
Starlings (which we assume were around the buildings if present).
Two American Robins were observed around mm 7.4.
Waterfowl included 137 Ruddy Ducks, 92 American Coots, 4 Gadwalls,
219 Mallards, 18 Canada Geese, and a lone Eared Grebe.
A Busy Week Birding All Over Colorado 10/4-10/8
Have not been in town much lately, so updating trip reports
quickly this morning before leading a bird trip.
October 4
Doug Shakel and I headed up to the mountains to look for Blue Grouse and
American Three-toed Woodpeckers. At civil twilight we started our hike
up Reynolds Park (Jefferson County). It was foggy and quiet in the woods.
A Blue Grouse walked across the clearing just north of the restroom at
the Songbird/Elkhorn Trails. We checked Merlynn Brown's locations
of American Three-toed Woodpeckers without finding any.
So we headed over to Pine Valley Ranch Park (Jefferson). It took about
half an hour to find a male Three-toed Woodpecker. He was around my
most successful location, which is south of Pine Lake (up hill) and
100 yards east of Buck Gulch Trail (which heads uphill from the west
end of Pine Lake). I usually hike up Buck Gulch about 300 yards,
cross the small stream, hike 100-150 yards east, and return to Pine Lake.
It was such a beautiful day; so we decided to head west to look for
White-tailed Ptarmigan and Pine Grosbeaks. A two-hour search at the
summit of Guanella Pass did not produce any Ptarmigan sightings today.
On our return trip, we watched a male and female Pine Grosbeak on the
top of fir trees at the switchbacks above (south) Guanella Pass Campground.
A stop at Loveland Ski Basin did not add additional Pine Grosbeak
or Rosy Finches to our trip list. Several Mountain Chickadees
and two Gray Jays were around however.
Doug wanted to see some owls, so I suggested Grand Junction.
What the heck, it was only 218 miles West :-)
October 5
Our birding day started at the Colorado National Monument.
It was a late start as our arrival in Grand Junction was quite
early in the morning. A flock of 7 Pinyon Jays were in the
draw just inside of the northern (western) entrance to CNM.
Other birds observed during the drive through were Juniper Titmice,
Bushtits, White-throated Swifts, Gambel's Quail (south end Picnic
area), and a pair of Golden Eagles.
At various locations north of Grand Junction we located two
Great Horned Owls, Burrowing Owls, and a Western Screech-Owl.
The normally reliable Barn Owl was not to be found today.
We also checked a location where Long-eared Owls had
nested last year; we did not locate any today.
A Lewis's Woodpecker was located on Mesa County Road G.5 in Palisade.
Two Chukars were north of I70 at Cameo. Sparrows were scarce everywhere.
A Blue Grouse was observed crossing highway 65 as we drove up the
Grand Mesa. After dark the ski area was checked for a Northern
Pygmy-Owl that was heard last April. It was not located tonight.
A Boreal Owl was found (heard and observed) 0.4 miles east from
the visitor's center. We had checked several locations along
highway 65 without success (previous year's successful locations).
Doug slept while I drove down to Delta and back to the Uncompahgre
Plateau (Mesa). I woke him up at 4:30am and we hiked the area
around the Telephone Trail. A Flammulated Owl returned our calls
at the east end of the trail about 5:20am.
A Northern Saw-whet Owl was found on the trip back down to highway 141.
October 6
After a few hours of restless sleep, we continued south on highway 141.
No Black Phoebes were found during a stop at Uravan. We missed
the White-winged and Eurasian Collared-Doves at Nucla (Montrose).
We detoured down to Ouray, but did not find any Black Swifts.
Our birding day ended at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
Two Blue Grouse were found crossing the south rim road as we drove to
the western end. No Northern Pygmy-Owls were found/heard after sunset.
A few Evening Grosbeaks and 2 Spotted Towhees were the only birds encountered.
October 7
We drove all night so that Doug could catch his flight out of DIA on time.
I had called Steve Spencer and suggested meeting at Highway 285 and C470
back in Denver. I last saw Doug driving north to Denver International Airport.
Fortunately, Steve picked me up about 20 minutes later at 5:30am and
we headed to Tina Jones' home in Bowmar (Jefferson). He had me
a little worried being stranded in the dark at the intersection :-)
Steve Spencer & I watched the female Anna's Hummingbird at 6:48am
at 4400 Bowmar Drive. The bird did not make another appearance
until 9:21am (at which time 4 different birders showed up to see it).
Between 6:40am and 7:10am five hummingbirds briefly came by.
The Anna's, 3 Broad-tailed and the fifth Steve thought to be
a female Calliope. After 7:10am the only hummer observed was
the Anna's again. I did see a Broad-tailed Hummingbird in the
back yard as I departed at 10:00am. The Anna's came to the
back and front feeders (in the front yard) and sat on a sunflower
just behind a blue flag (for about 2 minutes first time;
30 seconds second time). Thanks to Tina Jones for
allowing birders to see this rare Colorado sighting.
