Rich Stevens' Bird Trips
September, 2006
Drive Through Cherry Creek Reservoir 9/30
After a late lunch we drove through Cherry Creek Reservoir
(Arapahoe County). Even with stops at the Tower Loop, Smoky Hill
Picnic Area, the Prairie Loop, the Lake Loop, and the Gull winged
Picnic Tables area, birds were difficult to find. There were
plenty of people out enjoying the beautiful fall day.
It was not until our last stop, the Gull winged Picnic Table area
that we were able to find the Pomarine Jaeger. It flew from below
the dam to the southeast corner of the lake (where most of the
gulls were on the shore). Boats are not allowed in the section
which may be the place to look for interesting birds (especially
on the weekends).
We observed plenty of California and Ring-billed Gulls there
(over 2000 gulls in total), but did not pick out any uncommon
gulls or terns.
At the Bird Platform at the Prairie Loop we counted another 400
gulls. A pair of Western Sandpipers flew in for a bath along the
swallow stream. They were joined by a Least Sandpiper which
also washed it feathers.
Search for Pied Crow near Washington Park 9/29
Rebecca Kosten, Lisa Novin, and I went searching for the Pied Crow
reported "around Washington Park area". We did not find it.
As Gary Z put it, "talk about looking for a needle in a haystack,
when you do not know where the haystack is". It was a fantastic
day and all enjoyed the walk twice around Washington Park.
We did see 20+ American Crows at the southeast corner of the park.
A flock of 8 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 2 Orange-crowned Warblers,
and a Wilson's Warbler were in the trees at the northwest corner
of Clark Lake.
The highlight though was found while we were looking at another
crow and several warblers in the trees in the northeast corner of
the park. I noticed that one of the warblers had a rufous crown
and yellow undertail coverts. We had found a western Palm
Warbler.
Later in the afternoon, we drove the DIA Owl Loop looking for
Short-eared Owls at dusk. None found today; we were treated
to a beautiful sunset!
Two Jaeger Day 9/28
Had a two Jaeger day on Thursday.
Went by Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe County) around noon
and observed the juvenile Pomarine Jaeger flying around by the dam's
tower. Got better looks the other day, but it is still there. The bird
looks to be intermediate between intermediate and dark morph.
Also observed at least one possibly two juvenile Sabine's Gulls in
the same area. Western Grebes are back. At least one Clark's
Grebe was among them. Other birds included Ruddy Ducks,
American Coots, Gadwalls, and Mallards. A Common Tern flew
around below the dam. While a Bald Eagle flew by during my stay.
On the way out, an Osprey flew along the eastern side of the lake.
Next I went over to Standley Lake (Jefferson County). Watched the
intermediate juvenile Long-tailed Jaeger fly around the western
end of the lake. Another Osprey flew along the western side also.
Ended my birding day back in Arapahoe County at Aurora Reservoir.
Rode my bike around the 7.8 mile trail. No uncommon jaegers or
gulls were found today. I did see a Lincoln's Sparrow, Clay-
colored Sparrow, Song Sparrows, and a few Chipping Sparrows.
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher 9/27
Bryan Ehlmann & I drove down to Otero County Roads 1 & KK
and photographed the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. Bryan thought he
saw a White-throated Sparrow; however we were not able to relocate
the bird for better looks.
Later that night we searched for Flammulated Owls on Pennock Pass
(Larimer) and Boreal Owls on Cameron Pass (Larimer/Jackson Counties).
We were not able to find either owls. Conditions were not the best as
winds had to be 25+ mph. We could hear very little (except the wind).
Morgan & Weld Counties 9/26
Jeff Shohler and I drove up to Jackson Reservoir (Morgan County).
Shorebirds were numerous and we could have spent the whole day
there. We did cover as much as possible in 4 hours.
We were able to find a Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Up to two have
been reported on 9/24. One of them could have been the one Bryan
Ehlmann and I reported on 8/28? We also found a juvenile Sabine's
Gull, Black-bellied Plovers, Semipalmated Plovers, Willets,
Pectoral Sandpipers, and Red-necked Phalaropes.
