Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Continuing Superb Start to My 2018 Bird Checklist!

January 2, 2017

Richard Stevens:

The outstanding start to my 2018 bird list continued today.  Temperatures reached 44 degrees.  Winds were 6 mph with gusts to 13 mph.  It was much warmer than yesterday.

My first stop was Salisbury Equestrian Park (Douglas).  The Brant was with a group of White-cheeked Geese.  He was missed on my stop yesterday.

I took the back roads over to Aurora Reservoir (Arapahoe) and walked down from the south side.  The pair of Long-tailed Ducks and pair of White-winged Scoters continue to swim in the southeastern quadrant of the lake.

Many Ring-billed Gulls were joined with a few California, Herring, a couple of Lesser Black-backed and Iceland Gulls.

A brief stop at 19846 East Garden Drive in Centennial found the Pine Warbler fluttering about the neighbor's tree (west of Doug's yard).

The Swamp Sparrow observed at Ireland Reservoir #1 on December 8 was not relocated.  Ireland Reservoir #5 had only a few White-cheeked Geese hanging around.

My final stop of the day was Banner Lakes Wildlife Area (Weld).  Only one Long-eared Owl could be found today.  Two Great Horned Owls called to each other at dusk.  No Short-eared Owls appeared as I stayed until civil twilight.

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