January 4, 2012
Richard Stevens:
As usual, I am updating the Blog at a strange hour. We are about to head back to Barr Lake area and search for the Snowy Owls.
Today Bryan Ehlmann and I found (well, actually planned on it) ourselves at Aurora Reservoir about an hour before sunrise.
We planned to scope the lake and hoped to find the Aurora Reservoir Snowy Owl (would prove that at least three Snowy Owls were in the area).
First we walked some private land southeast of the reservoir; without success. I acquired special permission to search for a Snowy Owl on the land. However, I figure that permission will expire with the owl's departure. Therefore, we gave it one more look over.
Afterwards, we sat on a friend's balcony and scoped the south side of Aurora Reservoir for an hour or so. There was no sign of a Snowy Owl; we decided not walk the 8.7 miles around the lake. We scoped briefly from the northeast end of the dam and moved on. There is plenty of land for the owl to hunt and rest. He could still be out there.
Wednesday was a fantastic winter day, mild winds and relatively warm temperatures. Bryan and I decided to drive around the country roads east and south of Aurora Reservoir; perhaps we would come upon another Snowy Owl.
That never happed as we covered eastern Arapahoe County, looked at some Douglas County land (but never drove onto it), covered a small part of Elbert County, then turned north through Arapahoe County, into eastern Adams County.
Highlights included Lapland Longspurs in Arapahoe, Elbert (county lifebird) and Adams Counties. An Eastern Screech-Owl in Kiowa (Elbert, county lifebird). Two Long-eared Owls in Arapahoe County. Four Great Horned Owls (2 each; Arapahoe & Elbert Counties).
Other raptors included: 2 dark morph Red-tailed Hawks, 14 western Red-tailed Hawks, 2 dark morph Ferruginous Hawks, 1 light morph Ferruginous Hawk, 5 Rough-legged Hawks, 4 American Kestrels, 1 Merlin (Arapahoe) and 1 Prairie Falcon (Adams).
We handed out issues of "Colorado Field Notes" and our business card. Added three valuable new birding sources for Elbert County and eastern Arapahoe County.
Richard Stevens:
As usual, I am updating the Blog at a strange hour. We are about to head back to Barr Lake area and search for the Snowy Owls.
Today Bryan Ehlmann and I found (well, actually planned on it) ourselves at Aurora Reservoir about an hour before sunrise.
We planned to scope the lake and hoped to find the Aurora Reservoir Snowy Owl (would prove that at least three Snowy Owls were in the area).
First we walked some private land southeast of the reservoir; without success. I acquired special permission to search for a Snowy Owl on the land. However, I figure that permission will expire with the owl's departure. Therefore, we gave it one more look over.
Afterwards, we sat on a friend's balcony and scoped the south side of Aurora Reservoir for an hour or so. There was no sign of a Snowy Owl; we decided not walk the 8.7 miles around the lake. We scoped briefly from the northeast end of the dam and moved on. There is plenty of land for the owl to hunt and rest. He could still be out there.
Wednesday was a fantastic winter day, mild winds and relatively warm temperatures. Bryan and I decided to drive around the country roads east and south of Aurora Reservoir; perhaps we would come upon another Snowy Owl.
That never happed as we covered eastern Arapahoe County, looked at some Douglas County land (but never drove onto it), covered a small part of Elbert County, then turned north through Arapahoe County, into eastern Adams County.
Highlights included Lapland Longspurs in Arapahoe, Elbert (county lifebird) and Adams Counties. An Eastern Screech-Owl in Kiowa (Elbert, county lifebird). Two Long-eared Owls in Arapahoe County. Four Great Horned Owls (2 each; Arapahoe & Elbert Counties).
Other raptors included: 2 dark morph Red-tailed Hawks, 14 western Red-tailed Hawks, 2 dark morph Ferruginous Hawks, 1 light morph Ferruginous Hawk, 5 Rough-legged Hawks, 4 American Kestrels, 1 Merlin (Arapahoe) and 1 Prairie Falcon (Adams).
We handed out issues of "Colorado Field Notes" and our business card. Added three valuable new birding sources for Elbert County and eastern Arapahoe County.
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