On the trip to Crow Valley, we found several McCown's Longspurs.
We also thought we observed one Lapland Longspur among a flock
of 9 McCown's Longspurs.
Raptors included a Prairie Falcon, Ferruginous Hawk, and Golden Eagle!
We found a Merlin at the corner of Weld CR 84 & 85.
More common hawks included 4 Red-tailed and 9 Swainson's Hawks.
Our next stop was Crow Valley Campground. Jeff found a Pine
Warbler in the southwest corner. (One had been reported earlier
by Withgott, however we had not heard about it). We also found
a White-throated Sparrow along the dried creek at the western side.
We looked for owls around the Work Center. No Northern Saw-whet
Owls, however we did find a Long-eared Owl (which eventually flew
to the cemetery).
DIA Owl Loop & Cherry Creek Reservoir 9/25
This morning Bryan Ehlmann and I ran the DIA Owl Loop
(Adams County). We observed sixteen Burrowing Owls.
--3 AT 3.4 miles east of Tower Road & 96th avenue (check north
edge of field)
--3 AT Powhaton Road and 128th avenue (1 east of new chain link
fence, 2 west of same fence)
--6+ AT 0.5 miles south of Picadilly Road and 128th avenue
--2 AT 0.2 miles north of Tower Road & 56th avenue
(across from Wildhorse Ridge Condos)
Hike in only: 2 AT 2.5 miles north of Buckley Road & 56th avenue
Also observed along the DIA Owl Loop:
A Ferruginous Hawk was just northwest of the fenced in runways.
A Clay-colored Sparrow was observed at Powhaton & 128th avenue.
In the afternoon, I stopped by Cherry Creek Reservoir while doing
chores.
The Pomarine Jaeger was several hundred yards off shore from the
picnic tables with the gull wings. We watched it for over an
hour. It flies to lake loop to sandbar north of the southwest
marina and back to original site.
Just east of jaeger was 4 juvenile Sabine's Gulls. A California
couple found a Red necked Grebe which they said was reported
last Friday? First I heard about it. They also reported a first
year Great Black backed Gull today. Previous report of several
days ago, may have been changed to Lesser Black backed Gull.
Metro Reservoirs 9/24
Inserted by Terry Michaels:
"This morning, Rich Stevens, Bryan Ehlmann, and Roger Danka
relocated the Great Black backed Gull at Aurora Res., Arapahoe
County.
Rich called from Cherry Creek State Park, also Arapahoe County,
he found a fall Chestnut sided Warbler below the Smoky Hill Group
Picnic Area. The warbler was with a flock which included 2 Orange
crowned Warblers, 5+ Yellow rumped, 2 Wilson's Warblers,
and a Red breasted Nuthatch.
Eventually he lost the flock in the trees along the lake below the
first picnic table east of area above. He also found a pair of
Blue gray Gnatcatchers and a White crowned Sparrow.
On the lake, he saw a jaeger described as barrel chested. He did
not know about a previous "possible" Pomarine Jaeger. He thought
the "Lesser Black backed Gull" is/was a darker than normal
California Gull that has been around for a week or two.
Earlier today, Kilpatrick, Walbek and others reported a Sabine's
Gull, Lesser Black backed Gull, and possible Pomarine Jaeger here."
Richard Stevens:
Later in the afternoon, Roger Danka and I headed to Chatfield Reservoir.
We hoped to find the adult Sabine's Gull that has been "hanging around"
for several days now. We did not find it; however we did observe
two juvenile Sabine's Gulls.
A hike along the Plum Creek Delta to the new bridge to the south
added a Plumbeous Vireo (northeast of the parking area) and a pair
of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers (southeast of the parking area) to our
trip list.
Rocky Mountain Arsenal & Bluff Lake Nature Area 9/23
Saturday, I joined the DFO trip to Rocky Mountain Arsenal (Adams
County). I believe we observed over 65 species (I can add it up
later if anyone is interested). Most of the areas where the
uncommon birds were observed are off limits to visitors.
