Pawnee National Grasslands

September 21, 2008

Richard Stevens:

John Carlson and I went searching for Mountain Plover on the Pawnee National Grasslands. It is getting late in the year, but we thought we would give it a shot. Our 6 hour searched turned up without any Mountain Plover sightings. We hiked for hours in the field north of Weld County Road 94 and 63. Then we tried for another couple of hours along CR 96, north of Murphy's Pasture.

In the second field we did run into two Chestnut-collared Longspurs and a dozen McCown's Longspurs! Horned Larks were plentiful. We did not find any Lark Buntings however.

A brief stop at Crow Valley Campgrounds was uneventful. We did find a House Wren, Hermit Thrush, and Brown Thrasher.

No Mountain Plover were found at Highway 14 and CR 51. The search for the Lesser Black-backed Gulls at the Weld County Landfill was also unsuccessful.

We did not have time (daylight) to checkout Lower Latham and Loloff Reservoirs.

Mt Evans and Denver Foothills

September 20, 2008

Richard Stevens:

John Carlson and I headed up into the mountains today. Our first stop was Mt Evans and Summit Lake. When we hiked to the northwest corner of Summit Lake, three+ Brown-capped Rosy Finches were flying around the shore line. They were to the rocks up the hill, landed for half a minute and then continued to the southwest corner of the lake.

We decided to try our luck and hike up the Mt Evans Road (south and uphill). While trying to decide how far we would hike, I noticed a White-tailed Ptarmigan on rocks on the west side of the road. We barely had lost sight of Summit Lake (perhaps only 200 yards up the road).

Our next stop was Genesee Mountain Park to see if any Williamson's Sapsuckers were still around. We barely got out of our vehicle when a male Williamson's Sapsucker flew to the Ponderosa trees surrounding the parking area for the group picnic area. A 30 minute check of the area did not turn up a female and we decided that a trip to Pine Valley Ranch Park (for American Three-toed Woodpeckers) would be better use of our time.

The Three-toed Woodpecker that is quite often on the hill south of Pine Lake was not cooperative. We had to hike up the Buck Gulch Trail and Strawberry Jack Trail all the way to the Parkview Trail before hearing the distinctive drumming of a Three-toed Woodpecker. We eventually observed a female Three-toed about 200 yards south (downhill) from the Strawberry Jack & Parkview Trails.

I played a Northern Pygmy-Owl recording as we descended back to our car by way of the Parkview Trail. At the switchbacks where we could still see the eastern hills/mountains we heard a Northern Pygmy-Owl. It called for a good 10 minutes; however we never could put binoculars on the bird.

Daylight ended before we could hike to the western end of the Narrow Gauge Trail (where I had heard another Northern Pygmy-Owl earlier in the week).

Cherry Creek and Walk Along Sand Creek

September 19, 2008

Richard Stevens:

Gary Weston and I returned to Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe). Again we found the Long-tailed Jaeger and one or two Common Terns flying around the lake. Just east of the path down to the Bird Platform, a Cassin's Vireo accompanied a loose flock of birds which included 9 Black-capped Chickadees, 2 Orange-crowned Warblers, and a few Chipping Sparrows. They were moving toward the inlet canal at the Cottonwood Creek Loop when we left.

A check of Bluff Lake Natural Area (Denver) turned up almost no birds. So we decided to search the many willows along the bike path from Quebec Street to 56th Avenue. The habitat always appeared to be quite good for migrating birds and few birders report searching there.

We enjoyed good success. Two flocks of birds were found far enough apart that we knew they were different birds. The first flock about 800 yards northwest of Quebec Street included 2 Townsend's Warblers and a Plumbeous Vireo. Toward the north end of our trek we found another 2 Townsend's Warblers. In between we noticed 2 Northern Waterthrushes separately walking along the edge of Sand Creek. We also observed 3 House Wrens, 2 Double-crested Cormorants, Chipping Sparrows, 4 Brewer's Sparrows, 6 Song Sparrows, and a Clay-colored Sparrow.

Birding Around Denver

September 18, 2008

Gary Weston: Richard Stevens and I searched unsuccessfully for the Palm Warbler at Belmar Historic Park. We did find a Townsend's Warbler along the cement path at the extreme western border. This is where the large flock of warblers was last week.

We next went to Plaster Reservoir, Broomfield and McKay Lake which I believe is in Adams County. There wasn't much there.

We walked the path at Barr Lake State Park, Adams County from the boat ramp to the banding station. Again birding was slow. A Townsend's Warbler was south of the Pioneer boardwalk. At least one House Wren is still out there.

Richard Stevens:

After dropping Gary off, I drove over to Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe). I had just enough light to circle the lake (on foot). Again I counted many Snowy Egrets (28) but did not find the reported Little Blue Heron. The Long-tailed Jaeger flew several times from one end of the lake to the other.

A juvenile Sabine's Gull swam to the east of the Bird Platform (Cottonwood Creek Loop). At least one Common Tern was also in the southeast corner. It appeared that there were 4 small terns; I was able to only positively identify one before darkness.

Pine Valley Ranch Park and Cherry Creek Reservoir

Richard Stevens:

September 17, 2008

I enjoyed quite a day of birding even though I missed all my target birds. It was a beautiful day with partly sunny skies, little wind, and mild temps.

Upon arriving at Pine Valley Ranch Park around 6:45am, I walked the Narrow Gauge Trail west from the parking area to the junction with the North Fork View Trail. The Narrow Gauge Trail runs along the north side of the creek. Many Wilson's Warblers fluttered about the willows that line the trail. Several bushes on the hillside to the north gave shelter to Green-tailed Towhees. On the hike to the North Fork Trail I counted 27 Wilson's Warblers, 2 MacGillivray's Warblers, and an Orange-crowned Warbler.

