Sunday, January 27, 2008

A Visit from Roger Danka

January 24, 2008

Roger Danka and I birded south and southwest of Denver today.

Chatfield Reservoir (Jefferson/Douglas Counties) was slow. The reservoir is frozen and few birds were moving about. The same was true for Platte Canyon Reservoir.

We hiked up Waterton Canyon, found few birds but did see the Mountain Sheep about a mile up the canyon. A few Song Sparrows and a Spotted Towhee were along the South Platte River.

Next we drove to the Sedalia Cemetery. A few more birds were moving around here. We found 2 Townsend's Solitaires singing. A flock of 9 Mountain Chickadees, Pine Siskins, and Dark-eyed Juncos. A flock of 7 Cedar Waxwings was in the southwest corner.

We checked Plum Creek for American Dippers; without success. Then drove Highway 67 in search of Northern Pygmy-Owl (or any owls); again without success. A flock of 9 Red Crossbills was observed.

Returning to Highway 25, we next went over to Castlewood Canyon Road. Surprisingly, there were no Bluebirds across from the Winkler Ranch. A drive through the western side of the park was not productive in finding birds.

We checked Walker Lake, no birds and then circled back to the eastern side of Castlewood Canyon State Park. A walk down to the observatory platform added only a Red-breasted Nuthatch and 2 White-breasted Nuthatches to our day list.

Our birding day ended with a drive along the DIA Owl Loop. Only a few Horned Larks were found; no owls were out this evening.

January 25, 2008

The plan was for Roger and his wife to go shopping around Denver today. Roger was going to meet me up in Boulder in the afternoon to hike up Shadow Canyon for an owl search.

I left Denver for Boulder at 4:00am and checked for owls. A Long-eared Owl was found at a well known trail in Boulder (I promised the Boulder birder who turned me on to the spot to not reveal it as the trail is well used). I also found an Eastern Screech-Owl at another well known spot for them (along the same trail but about 1.5 miles from the parking area).

At 7:15am I arrived at the Greenlee Preserve. Eric Zorawowicz was there before me (so I was not the early bird). Sunrise was at 7:11am. We searched unsuccessfully for the Swamp Sparrow and White-throated Sparrow for about an hour. Winds were 15-20+ mph and success did not look promising.

After Eric departed, I hiked the mile trail around nearby Waneka Lake hoping to find the previously reported female Greater Scaup. Once out of the woods of the Greenlee Preserve, winds were measured at 25+ mph (gusts up to 36 mph).

I could barely hold my binoculars steady to look at the few ducks and hundreds of geese along the southern end of Waneka Lake. There were 3 scaups, all with their bills in their backs. According to Sibley's "Guide to Birds" it is easier to ID scaups when they are "sleeping". All three ducks formed nice triangle peaks with their heads (not rounded) which indicated Lesser Scaups.

To escape from the winds, I returned to the Greenlee Preserve and resumed my sparrow search. At around 9:45am, I found a flock of a dozen or so Dark-eyed Juncos feeding on the snow under the willows at the northern end of the preserve.

Finally a sparrow was seen also feeding on the ground (I assume to not expose himself to the winds). It turned out to be the Swamp Sparrow. This was at 9:56 am. I stayed a little longer, but did not find any additional sparrows.

Next, I drove north to get GPS waypoints on many of the Boulder County lakes (for future reference). I stopped at Golden Ponds in Longmont to see if I could relocate the White-throated Sparrow I observed on 1/9 (first reported by Scott Severs on 1/7). Did not have any success in that endeavor.

At nearby Fairgrounds Pond I noticed hundreds of White-cheeked Geese and stopped for a quick count. A Greater White-fronted Goose was among hundreds of Canada Geese and a couple of Cackling Geese. They eventually took off west and were later relocated in the field near Rogers and Airport Roads. Winds were now averaging over 25+ mph.

Continuing west and measuring GPS waypoints, I stopped at Lagerman, Boulder, Six-mile, and Dodd reservoirs. All frozen and no birds.

I searched around the Celestial Seasonings Plant (Spine Road at Gunbarrel) for the previously reported Bohemian Waxwings; without success.

Winds were picking up and I called Roger and suggested to call off our planned owl search. I ended my birding day at Boulder Reservoir hoping a Short-eared Owl would brave the winds and hunt for food; none did.

January 26, 2008

Roger and I drove up to Boulder about 4:00am. Winds were already 25+ mph (and they grew to over 35+ mph). Owling was not looking good.

We checked around the Mesa South Trail Parking area (across from Dodd Reservoir) and did not find any owls (last year Eastern Screech-Owls were found here). In spite of the winds and little possibility of finding owls, we headed up Shadow Canyon.

Surprisingly, we heard a Northern Saw-whet Owl call (answer our recordings) about a mile up the canyon. It was the only owl heard (none seen) all morning.

On the return trip, we found a flock of 12 Red Crossbills across the draw near the old farmhouse. Not much else was seen (well a few Mountain Chickadees) and we headed back to Denver.

We searched for about an hour at the Denver West Office Complex for the previously reported Pine Warbler (last reported 1/12); without success. Winds were measured at 40+ mph.

We stopped at the Highline Canal at Dahlia to see if the Northern Mockingbird and/or Bohemian Waxwings were still about; neither was. The trail was lined with thousands of Buckthorn berries which looked like enough to last all winter for the dozens of American Robins. The waxwings had been around for about 10 days and most of the berries are now gone. As a result, we did not find any waxwings or the Northern Mockingbird. A few Mountain Chickadees and the Robins were all that could be located.

A drive through Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe) was slow. No Bald Eagles were around. Few gulls are wintering on the frozen lake. No owls came out along the DIA Owl Loop.

January 27, 2008

Roger Danka and I went owling around Golden Gate Canyon State Park and White Ranch Open Space this morning. Winds were again quite strong; no owls were heard. Once daylight arrived, we still found few birds to talk about. Roger headed back home to Julesburg and I back to my computer.

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