You can visit the arsenal on your own on Saturday and Sunday
and there are trails to hike somewhat deep into the arsenal
if one is interested.
We did see 2 Prairie Falcons and a Peregrine Falcon.
One highlight was a Long-eared Owl which all 8 of us were
able to see. We ran into a flock of birds which included
a Plumbeous Vireo, Hermit Thrush, Wilson's Warblers,
over 14 Spotted Towhees, and a Green-tailed Towhee.
Afterwards, I circled Bluff Lake Nature Center twice. I enjoyed
much fortunate here. In the woods north of the dry marsh at the
northwest corner, I found a Barn Owl and Townsend's Warbler.
A Plumbeous Vireo was in the trees along the west side of the lake.
The highlight was a Philadelphia Vireo. I found this bird as
I hiked east along the trail running at the north side of the
meadow? below the parking area. The vireo was in Russian Olive
trees approximately 150 yards east of the observation fence that
is directly below the stairs leading down from the parking area.
There was a Snowy Egret near the water falls in Sand Creek.
A Swainson's Hawk flew over the meadow area. The only ducks
found on the lake were Mallards, Gadwalls, and Northern Shovelers.
Because it was dry most of the summer, the lake has many weeds
in it. There is not much clear shoreline for shorebirds (and
I found none).
A Quick Drive Through Cherry Creek Reservoir 9/22
While doing chores I made a quick drive through Cherry Creek
Reservoir (Arapahoe County). Birds were quite scarce in the
cool overcast, partly rainy weather. Winds were 10+ mph.
I could not find any warblers below the Smoky Hill Group
Picnic Area.
No gulls were below the dam. (I did not know about Bob Brown's
Great Black-backed Gull sighting earlier in the day; however it
was not there at 6:30pm.)
Gulls were split into three groups; the eastern sand spit,
the southeastern shore, and off the bird platform.
I scoped all three groups and only found California and Ring-
billed Gulls except for 2 Sabine's Gulls off the bird platform
at the Cottonwood Creek Loop. Here, the only shorebirds were
18 Killdeer. I did count 14 Great Blue Herons; no Snowy Egrets.
A few Black Terns, hundreds of Barn Swallows, and at least
4 Cliff Swallows hawked insects over the water.
While checking for warblers at the Smoky Hill Picnic Area,
an Osprey carrying a fish flew toward the east.
Foothills Birding 9/17
David Lindsey and I arrived at Pine Valley Ranch Park (Jefferson
County) before first light. We hiked up the switchbacks of the
Parkview Trail and heard a Northern Pygmy-Owl before sunrise.
Unfortunately, the owl was somewhere to the east and we never
did see it.
Our main goal was White-tailed Ptarmigan and we headed over to
Guanella Pass (by way of Grant). A quick stop at the campground
below the summit (I forget the name) found 2 Lincoln's Sparrows,
a MacGillivray's Warbler, Wilson's Warblers, and a Red-naped
Sapsucker.
We were quite fortunate at Guanella Pass as it took less than
2 hours to find a White-tailed Ptarmigan. We found two in fact;
they were in the willows below the northeast corner of the
Rosalie Trail.
After taking David to the airport, I drove the DIA Owl Loop.
Burrowing Owls can still easily be found at all the stops.
Canon City Common Black-Hawk 9/16
Unfortunately, I do not have much time this morning to report
Saturday's birds. I hope I do this well enough and quickly.
Concerning the Common Black Hawk along the Arkansas River at
MacKenzie Bridge in Canon City, I believe that I observed it twice
on Saturday. In spite of several birders with radios, communication
was still befuddled and some birders saw the bird described below
and others did not.
Two birders stood on the bridge north of the woods and I sat in
a chair on the south side of the river (from 6:30 to noonish).
At 6:35am, the two birders on the bridge saw a possible bird
south of the bridge (I was told 1000 yards?). By the time,
I got over there, the one birder had left? and Paul Langendorfer
and I watched a raptor about 300 yards away. This hawk
disappeared and Paul went to the south side of the river to get his scope.
