January, 6, 2009
Richard Stevens:
I enjoyed the day walking around Aurora Reservoir in spite of 22+ mph winds (gusts to 34 mph).
At 10:30am, several thousand gulls flew from the ice at the swim beach toward DADS (Denver Arapahoe Disposal Site; landfill). They did not return during my stay (I departed at 3:00pm).
I sat and scoped the remaining 800+ gulls and found the adult Mew Gull among them. It took four or five passes with my scope before I picked out the Gull. At 12:00pm most of the remaining gulls including the Mew Gull flew north.
I followed this flock up the west side of the reservoir as half of them temporarily landed at the southwest end of the dam. Unfortunately, the Mew Gull was observed again but took off before I could digiscoped it. A Ross's Goose and Greater White-fronted Goose swam just off shore from here.
While waiting for the gulls to return, I scoped the lake from the north end. At least 25,000 White-cheeked Geese flew in. Wave after wave of geese came from the north and landed below the dam. Eventually, they would swim to the dam and shore at the scuba diving area (northeast corner) and walk out to feed in the grasses.
The road to the northeast corner is closed because of construction and one must walk down from a parking area southwest of the dam. When I tried to get anywhere near the northeast corner the geese would take off. Fortunately they returned. I noticed that if I scoped the geese from behind the fence at the dam's tower, they tolerated it and even swam directly below me!
From my vantage point, I was able to pick out two additional Greater White-fronted Geese, 3 Ross's Geese, and a dozen Snow Geese (including a Blue Phase). I did manage to get within 50 yard of the scuba beach area once. From there I digiscoped a Brant!
At 3:00pm I received a text message that a Brant had been seen at the Green Valley Recreation Ponds (Denver) north of I70 and off I went. There were no geese on the ponds at 3:45pm. On the trip over I checked Lake Crest and found no geese there or at nearby Emerald-Strand Park (both only a few miles from Green Valley Ranch).
The last hour of daylight was spent driving around north of Green Valley Ranch. A Greater White-fronted Goose was with 200+ White-cheeked Geese at the southeast corner of Picadilly Road and 56th avenue.
400+ White-cheeked Geese were around a small frozen pond along 56th avenue and west of Picadilly Road. Another 5000 White-cheeked Geese were over the hill to the north along Picadilly Road, north of 56th avenue.
This area at Picadilly Road and 64th avenue is my number 3 favorite location around DIA (Denver International Airport) to sit and watch/wait for Short-eared Owls to come by after sunset; none did today. This area just south of DIA and Pena Blvd sees little vehicle traffic (only a few workers at the Denver Water Plant just east of Picadilly Road).
Richard Stevens:
I enjoyed the day walking around Aurora Reservoir in spite of 22+ mph winds (gusts to 34 mph).
At 10:30am, several thousand gulls flew from the ice at the swim beach toward DADS (Denver Arapahoe Disposal Site; landfill). They did not return during my stay (I departed at 3:00pm).
I sat and scoped the remaining 800+ gulls and found the adult Mew Gull among them. It took four or five passes with my scope before I picked out the Gull. At 12:00pm most of the remaining gulls including the Mew Gull flew north.
I followed this flock up the west side of the reservoir as half of them temporarily landed at the southwest end of the dam. Unfortunately, the Mew Gull was observed again but took off before I could digiscoped it. A Ross's Goose and Greater White-fronted Goose swam just off shore from here.
While waiting for the gulls to return, I scoped the lake from the north end. At least 25,000 White-cheeked Geese flew in. Wave after wave of geese came from the north and landed below the dam. Eventually, they would swim to the dam and shore at the scuba diving area (northeast corner) and walk out to feed in the grasses.
The road to the northeast corner is closed because of construction and one must walk down from a parking area southwest of the dam. When I tried to get anywhere near the northeast corner the geese would take off. Fortunately they returned. I noticed that if I scoped the geese from behind the fence at the dam's tower, they tolerated it and even swam directly below me!
From my vantage point, I was able to pick out two additional Greater White-fronted Geese, 3 Ross's Geese, and a dozen Snow Geese (including a Blue Phase). I did manage to get within 50 yard of the scuba beach area once. From there I digiscoped a Brant!
At 3:00pm I received a text message that a Brant had been seen at the Green Valley Recreation Ponds (Denver) north of I70 and off I went. There were no geese on the ponds at 3:45pm. On the trip over I checked Lake Crest and found no geese there or at nearby Emerald-Strand Park (both only a few miles from Green Valley Ranch).
The last hour of daylight was spent driving around north of Green Valley Ranch. A Greater White-fronted Goose was with 200+ White-cheeked Geese at the southeast corner of Picadilly Road and 56th avenue.
400+ White-cheeked Geese were around a small frozen pond along 56th avenue and west of Picadilly Road. Another 5000 White-cheeked Geese were over the hill to the north along Picadilly Road, north of 56th avenue.
This area at Picadilly Road and 64th avenue is my number 3 favorite location around DIA (Denver International Airport) to sit and watch/wait for Short-eared Owls to come by after sunset; none did today. This area just south of DIA and Pena Blvd sees little vehicle traffic (only a few workers at the Denver Water Plant just east of Picadilly Road).
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