Return to Cherry Creek Reservoir

December 11, 2008

Richard Stevens:

I returned to Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe County) around 3:00pm. Unfortunately most of the birds were in the center of the lake today; also light was poor. Many of yesterday's birds were still around. Identification of many of the gulls was left open. I did have a few highlights but could not relocate the Glaucous Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull or Long-tailed Duck.

The male Barrow's Goldeneye was just off shore from the first picnic area east of the parking area for the dam tower.

An adult Thayer's Gull was with many gulls off the handicapped fisherperson's dock.

Off the Bird Observation Platform at the Cottonwood Creek Loop were 5+ Bonaparte's Gulls among many Ring-billed, some California, and some Herring Gulls.

From the end of the Lake Loop I could see two Common Loons.

Great afternoon at Cherry Creek Reservoir

December 10, 2008

Richard Stevens:

I enjoyed a long day of birding as the weather improved with calm winds and temperatures near 50. That is nice thing about Colorado's weather, snow one day, warm and sunny the next!

My first stop today was a return to Overland Pond Park (Denver County) to give the Pine Warbler another shot; again without success. Thousands of White-cheeked Geese were across the street on Overland Golf Course. A Greater White-fronted Goose was among them.

A coyote and I watched the geese for 30 minutes and then I headed to nearby Marston Reservoir (Denver). I scoped the lake from the east side (not the best vantage point as the sun was toward the southwest). Three Common Loons were still out there; but I was not able to find the Tundra Swans or Greater Scaup that I found Saturday.

I drove through Fort Logan National Cemetery to find Memorial and Veteran's Lakes slush and ice covered. Very few ducks and geese were on them. A pair of Buffleheads was on Memorial Lake.

My next stop was the Highline Canal at Dahlia. Last year hundreds of Bohemian Waxwings roamed the canal lined with Buckthorn Berry bushes. I have been putting off this trip waiting for more wintry weather, assuming the birds would then come to eat at this huge food source.

As it turned out, I was two weeks late. Local birders said that birds had eaten the berries earlier. About 90 percent of the berries were now gone. However, they had not seen any waxwings in the mix of House Finches and Robins.

The homes just south of the Highline Canal and East Quincy Avenue have feeders which attract many birds. In past years White-throated Sparrows and Harris's Sparrows have been found below their feeders. None were around today.

The highlight of the trip was watching two White-breasted Nuthatches take Pinon Nuts from the feeders and "hide" their bounty in the bark and holes in the surrounding cottonwoods. They worked arduously at their task.

Meanwhile 4-5 Black-capped Chickadees watched from neighboring limbs and would fly over and retrieve the nuts when the nuthatches went back for more! Even a Northern Flicker got into the act and fetched some easy food.

A pair of Spotted Towhees, a Townsend's Solitaire, and a male Red-breasted Nuthatch were also observed along the hike from E. Quincy Avenue to the parking area at the end of Dahlia Street. I even found a flock of 5 Cedar Waxwings not far from Dahlia.

My final stop of the day was Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe). Unfortunately I arrived only an hour before sunset; not near enough time to scope the whole reservoir.

Birding was great as many gulls and waterfowl had arrived since the snowstorm. I never made it to the east end to scope the hundreds of gulls there and to see if last weekends Dunlins were still around; perhaps tomorrow?

When the sandbar at the southwest corner was scoped, I found a Glaucous Gull among dozens of Herring, California, and Ring-billed Gulls. I had planned to return later and walk down the road below the dam and take photos; unfortunately I never made it back before dark. Jerry Petrosky had shown up and I pointed out the Glaucous Gull to him before we headed over to the Bird Observation Platform at the Cottonwood Creek Loop.

From the Bird Platform we found 9+ Bonaparte's Gulls and an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull among dozens of Herring, California, and Ring-billed Gulls standing on the ice just off shore. We checked the snowy mud flats for the Dunlin; they were not there.

It appeared that the Long-tailed Duck was across the lake below the handicapped fisherperson's dock. Later I drove pass there and found it diving there!

Jerry had to leave and I headed over to the dam as thousands of gulls and ducks were just off shore. There must have been a large school of fish for hundreds of Common Mergansers, other ducks and gulls circled below the parking area.

At least 2 Red-breasted Mergansers were among them. A strange duck whose silhouette looked somewhat like a female merganser but half the size was also found. There were so many mergansers that getting clear looks at it or any bird was difficult.

The light was bad as I was on the north side looking into the southwest setting sun. Also I only got 2 looks for about 4 or 5 seconds. The bird easily could have been a Red-necked Grebe. It was not an Eared or Horned Grebe. Guess I will never know.

While watching the hundreds of swimming and flying gulls, I noticed a small Gull. At first I thought it could be a tern as it was quite small. It did not look like a Bonaparte's Gulls, but rather a Little Gull. I watched it until the light was so poor that identification was impossible. Hopefully someone will find this bird tomorrow.

