December 29 and 30, 2008
As soon as I finish writing the report for "Colorado Field Notes" I will post it here also.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Some Douglas County Birding
December 27, 2008
Bryan Ehlmann;
Gary Weston, Richard Stevens and I did some owling along Deer Creek Canyon Road, Foxton Road, Decker Road, South Platte River Road and Platte Canyon Road this morning. We did get responses to our playback tapes at two locations. Both Northern Pygmy-Owls were heard along Decker Road. One just after the paved road turns to gravel. The other was just west of the town of South Platte.
We did not find any Lewis's Woodpeckers, Red-headed Woodpeckers, or American Three-toed Woodpeckers around the entrance to Cheesman Reservoir. I believe they were last reported in early summer, but maybe no one has searched since then?
Returning toward Denver, we found many Pine Siskins at several feeders. Our count was over 210. American Goldfinches numbered about 40-45. Black-billed Magpies and a few Western Scrub-Jays were also seen.
Afterwards we relocated the Dunlin on the South Platte River about 100 yards south of the C470 bridge. Access it from the dog walking area of Chatfield State Park, Douglas County.
We ran into several other birders. Ray Simmons and Dave King didn't relocate the Northern Pygmy-Owls at Reynolds Park, Jeffco. They did find an adult male American Three-toed Woodpecker along the Strawberry Jack trail about 300 yards east of the Buck Gulch trail in Pine Valley Ranch Park, Jeffco. A husband and wife who I am sorry I misplaced your name, found Barrow's Goldeneyes on the Blue River Water Treatment Plant north of Silverthorne, Summit County.
Bryan Ehlmann;
Gary Weston, Richard Stevens and I did some owling along Deer Creek Canyon Road, Foxton Road, Decker Road, South Platte River Road and Platte Canyon Road this morning. We did get responses to our playback tapes at two locations. Both Northern Pygmy-Owls were heard along Decker Road. One just after the paved road turns to gravel. The other was just west of the town of South Platte.
We did not find any Lewis's Woodpeckers, Red-headed Woodpeckers, or American Three-toed Woodpeckers around the entrance to Cheesman Reservoir. I believe they were last reported in early summer, but maybe no one has searched since then?
Returning toward Denver, we found many Pine Siskins at several feeders. Our count was over 210. American Goldfinches numbered about 40-45. Black-billed Magpies and a few Western Scrub-Jays were also seen.
Afterwards we relocated the Dunlin on the South Platte River about 100 yards south of the C470 bridge. Access it from the dog walking area of Chatfield State Park, Douglas County.
We ran into several other birders. Ray Simmons and Dave King didn't relocate the Northern Pygmy-Owls at Reynolds Park, Jeffco. They did find an adult male American Three-toed Woodpecker along the Strawberry Jack trail about 300 yards east of the Buck Gulch trail in Pine Valley Ranch Park, Jeffco. A husband and wife who I am sorry I misplaced your name, found Barrow's Goldeneyes on the Blue River Water Treatment Plant north of Silverthorne, Summit County.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Search for Gulls
December 26, 2008
Richard Stevens:
I met Bill Cryder at Aurora Reservoir (Arapahoe County) early in the morning. We sat and scoped the reservoir for several hours (from a point south of the west side and south end of the dam).
No uncommon gulls could be picked out when we arrived. However, about 45 minutes later 2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew in from the north (direction of DADS, Denver Arapahoe Disposal Site). About 30 minutes later a 1st cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull flew in with a group of 80-90 Ring-billed Gulls.
During our stay we also saw 7 Herring Gulls and 1 California Gull. The adult Mew Gull observed on 12/24 was never picked out. We hiked down to the swim beach and halfway across the northern end of the dam.
We did not hike around to the southeast corner because there did not appear to be any gulls down there. The Barrow's Goldeneye and Greater Scaup 12/24 were probably missed because of the lack of that hike.
In the afternoon I drove up to the South Platte River and 88th avenue area hoping to get photos of the gulls observed yesterday. There were many Ring-billed Gulls and several Herring Gulls on the ice near the open water. No Glaucous Gulls were found.
I scoped East Gravel Lake from the dirt mound outside of the fence on the north side. Only Ring-billed Gulls and a male Barrow's Goldeneye, Common Mergansers, American Coots, Northern Shovelers, Mallards, and Gadwalls were found.
I scoped the northern West Gravel Lake from the northwest corner. Again only Ring-billed Gulls and one Herring Gull were here.
My birding day ended at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe) hoping that the Glaucous Gulls had moved down there. The reservoir is completely iced over and no birds were on the ice. I thought the warm 41 degree winds would have opened up a little water; they did not.
I hung around to see if the Short-eared Owl would put in an appearance; it did not. No uncommon birds were at the south end of the 12 mile Beaver Pond. Great sunset however!
Richard Stevens:
I met Bill Cryder at Aurora Reservoir (Arapahoe County) early in the morning. We sat and scoped the reservoir for several hours (from a point south of the west side and south end of the dam).
No uncommon gulls could be picked out when we arrived. However, about 45 minutes later 2 adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls flew in from the north (direction of DADS, Denver Arapahoe Disposal Site). About 30 minutes later a 1st cycle Lesser Black-backed Gull flew in with a group of 80-90 Ring-billed Gulls.
During our stay we also saw 7 Herring Gulls and 1 California Gull. The adult Mew Gull observed on 12/24 was never picked out. We hiked down to the swim beach and halfway across the northern end of the dam.