I continued to watch and a black raptor reappeared and flew along
the Arkansas River, criss-crossed (twice) the plateau between the
bridge and the lights for the prison. This black raptor then flew
toward me and landed on the plateau.
As it dropped its legs (perhaps catching something in the field)
I was given looks of its underside and tail (which it fanned).
The downside was that the bird was somewhat in line with
the rising sun.
I observed a darkish (blackish) chest and belly (was this shadow
because of the light?). More importantly, the fanned tail was
short, white, and had a black leading edge. Possibly it was the
Common Black Hawk?
We watched for 30 minutes and did not see the bird come off
the ground. If it flew low, it could have entered the woods to
the south without being observed?
Later in the day, at around 11:25am, I was back at my chair and
viewing along the southern side of the Tree line that reaches to a
ridge quite far away. I watched a black raptor fly toward me for
50 yards or so and then turn west into the woods at about 100
yards from me. This bird was black and showed a short white and
black tail when it turned west. Wings and body were level and it
could not have been anything but the Common Black Hawk.
Neither sighting looked like a dark morph Swainson's Hawk,
Turkey Vulture, or Red-tailed Hawk.
About 5-10 minutes later, Setta Moss (standing about 25 yards
south of me) called on the radio that she saw a possible Common
Black Hawk perched in a tree at about the same distance that I
observed the above black raptor enter the woods. Her sighting
flew further east into the woods.
Conclusion: I believe the Common Black Hawk is still there (as of
yesterday). Perhaps because of all the observers in the past few
days, it has chosen to stay further east than previous days.
Great Afternoon Birding 9/16
The rest of Paul Langendorfer and my day was slow at times and
exciting.
We stopped at Fountain Creek Regional Park (El Paso County).
Ken Pals had conducted their fall count earlier in the day.
Among the birds they found were a Tennessee Warbler, Nashville
and Townsend's Warbler. By the time, Paul and I arrived winds
were 20+ mph.
We walked "warbler's alley" twice and only found 3 Wilson's
Warblers. We missed the Townsend's Warbler at the new
Hanson's section (7) also.
We then stopped at Big Johnson Reservoir (El Paso) to try and
relocated the Sabine's Gull. The Sabine's Gull was not seen in
the southern half of the reservoir. Unfortunately, the northern
half requires over a mile hike to inspect (which we did not do).
We did find 8 or 9 Red-necked Phalaropes. Somewhat by itself,
we also observed a Red Phalarope (which has been reported
several times in the past weeks). The reservoir is huge and
observation distances are quite far away. A scope, chair, and
long hike are needed to see all the birds there (and some time).
Our final stop was Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe). Here we
enjoyed tremendous fortunate. We were watching a juvenile
Sabine's Gull (from the bird platform, Cottonwood Creek Loop).
At least 43 Snowy Egrets were counted. On a third or fourth pass
in an attempt to get an accurate Snowy Egret count, Paul watched
2 Caspian Terns fly in. They stood on the mud flats for the hour
we counted birds.
A Semipalmated Plover and 1 Baird's Sandpiper were the only non
Killdeers shorebirds walking the mud flats.
A strange flock of small birds kept flying by (winds were 25+ mph)
and birds kept being blown southeast. We had to drive the
southeastern end of the Lake Loop to get a better view of them.
Once there, we scoped them and found 16 Red-necked Phalaropes
bobbing up and down on the high waves.
A flock of 10+ Common Terns also flew into the cove and eventually
were blown east.
A flock of Franklin's Gulls came by and were accompanied by a
Bonaparte's Gull. We also observed a smaller Gull in this flock.
This Gull which we watched for 10 minutes or so appeared to be
a Little Gull. The whole underwing was dark unlike the white
underwings shown on the Franklin's Gulls and Bonaparte's Gull.
By 7:00pm, it was quite windy and very cold.
That was our birding day!
