Search for Flammulated & Boreal Owls

July 19 & 20, 2008

Ed Peters and I planned on owling west of Fort Collins.

On the trip up we made the 22 mile side trip east to Highway 14 and County Road 51. We found a Mountain Plover in about 20 minutes and turned back west.

Once we reached Larimer CR 44H, we stopped every 0.2 miles and searched for Common Poorwills. Birds were found along CR 44H, west of CR 63E (0.7 miles, 0.9 miles, & 1.3 miles).

We enjoyed a beautiful night in the mountains. The moon was no longer full (waning gibbous with 88% of the Moon's visible disk); it still provided much light and we were able to walk around without flashlights. Winds were negligible both on Pennock Pass and Cameron Pass.

In my experience, this is quite unusual. The biggest drawback in finding Boreal Owls is picking a night when winds are calm or mild. They just do not call loud enough to hear them over any wind.

Our search for Flammulated Owls on Pennock Pass went well. We found owls at both stops made. It never took more than 10 minutes to find them.

We were amazed at how noisy the woods were at 11:00pm. Chipping Sparrows, Cassin's Finches, and a couple of other birds that we could not quite identify sang constantly.

Our search for Boreal Owls on Cameron Pass did not go quite as well. We stopped at Joe Wright Reservoir, Cameron Pass's Summit, and the Pines Campgrounds. All the places where I had success already this year were not this night.

We must have stopped at 18 places to hike around and listen. My two most successful spots were too far from a road for Ed. (The two spots require hikes of over 6 miles).

Finally at 4:28 am, we ran into a calling Boreal Owl up Ruby Jewell Road in the Colorado State Forest. Twice, we hiked the road from Michigan Creek Road (CR 41) to about a mile east. The second try was successful!

Again the area was quite noisy. We picked out Chipping Sparrows, Finches, a Common Nighthawk, Pine Siskins, and American Goldfinches.

Tired, we crawled back to Denver, arriving well after sunset.

Late Sunday afternoon (after temperatures cooled down from the 100 degree high), Rebecca Kosten and I drove the DIA Owl Loop. We really hoped to find a Short-eared Owl (did not) but counted 19 Burrowing Owls (this included 4 just west of the closed barrier at Rocky Mountain Arsenal (along Buckley Road, south of 88th avenue).

We also found 1 Ferruginous Hawk (near 114th & Granbay), several Swainson's Hawks, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, and 2 Northern Harriers.

Owling in Clear Creek County

July 18, 2008

I returned to the Montezuma Area (Clear Creek County) last night. My owling was concentrated on Argentine Pass Road. The full moon lit up the road quite nice and a spotlight was not needed to hike down the road. Unfortunately, I did not find any owls. My technique was again to stop every 100 yards and play recordings of Northern Pygmy-Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl, and Boreal Owl.

It was such a calm and beautiful night to walk that I hiked up the Hunkidori Trail for about a mile. While I did not find the Northern Saw-whet Owl that we located a few weeks back, a Northern Pygmy-Owl did call. It was not far from the trailhead, perhaps 300 yards.

Being alone and in Mountain Lion and Bear County, I decided not to hike up the nearby Saint Johns Trail where we found a Boreal Owl a few weeks ago.

Birding Clear Creek, Eagle and Garfield Counties

June 29, 2008

Gary Weston and I started on our trek west to conduct BBS counts in Clear Creek, Eagle, Garfield, and Mesa Counties. Bryan and Sue Ehlmann started out ahead of us by 2 weeks and we hoped to meet up in a week or two. They were suppose to add to these accounts but are hindered by staying in a cabin without electricity. Who knows when they will "wander" into a city?

We departed Denver at 2:00am and arrived an hour later at Montezuma, CO. I have been up the Saints John Trail and Hunkidori Trail many times. These trails lead west from Montezuma and are good cross country ski trails in winter and good owl habitats the rest of the year.

We first hiked the Saints John Trail to above tree line. The effort (and it is a nice elevation gain) was rewarded with hearing a Boreal Owl. I took GPS readings and if I can figure the GPS unit out, should be able to add the length of the hike later.

