November 17, 2009
Gary Weston: In the afternoon, Richard Stevens and I decided to bird Cheesman Reservoir and then do some owling.
We arrived at Cheesman Canyon Trail parking lot around 1:00 PM. Before hiking up the trail, we walked Highway 126 west to the old green trailer. In past trips, Red-headed Woodpeckers and Lewis's Woodpeckers were found around this trailer and the hill to the south. Regrettably, we couldn't find either today.
We then hiked the Cheesman Canyon Trail from Hwy 126 to the Reservoir. Along the way, we found 3 Three-toed Woodpeckers, 2 Hairy Woodpeckers and a Downy Woodpecker.
Around Cheesman Reservoir, we found White-breasted, Red-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches. One Brown Creeper and 2 Townsend's Solitaires were also seen.
Sunset comes early now and we switched to owling mode. No Northern Pygmy-Owls were found around the reservoir. While visiting five previous owl locations along Deckers Road (GPS Waypoint sites) we heard Northern Pygmy-Owls at two.
Richard also had waypoints for 2 Northern Saw-whet Owl sites but neither was productive tonight.
We continued along Platte River Road, found another Northern Pygmy-Owl at a new site, and took GPS waypoints.
At Reynolds Park, a fourth Pygmy-Owl was heard. This one we were able to get a spotlight on and watch for a few minutes. It was not the usual location at the main parking lot, but farther to the east.
Finally, we made a quick stop at Pine Valley Ranch Park. Here a Northern Pygmy-Owl was heard calling southeast of the lower parking lot. This one was very far away and we were not able to get it in our spotlight.
Gary Weston: In the afternoon, Richard Stevens and I decided to bird Cheesman Reservoir and then do some owling.
We arrived at Cheesman Canyon Trail parking lot around 1:00 PM. Before hiking up the trail, we walked Highway 126 west to the old green trailer. In past trips, Red-headed Woodpeckers and Lewis's Woodpeckers were found around this trailer and the hill to the south. Regrettably, we couldn't find either today.
We then hiked the Cheesman Canyon Trail from Hwy 126 to the Reservoir. Along the way, we found 3 Three-toed Woodpeckers, 2 Hairy Woodpeckers and a Downy Woodpecker.
Around Cheesman Reservoir, we found White-breasted, Red-breasted and Pygmy Nuthatches. One Brown Creeper and 2 Townsend's Solitaires were also seen.
Sunset comes early now and we switched to owling mode. No Northern Pygmy-Owls were found around the reservoir. While visiting five previous owl locations along Deckers Road (GPS Waypoint sites) we heard Northern Pygmy-Owls at two.
Richard also had waypoints for 2 Northern Saw-whet Owl sites but neither was productive tonight.
We continued along Platte River Road, found another Northern Pygmy-Owl at a new site, and took GPS waypoints.
At Reynolds Park, a fourth Pygmy-Owl was heard. This one we were able to get a spotlight on and watch for a few minutes. It was not the usual location at the main parking lot, but farther to the east.
Finally, we made a quick stop at Pine Valley Ranch Park. Here a Northern Pygmy-Owl was heard calling southeast of the lower parking lot. This one was very far away and we were not able to get it in our spotlight.
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