February 6, 2010
Richard Stevens:
I returned to Rocky Mountain Arsenal when they opened at 7:30 am. Last Thursday, I missed the Harris's Sparrow in a 1.5 hour wait. It was warm and many bees were mobbing the feeders north of the Visitor's Center. Only a few birds flew into the trees above the feeders. None would engage the many bees.
I figured that early in the morning it would be too cold for the bees. This was the case Saturday morning. A few birds perched in the trees at 7:30 am. At 8:00 am however, a flock of 30+ Dark-eyed Juncos flew in and attacked the seeds under both sets (of two) feeders.
Shortly thereafter, the Harris's Sparrow also made an appearance. The sparrow eventually went under both sets of feeders from 8:00 to 8:19 am (when I departed).
Next, I visited the South Platte River at 88th Avenue and Colorado Blvd. The 3 Long-tailed Ducks were still on the northern West Gravel Lake. The pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes was on the South Platte River near the green/white tower. A second male Barrow's Goldeneye was on East Gravel Lakes.
After lunch, I drove by Red Rocks Park. The Golden-crowned Sparrow was under the platform feeder behind the Trading Post.
At around 2:00 pm, I stopped by Wheat Ridge Greenbelt (at Prospect Park) to search for the reported "Winter Wren). Up the tree bridge trail, a bird that sounded like a Winter Wren sang for about 25 minutes. However, it never came out of the brush south of the boardwalk trail at 20 yards west of the "Restoration Area" sign.
Although the bird may have sounded like a Winter Wren, I have on three occasions (all in February of past years) come across Song Sparrows that have garbled for extensive length of times. This "garbling" has sounded like a Winter Wren to me. Since I did not see a wren and only a Song Sparrow garbling, I still have not listed a Winter Wren sighting.
My birding day ended with a drive around the DIA Owl Loop. No Short-eared Owls, three Northern Harriers worked the fields south of 128th Avenue.
Richard Stevens:
I returned to Rocky Mountain Arsenal when they opened at 7:30 am. Last Thursday, I missed the Harris's Sparrow in a 1.5 hour wait. It was warm and many bees were mobbing the feeders north of the Visitor's Center. Only a few birds flew into the trees above the feeders. None would engage the many bees.
I figured that early in the morning it would be too cold for the bees. This was the case Saturday morning. A few birds perched in the trees at 7:30 am. At 8:00 am however, a flock of 30+ Dark-eyed Juncos flew in and attacked the seeds under both sets (of two) feeders.
Shortly thereafter, the Harris's Sparrow also made an appearance. The sparrow eventually went under both sets of feeders from 8:00 to 8:19 am (when I departed).
Next, I visited the South Platte River at 88th Avenue and Colorado Blvd. The 3 Long-tailed Ducks were still on the northern West Gravel Lake. The pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes was on the South Platte River near the green/white tower. A second male Barrow's Goldeneye was on East Gravel Lakes.
After lunch, I drove by Red Rocks Park. The Golden-crowned Sparrow was under the platform feeder behind the Trading Post.
At around 2:00 pm, I stopped by Wheat Ridge Greenbelt (at Prospect Park) to search for the reported "Winter Wren). Up the tree bridge trail, a bird that sounded like a Winter Wren sang for about 25 minutes. However, it never came out of the brush south of the boardwalk trail at 20 yards west of the "Restoration Area" sign.
Although the bird may have sounded like a Winter Wren, I have on three occasions (all in February of past years) come across Song Sparrows that have garbled for extensive length of times. This "garbling" has sounded like a Winter Wren to me. Since I did not see a wren and only a Song Sparrow garbling, I still have not listed a Winter Wren sighting.
My birding day ended with a drive around the DIA Owl Loop. No Short-eared Owls, three Northern Harriers worked the fields south of 128th Avenue.
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