Search for Woodpeckers and Pinyon Jays 9/15
Sally Warren and my goals for today were American Three-toed
Woodpeckers, Lewis's Woodpeckers and Pinyon Jays. I figured
our best chance at both was Chaffee County.
Our first stop was Pine Valley Ranch Park (Jefferson County).
We hiked the Buck Gulch Trail to Strawberry Jack Trail and then
turned north back to Pine Lake. A male Three-toed Woodpecker
was encountered about 60 yards east of the Buck Gulch Trail and
300 yards before we dropped back down to Pine Lake.
All three nuthatches, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, 2 Western
Bluebirds, and several Brown Creepers were also found.
Surprisingly, we did not run into any flycatchers.
Our next stop was Kenosha Pass (Park) mostly to stretch our legs.
We were lucky and ran upon a Dusky Grouse about 20 yards north
of the gravel road to Twin Cone Peaks (East of Kenosha Pass) and
about 400 yards west of the iron gate which ends the drivable
portion of the road.
Our lucky held out. Six Pinyon Jays were at the Buena Vista rest
stop (Chaffee) when we pulled up. Two Juniper Titmice and a flock
of 6+ Bushtits were also found.
We then drove around Buena Vista and finally found a lone Lewis's
Woodpecker on Waters Avenue. We were not able to find the larger
flock (there's six or more somewhere in town). No Great-tailed
Grackle could be found either.
We drove several miles up Cottonwood Pass (west on West Main
Street). While watching a pair of Gray Jays, a Clark's Nutcracker
also flew overhead. On the way back to Buena Vista we also found
a male Pine Grosbeak.
Sally had left her National Geographic book at Pine Valley Ranch
Park, so we stopped by to see if it was still there. While she
picked up her book, a Northern Pygmy-Owl called from the
cliff to the south!
Our big miss were Common Poorwills. Could not turn up any
at dawn or dusk.
Mt Falcon Park and a Drive for the Common Black-Hawk 9/14
Mitchell Hait and my goals for Thursday were Dusky Grouse,
Plumbeous Vireo, and Little Gull (we thought was to far away
to chase).
For a change, I thought to try Mt Falcon Park first and use
Reynolds Park as a backup in case we missed Dusky Grouse.
We arrived at Mt Falcon Park before civil twilight (about 5:45am).
The park was loaded with birds (after we were able to see them).
We watched a beautiful sunrise while we waited for enough light
to see. Figured the grouse could see us before we could see
them until 6:30 or so.
Pygmy Nuthatches were everywhere as we counted at least eleven
different flocks totaling 80+ birds. White-breasted Nuthatches
totaled over a dozen and 2+ Red-breasted Nuthatches were also
found/heard. Townsend's Solitaires called from the tops of a
dozen trees.
A bonus of Mt Falcon Park would have been a Northern Pygmy-Owl;
however we did not encounter any today. They tend to hunt at the
clearing/meadow east of the parking area. None today, however an
Osprey surprised us by perching on the tall dead tree overlooking
the clearing.
On the way up the trail, we passed a flock of birds which included
5+ Mountain Chickadees, a dozen Dark-eyed Juncos, and
a NASHVILLE WARBLER.
Our biggest surprise was however a Field Sparrow near the meadow.
Could this be the highest (altitude wise) sighting for Colorado?
Andrews and Righter "Colorado Birds" show them be reported to 5,500 feet.
When we reached the ruins of the old Walker Castle, I thought
I heard a Dusky Grouse. Finally, I found one standing on
a rock just west of the ruins; Mitchell got his life bird!
By the time we passed the meadow on the way back to our car,
the sunny field was filled with birds. Mitchell pointed out a pair
of Hairy Woodpeckers working a miner's candle. Several dozen
Mountain Bluebirds and a dozen Yellow-rumped Warblers looked
for food around the Black-eyed Susans. Again Pygmy Nuthatches
were everywhere.
Having found our target bird in less than an hour, we decided to
give the Common Black Hawk in Canon City a try. The drive is
about 2.5 hours (mostly due to a 30 minute delay with I25
construction around Colorado Springs).
