A Few Days In Jackson County

February 5-7, 2015

Richard Stevens:

Thursday, 2/5
Rebecca Kosten and I stayed in Jackson County for a few days of rest and escape from the traffic of Denver.  The weather for the most part was nice, but mixed.  Every afternoon there was a brief snow shower.  Saturday night it snowed quite a bit.

Each morning we stopped by the Colorado State Forest Visitor's Center and watched Rosy Finches.  Numbers were never greater than 40 birds and no Black Rosy Finches were among the mix of Gray-crowned and Brown-capped.

Thursday Night, we heard a Boreal Owl west of Cameron Pass.

Friday, 2/6
We rose early on Friday morning and drove Jackson County Road 26 to check on the Greater Sage-Grouse leks.  No birds came this morning.  We did find a Greater Scaup cross CR 26, just below the steep hill north of the entrance to the old Coalmont Lek.

After seeing about 30 Rosy Finches (no Black) at the Colorado State Forest Visitor's Center feeders, we walked across the road.  The distinct drumming of a male American Three-toed Woodpecker could be heard.  Finding the bird was another matter.

Later, we visited a friend's ranch. She has had between 100-400 Rosy Finches come to her feeders each day this winter.  At most, she has counted only two Black Rosy Finches (we never found any during our visit).

Two Boreal Owls were heard after dark (both on private property).

Saturday, 2/7

No Greater Sage-Grouse appeared while we sat at the Jackson County Road 26 Lek.  Quite a few footprints were in the snow, no sight of birds.

Again, Rosy Finches at the Colorado State Forest Visitor's Center, then we drove into Steamboat Springs.

A stop at the friend's home, added Sharp-tailed Grouse to our trip list!

We wandered around Routt County without finding any Waxwings (Cedar or Bohemian).

No American Three-toed Woodpeckers were found along the road to the Maintenance Shed on Rabbit Ears Pass (one of my favorite locations to find them).  A flock of 20 Red Crossbills did not include any White-winged Crossbills this trip.  Rabbit Ears Pass appears to be a good place to find them on occasion.

Again, no Greater Sage-Grouse visited the CR 26 leks at dusk.  We again heard just west of Cameron Pass.  Another was heard near Michigan Creek Road and Ruby Jewell Road.

Parker to the DIA Owl Loop

February 4, 2015

Richard Stevens:

While doing chores, I drove to Parker (Douglas County).  A pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes was swimming around Twenty Mile Pond (found yesterday by Terry Ryan).

Returning to Denver by the "back way" through Parker, I stopped at Aurora Reservoir (Arapahoe).  Only a few gulls were far off shore.  They all appeared to be Ring-billed Gulls.

Barr Lake (Adams) was more interesting.  Tens of thousands of gulls flew around the lake.  I picked out at least two Lesser Black-backed Gulls.  A few Herring Gulls, the rest being Ring-billed, there was no sign of a Glaucous Gull today.  At least 14 Bald Eagles stood on the ice/snow covered lake.

Just before sunset, I drove the DIA Owl Loop (Adams).  About 15 minutes after sunset, I found a Short-eared Owl at the eastern end of 88th avenue (off Tower Road).

Raptors included: 6 American Kestrels, 4 Red-tailed Hawks and 9 Northern Harriers (before sunset).

Two Days of Owling In Douglas County

February 2-3, 2015

Richard Stevens:

February 2

Bryan Ehlmann and I started a short trip to the southern Front Range with a stop at the Denver West Office Complex.  The Pine Warbler was south of building four.  We hoped for a better photo than past trips; however, the Warbler stayed high in the evergreens.  We only saw brief looks of the jittery bird.

It took about 10 minutes before the Golden-crowned Sparrow appeared behind the Red Rocks Park Trading Post.

Our next stop was Highway 67 and Rampart Range Road.  It took some searching, finally the male American Three-toed Woodpecker that frequents the woods just east of the intersection was observed.

From sunset (5:22 pm) to 2:00 am, we searched for owls.  We also put out our "owl listening stations" (see "Colorado Field Notes" for description of them).

Eventually, we found three Northern Pygmy-Owls and two Northern Saw-whet Owls.  (Later, running the software on our "owl listening stations" recordings added two additional Northern Pygmy-Owls and another Northern Saw-whet Owl!

February 3

Our second goal was to try out some camping equipment owned by a friend of mine who owns a sporting goods store.  We thought our trip was planned to utilize a window of nice weather this week.  However, at around 2:00 am, it started to snow.  Moreover, it snowed and snowed!

We set up camp along Guanella Pass Road north of Grant.  A Northern Saw-whet Owl called briefly in response to a recording played just before we retired for a few hours of sleep.

We woke up to half a foot or more of new snow.  This changed our plans to drive up to Guanella Pass (for White-tailed Ptarmigan search); we returned to Denver.

After dropping Bryan off, I drove through Cherry Creek State Park (Arapahoe) and found the same situation as Jerry Petrosky also found.  Not one Gull was observed on the ice/snow covered lake.

No owls could be found when I drove the DIA Owl Loop (Adams).

Snowy Afternoon in Arapahoe County

February 1, 2015

Richard Stevens:

After the snowstorm, I had to get out of the house for a few hours.  Aurora received about 4.5 inches of snow last night; warm temperatures the last few days melted most of the snow on the roads.

