January 19, 2013
Richard Stevens:
Bryan Ehlmann and I drove the DIA Owl Loop (Adams County) starting about 30 minutes before sunrise. Our target bird was a Snow Bunting. None was found, however we enjoyed a good morning with owls.
Thousands of Horned Larks are currently flying, feeding, resting in the fields south of Barr Lake. We stopped many times to watch the phenomenon at they flew back and forth across the roads. Unfortunately, we could not pick out a Snow Bunting (which should be quite obvious among the brown Horned Larks with their black tails). We did see a dozen Lapland Longspurs (brown birds with white outer tail feathers).
We recently obtained permission to count birds on some of the private roads. Jürgen Lehnert had pointed out (as he accidentally drive a private road) the where a bouts of a Short-eared Owl. We drove this road and found two Short-eared Owls almost in the same area as Jürgen!
No additional Short-eared Owls were found. The best strategy is to drive the Loop during the hours 30 minutes before sunset to dark. The most successful areas are 96th avenue from the south end of Quency Street (where 96th turns from west to east from Tower Road to north, which is Quency) to 114th avenue and Trussville. In addition, a drive down Queensburg toward the entrance to the Airport has been quite successful in the past.
We also found a Long-eared Owl at a windbreak around a private airport building. This bird is probably not chaseable without permission.
Rebecca and I were looking for a place to walk late in the afternoon on this beautiful winter day and chose to search for the Rusty Blackbirds along the South Platte River (Adams County). Temperatures reached the high 50s; winds were mild. Our walk was quite pleasant and enjoyable!
We parked at the York Avenue parking area next to the sanitation plant and walked downstream (north) to Highway 224 & I76 and back.
Along the way, we found five+ Rusty Blackbirds on the west side of the Platte River at approximately 30-50 yards north of the I76 Bridge.
On the trip back to our car, we counted four adult and six juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron and three Double-crested Cormorants just south of the Sand Creek footbridge (just south of the I270 Highway Bridge).
Most of the common winter ducks were found in good numbers on the South Platte River. Obvious misses were Long-tailed Ducks, Greater Scaup and Ruddy Ducks.
A Northern Shrike was a little ways down Sand Creek. One flock of Killdeer had 14 birds just south of the Sand Creek Footbridge. A Wilson's Snipe was in the same area!
With light diminishing rapidly, I made a quick walk down to the green and white tower (from and south of 88th avenue and Colorado Blvd). Two male and a female Barrow's Goldeneye were just upstream of the tower.
A Prairie Falcon flew down the Platte River. An adult Bald Eagle was not far behind (although much slower). A Great Blue Heron stood at the rapids. I suppose keeping his eyes on any swimming food and me as well.
Richard Stevens:
Bryan Ehlmann and I drove the DIA Owl Loop (Adams County) starting about 30 minutes before sunrise. Our target bird was a Snow Bunting. None was found, however we enjoyed a good morning with owls.
Thousands of Horned Larks are currently flying, feeding, resting in the fields south of Barr Lake. We stopped many times to watch the phenomenon at they flew back and forth across the roads. Unfortunately, we could not pick out a Snow Bunting (which should be quite obvious among the brown Horned Larks with their black tails). We did see a dozen Lapland Longspurs (brown birds with white outer tail feathers).
We recently obtained permission to count birds on some of the private roads. Jürgen Lehnert had pointed out (as he accidentally drive a private road) the where a bouts of a Short-eared Owl. We drove this road and found two Short-eared Owls almost in the same area as Jürgen!
No additional Short-eared Owls were found. The best strategy is to drive the Loop during the hours 30 minutes before sunset to dark. The most successful areas are 96th avenue from the south end of Quency Street (where 96th turns from west to east from Tower Road to north, which is Quency) to 114th avenue and Trussville. In addition, a drive down Queensburg toward the entrance to the Airport has been quite successful in the past.
We also found a Long-eared Owl at a windbreak around a private airport building. This bird is probably not chaseable without permission.
Rebecca and I were looking for a place to walk late in the afternoon on this beautiful winter day and chose to search for the Rusty Blackbirds along the South Platte River (Adams County). Temperatures reached the high 50s; winds were mild. Our walk was quite pleasant and enjoyable!
We parked at the York Avenue parking area next to the sanitation plant and walked downstream (north) to Highway 224 & I76 and back.
Along the way, we found five+ Rusty Blackbirds on the west side of the Platte River at approximately 30-50 yards north of the I76 Bridge.
On the trip back to our car, we counted four adult and six juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron and three Double-crested Cormorants just south of the Sand Creek footbridge (just south of the I270 Highway Bridge).
Most of the common winter ducks were found in good numbers on the South Platte River. Obvious misses were Long-tailed Ducks, Greater Scaup and Ruddy Ducks.
A Northern Shrike was a little ways down Sand Creek. One flock of Killdeer had 14 birds just south of the Sand Creek Footbridge. A Wilson's Snipe was in the same area!
With light diminishing rapidly, I made a quick walk down to the green and white tower (from and south of 88th avenue and Colorado Blvd). Two male and a female Barrow's Goldeneye were just upstream of the tower.
A Prairie Falcon flew down the Platte River. An adult Bald Eagle was not far behind (although much slower). A Great Blue Heron stood at the rapids. I suppose keeping his eyes on any swimming food and me as well.
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