Our technique was to stop every 0.1 miles, play recordings of Boreal Owl, Northern Pygmy-Owl, and Northern Saw-whet Owl; then continue. Our hike was at least two miles, so only one owl cannot be considered much of a success.

When we returned to the junction of the Hunkidori Trail we turned northwest and walk about 1.5 miles up the trail. On this leg, both a Northern Pygmy-Owl and Northern Saw-whet Owl were found!

If the Northern Saw-whet Owl had not called briefly, we never would have located it. Once we narrowed down the tree, it still took 20 minutes to see the bird. The Northern Pygmy-Owl was out on a branch watching the creek and probably quite surprised when we walked up to it.

While our target birds were owls, we did keep track of the other birds encountered. Some of the species included Pine Grosbeak, Evening Grosbeak, Pine Siskin, Red Crossbill, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Mountain Bluebird, Townsend's Solitaire, Hammond's Flycatcher, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Willow Flycatcher, and Western Wood-pewee. American Three-toed Woodpeckers have been found in the past, none today.

Our trek was timed for a late afternoon 2 mile hike up Spruce Creek Trail (probably listed as Mohawk Lakes on most maps).

This trail is one of my favorite in Colorado. The trailhead to box canyon at the top is 4 miles. One can shorten the hike by 2.0 miles with a 4 wheel drive. 4 Wheel Drive is necessary and then I would not take a new vehicle. On one trip, I ripped a muffler off my year old Mustang.

The first 2 miles are through the spruce fir forest. Interesting, but rather old after hiking the trail many times (this was my 83rd trip up). At the upper parking area, one quickly goes uphill and above tree line. The trail passes Continental Lake, several Mohawk Lakes and follows the creek that runs between them.

Once at the upper Mohawk Lake the land levels off and continues for 3/4 mile to the west end of the box canyon. It's a fantastic view surrounded by Pacific Peak, Crystal Peak, and Mt Helen. All 13,000 foot mountains that fall short up to 200 feet of being 14,000 footers. Gary and I have climbed them all in the past and skipped that "thrill" on this trip.

Pacific Peak at last checking is only 6 feet short of a 14,000 foot mountain. It is also one of the most technical mountains that I have climbed in Colorado (my total is 54/14,000 footers and 82/13,000 or less). The experience of camping around upper Mohawk Lakes makes the effort well worth it.

Of course bird species are limited when up this high. We did confirm Brown-capped Rosy Finch nesting and headed back to our car. We caught a few hours sleep and were woke by a calling Northern Pygmy-Owl!

June 30, 2008

The road to Mt of the Holy Cross was on tap today. We dropped down to Breckenridge before sunrise and started up the Cross's road soon after.

Twice Dusky Grouse were found crossing the road. The second time it was a female with 2 young (nesting confirmed, Eagle County).

We counted and observed birds around the campgrounds and road circling the bottom of the mountain. The idea to climb Mt of the Holy Cross (again) was not entertained.

No surprises were found. We wrote detailed logs of bird activity and moved on. Anyone wanting daily bird counts and lists, just ask.

The highlight of the day for me was the many Broad-tailed Hummingbirds encountered. At least 2 Rufous Hummingbirds were also found. We didn't climb much above tree line which limited our chances of seeing a White-tailed Ptarmigan. No Rosy Finches were found.

We did have another highlight. For the first time I experienced the technique of tapping on a tree and having a Flammulated Owl pop out! I had always heard this was possible, but until today never had any success with the technique. Around the campgrounds we found Willow Flycatchers, Cordilleran Flycatcher, and at least one Dusky Flycatcher.

The second half of our birding day was spent around Homestake Creek where 2 Purple Martins were relocated. Sorry, I can not remember who first reported them here. Will lookup and add later, we would not have searched if it had not been for a previous report.

After dusk we managed to get a Northern Pygmy-Owl to call at Gold Camp.

Return to Pennock & Cameron Passes

June 27, 2008

Gary Weston and I turned north today toward Fort Collins and west. Our target birds were owls further west, but we stopped for a hike at Lory State Park (Larimer).

We hiked to Arthur's Rock and back in search of Northern Pygmy-Owls or Northern Saw-whet Owls; without success in either.

