Birding the Foothills west of Denver

November 23, 2018

Richard Stevens:

I had been up most of the night however decided to bird the western side of Denver.

A hike along the Clear Creek Trail from Youngfield Road & I70 to Golden (Jefferson) did not find the previously reported Black Phoebe or Prothonotary Warbler.  The highlight came on the return hike.  An Eastern Screech-Owl was sunning itself in one of the larger cottonwood trees.

My next stop was South Platte Park Reservoir (Arapahoe/Jefferson).  The Palm Warbler had been reported again earlier this morning.  When I arrived, several birders remarked that they had searched unsuccessfully for about an hour.

I scoped South Platte Park Reservoir across the road from the Palm Warbler spot and found the Black Scoter swimming below the dam.

Then I noticed that several House Finches and a Song Sparrow flew west across South Platte Canyon Road.  I drove over and parked near the Eagle Service Station.  A walk south down S. Platte Canyon Road found the Palm Warbler in the pine tree nearest the Station!

A text message stated that Joey Kellner had found a Red-throated Loon from the Lake View overlook at nearby Chatfield Reservoir (Jefferson/Douglas).  One can no longer drive through the park as Kingfisher Bridge is under repair.

Not wanting to drive the long detour around to the other side of the Park, I scoped the lake from the North Marina area, no loons.

Then I stopped and scoped the lake from the Eagle (Cove) area.  The Red-throated Loon was loosely swimming with two Western Grebes below the Rookery overlook.

Unfortunately I had not heard about the Swan at the Denver Botanic Gardens (just west of Chatfield Reservoir), even had driven by the area twice.

Instead, I drove up Deer Creek Canyon Road (Jefferson) and stopped several times.  Nothing uncommon was found on the drive up to the Park.  However, on the way back a Northern Pygmy-Owl was found near the entrance to the Deer Creek Canyon subdivision.