I met Bill Cryder and we walked down to the south side of Aurora Reservoir (Arapahoe County).  A group of 300 gulls hunkered down on the ice/snow covered lake (near mile 3.0).  We picked out the Glaucous Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Thayer's Gull.

An adult Bald Eagle flew over the flock several times, scattering the Gull.  They tended to return to the same spot.

No Short-eared Owls were found when I drove the DIA Owl Loop (Adams) on the way home.

Arapahoe & Douglas County Trip

January 31, 2015

Richard Stevens:

Bryan Ehlmann and I drove over to Aurora Reservoir (Arapahoe County) this morning.  Temperatures were colder than yesterday (low 50s); winds were mild.

Most of the gulls were on the ice covered lake at mile 3.0.  We picked out the Glaucous Gull and at least one Lesser Black-backed Gull.

We continued south to Castlewood Canyon State Park (Douglas).  No bluebirds were found along Castlewood Canyon Road south of the State Park.

We relocated a Northern Saw-whet Owl back in the State Park.

Only Ring-billed Gulls were later found at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe).

Driving Around Adams County

January 30, 2015

Richard Stevens:

After returning from our Eastern Colorado trip, I dropped Bryan off and decided to drive around Adams County.

At 4:30 pm, the Glaucous Gull and a Lesser Black-backed Gull were on the ice quite close to the boat ramp at Barr Lake.  A second Lesser Black-backed Gull was 40-50 yards farther away.

I drove around the DIA Owl Loop and stopped at the prairie dog town along Quency Street (3.4 miles east of Tower Road & 96th avenue).  The Western Meadowlarks sang while I scoped the fields east and then west of Quency.  A Short-eared Owl stood on a fence post to the northwest of Quency.  The post was behind the newer gas construction at the north end of the prairie dog town.

Once at the bend of Quency and 96th avenue, I again stopped to scope the fields.  Besides the highlight of listening to Western Meadowlarks singing, two Short-eared Owls were seen off to the southeast.  They were apparently performing a mating flight!  The location was along the DIA fence line, between the three thin towers with flashing lights and the shorter tower to the east.

Also observed earlier during my drive, seven Northern Harriers, two Red-tailed Hawks, one Rough-legged Hawk and one Ferruginous Hawk.  Most were quite far from the roads and not offering photo opportunities.

It was a superb ending to my birding day!

Trip to Eastern Colorado

January 29-30, 2015

Richard Stevens:

January 27

On our way to Northeastern Colorado, Bryan Ehlmann and I stopped at Banner Lake Wildlife Area (Weld County).  We walked around the Wildlife Area for several hours, eventually finding four Long-eared Owls.  Not much else was flying around today.

Our next stop, Jackson Reservoir (Morgan) six Long-eared Owls and an Eastern Screech-Owl were added to our trip list.

Fort Morgan Ponds (Morgan) has hosted American Woodcocks several times in the past.  Regrettably, none was found today.  A White-throated Sparrow flew around with a flock of 10-12 White-crowned Sparrows.

Brush Wildlife Area (Morgan) did not provide a Winter Wren sighting today.  We did see three Red-bellied Woodpeckers and the resident Eastern Screech-Owl.

Our birding day ended at Prewitt Reservoir (Logan/Washington).  Eastern Screech-Owls responded to our recordings (below the dam and at the inlet canal area).

January 28

Another great winter day in Colorado.  Bryan and I walked Ovid Woods (Sedgwick County) and relocated a Red-bellied Woodpecker (northern end) and Northern Cardinal (southern end).  A Purple Finch continues to visit feeders in Ovid!

Later we walked over to the Ovid Sewage Ponds and relocated two White-throated Sparrows found a few weeks earlier.  The previously reported Harris's Sparrows could not be found.

At private ranches in Sedgwick County, we added three Long-eared Owls, five Long-eared Owls, a Harris's Sparrow (visiting a feeder) and five Eastern Screech-Owls.

No Short-eared Owls appeared at Sedgwick Draw this evening.

January 29

It was another superb winter day in Colorado.  Bryan and I walked around Tamarack Ranch Wildlife Area (Logan) in the morning.

We found five Red-bellied Woodpeckers, a Northern Cardinal (western section), and Eastern Screech-Owl (eastern section).  Misses included any uncommon sparrows, the Eastern Towhee found last month, and Eastern Bluebirds also found last month.

Jumbo Reservoir (Logan/Sedgwick) provided the highlight of the day.  A Winter Wren was heard and observed below Logan County Road 95.  Two Long-eared Owls were in the windbreak between Jumbo Reservoir & Red Lion Wildlife Area.

At sunset we watched a Short-eared Owl fly over the field below CR 2, south end of Julesburg Wildlife Area.  Later, an Eastern Screech-Owl responded to our recordings played at the north end.

January 30
Bryan and I heard an Eastern Screech-Owl before sunrise at Hale Ponds.  Later we found two Red-bellied Woodpeckers and five Eastern Bluebirds between Hale Ponds and the Kansas border.

Bryan and I found two Eastern Screech-Owls along the Republican River (trickle) east of Highway 385.  Two Long-eared Owls were hidden well at the Foster's Grove windbreak (guess not quite well enough)!  A male Northern Cardinal stood out in the drab brown and yellow winter landscape.  Ten Wild Turkeys walked the clear west of the old Campgrounds.