Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Canon City to Pueblo

November 27, 2011

Richard Stevens:

It was another picturesque day in Colorado. Winds were mild; temperatures were in the 60s.

My first goal was to find Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers or possibly Williamson's Sapsuckers in Canon City (Fremont County).

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Centennial Park took about an hour to relocate. Perhaps I just needed to wait for the day to warm up before it moved around; the morning was quite chilly. I waited another half hour; no additional Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers appeared.

At Rouse Park, I hoped for find another Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Instead, a male and female Williamson's Sapsucker came along.

No additional sapsuckers were found at the Cemetery or the Elementary School (where a Williamson's Sapsucker had previously been reported).

A check of Florence River Park did not find the previously reported Black Phoebe.

It was a long day so I started back to Denver. However, not before stopping at Pueblo Reservoir (Pueblo). The Red-necked Grebe was relocated when the lake was scoped from West Fisherman's Point.

The south marina added a Great Black-backed Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull to my day list. The unexpected prize was a Glaucous Gull. While trying to figure out its age, a Bonaparte's Gull flew overhead!

A Canyon Towhee or two walked around the southern Campgrounds.

The definite highlight however, was relocating the Eastern Towhee west of the Valco Ponds parking area. It was a new county bird for me.

Just to press my luck, I walked along the Arkansas River to search for the Rusty Blackbirds. It was my lucky day, two Rusty Blackbirds walked along the shore, a nice end to my birding day!

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