Search for Morrison Golden-crowned Sparrow & Stop at Cherry Creek Reservoir

December 29, 2018

Richard Stevens:

Warmed up today, high temperature was 39 degrees.  Winds were 5-6 mph with gusts to 10 mph.

Dave King and I spent more than two hours trying to find the Golden-crowned Sparrow recently reported in Morrison (Jefferson County).  Provided GPS waypoints have the sparrow wandering quite a distance.  Could there be more than on Golden-crowned Sparrow in the area?

Eventually we tired of our lack of success and abandoned the task.

In the afternoon, patience paid off when I hiked around Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe County).

I searched the western and eastern drainages that flow into the swim beach pond.  The Rusty Blackbirds were not there or at the pond.  After checking the swim beach for blackbirds, I returned to the Pond.  

The sun warmed up a bit as I sat and watched Starlings and Black-billed Magpies.  The Magpies stopped for a drink and the Starlings for a quick bath.

When I was about to leave, the female Rusty Blackbird emerged from the cattails at the western drainage into the pond.  She walked the north side of the pond searching for food.  Perhaps thirty seconds later, the male Rusty Blackbird came out and followed her.

Light from the setting sun was better from the Lake Loop on the south side of the Reservoir.  I could see only three slivers of open water in the ice-covered Lake.

The closest patch had many Common Mergansers, a dozen Common Goldeneyes and a few Lesser Scaup.  The next open space to the north contained mostly Common Mergansers and a couple of Common Goldeneyes.

While the most northern open area had only a few Common Mergansers and four Common Goldeneyes.

While deciding whether to drive to Aurora Reservoir (9 miles to the east), I scoped the three areas again.  This time I picked out the white face of a diving male Long-tailed Duck.  After waiting a minute or so, both Long-tailed Ducks surfaced!

Later Rebecca and I went to dinner in downtown Denver.  Afterwards we enjoyed the colored lights at the Zoo.  The number (hundreds) of other people there was amazing.

Afterwards, we walked around outside of the southwest end of the zoo.  An Eastern Screech-Owl responded to my recordings!  Another Eastern Screech-Owl was heard at a friend's Park Hill home!