Steve left for work around 7:10am. I decided to stay and take
the bus back home. The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was still at
Belmar Historic Park (Kountze Lake, southeast end) when I made
a brief stop at 10:30am. There is a library at the corner of the
park and I was able to email "cobirders" about the bird finds.
I had received an email that there was a "huge" hummingbird coming
to a feeder in Colorado Springs. Who needs sleep? I called
Gary Weston and we headed South. We found, watched and
videotaped the hummingbird for several minutes in the afternoon.
Interesting bird, I will write more about the hummingbird when
we have time to review the tapes.
Gary and I had no obligations so we headed south to Las Animas County.
A stop at Pueblo Reservoir (Pueblo County) did not find the
Lesser Black-backed Gull, Red Knot, and Black-bellied Plovers
last reported 9/27. We did observed two Common Terns flying
west of the Jet ski launch area. Valco Ponds were pretty quiet.
We arrived at a private ranch in Las Animas County after dark.
A check of a previous Northern Saw-whet Owl location was not fruitful.
October 8
We walked around after breakfast. Birds were not plentiful, however
we did find several Cassin's Kingbirds, 2 Western Kingbirds, and
2 Eastern Kingbirds. It is getting late for them, though I did
have a late Cassin's Kingbird sighting at Jumbo Reservoir
(Logan/Sedgwick Counties) on 10/24/1998.
I quickly looked in my records and these are my only personal
Kingbird records for October. There are records of Western Kingbirds
at Pueblo Reservoir, Wiggins, and Prewitt Reservoir as late as 10/18.
Latest Eastern Kingbird reports are 9/27, Pueblo Reservoir.
I received an email report of a possible female Vermilion Flycatcher in
Cottonwood Canyon (Baca County), so again what the heck, we headed East.
We searched for two hours without finding the Vermilion Flycatcher.
We did see a Western Screech-Owl, Rufous-crowned Sparrows, 2 Say's Phoebes,
an Eastern Phoebe (not in canyon, but on road to Picture Canyon, CR J),
2 Greater Roadrunners, and a male Ladder-backed Woodpecker.
Best bird was a quite late Ash-throated Flycatcher at Carrizo Creek
Picnic area. My latest date is 9/18. The only report I can find
after 9/18 is an 11/15/1994 sighting by T. Leukering in Doudy Draw (Boulder).
Again we drove all night to return to Denver for a bird trip this morning.
Birding Western Metro Denver 10/3
I birded on the west side of metro Denver today.
At 7:10am, I walked around Kountze Lake at Belmar Historic Park
(Jefferson County). It was dark still so I hiked around the
lake twice before light was bright enough to see well.
After sunrise, I walked off the covered bridge/boardwalk and
found myself 5 yards from the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron.
The bird stood on the rocks along the shoreline where we
scoped the bird (on the other side of the lake) last week.
A Black-crowned Night-Heron was here also.
Three adult & two juvenile Black-crowned Night-Herons
were along the south and east sides of the lake.
Two Double-crested Cormorants stood on the island in the center.
I hiked two miles of Wheat Ridge Greenbelt at Prospect Park.
Most of the time there was not even a hint of wind.
It was extremely quiet. Few birds moved about in this
place where birding in past years was always interesting.
Total bird count (not counting birds on the lakes) :
3 Northern Flickers, 1 Black-billed Magpie, 27 American Goldfinch,
2 House Finch, and 1 European Starling.
The highlight of the hike was a Northern Waterthrush.
The bird walked along the stream coming out of the pond
at the northeast corner of the chain link fence (south side
of Clear Creek at Prospect Park bridge). I watched the bird
hunt for 10 minutes before it disappeared around the corner
of taller weeds towards the small pond.
Marston Reservoir (Denver County) was quiet.
Chatfield Reservoir (Jefferson/Douglas) was not much better.
Where have all the birds gone? No loons or uncommon gulls
were found today. I did not take the time to walk down the
South Platte River from Kingfisher Bridge.
A Broad-winged Hawk was found in the tall cottonwoods 1.0 mile
up Waterton Canyon (Jefferson). Two Western Meadowlarks at
the mouth of the canyon were the only other birds observed.
My final stop of the day was Deer Creek Canyon Park (Jefferson).
One of the few birds found was an adult Northern Goshawk!
The DIA Owl loop was driven on my trip home. Six Burrowing Owls
were at 3.4 miles East of Tower Road and 96th avenue. Two were
at Powhaton Road and 128th avenue. Three along Buckley Road
(between 56th & 88th avenues), the east side of Rocky Mountain Arsenal.
My late dates for Burrowing Owls along the Owl loop is tied at 10/20
for 2001 & 2002. (In years earlier, I may not have looked for last date.)
It was a strange day (in the sense of lack of large bird numbers)
with overcast skies and little wind.
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