January 1, 2014
Richard Stevens:
A brand new year and new year bird list, always a great reason to get up early and bird throughout the day!
I drove over to Cameron Pass (Jackson County) just before midnight. At 12:02 am, my first bird of 2014 was a Boreal Owl sighting. A quick look with my spotlight and I will not put them through that until next year. Hearing them is always a pleasure; it is not necessary to see them each trip.
We returned to Denver after seeing 30+ Rosy Finches at the Colorado State Forest Visitor's Center and another 800+ at a friend's nearby ranch! Traffic after the holidays is ridiculous along I70 and we rushed back well before noon.
On the trip home, we took a detour to Chatfield Reservoir (Jefferson/Douglas). Unfortunately, a two hour search did not turn up the Brant that has been around for several weeks. Later I heard that is was found at Campgrounds D (an area that I had searched at least three times).
Nearby South Platte Park Reservoir was generous. It only took five minutes to find the three Long-tailed Ducks (in Arapahoe County, swimming toward Jefferson County). All three appeared in my scope at one time.
Down the road, seven male and a couple of female Greater Scaups were on Eaglerock Lake (another five minute stop)!
I had to make one last stop on the way home. A quick hike down the South Platte River bike trail at 88th avenue and Colorado and I found the pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes just south of the green/white tower.
No Short-eared Owls were found this evening as we drove through the DIA Owl Loop (Adams). Surely, we will see them on a future trip. It was a great start to our 2014 Year List!
A brand new year and new year bird list, always a great reason to get up early and bird throughout the day!
I drove over to Cameron Pass (Jackson County) just before midnight. At 12:02 am, my first bird of 2014 was a Boreal Owl sighting. A quick look with my spotlight and I will not put them through that until next year. Hearing them is always a pleasure; it is not necessary to see them each trip.
We returned to Denver after seeing 30+ Rosy Finches at the Colorado State Forest Visitor's Center and another 800+ at a friend's nearby ranch! Traffic after the holidays is ridiculous along I70 and we rushed back well before noon.
On the trip home, we took a detour to Chatfield Reservoir (Jefferson/Douglas). Unfortunately, a two hour search did not turn up the Brant that has been around for several weeks. Later I heard that is was found at Campgrounds D (an area that I had searched at least three times).
Nearby South Platte Park Reservoir was generous. It only took five minutes to find the three Long-tailed Ducks (in Arapahoe County, swimming toward Jefferson County). All three appeared in my scope at one time.
Down the road, seven male and a couple of female Greater Scaups were on Eaglerock Lake (another five minute stop)!
I had to make one last stop on the way home. A quick hike down the South Platte River bike trail at 88th avenue and Colorado and I found the pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes just south of the green/white tower.
No Short-eared Owls were found this evening as we drove through the DIA Owl Loop (Adams). Surely, we will see them on a future trip. It was a great start to our 2014 Year List!
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