June 22, 2019
Richard Stevens:
Temperatures stayed in the pleasant middle 60s today. Winds were 10-11 mph. Gusts reached 26 mph during afternoon storms.
I drove the Adams County Loop early this morning. A Mountain Plover was relocated along 160th avenue west of Piggot Mile Road. Several detours off 160th avenue (Yulle Road, Piggot Mile Road, Headlight Mile Road and Yellow Jacket Road did not add additional Mountain Plovers to my day list.
The pair of Burrowing Owls continued along 160th avenue at 0.5 miles west of Yellow Jacket Road.
Turning south on Bradbury-Krebs Road most of the Kingbirds were Western. However, one Cassin's Kingbird was found south of 128th Avenue. A Great-tailed Grackle was seen as I turned west onto Adams CR 2.
I stopped briefly at the now defunct rest stop at I70 and Hwy 36. Nothing uncommon was observed. When the rest stop provided water, this was an oasis for birds; regrettably, that is no longer true.
I decided to checkout Metzger Farm Open Space (also Adams County) a place I had never visited. The male Baltimore Oriole was singing when I arrived.
Photos will be posted on the Colorado Birding Society's website soon. I want to point out that the closest I got to the Oriole was 84 feet (paced off after the bird left). The fact is mentioned because a past president of the CFO arrived about 15 minutes after I found the bird. He proceeded to look at the bird from underneath the tree the Oriole was perched. Will not mention his name; however, I did take photos of him under the tree.
Under ominous skies, I continued to Boulder and Chautauqua Park. The Chestnut-sided Warbler was close to previously reported sightings along the McClintock trail. I was planning to stay until dark and owling up Mesa South Trails, heavy rain changed my mind.
Later Rebecca Kosten and I drove through Cherry Creek State Park (Arapahoe) on the way to dinner. As we passed through the woods along Lake View Drive at Cherry Creek, a large bird with a long tail caught our attention.
It was not black and white like a Black-billed Magpie; we had to make a u-turn for another look. Rain was quite heavy and the bird did not appear to want to move. It was still in a cottonwood close to the road.
It turned out to be a cuckoo. It was getting too dark for a photo; however, we could make out the large white tips on black, indicating a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Bill did appear to have a lower yellow mandible.
Richard Stevens:
Temperatures stayed in the pleasant middle 60s today. Winds were 10-11 mph. Gusts reached 26 mph during afternoon storms.
I drove the Adams County Loop early this morning. A Mountain Plover was relocated along 160th avenue west of Piggot Mile Road. Several detours off 160th avenue (Yulle Road, Piggot Mile Road, Headlight Mile Road and Yellow Jacket Road did not add additional Mountain Plovers to my day list.
The pair of Burrowing Owls continued along 160th avenue at 0.5 miles west of Yellow Jacket Road.
Turning south on Bradbury-Krebs Road most of the Kingbirds were Western. However, one Cassin's Kingbird was found south of 128th Avenue. A Great-tailed Grackle was seen as I turned west onto Adams CR 2.
I stopped briefly at the now defunct rest stop at I70 and Hwy 36. Nothing uncommon was observed. When the rest stop provided water, this was an oasis for birds; regrettably, that is no longer true.
I decided to checkout Metzger Farm Open Space (also Adams County) a place I had never visited. The male Baltimore Oriole was singing when I arrived.
Photos will be posted on the Colorado Birding Society's website soon. I want to point out that the closest I got to the Oriole was 84 feet (paced off after the bird left). The fact is mentioned because a past president of the CFO arrived about 15 minutes after I found the bird. He proceeded to look at the bird from underneath the tree the Oriole was perched. Will not mention his name; however, I did take photos of him under the tree.
Under ominous skies, I continued to Boulder and Chautauqua Park. The Chestnut-sided Warbler was close to previously reported sightings along the McClintock trail. I was planning to stay until dark and owling up Mesa South Trails, heavy rain changed my mind.
Later Rebecca Kosten and I drove through Cherry Creek State Park (Arapahoe) on the way to dinner. As we passed through the woods along Lake View Drive at Cherry Creek, a large bird with a long tail caught our attention.
It was not black and white like a Black-billed Magpie; we had to make a u-turn for another look. Rain was quite heavy and the bird did not appear to want to move. It was still in a cottonwood close to the road.
It turned out to be a cuckoo. It was getting too dark for a photo; however, we could make out the large white tips on black, indicating a Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Bill did appear to have a lower yellow mandible.
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