October 22 through 24, 2009
Bryan Ehlmann:
October 22
Rich Stevens and I headed to Park County to see if recent storms had induced birds to stop at the three reservoirs near Highways 24 and 285.
A Common Loon and Black Scoter were found at Antero Reservoir. A Surf Scoter was seen at nearby Eleven Mile Reservoir. Winds were a steady 18 mph with gusts to 28 mph. That made holding our scopes steady very difficult and many birds could have been missed.
Next, we visited the Buena Vista Valley (Chaffee); it must have another name but no one seemed to know when we asked around. A search for resident Western Screech-Owls went unfulfilled but two Lewis's Woodpeckers were found at their usual location along Brooksdale.
Pinyon Jays were not found at the Buena Vista Overlook or below at the KOA campgrounds. We drove roads to the south on the way to Salida and found about 20 Pinyon Jays at the Ruby Mountain parking lot.
October 23
Early Friday morning, a Northern Saw-whet Owl responded to our recordings. Northern Pygmy-Owl and Northern Saw-whet Owl calls were played on the BLM lands north of the Buena Vista Overlook.
We returned to the Park County reservoirs and again found winds very strong with gusts to 30+ mph. The Common Loon was relocated at Antero Reservoir but we couldn't find yesterday's Black Scoter. The Surf Scoter was relocated at Eleven Mile Reservoir.
Finding little at Spinney Mountain Reservoir and Tarrayall Reservoir we decided to listen for owls and get GPS waypoints along Highway 9. The several locations surveyed included the Pike National Forest, Wormer Gulch State Trust Lands and Deer Haven State Trust Lands. Owling was a bust, but we did gather GPS data for future references.
October 24
In the afternoon, we stopped at Veteran's Park in Canon City (Fremont) and found the Black-throated Blue Warbler along with several Yellow-rumped Warblers. The Golden-crowned Sparrow was missed at the west end of Tunnel Drive but two Rufous-crowned Sparrows were found.
Near dusk, we searched Red Mountain Park for owls; without success. Northern Saw-whet Owls have nested in the area in the past but the airwaves were very quiet tonight.
A quick drive up Phantom Canyon did not find a Spotted Owl. A Northern Pygmy-Owl was heard answering our recordings west of the parking lot for Beaver Creek Wildlife Area.
Bryan Ehlmann:
October 22
Rich Stevens and I headed to Park County to see if recent storms had induced birds to stop at the three reservoirs near Highways 24 and 285.
A Common Loon and Black Scoter were found at Antero Reservoir. A Surf Scoter was seen at nearby Eleven Mile Reservoir. Winds were a steady 18 mph with gusts to 28 mph. That made holding our scopes steady very difficult and many birds could have been missed.
Next, we visited the Buena Vista Valley (Chaffee); it must have another name but no one seemed to know when we asked around. A search for resident Western Screech-Owls went unfulfilled but two Lewis's Woodpeckers were found at their usual location along Brooksdale.
Pinyon Jays were not found at the Buena Vista Overlook or below at the KOA campgrounds. We drove roads to the south on the way to Salida and found about 20 Pinyon Jays at the Ruby Mountain parking lot.
October 23
Early Friday morning, a Northern Saw-whet Owl responded to our recordings. Northern Pygmy-Owl and Northern Saw-whet Owl calls were played on the BLM lands north of the Buena Vista Overlook.
We returned to the Park County reservoirs and again found winds very strong with gusts to 30+ mph. The Common Loon was relocated at Antero Reservoir but we couldn't find yesterday's Black Scoter. The Surf Scoter was relocated at Eleven Mile Reservoir.
Finding little at Spinney Mountain Reservoir and Tarrayall Reservoir we decided to listen for owls and get GPS waypoints along Highway 9. The several locations surveyed included the Pike National Forest, Wormer Gulch State Trust Lands and Deer Haven State Trust Lands. Owling was a bust, but we did gather GPS data for future references.
October 24
In the afternoon, we stopped at Veteran's Park in Canon City (Fremont) and found the Black-throated Blue Warbler along with several Yellow-rumped Warblers. The Golden-crowned Sparrow was missed at the west end of Tunnel Drive but two Rufous-crowned Sparrows were found.
Near dusk, we searched Red Mountain Park for owls; without success. Northern Saw-whet Owls have nested in the area in the past but the airwaves were very quiet tonight.
A quick drive up Phantom Canyon did not find a Spotted Owl. A Northern Pygmy-Owl was heard answering our recordings west of the parking lot for Beaver Creek Wildlife Area.
No comments:
Post a Comment