March 1, 2008
Jay Karl and I went searching for Northern Pygmy-Owls in Jefferson County. Our first stop (before sunrise) was Mt. Falcon Park. No Northern Pygmy-Owls, however we did find a Dusky Grouse on the hill west of the old castle. Several Mountain Bluebirds flew around the open field east of the upper parking area.
We looked briefly for owls at nearby Reynolds Park; without success. Our search was just around the parking area (Songbird & Oxen Draw trails). There was too much snow to make the 0.7 mile hike uphill (south) to the traditional American Three-toed Woodpecker site (junction of Eagles View, Ravens Roost, & Oxen Draw trails).
Instead we headed over to Pine Valley Ranch Park. It took only 20 minutes to find a male American Three-toed Woodpecker. He wandered across the Buck Gulch Trail (about 200 yards south, uphill of Pine Lake). An American Dipper worked the stream south of the footbridge (near the parking area).
A quick stop at Red Rocks did not add much to our morning trek.
Late in the afternoon, Rebecca Kosten and I looked for a hike to enjoy the beautiful day. We chose the east side of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal (Buckley Road). We hiked from the closed gate (off 88th avenue) south to the cell tower and back. Prairie Dogs are doing well. Wish I had kept a count for the past few years, because there appears to be quite a larger number of them this year. The usual 50+ American Tree Sparrows and 4 White-crowned Sparrows fluttered about the Elk Thistle lining Buckley Road.
When we drove up to the closed gate, a Prairie Falcon flew to the 2nd telephone pole north of us. When we returned to our car 1.5 hours later, it was still there. Beautiful bird! No Burrowing Owls were found.
Emerald Strand Park and LakeCrest were passed on our way into Denver for dinner. No Barrow's Goldeneyes anywhere. The Common Goldeneyes that wintered on LakeCrest appear to have departed. Emerald Strand Pond had 18 Redheads; LakeCrest 8. Most of the White-cheeked Geese have departed or were out feeding.
Before dinner, we made one final stop; Star K Ranch Open Space. I wanted to search/listen for owls. As we got out of our car, a Great Horned Owl flew over us. We later located another Great Horned Owl on a nest. No Eastern Screech-Owls answered my playback recordings (I did not play a Great Horned Owl tape). A late? Northern Shrike was atop the shorter trees east of the Visitor's Center. Surprisingly, we did not see any sparrows around the wildlife ponds.
Jay Karl and I went searching for Northern Pygmy-Owls in Jefferson County. Our first stop (before sunrise) was Mt. Falcon Park. No Northern Pygmy-Owls, however we did find a Dusky Grouse on the hill west of the old castle. Several Mountain Bluebirds flew around the open field east of the upper parking area.
We looked briefly for owls at nearby Reynolds Park; without success. Our search was just around the parking area (Songbird & Oxen Draw trails). There was too much snow to make the 0.7 mile hike uphill (south) to the traditional American Three-toed Woodpecker site (junction of Eagles View, Ravens Roost, & Oxen Draw trails).
Instead we headed over to Pine Valley Ranch Park. It took only 20 minutes to find a male American Three-toed Woodpecker. He wandered across the Buck Gulch Trail (about 200 yards south, uphill of Pine Lake). An American Dipper worked the stream south of the footbridge (near the parking area).
A quick stop at Red Rocks did not add much to our morning trek.
Late in the afternoon, Rebecca Kosten and I looked for a hike to enjoy the beautiful day. We chose the east side of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal (Buckley Road). We hiked from the closed gate (off 88th avenue) south to the cell tower and back. Prairie Dogs are doing well. Wish I had kept a count for the past few years, because there appears to be quite a larger number of them this year. The usual 50+ American Tree Sparrows and 4 White-crowned Sparrows fluttered about the Elk Thistle lining Buckley Road.
When we drove up to the closed gate, a Prairie Falcon flew to the 2nd telephone pole north of us. When we returned to our car 1.5 hours later, it was still there. Beautiful bird! No Burrowing Owls were found.
Emerald Strand Park and LakeCrest were passed on our way into Denver for dinner. No Barrow's Goldeneyes anywhere. The Common Goldeneyes that wintered on LakeCrest appear to have departed. Emerald Strand Pond had 18 Redheads; LakeCrest 8. Most of the White-cheeked Geese have departed or were out feeding.
Before dinner, we made one final stop; Star K Ranch Open Space. I wanted to search/listen for owls. As we got out of our car, a Great Horned Owl flew over us. We later located another Great Horned Owl on a nest. No Eastern Screech-Owls answered my playback recordings (I did not play a Great Horned Owl tape). A late? Northern Shrike was atop the shorter trees east of the Visitor's Center. Surprisingly, we did not see any sparrows around the wildlife ponds.
No comments:
Post a Comment