Richard Stevens:
September 11, 2008
I decided to bird some of the Denver areas that once were considered top birding locations. In recent years, bird numbers have been down there and few birders have reported visiting them.
My first stop however was Barr Lake (Adams County). A quick hike from the boat ramp to the Visitor's Center and back found few birds. Two Townsend's Warblers were high in the trees south of the Pioneer Trail. A lingering male Yellow Warbler and 2 House Wrens are still around.
In Brighton, Morgan-Smith Wildlife Area was a total bust.
Johnson Park (Jefferson) had very few birds around it. I hiked the path along Clear Creek for a mile west and gave up.
Wheat Ridge Greenbelt was once considered one of the top 5 birding locations in Colorado. Again, I found few birds, very few. A couple of Blue Jays and Northern Flickers were just about it.
Belmar Historic Park was also slow. I ran into a birder who said that a Tennessee Warbler was seen earlier in the day. It was with a flock of Black-capped Chickadees, Orange-crowned Warbler, and others. Only 2 Black-capped Chickadees and a female Yellow Warbler were found by me.
Deciding the day was a dud bird wise (still it was nice to walk around in the cooler weather) I turned for home. The decision to pass through Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe) on my way home turned out to be fortuitous.
I was going to try and relocate the Townsend's Warbler seen a couple of days ago. Upon arrival a couple of birders were scoping the lake. It turned out that they were looking at an intermediate sub-adult Long-tailed Jaeger!
The bird was not far off the east side of the Lake Loop and allowed us great views. I am quite confident that it is not the same Long-tailed Jaeger seen at Jackson Reservoir (Morgan) last week or the one seen in Boulder County. (Those two sightings could have been the same bird). This bird had whiter barring across its back.
Don Beltz mentioned that a flock of warblers in the area contained a Tennessee Warbler. Fortunate was good and the flock was located at the southern end of the tree line on the east side of the Lake Loop. The flock also included 2 Orange-crowned Warblers and a male Yellow Warbler.
Jerry Petrosky was in the park and headed over to meet me when he received the RBA text message about the jaeger. While he was coming over, I walked the west side tree line and relocated the Townsend's Warbler. It was in the bend of the tree line where it runs south to west.
After watching the jaeger for awhile, we headed over to the Cottonwood Creek Loop as Don had mentioned Sanderlings were on the mudflats there. Sure enough, two Sanderlings wandered among a dozen Killdeer.
Jerry and I were sidetracked a while by a flock of Black-capped Chickadees coming out of the two Russian Olive Trees east of the Cottonwood Creek Loop path leading down to the lake. They just kept coming, 39 in total. It had been a few years since I had seen so many at one time.
Loosely associated with the flock of Chickadees were 7 Wilson's Warblers and a beautiful Blackpoll Warbler. I had not found the one reported at the Lake Loop several days earlier and do not know if it was the same one?
As I left the park, I counted 6 Western Kingbirds, 5 Great Blue Herons, 2 Snowy Egrets, and a pair of Common Yellowthroat at the Cottonwood Creek Wetlands Pond. Many Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants, and two Common Terns were around the sandbar near the southwest marina.
My birding day ended by circling the DIA Owl Loop. Plenty of Burrowing Owls are still around. My quick count was 14.
September 11, 2008
I decided to bird some of the Denver areas that once were considered top birding locations. In recent years, bird numbers have been down there and few birders have reported visiting them.
My first stop however was Barr Lake (Adams County). A quick hike from the boat ramp to the Visitor's Center and back found few birds. Two Townsend's Warblers were high in the trees south of the Pioneer Trail. A lingering male Yellow Warbler and 2 House Wrens are still around.
In Brighton, Morgan-Smith Wildlife Area was a total bust.
Johnson Park (Jefferson) had very few birds around it. I hiked the path along Clear Creek for a mile west and gave up.
Wheat Ridge Greenbelt was once considered one of the top 5 birding locations in Colorado. Again, I found few birds, very few. A couple of Blue Jays and Northern Flickers were just about it.
Belmar Historic Park was also slow. I ran into a birder who said that a Tennessee Warbler was seen earlier in the day. It was with a flock of Black-capped Chickadees, Orange-crowned Warbler, and others. Only 2 Black-capped Chickadees and a female Yellow Warbler were found by me.
Deciding the day was a dud bird wise (still it was nice to walk around in the cooler weather) I turned for home. The decision to pass through Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe) on my way home turned out to be fortuitous.
I was going to try and relocate the Townsend's Warbler seen a couple of days ago. Upon arrival a couple of birders were scoping the lake. It turned out that they were looking at an intermediate sub-adult Long-tailed Jaeger!
The bird was not far off the east side of the Lake Loop and allowed us great views. I am quite confident that it is not the same Long-tailed Jaeger seen at Jackson Reservoir (Morgan) last week or the one seen in Boulder County. (Those two sightings could have been the same bird). This bird had whiter barring across its back.
Don Beltz mentioned that a flock of warblers in the area contained a Tennessee Warbler. Fortunate was good and the flock was located at the southern end of the tree line on the east side of the Lake Loop. The flock also included 2 Orange-crowned Warblers and a male Yellow Warbler.
Jerry Petrosky was in the park and headed over to meet me when he received the RBA text message about the jaeger. While he was coming over, I walked the west side tree line and relocated the Townsend's Warbler. It was in the bend of the tree line where it runs south to west.
After watching the jaeger for awhile, we headed over to the Cottonwood Creek Loop as Don had mentioned Sanderlings were on the mudflats there. Sure enough, two Sanderlings wandered among a dozen Killdeer.
Jerry and I were sidetracked a while by a flock of Black-capped Chickadees coming out of the two Russian Olive Trees east of the Cottonwood Creek Loop path leading down to the lake. They just kept coming, 39 in total. It had been a few years since I had seen so many at one time.
Loosely associated with the flock of Chickadees were 7 Wilson's Warblers and a beautiful Blackpoll Warbler. I had not found the one reported at the Lake Loop several days earlier and do not know if it was the same one?
As I left the park, I counted 6 Western Kingbirds, 5 Great Blue Herons, 2 Snowy Egrets, and a pair of Common Yellowthroat at the Cottonwood Creek Wetlands Pond. Many Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants, and two Common Terns were around the sandbar near the southwest marina.
My birding day ended by circling the DIA Owl Loop. Plenty of Burrowing Owls are still around. My quick count was 14.
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