Snowy Day at Washington Park

December 9, 2008

Richard Stevens:

Denver area received 4-6 inches of snow overnight. Because temperatures have been rather warm, the snow was melting rapidly. This did not stop the many accidents that usually occur after such a storm. I did not want to drive around in the mess and decided to take a City RTD bus from the Pena Park n Ride near the airport over to the Washington Park area.

A homeowner in the area had reported Bohemian Waxwings along the West side of the park so I decided to give it a shot. As any birder who chases waxwings knows, they are quite difficult to relocate even the day after the report. This report was 3 days old and I did not hold much hope of success. I have several friends who live in the area and if nothing else planned to visit them.

There were plenty of American Crows and a few Northern Flickers in the park. A Ruby-crowned Kinglet fluttered about the evergreen trees at the north end, no waxwings however.

A two hour walk around Washington Park and the streets west did not find any waxwings, typical. I did find many Hackberry bushes along South Marion Street (site of previous report). Took some great photos of snow covered Washington Park, visited my friends and hopped on a bus back to my car about 12 miles east as the Waxwing flies.

Denver and Adams County Birding

December 8, 2008

Richard Stevens:

Jerry Petrosky wanted to see an Eastern Screech-Owl so at 7:00am I took him to the Highline Canal. Fortune was good; we found an Eastern Screech-Owl in about a 15 minute walk!

Afterwards we walked the perimeter of Wellshire Golf Course. In past years Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers have been reported here; unfortunately we did not find any today.

Next we decided to go north to Denver West Office Complex. Pine Warblers have been reported here in the past; none were found today. Ironically, Mike Henwood found a Pine Warbler at Overland Pond Park today. I would never have thought to search there; however we were only 4 miles away as the Pine Warbler flies.

We continued north from the Denver West Office Complex and stopped at the South Platte River at Colorado Blvd. We had intended on walking the Platte from 88th avenue to I270 and back. However, winds were 18+ mph and it was cold.

Instead we scoped Tani Reservoir, East Gravel Lake, and Dahlia Pond from Dahlia Street. That advantage did not give us complete coverage, but probably 90 percent. We did not find the previously reported White-winged Scoter. We did find a male Barrow's Goldeneye at the south end of East Gravel Lake. The previously reported Long-tailed Duck was at the south end of Dahlia Pond.

It started to lightly snow and we headed for home.

Warm Winter Day in Southwestern Denver

December 7, 2008

Richard Stevens:

Did anyone hear/mention what day this is? The day that will live in infamy. I did not hear or see anything about it. But it should not be forgotten; the great sacrifice that so many people made for our freedom. Thanks to all of them!

I started a long day of birding at 4:30am by walking a mile of the Highline Canal. A local landowner had turned me on to Eastern Screech-Owls in her neighborhood. It only took 10 minutes to find one! Unless it moved, a second Eastern Screech-Owl answered my recordings and the first owl.

I stopped by Fort Logan National Cemetery to see if the Greater Scaup were still there. The only Scaup found on Memorial Lake were a male and 2 female Lesser Scaup. There were thousands of White-cheeked Geese on the property. Quite a few of them were Cackling Geese. It amazes me how small many of them were. Some looked smaller than Mallards.

At Veteran's Lake (the western lake) a small Ross's Goose was with hundreds of Cackling Geese. The Cackling Geese were almost as small as the Ross's Goose. They eventually flew across Sheridan Blvd to the Pines Golf Course. Hopefully they returned to the cemetery after eating.

My next stop was Marston Reservoir (Denver County). I scoped the lake well from the east side. A raft of ducks included 9 Redheads, 5 Lesser Scaup, and 2 Greater Scaup. Common Mergansers, a couple of Red-breasted Mergansers, Western Grebes, and 2 Clark's Grebes were also found.

From the western side of Marston I found 2 Tundra Swans close to the shore. Definitely Tundra Swans, they eventually swam back to the middle of the lake where Tina Jones saw them later.

My next stop of the day was a long one. I went brain dead in the beautiful weather (calm winds and temperatures that reached into the middle 60s) and decided to circle Chatfield Reservoir (Jefferson/Douglas).

For those familiar with the reservoir, it is a pretty long walk. I was up for that, but had not considered that the only bridge across Plum Creek is quite far south of the lake. My GPS unit said that I hiked 10.5 miles (it seemed much farther hiking up and down the hills).

It was a beautiful day though. One downside was the lack of birds. I counted 48 birds on the water and the surrounding woods only added another 21 birds. Sixty-nine birds were the total! The highlight was a Common Loon below the Heron Viewing Area.

I guessed the recent snowstorm had moved out most of the birds. I suppose if I had stayed until dark, White-cheeked Geese and gulls would have returned from their daily foraging. I only saw 9 gulls (all Ring-billed) the entire hike.

My day ended with a "cool down hike" at South Platte Park (Arapahoe). I walked the 0.5 miles south from the Carson Visitor's Center to the Duck blind to see if I could relocate the Harris's Sparrow. When I arrive at the blind there were no sparrows to be found. Not even the couple of Song Sparrows observed previously in the surrounding cattails. A male Belted Kingfisher rattled at me constantly during my search.

