Sunday, January 6, 2013

Back to Denver and Red Rocks Park

January 5, 2013

Richard Stevens:

Bryan Ehlmann and I snowshoed all night in the Colorado State Forest (8:00 pm to 5:30 am, 7 Boreal Owls heard in 17 mile trek).  The moon is no longer full; however, it was still bright enough to light up the forest.  Winds were negligible; we could almost hear a pin drop.  The night sounds of the forest were quite entertaining.  Surprising or not, many birds call during the night.

After sunrise, we stopped at the Visitor's Center. Only about 40 Rosy Finches today, no Black Rosy Finches.  A White-throated Sparrow was hanging around Gould. Perhaps it will show up at the Gould Store?

We stopped at a friend's home in Loveland.  He recorded up to 5 Northern Saw-whet Owls migrating through his ranch during fall migration.  At least one has "lingered" on his property since 12/26 (within the Fort Collins Christmas Count Circle!).  It will be interesting to see if the owl stays all winter.

We returned to Denver about 2:00 pm. I dropped Bryan off and headed to Red Rocks Park (Jefferson County) hoping to add the Golden-crowned Sparrow to my year list.

I arrived just before 3:00 pm and of course just missed the Golden-crowned Sparrow. Two Gray-crowned Rosy Finches were on the platform feeder behind the trading post.

At 4:01 pm, a Common Redpoll stopped by the thistle feeder. About every 30 minutes, a feral cat walked below the platform feeder, not helping my cause.

After a third trip through from the cat, all the birds disappeared about 4:45 pm. Just before 5:00 pm, Song Sparrows started to reappear. Final count was 6 Song Sparrows, 1 Spotted Towhee and 1 Black-capped Chickadee. Then at 5:04 pm, the Golden-crowned Sparrow appeared!

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