Quite a few birds were moving about at the junction with the North Fork View trail including a Clay-colored Sparrow, many Song Sparrows, a few White-crowned Sparrows, 2 Lincoln's Sparrows, 7 Wilson's Warblers, 5 Black-capped Chickadees. I briefly observed one bird (for 4 seconds) that appeared slightly larger than a Wilson's Warbler and was very yellow. There was no contrast between the yellow of the breast and the nape. The blackish wings had no wingbars. It never appeared again in the next hour. Whether it could have been the Prothonotary Warbler I won't know.

A short side trip along the Pine Lake Trail (south side of lake) added an American Three-toed Woodpecker to my day list. For those looking for a Three-toed Woodpecker, early mornings are best at the lower locations. As I have learned and was probably told by Merlynn Brown, the Three-toed Woodpeckers tend to start their day at the lower elevations and work their way up the hills throughout the day.

My hike continued west to the park boundary sign. It was here that the Harris's Sparrow was seen yesterday. Unfortunately no sparrows came around in the 30 minutes I watched the area. A flock of 6-8 Black-capped Chickadees entertained me during the wait. Two Wilson's Warblers and an Orange-crowned Warbler also came by the lower scrubs.

My trek continued west and south to the closed gate at the end of the Open Space. Up on the hill to the west, an American Three-toed Woodpecker worked the many dead trees. While I was watching the woodpecker, a Northern Pygmy-Owl called five times. However, I was never able to put binoculars on the bird. It was somewhere northwest of the barb-less wire fence (green metal posts) about 40 yards north of the closed gate.

On the walk back toward the Park Boundary Sign, an adult Northern Goshawk flew along the tree line south of the North Fork View Trail! It is always a treat to see this elusive Hawk.

Before leaving, I made the circuit of the Narrow Gauge Trail to North Fork View Trail to Pine Lake Trail twice more. Many Wilson's Warblers, a couple additional Orange-crowned Warblers, and 2 additional MacGillivray's Warblers were found along with an adult Green-tailed Towhee and 2 first year birds which still had streaked breasts.

I departed about 1:30pm and after lunch decided to search for the Mew Gull and possible Little Blue Heron at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe). The shore at Cherry Creek Lake was completely searched at least twice. The total Snowy Egret count was 39. I even found 5 that could only be seen by walking the shore from the Mountain Loop to the Lake Loop. A Little Blue Heron was never found.

The gulls were a little more challenging as they moved around much. A large group was in the southeast corner, but by the time I arrived at that corner three people with dogs had scared them off to the Cottonwood Creek Loop (near the bird platform). By the time I drove over there, the gulls had returned to the southeast sand spit (but later flew again before I got back there once more).

While I may have seen a Mew Gull flying, picking it out of a large flock of flying Ring-billed Gulls (and at quite a distance) did not make for a positive ID. I was able to pick out a Franklin's Gull molting from alternate to basic plumage and a juvenile Sabine's Gull swam southeast of the bird platform. Also I noticed on three occasions the sub-adult Long-tailed Jaeger flying back and forth between the dam and the southeast corner.

A Common Tern stood on one of the buoys off the bird platform and was nice enough to fly and expose his wing pattern for a positive ID. There were at least 3 additional small terns farther away and whose ID was left unknown. It eventually became too dark to identify anything.

Eastern Plains

To be filled in later!

Return to Belmar Historic Park

Richard Stevens:

September 12, 2008

One of my favorite activities is walking around in the dark; it makes for great and successful owling! Second is walking around in the rain. Not an accomplishment that is easy to do in a state that boasts 330+ sunny days a year.

A Pine Warbler was reported yesterday at Belmar Historic Park and I decided to give the search a shot even though there was a downpour of rain. I put on my waterproof coat and pants and headed west. It rained so hard that eventually I was soaked.

Some of my best and favorite bird sightings have been during a rainstorm. A dozen or so of my lifebirds were seen during such conditions.

Today was no exception as I found a flock of 25-30 warblers fluttering about in the two tallest cottonwoods at the west end of Belmar Historic Park (Jefferson County). The biggest task was not finding the warblers which move around much even in rain, but to keep my equipment dry enough to see the birds.

Yesterdays Pine Warbler was easy to pick out with its white wingbars. The lack of a yellow rump distinguished it from the several Yellow-rumped Warblers.

The wet fall plumaged Tennessee Warbler was a little more difficult to identify from the 2 or 3 Orange-crowned Warblers also in the trees. Eventually I saw the white undertail coverts (yellow on Orange-crowned Warbler).

To my surprise a third uncommon warbler was moving about. It had the facial pattern of a Blackburnian Warbler. Once I was able to see the white streaks on its back, the identification was confirmed. If there are any streaks on the somewhat similar Townsend's Warbler, they would be black.

Other birds included 4-6 Wilson's Warblers, Chipping Sparrows, Brewer's Sparrows, 7 Black-capped Chickadees, and a Clay-colored Sparrow.

Several of the Wilson's Warblers and the Pine Warbler flew to the few fir trees north of the cottonwoods. From there they flew to the locust trees next to the houses west of the park. However, all returned to the fir trees and the cottonwoods. That is where I left them.

On the walk back to the parking area at the east end of the park, a Northern Waterthrush was found walking the roaring creek (next to the playground with the large rocks).