Coal Creek Canyon to Rocky Mountain Arsenal

June 8, 2019

Richard Stevens:

High temperature reached 79 degrees today.  Winds varied between 14 to 15 mph.  When the afternoon storms hit anomometer readings topped at 28 mph.

My birding day started at Coal Creek Canyon.  The Red-headed Woodpecker was feeding young at the published snag when I arrived.

I drove up and down Plainview Road for several hours before hearing a Dickcissel singing.  This was a surprise because my information stated that the Dickcissels were feeding young.  I did not expect any singing to give away their position.  The Dickcissel sang from the top of a deciduous bush at the upper end of the southern drainage.

My next stop was the Arvada-Blunn Reservoir (Jefferson).  The Pacific Loon was swimming below the falls.  Unfortunately, the loon was too far away for a photo.

A stop at Wheat Ridge Greenbelt (Jefferson) found no uncommon birds.  The drive through the Rocky Mountain Arsenal (Adams) was also uneventful.

My birding day ended with a hike up the Adams County section of the First Creek Trail.  Again, nothing stood out.  An empidonax flycatcher was left unidentified.

No Short-eared Owls appeared along the DIA Owl Loop this evening.