Just after civil twilight we called in a Common Poorwill with our playback recordings. The bird was only about 100 yards inside the entrance and stood on a Miner's Candle.

We then drove up Rist Canyon and stopped at half a dozen locations where Northern Pygmy-Owls have been found in the past. Unfortunately none were heard today.

Our next stop was Pennock Pass (Larimer). We enjoyed better success here. Our Flammulated Owl count was 5!

Our trek continued west and we stopped at a dozen spots where Boreal Owls have been found in the past. Again we enjoyed fair success with 3 Boreal Owls (2 heard and 1 observed).

We hiked most of the night, finding our last and only "seen" Boreal Owl up Ruby Jewell Road at 4:28am.

In my experience, the best times to find Boreal Owls are an hour and a half after sunset and an hour before sunrise. I would have to check my notes, my I seem to remember reading that the owls stay briefly around their nesting areas and then fly away and hunt most of the night?

June 28, 2008

We headed back to Denver after looking for hummingbirds. Both the KOA Campgrounds (outside of the Colorado State Forest entrance) and the Store at Gould enjoyed visits by 3 species of hummingbirds (Broad-tailed, Rufous, and one Calliope Hummingbird each).

A detour was made at Chambers Lake (Jackson). A hike along the east side of the lake was rewarded with an American Three-toed Woodpecker sighting. From the obvious pullover along the highway, we walked directly west to the lake and then north. The woodpecker was approximately 600 yards north of our turn from west to north.

In the past, nesting has been confirmed in this area. We saw nothing that would indicate such today.

Return to Castlewood Canyon State Park

June 26, 2008

My time yesterday before sunrise at Castlewood Canyon State Park was so enjoyable that it begged for a return. Today I decided to investigate a question I asked yesterday on my Blog:

"Note yesterday: As I conducted my "hearing only" point counts through Castlewood Canyon State Park, it became interesting that at the various stops many of the birds singing were of the same species.

One stop had 3 Plumbeous Vireos, another Lazuli Buntings, one had 4 Cordilleran Flycatchers singing, another Black-headed Grosbeaks. Too many stops had numerous Spotted Towhee singing.

A question that came to mind was; were the many birds of the same species singing because they had competition from peers or were they just doing "their thing"? That maybe worth additional investigation."

I arrived at Castlewood Canyon State Park area at 3:00am this morning. First I walked the roads west of the park searching for Northern Saw-whet Owls; again without success.

Yesterday's audio point counts were repeated; however this time I used recordings after counting the birds. Again as yesterday, several stops appeared to have birds of the same species as the predominant songsters. When I played recordings at stops without apparent songs from a species I got responses from species previously not recorded at that spot.

While no definite conclusions can be drawn, it maybe possible that when 3 or 4 same species birds are in an area, they are more vigorous when faced with competition. Or is it that a silent bird already has a mate and no need to chime in?

In any case, recordings produced additional recorded numbers of bird species at each of the stops.

Still no owls and I did not find yesterday's Common Poorwill today.

Also went back to the Winkler Ranch in hopes of getting a Blue Grosbeak photo. Two males were still along the road, but did not offer a photo opportunity. Over a dozen Bobolink counted in the taller grasses south of the cut field at the Winkler Ranch entrance.

In the late afternoon, Rebecca Kosten and I rode our birds along the east side of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal (Buckley Road between 56th & 88th avenues. Temperatures were in the low 90s; winds 20+ mph. Bird count was down. We did see 4 Burrowing Owls just north of the closed barrier at the north end of Buckley.

Search for Prairie Warbler

June 25, 2008

I arrived at Castlewood Canyon State Park around 4:00am and walked several roads outside of the park in search of owls (mainly Northern Saw-whet Owls) again without success. Driving through the park I stopped several times to listen. Many birds were singing including Spotted Towhees, Plumbeous Vireos, Lazuli Buntings, and American Robins.

Note: As I conducted my "hearing only" point counts through Castlewood Canyon State Park, it became interesting that at the various stops many of the birds were of the same species.

One stop had 3 Plumbeous Vireos, another Lazuli Buntings, one had 4 Cordilleran Flycatchers singing, another Black-headed Grosbeaks. Too many stops had numerous Spotted Towhee singing.