Great day for December! The warm weather won't stay forever.

Great Day at Cherry Creek Reservoir

December 6, 2008

Richard Stevens:

I drove over to Cherry Creek Reservoir at about 6:00am. As I was driving to the west of Cherry Creek, I saw a bird with the unmistakable fluttering of a Short-eared Owl in the field east of Cherry Creek and north of the main road.

This was 6:28am and it was quite dark. However the silhouette was that of a Short-eared Owl. The Owl eventually landed in the trees overlooking the marsh along the Shop Creek trail. I took 5 silhouette photos of the bird and waited for better light.

Unfortunately, two joggers came along before significant light and the Short-eared Owl flew west into the trees. I parked on the west side of Cherry Creek where the owl was first found yesterday by Glenn Walbek; it never appeared.

My next stop was the bird observation platform at the Cottonwood Creek Loop. I wanted to check and make sure that the Dunlin reported yesterday by Glenn Walbek had not moved to the mudflats here. The only birds around were White-cheeked Geese. From this point, I noticed hundreds of gulls on the ice below the handicapped fisherperson's dock on the north side of the lake.

When I arrived at the dock, I scoped the gulls from 20 feet or so. Among the hundreds of birds were an adult Mew Gull and an adult Thayer's Gull. Eventually the gulls flew to the middle of the lake to search for food.

I was ready to walk the east side of the reservoir and look for the Dunlin. Once I reached the inlet canal and found no Dunlin and few birds except for additional hundreds of gulls. The canal is too deep and the only choice was to bushwhack around the inlet to a bridge that crosses it at the Shop Creek trail. Careful on the rickety bridge when crossing it!

After hiking to the south side of the reservoir, I could see the two small Dunlin among 3 or 4 Killdeer. I hiked through the neck high cattails and got within 20 feet of the Dunlin, took 400+ photos and made 6 one minute movies of the shorebirds. Surely a few of them will come out.

While photographing the Dunlin, I noticed a Swamp Sparrow walking along the cattails only about 15 feet to the west of me!

The shorebirds stayed close to another 300 gulls. Among the gulls was the adult Mew Gull which I also digiscoped again.

Returning to my car, I found a better way to get there than bushwhacking through the woods. Park at the Shop Creek parking area. Walk north about 100 yards or so to the first trail leading west (signed Wetlands Preserve. Hike west, past the first large clearing on the right (north). Once past the first line of trees, pickup a trail heading toward the lake. This will go through the woods and reach another small clearing. From here, head west through the cattails for about 300 yards to another small stream going into the lake. The area appears to be a favorite place for gulls and other birds as few people make the effort to reach it. I would say it is about halfway between the inlet creek at the bird observation platform and the southeast corner of the Reservoir.

After returning to my car, I headed to Franktown to check on an uncommon bird report.

Thanks to a cooperative landowner I was able to see a male Northern Cardinal! They also have seen a female Northern Cardinal, but it did not show up during my stay. Perhaps the pair is or will nest in Douglas County!

Late in the afternoon, I had occasion to pass by Quincy Reservoir. The reservoir is closed until March, but can be scoped from outside the fence (park at school on north side of Quincy).

Several thousand White-cheeked Geese stood along the shore at the east end of the reservoir. While there were no Brants, one Greater White-fronted Goose was among the horde. About 30 minutes before sunset most of the geese flew up for a final feeding for the day. It appeared that most of them went either to the fields north of the school or over to the Northern Experimental Plains Park to the northeast.

All said it was a beautiful day to bird! Thanks much to Glenn Walbek for the wonderful birds to pursue.

Colorado State Forest, Jackson County

December 1 through 5

Gary Weston: I was joined by several birders off and on through the week. We cross-country skied and snow shoed through the Colorado State Forest.

Our main goal was to flag a couple of Boreal Owls for two birders, one going for an ABA big year, the other going for a Colorado big year.

On Monday (12/1) we found 7 Barrow's Goldeneyes on the Blue River Water Treatment Plant in Summit County. Green Mountain Reservoir, Wolford, and Windy Gap didn't have any birds of note.

The highlight was a Gyrfalcon along Highway 125. It was about halfway between the entrance to the main office for Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge and the road heading west to the self driving auto tour of the Refuge.

Tuesday morning we found 2 Greater Sage-Grouse walking Jackson County Road 26, about 0.6 miles north of CO Hwy 14.

With much effort we found 3 Boreal Owls during the week. These were not near a road. Early Thursday morning we saw a Boreal Owl near the top of Cameron Pass!

Later Thursday (12/4) a flock of 60 Rosy Finches (4 Brown-capped, 2 Black Rosy) was seen at the Colorado State Forest Visitor's Center.

Friday we searched unsuccessfully for the Iceland Gull reported at Horsetooth Reservoir. We also stopped at Union Reservoir but saw nothing unusual. The Jim Hamm Park Swamp Sparrow was not relocated in a 15 minute search.