Unfortunately, we missed the Common Black Hawk by about 10
minutes. Eight or more birders got to see the bird which briefly
flies across MacKenzie Blvd at the Arkansas River Bridge. Best
times appear to be 10:00am to 11:00am. (However, two birders
have sent in reports of seeing the hawk at 11:50am and 12:20pm).
It appears to fly back east around 5:00pm, however we could not
stay until then.
While Mitchell "staked out" the north side of the bridge, I walked
the south side along the road to the Arkansas Riverwalk (off Santa
Fe). Common Black Hawks like to hunt in thick woods and roost
along streams and the theory was that the hawk was deep in the
trees along the south side of the river (unfortunately, private land).
I walked down about a mile to the Arkansas Riverwalk and over to
the river to scope back toward the Arkansas River bridge. Never
found the hawk, however as a consolation "prize", I did find Vic
Zerbi :-)
Better luck Friday or Saturday on the Common Black Hawk.
We stopped briefly at Brush Hollow Wildlife Area on the drive back
to Denver. Several Pinyon Jays were flying along the eastern
border of the WLA.
Search for Owls 9/13
Sally Warren and I drove up to Gross Reservoir before first light.
We watched 2 Common Poorwills hawking insects around the street
light west of the ranger's home.
A search for Northern Pygmy-Owls was not successful. We did get
a brief response to a tape played at the ranger's office. It was
less than 10 seconds and we were not able to find the owl.
We drove around looking for Red Crossbills and finally found a
flock of 4 about 2 miles south of the northern parking area for
Gross Reservoir. We also ran into a flock of 20 Cedar Waxwings.
Our next stop was the Walker Ranch Trail. We hiked about 0.4
miles up the trail and found an American Three-toed Woodpecker.
A search for Sage Thrashers at Boulder Ranch Open Space was not
successful. We continued north and searched for Pinyon Jays at
Rabbit Mountain Open Space; without success.
We could not pick out a Sabine's Gull at Union Reservoir.
Several Great Egrets were standing around.
Birding in the Foothills 9/12
While doing chores I stopped by Cherry Creek Reservoir in the
morning. Nothing special to report, a few Snowy Egrets continue
off the bird platform at the Cottonwood Creek Loop. No warblers
were found south of the Smoky Hill Group Picnic Area.
In the afternoon, Sally Warren and I drove to Summit Lake on
Mt. Evans Road. It took only about 15 minutes to spot two
Brown-capped Rosy Finches on the hill at the northwest corner
of Summit Lake. We scoped the hill at the southeast corner
of Summit Lake, however did not find any White-tailed Ptarmigan.
We searched Silver Plume for Band-tailed Pigeons and Red
Crossbills; without success. Both have been found there
in the past.
Our last stop was Genesee Mountain Park. A short walk
around the group picnic area produced a sighting of a
male Williamson's Sapsucker.
Jefferson County 9/3
George & Nancy Doyle, Rebecca Kosten, and I went searching for
Northern Pygmy-Owls Sunday morning. Unfortunately we did not
find any. What a beautiful to be outside and bird! Temperatures were
in the high 70s and winds were mild.
We did find two American Three-toed Woodpeckers at Pine Valley
Ranch Park (Jefferson County). One was 200 yards east of the
Buck Gulch Trail and Strawberry Jack Trail. We then hiked directly
north and found a second about 500 yards south of Pine Lake.
No warblers were found, however we counted 5 Western Wood-pewees,
3 species of Nuthatches, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpeckers, and
a pair of Western Bluebirds.
Our next stop was Reynolds Park (Jefferson). No owls,
woodpeckers, or grouse, a lone Orange-crowned Warbler
was at the main parking area.
We went by a friend's home near Bailey. There were still two
dozen hummingbirds still coming to his feeders. Most were
Broad-tailed; however we did watch a male & female Rufous.
