December 6, 2008
Richard Stevens:
I drove over to Cherry Creek Reservoir at about 6:00am. As I was driving to the west of Cherry Creek, I saw a bird with the unmistakable fluttering of a Short-eared Owl in the field east of Cherry Creek and north of the main road.
This was 6:28am and it was quite dark. However the silhouette was that of a Short-eared Owl. The Owl eventually landed in the trees overlooking the marsh along the Shop Creek trail. I took 5 silhouette photos of the bird and waited for better light.
Unfortunately, two joggers came along before significant light and the Short-eared Owl flew west into the trees. I parked on the west side of Cherry Creek where the owl was first found yesterday by Glenn Walbek; it never appeared.
My next stop was the bird observation platform at the Cottonwood Creek Loop. I wanted to check and make sure that the Dunlin reported yesterday by Glenn Walbek had not moved to the mudflats here. The only birds around were White-cheeked Geese. From this point, I noticed hundreds of gulls on the ice below the handicapped fisherperson's dock on the north side of the lake.
When I arrived at the dock, I scoped the gulls from 20 feet or so. Among the hundreds of birds were an adult Mew Gull and an adult Thayer's Gull. Eventually the gulls flew to the middle of the lake to search for food.
I was ready to walk the east side of the reservoir and look for the Dunlin. Once I reached the inlet canal and found no Dunlin and few birds except for additional hundreds of gulls. The canal is too deep and the only choice was to bushwhack around the inlet to a bridge that crosses it at the Shop Creek trail. Careful on the rickety bridge when crossing it!
After hiking to the south side of the reservoir, I could see the two small Dunlin among 3 or 4 Killdeer. I hiked through the neck high cattails and got within 20 feet of the Dunlin, took 400+ photos and made 6 one minute movies of the shorebirds. Surely a few of them will come out.
While photographing the Dunlin, I noticed a Swamp Sparrow walking along the cattails only about 15 feet to the west of me!
The shorebirds stayed close to another 300 gulls. Among the gulls was the adult Mew Gull which I also digiscoped again.
Returning to my car, I found a better way to get there than bushwhacking through the woods. Park at the Shop Creek parking area. Walk north about 100 yards or so to the first trail leading west (signed Wetlands Preserve. Hike west, past the first large clearing on the right (north). Once past the first line of trees, pickup a trail heading toward the lake. This will go through the woods and reach another small clearing. From here, head west through the cattails for about 300 yards to another small stream going into the lake. The area appears to be a favorite place for gulls and other birds as few people make the effort to reach it. I would say it is about halfway between the inlet creek at the bird observation platform and the southeast corner of the Reservoir.
After returning to my car, I headed to Franktown to check on an uncommon bird report.
Thanks to a cooperative landowner I was able to see a male Northern Cardinal! They also have seen a female Northern Cardinal, but it did not show up during my stay. Perhaps the pair is or will nest in Douglas County!
Late in the afternoon, I had occasion to pass by Quincy Reservoir. The reservoir is closed until March, but can be scoped from outside the fence (park at school on north side of Quincy).
Several thousand White-cheeked Geese stood along the shore at the east end of the reservoir. While there were no Brants, one Greater White-fronted Goose was among the horde. About 30 minutes before sunset most of the geese flew up for a final feeding for the day. It appeared that most of them went either to the fields north of the school or over to the Northern Experimental Plains Park to the northeast.
All said it was a beautiful day to bird! Thanks much to Glenn Walbek for the wonderful birds to pursue.
Richard Stevens:
I drove over to Cherry Creek Reservoir at about 6:00am. As I was driving to the west of Cherry Creek, I saw a bird with the unmistakable fluttering of a Short-eared Owl in the field east of Cherry Creek and north of the main road.
This was 6:28am and it was quite dark. However the silhouette was that of a Short-eared Owl. The Owl eventually landed in the trees overlooking the marsh along the Shop Creek trail. I took 5 silhouette photos of the bird and waited for better light.
Unfortunately, two joggers came along before significant light and the Short-eared Owl flew west into the trees. I parked on the west side of Cherry Creek where the owl was first found yesterday by Glenn Walbek; it never appeared.
My next stop was the bird observation platform at the Cottonwood Creek Loop. I wanted to check and make sure that the Dunlin reported yesterday by Glenn Walbek had not moved to the mudflats here. The only birds around were White-cheeked Geese. From this point, I noticed hundreds of gulls on the ice below the handicapped fisherperson's dock on the north side of the lake.
When I arrived at the dock, I scoped the gulls from 20 feet or so. Among the hundreds of birds were an adult Mew Gull and an adult Thayer's Gull. Eventually the gulls flew to the middle of the lake to search for food.
I was ready to walk the east side of the reservoir and look for the Dunlin. Once I reached the inlet canal and found no Dunlin and few birds except for additional hundreds of gulls. The canal is too deep and the only choice was to bushwhack around the inlet to a bridge that crosses it at the Shop Creek trail. Careful on the rickety bridge when crossing it!
After hiking to the south side of the reservoir, I could see the two small Dunlin among 3 or 4 Killdeer. I hiked through the neck high cattails and got within 20 feet of the Dunlin, took 400+ photos and made 6 one minute movies of the shorebirds. Surely a few of them will come out.
While photographing the Dunlin, I noticed a Swamp Sparrow walking along the cattails only about 15 feet to the west of me!
The shorebirds stayed close to another 300 gulls. Among the gulls was the adult Mew Gull which I also digiscoped again.
Returning to my car, I found a better way to get there than bushwhacking through the woods. Park at the Shop Creek parking area. Walk north about 100 yards or so to the first trail leading west (signed Wetlands Preserve. Hike west, past the first large clearing on the right (north). Once past the first line of trees, pickup a trail heading toward the lake. This will go through the woods and reach another small clearing. From here, head west through the cattails for about 300 yards to another small stream going into the lake. The area appears to be a favorite place for gulls and other birds as few people make the effort to reach it. I would say it is about halfway between the inlet creek at the bird observation platform and the southeast corner of the Reservoir.
After returning to my car, I headed to Franktown to check on an uncommon bird report.
Thanks to a cooperative landowner I was able to see a male Northern Cardinal! They also have seen a female Northern Cardinal, but it did not show up during my stay. Perhaps the pair is or will nest in Douglas County!
Late in the afternoon, I had occasion to pass by Quincy Reservoir. The reservoir is closed until March, but can be scoped from outside the fence (park at school on north side of Quincy).
Several thousand White-cheeked Geese stood along the shore at the east end of the reservoir. While there were no Brants, one Greater White-fronted Goose was among the horde. About 30 minutes before sunset most of the geese flew up for a final feeding for the day. It appeared that most of them went either to the fields north of the school or over to the Northern Experimental Plains Park to the northeast.
All said it was a beautiful day to bird! Thanks much to Glenn Walbek for the wonderful birds to pursue.
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