Barr Lake, DIA Owl Loop, and a Snowstorm

February 1, 2007

We drove over to Barr Lake (Adams County) to get our bird watching “fix” for the day. High temperatures today were 21 degrees; winds were 10-15 mph. By 4:00pm, it was snowing quite hard.

The usual suspects visited the feeders behind the Barr Lake Visitor Center. Our every visit seems to find more sparrows discovering their feeders. Sparrows included American Tree, Song, and White-crowned. The 1st year Harris's Sparrow made two appearances during our one hour stay.

A couple of Ring-necked Pheasants continue to pick up some food below the feeders. Another two dozen were found along the road to the boat ramp. A male Downy Woodpecker also came by briefly. Five races of Dark-eyed Juncos were under the feeders in the front of the building. A White-winged Junco is always a nice addition. Half a dozen American Goldfinches in their dull winter plumage visited the thistle feeder.

We planned to drive the DIA Owl loop at dusk. However, visibility was poor by 4:00pm and roads quite slippery by 4:30pm. We could not see more than 50 yards long before sunset was to set in, so we scampered for home. (Watched the many car accidents on the 5:30pm news shows). With high temperatures tomorrow predicted to be single digits and 2-4 inches of snow expected, birding tomorrow may be unlikely.