A question that came to mind was were the many birds of the same species singing because they had competition from peers or were they just doing "their thing"? That maybe worth additional investigation.

The highlight was a Common Poorwill on the west side of Castlewood Canyon Road, just outside the southwest entrance to the park. I stood here from 5:30 to 6:30 listening to birds and waiting for good light for a search for the Prairie Warbler. Several Willow Flycatchers sang to the east. A Least Flycatcher joined in for 30 minutes. Wild Turkey gobbled in the distant south.

At 6:30 I drove south to the Winkler Ranch. In the field of tall grasses south of the cut field near the entrance to the ranch, at least 12 male Bobolink sang while perched on the taller scrubs. At least one female Bobolink flew around. Three male Blue Grosbeaks were found on the fence line on the trip back into the park.

From 7:00am to 9:00am another birder and I searched for the Prairie Warbler. The previously reported cairn marker was not to be found so we walked the Falls Trail from the parking area to the dam at least four times; without success.

At 9:00am I called Glenn Walbek to see if he could provide more detailed instructions to the bird's location. Glenn was more than gracious and drove over to show us the spot. We waited about 20 minutes or so and the female Prairie Warbler finally put in an appearance!

During the morning trek many birds were encountered. Dozens of Spotted Towhees called and flew about. I found a male Indigo Bunting just below the old broken down dam. At least 5 male Lazuli Buntings were in the neighborhood. The other birder discovered a female Lazuli Bunting close to the Prairie Warbler location. We also heard at least 4 Plumbeous Vireos and managed to put binoculars on one of them.

We examined the numerous Turkey Vultures flying overhead, hoping that the reported Black Vulture of Loveland had made its way back down south. A Cooper's Hawk chased a Red-tailed Hawk at one point. A Sharp-shinned Hawk also flew by. We might have gotten glimpses of a Prairie Falcon that flew through quite rapidly.

I believe that covers most of the birds. Oh, we did see half a dozen Cordilleran Flycatchers hawking insects. Also a couple of unidentified Empidonax Species also were in the mix.

I headed for home for a few hours of sleep (having been up for about 42 hours). A quick stop at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe) found the male Black-chinned Hummingbird perched atop a short tree at the east end of the parking area for the Ranger's Office. No (non Killdeer) shorebirds were at the southeast sand spit. Few gulls were around. American White Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants stood on the poles lining the southwest marina.

In the late afternoon, Rebecca Kosten and I drove the DIA Owl Loop hoping a Short-eared Owl would appear. None did, but the Burrowing Owl count was 11 (four locations).

Western Slope

June 15, 2008

My trek this week was to search for owls in southern Colorado. My first stop was one of my favorite south of Pueblo……..South Creek Trail (Pueblo County).

I arrived about 4 hours before sunset and decided to hike up the St. Charles Trail (which is almost across from the South Creek Trail. Flammulated Owls have been reported in the past. I did not find any but did run into a male American Three-toed Woodpecker about 600 yards west of the trailhead.

As I arrived back at Highway 165, a Dusky Grouse was crossing the road south of the trailhead. I walked up and down Hwy 165 and saw another Dusky Grouse near the Old Castle (north of the trailheads).

After sunset, camp and tent were set up along the South Creek Trail (and about 200 yards east of Hwy 165). I then hiked the 1/4 mile down to the creek and played recordings. Two Northern Saw-whet Owls (at least 2) answered back! Unfortunately, no Flammulated Owls called this night.

After driving north to the first campgrounds (name slips my mind) and not hearing any Flammulated Owls (they have been there in the past) and returned to my tent and retired. I woke at 4:00am to the sound of two Northern Saw-whet Owls calling to each other (adult and young?).

June 16, 2008

The day was spent checking locations where Hepatic Tanagers and Grace's Warblers were found the past several years. While I did see many of the nesting birds (such as Hammond's Flycatchers, Cordilleran Flycatchers, Western Wood-pewees, etc) my target birds escaped me. Perhaps they did not return this year?

Most of the morning was spent around the Gulnare Area (CR 44) in search of Grace's Warblers. The afternoon was spent near Walsenburg and possible Hepatic Tanager nesting sites.

