Saturday, May 17, 2008

Search for Bobolinks & Dickcissels

May 16, 2008

After hearing about all the Bobolink sightings, Rebecca Kosten and I decided to check out the Bobolink field at the Winkler Ranch south of Castlewood Canyon State Park (Douglas County).

On the trip down we first made a detour over to Kiowa and Elbert County Road. No Dickcissels have shown up yet. We did see a couple of Western Kingbirds and an Eastern Kingbird south of Hwy 86.

Few birds moved about at the east side of Castlewood Canyon State Park. We did see a couple of White-breasted Nuthatches, missed Canyon Wrens below the Hwy 86 overlook.

Around to the western side off Castlewood Canyon Road, we found both Mountain Bluebirds and a few Western Bluebirds. It took about 30 minutes but eventually a couple of male Bobolinks flew up from the field south of the Winkler Ranch entrance. No female Bobolink were observed.

We exited the area by driving north on Castlewood Canyon Road to Hwy 86, but first decided to stop at the old homestead at the northeastern entrance. A walk along the trail behind the old building added Spotted Towhee, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Pine Siskins, and White-crowned Sparrows to our day list.

The highlight however was an Ovenbird walking along the creek. This was approximately 300 yards southeast of the old homestead. No Golden Eagles were found today, but 8-10 Turkey Vultures flew overhead.

A check of the Walker Pit (north of hwy 86) only turned up a Common Goldeneye and a few coots.

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