After lunch we decided to look for owls at Wheat Ridge Greenbelt
(Jefferson). Birds were few until we ran into a flock just west
of "Jack's Place" picnic table, along the main road, under the
tall electric poles. Here there was one Townsend's Warbler,
9 Wilson's Warblers, 2 Yellow Warblers, and a young Western Tanager.
A second flock of birds were between Clear Creek and Tabor Lake.
Since our 6 year drought, this seems to be the best location to
look for birds at Prospect Park. The flock of birds here included
27 Chipping Sparrows, 2 Song Sparrows, 9 Yellow Warblers,
8 Wilson's Warblers, 2 Orange-crowned Warblers, and another
young Western Tanager.
Still no uncommon birds for our day list, we headed to Belmar
Historic Park (Jefferson) to search for the Swamp Sparrow and
Sage Thrasher that Karleen Schofield had found on Friday.
We missed both of them.
Nancy found an Olive-sided Flycatcher on the north side of
the wetlands at about the halfway point of the wetlands (where
they run east-west). At the northeast corner of the wetlands
we were watching a pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers when I
noticed a Cassin's Vireo high up in the trees. They stayed
in the same tree for the 20 minutes that we watched them.
Two Common Nighthawks flew overhead (as did one over
Prospect Lake at Wheat Ridge Greenbelt).
Barr Lake 9/2
Saturday, Rebecca Kosten and I birded Barr Lake (Adams County)
from 4:00pm to 7:30pm. We spent about 2 hours looking for
land birds between the boat ramp (mile marker 7.5) to the Niedrach
Trail (mm 9.0). Then I went to the shoreline to look for the
Ruddy Turnstones reported last Saturday.
What a fantastic evening weather-wise! There was no hint of wind,
skies were overcast. Colors of the green fields, yellow flowers
were a delightful sight.
The most common birds were "Empidonax species". We found
2 Cordilleran Flycatchers, 1 Dusky Flycatcher, 1 Gray Flycatcher,
1 Least Flycatcher (surprisingly, it was singing), 2 Hammond's
Flycatchers, and 21 other unidentified.
Two large flocks of birds were found. Both were on the far side
of the dry canal to the east of the main road. The first at mile
marker 8.2 included at least: 9 Wilson's Warbler, 2 Yellow
Warbler, 1 MacGillivray's Warbler, 1 Clay-colored Sparrow,
2 Song Sparrow, 5 Brewer's Sparrow.
The second flock near mile marker 8.5 included at least
17 Wilson's Warblers, 1 Yellow Warbler, 2 Clay-colored Sparrow,
3 Brewer's Sparrow, 1 MacGillivray's Warbler and a pair of
Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. This flock was quite noisy (singing
and chipping away) until a female Northern Harrier hovered
overhead for 20 seconds or so.
Just north of the banding station, we found 2 Townsend's Warblers.
The Warblers were in branches over the main road & 10 yards north.
A Great Horned Owl perched in a tree south of the Pioneer Trail.
Flying over the trees west of the banding station we counted 21
Common Nighthawks.
Shorebirds were a little tough as the shoreline is quite far from
the marked trail leading from the Niedrach Trail. I carried a
scope, however no tripod as I was really interested in the Ruddy
Turnstones which I could have seen through the unsteady scope.
I did not find Ruddy Turnstones, however did see 1 or 2 Pectoral
Sandpipers, over a dozen American Avocets, and 2 Willets. A Snowy
Plover walked the closest shore. Many Baird's Sandpipers were out
there, and much more. I took only 1.5 hours on what could take
4 hours to scope. I will try and bring a steady tripod, a chair,
much mosquito spray, and spend half a day sometime next week.
The best bird of the day was a juvenile Sabine's Gull that was
way out on the point of land west of the banding station. A first
year Herring Gull was out there also along with many Ring-billed
Gulls and some California Gulls.
Burrowing Owls were found at most previously reported stops along
the DIA Owl Loop. No Short-eared Owls showed. Several Northern
Harriers were along CR 128.
More Bird Trips
HOME
Please feel free to contact CoBus and
Rich Stevens at the following address:
E-mail: