Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Adding Uncommon Birds To My 2019 Bird List

January 2, 2019

Richard Stevens:

High temperatures reached the high 30s today.  Winds were only 4-5 mph.

Rebecca Kosten and I started our birding day an hour before sunrise.  We made several stops adding uncommon birds to our trip list.

The Gyrfalcon was briefly on the pole along Trilby Road just west of Taft Road (Larimer).

The Black-legged Kittiwake flew around the southern end of Horsetooth Reservoir (Larimer).

The Pink-footed Goose and Long-tailed Duck were both still on Milavec Reservoir at Frederick Recreation Area (Weld).

I dropped Rebecca off at a friend's home in Denver and continued west.  Dylan Cooper had found the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at 10:00 am & 12:00 am in the three Pines on the north side of the tennis courts.  It allowed a brief look at 1:00 pm and disappeared.  

At 1:30 am, Diane Roberts relocated the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in a Pine east of the tennis courts.  

My next stop was Dahlia Hollow Park (Arapahoe).  While I did not find the Northern Goshawk and Hermit Thrush reported yesterday, my 2019 list was increased with Bushtits, White-breasted Nuthatches, Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Crows, one Common Raven, Blue Jays and a Spotted Towhee.

My final stop was the Highline Canal south of Colorado Blvd.  My friend who has had a Northern Cardinal visiting her feeders for several months was not home.  I did not see the bird and have no recent update.  A flock of four Pygmy Nuthatches was in the area.

Other birds encountered today in Arapahoe County included Eastern Screech-Owls at three locations.  I now know of seven locations in Arapahoe County.

I drove through Cherry Creek State Park (Arapahoe) on the way home.  The Lake is completely ice covered.  The few waterfowl around were standing on the ice.  No owls could be found this evening.

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