March 8, 2019
Richard Stevens:
Temperatures reached 53 degrees today. Winds were 12-13 mph with gusts to 18 mph.
I celebrated the fantastic winter day with a hike from the South Platte Birding Area parking area at 88th avenue (Adams County) south to the sewage treatment plant south of I76 and back.
My route was down the west side of the S. Platte River with a return on the east side. From 2002 to 2018 except 2014 & 2017, a Long-tailed Duck has wintered in the area. None was found today (last seen on 11/10/2018).
The pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes was diving in the Platte below the green/white tower about 1/2 mile south of the 88th avenue parking area.
Passerines were few. The highlight was a Swamp Sparrow on the east side of the Platte River about 50 yards north of the two green benches on the west side of the Platte.
Shorebirds were represented by four Killdeer and a Spotted Sandpiper. A Prairie Falcon zoomed upstream during my return trip. Other raptors included a Sharp-shinned Hawk and a pair of Northern Harriers.
On the drive over, I made several stops. The three Rusty Blackbirds were still along First Creek just south of the 56th Avenue Bridge (Denver).
The Lesser Black-backed Gull stood on Lake Ladora at Rocky Mountain Arsenal (Adams).
No Short-eared or Burrowing Owls appeared this evening along the DIA Owl Loop (Denver/Adams).
No comments:
Post a Comment