After dark, I returned to the West Spanish Peaks area and tried my luck with owling. Not one owl was found.

June 17, 2008

Today my target bird was Bendire's Thrasher. Again I struck out. However a flock of 31 Pinyon Jays crossed my path near Forest Roads 660 & 659 (Saguache County). Temperatures rose quickly and by noon it was quite hot.

I hiked down and zigzagged the area south of the above intersection for about 2 hours. Bendire's Thrashers have been reported here in the past.

My birding day ended early as I checked into a motel for a cold shower and g was in but never was able to put a spotlight on it.

June 20, 2008

A walk around West Fork Campgrounds added many birds to my trip list. The highlight was a male Hooded Warbler. He popped up several times from the bushes and provided great looks!

As it was to turn out, that was the highlight of my day. Point Counts at Navajo Reservoir (Archuleta) turned up the usual suspects but nothing uncommon (Red-breasted Merganser, Western Grebe, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, and Redhead Duck).

Pastorius Reservoir (La Plata) was quiet. I ended my birding day with unsuccessful owling around the area.

June 21, 2008

I searched again unsuccessfully for owls on the way to Yellow Jacket Canyon (Montezuma). I wanted to be there early to beat the weather and hopefully catch the Lucy's Warblers singing.

This worked out fine. I only had to hike about 30 minutes before hearing a Lucy's Warbler. Ten minutes later, a second bird joined in! If the Summer Tanagers are still around, they didn't show for me. I conducted point counts and added Black-throated Sparrow and Gray Vireo to my trip list.

In the afternoon, I drove southwest on Highway 160 down to the Four Corners Area. Several sections were picked out for point counts. I was hoping to find a Black-chinned Sparrow; but it was not to be.

June 22, 2008

Today I conducted point counts at McPhee Reservoir and later Narraquinnep and Totten Reservoir. The only birds found were the usual suspects.

June 23, 2008

Back in Durango for the night, I listened for Northern Pygmy-Owls around the Ranger's Office before civil twilight. Then I drove to Wildcat Canyon around sunrise. Two Acorn Woodpeckers were added to my year and trip lists.

Then I quickly continued north to Lake Havilland. Here I found an American Three-toed Woodpecker, Williamson's Sapsuckers, and Red-naped Sapsuckers. Two Grace's Warblers were also singing around the lake. No owls, few birds on the water, I headed north.

Colorado has some fantastic landscapes; the Million Dollar Highway maybe one of the best. A quick stop was made at Molas Pass (Hinsdale). I didn't walk around much and saw few birds.

I drove around Silverton to look for lingering Rosy Finches; without success. Trips are never a waste; hummingbirds were visiting several feeders in town. The highlight was a male Calliope Hummingbird! I also counted half a dozen Rufous Hummingbirds and dozens of Broad-tailed Hummingbirds.

I could have sworn that a Black Swift flew by. Unfortunately, I did not get a good look and did not add it to my trip list. It's no problem getting Black Swift for Ouray County, but Hinsdale County is a different matter.

My birding day ended at Box Canyon. Sure enough, three Black Swifts were flying around! A lumbering Dusky Grouse was a first county sighting for me! After dark I listened for owls; without success.

June 24, 2008

I caught up with Bryan and Sue Ehlmann and we enjoyed a great reunion breakfast. After cementing plans for the coming weeks, they headed to Telluride and I headed back to Denver to pick up a couple of additional birders.

As I passed Escalante Canyon, a quick detour found the 2 Black Phoebes along the creek across from Pinnacle Rock (Delta).

I decided to bypass Grand Junction, looked unsuccessfully for Lewis's Woodpeckers in Palisade and ended the daylight part of the day at Cameo.

It was good to stretch my legs with a 2 mile hike up the canyon. A few good birds found included 2 Chukar, 4 Black-throated Sparrows, a male Blue Grosbeak, and a singing Ash-throated Flycatcher. The Golden Eagle nest near the entrance does not appear to be used this year. Unfortunate, it was entertaining watching the adults catch food for the youngins' last year.

After dark, I drove the roads north and south of DeBeque. I finally managed to find 1 Northern Saw-whet Owl south of town.