September 17, 2018
Richard Stevens:
Back on the Plains, it was 91 degrees at Cherry Creek Reservoir in the afternoon. Winds were 7-8 mph with gusts to 13 mph.
Bob Harvey and I started the day up Mt. Evans Road (Clear Creek County). Three Barrow's Goldeneyes were on Echo Lake. A Green-tailed Towhee and Lincoln's Sparrow were along the west side of the Lake.
We scoped the rocky hillside southeast of Summit Lake and spotted a White-tailed Ptarmigan walking among the rocks crunching down the flowers.
It took a wait of 45 minutes before a couple of Brown-capped Rosy Finches circled over the northwest corner of Summit Lake. They landed several times on the rocky hillside and provided nice looks. The cool temperatures and partly cloudy skies made for a fantastic view.
We continued to the top of Mt. Evans however did not find any additional Ptarmigan or Rosy Finches.
Back at the Echo Lakes Campgrounds, we walked down to the Mt Captain trail and quickly heard an American Three-toed Woodpecker drumming. With a little patience, we eventually found the bird moving between the Pines.
After dropping Bob off in Lakewood, I decided to stop at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe) on my way home. On Saturday, I had observed a strange shorebird on the Prairie Loop mudflats.
It was not there today; however, I did see it later on the Pelican Point mudflats. Unfortunately, it was at the far southern shore. I still cannot figure out what it is. Doug Schoch was there on Saturday; hopefully he took a photo of it?
The Mew Gull was back at the little sandy shore northwest corner of Pelican Bay. While scoping the lake, I observed one of the Sabine's Gulls flying below the dam.
No uncommon migrating birds were seen around the Smoky Hill Picnic area and swim beach. It was quite hot during my visit, not much was moving around.
After receiving a text message, I stopped at Coal Creek Regional Greenway. The Least Flycatcher reported earlier by Cathy Sheeter was not found by me.
A Western Wood-pewee hawked bugs west of the parking area. Cathy's bird was reported to the east.
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