November 18, 2014
Richard Stevens:
A trip to Guanella Pass (Clear Creek County) was called off (thanks! I was not looking forward to the 4 mile hike in search of possible White-tailed Ptarmigan sighting). As an alternate, we started earlier in the morning, well before sunrise, and drove to Loveland Pass (Clear Creek/Summit Counties).
It helped to arrive before skiers and snowboarders. We found a pair of White-tailed Ptarmigan from the first pullover on the west side of Highway 6 and south of Loveland Pass. The birds were hunkered down under an evergreen tree about 20 yards east of highway 6.
After leaving my two birding partners, I stopped at Red Rocks Park (Jefferson). Two hours were spent relaxing by watching the birds visit below the platform feeder behind the Trading Post. Temperatures were around 30 degrees, winds 10+ mph.
I sat on the Red Rocks Park trading post deck and watched the birds for two hours. The Fox Sparrow appeared twice for a couple of minutes. After an hour the Golden-crowned Sparrows appeared. While waiting for a better view of the Fox Sparrow, a Harris's Sparrow appeared after an hour and 45 minutes.
I drove thru Cherry Creek State Park (Arapahoe) the last hour of daylight. Three Common Loons and a dozen+ Bonaparte's Gulls were observed. I ran into Alec Hopping who asked if I had seen a Long-tailed Duck. We drove over to the dam tower parking area and relocated the female Long-tailed Duck. She was more or less with a group of Common Goldeneyes.
Witness photos of Fox Sparrow and Harris's Sparrow on the Colorado Birding Society's website.
Richard Stevens:
A trip to Guanella Pass (Clear Creek County) was called off (thanks! I was not looking forward to the 4 mile hike in search of possible White-tailed Ptarmigan sighting). As an alternate, we started earlier in the morning, well before sunrise, and drove to Loveland Pass (Clear Creek/Summit Counties).
It helped to arrive before skiers and snowboarders. We found a pair of White-tailed Ptarmigan from the first pullover on the west side of Highway 6 and south of Loveland Pass. The birds were hunkered down under an evergreen tree about 20 yards east of highway 6.
After leaving my two birding partners, I stopped at Red Rocks Park (Jefferson). Two hours were spent relaxing by watching the birds visit below the platform feeder behind the Trading Post. Temperatures were around 30 degrees, winds 10+ mph.
I sat on the Red Rocks Park trading post deck and watched the birds for two hours. The Fox Sparrow appeared twice for a couple of minutes. After an hour the Golden-crowned Sparrows appeared. While waiting for a better view of the Fox Sparrow, a Harris's Sparrow appeared after an hour and 45 minutes.
I drove thru Cherry Creek State Park (Arapahoe) the last hour of daylight. Three Common Loons and a dozen+ Bonaparte's Gulls were observed. I ran into Alec Hopping who asked if I had seen a Long-tailed Duck. We drove over to the dam tower parking area and relocated the female Long-tailed Duck. She was more or less with a group of Common Goldeneyes.
Witness photos of Fox Sparrow and Harris's Sparrow on the Colorado Birding Society's website.
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