We did not hike around to the southeast corner because there did not appear to be any gulls down there. The Barrow's Goldeneye and Greater Scaup 12/24 were probably missed because of the lack of that hike.
In the afternoon I drove up to the South Platte River and 88th avenue area hoping to get photos of the gulls observed yesterday. There were many Ring-billed Gulls and several Herring Gulls on the ice near the open water. No Glaucous Gulls were found.
I scoped East Gravel Lake from the dirt mound outside of the fence on the north side. Only Ring-billed Gulls and a male Barrow's Goldeneye, Common Mergansers, American Coots, Northern Shovelers, Mallards, and Gadwalls were found.
I scoped the northern West Gravel Lake from the northwest corner. Again only Ring-billed Gulls and one Herring Gull were here.
My birding day ended at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe) hoping that the Glaucous Gulls had moved down there. The reservoir is completely iced over and no birds were on the ice. I thought the warm 41 degree winds would have opened up a little water; they did not.
I hung around to see if the Short-eared Owl would put in an appearance; it did not. No uncommon birds were at the south end of the 12 mile Beaver Pond. Great sunset however!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Adams County Birding on Christmas Day
December 25, 2008
Richard Stevens:
Rebecca Kosten and I looked for a walk to take advantage of the 50 degree temperatures today. We started at Lowell Ponds Wildlife Area (Adams County). The American Dipper found by Bob Canter on 12/20 was about 30 yards downstream from the Lowell Blvd Bridge. Thanks much to Bob for finding and reporting the Dipper! I have only observed one other American Dipper in Adams County.
After watching the Dipper for 30 minutes we drove to nearby South Platte River at 88th avenue. We walked the east side of the Platte River from 88th avenue to the green and white tower about a mile South. The pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes was on the river just below the tower. However, the highlight was a 1st year Glaucous Gull standing with 42 Ring-billed Gulls by the river about 40 yards south of the tower! When a dog walked came by, the gulls flew east to Tani Reservoir.
Most of the lakes in the area were ice and snow covered. About 5 percent of East Gravel Lake was open water. No Long-tailed Ducks or scoters today, another male Barrow's Goldeneye was with 14 Common Goldeneyes. A few Common Mergansers and dozens of Northern Shovelers were also counted. The 51 gulls appeared to be all Ring-billed Gull except for 2 Herring Gulls.
On the way to Barr Lake, we noticed 3000+ White-cheeked Geese along I76 (south side, west of mile marker 16). We only stopped briefly and did not pick out any uncommon geese.
Our final hike was at 3:00pm at Barr Lake (Adams). When we stepped out of the car, the noise made by thousands of geese filled the air. However, we could not see any geese and decided to walk toward the west down to the bird blind about 0.8 miles west of the parking area.
At least 6,200 Canada Geese stood on the ice in the cove west of the blind. It only took seconds after setting up the spotting scope to find a Greater White-fronted Goose among the Canada Geese. No White-cheeked Geese that could be called a Cackling Goose were found.
After further scoping a lone white goose (Ross's Goose) was also found. The noise was tremendous. Interesting though, when 3 adult Bald Eagles flew by (a good 200-300 yards off shore) the geese stopped calling. We could almost hear a pin drop for about 30 seconds.
Our birding day ended with a drive around the DIA Owl Loop in search of Short-eared Owls. No owls tonight, we did count 5 Northern Harriers, 2 Red-tailed Hawks, and a Ferruginous Hawk along the way.
Richard Stevens:
Rebecca Kosten and I looked for a walk to take advantage of the 50 degree temperatures today. We started at Lowell Ponds Wildlife Area (Adams County). The American Dipper found by Bob Canter on 12/20 was about 30 yards downstream from the Lowell Blvd Bridge. Thanks much to Bob for finding and reporting the Dipper! I have only observed one other American Dipper in Adams County.
After watching the Dipper for 30 minutes we drove to nearby South Platte River at 88th avenue. We walked the east side of the Platte River from 88th avenue to the green and white tower about a mile South. The pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes was on the river just below the tower. However, the highlight was a 1st year Glaucous Gull standing with 42 Ring-billed Gulls by the river about 40 yards south of the tower! When a dog walked came by, the gulls flew east to Tani Reservoir.
Most of the lakes in the area were ice and snow covered. About 5 percent of East Gravel Lake was open water. No Long-tailed Ducks or scoters today, another male Barrow's Goldeneye was with 14 Common Goldeneyes. A few Common Mergansers and dozens of Northern Shovelers were also counted. The 51 gulls appeared to be all Ring-billed Gull except for 2 Herring Gulls.
On the way to Barr Lake, we noticed 3000+ White-cheeked Geese along I76 (south side, west of mile marker 16). We only stopped briefly and did not pick out any uncommon geese.
Our final hike was at 3:00pm at Barr Lake (Adams). When we stepped out of the car, the noise made by thousands of geese filled the air. However, we could not see any geese and decided to walk toward the west down to the bird blind about 0.8 miles west of the parking area.
At least 6,200 Canada Geese stood on the ice in the cove west of the blind. It only took seconds after setting up the spotting scope to find a Greater White-fronted Goose among the Canada Geese. No White-cheeked Geese that could be called a Cackling Goose were found.
After further scoping a lone white goose (Ross's Goose) was also found. The noise was tremendous. Interesting though, when 3 adult Bald Eagles flew by (a good 200-300 yards off shore) the geese stopped calling. We could almost hear a pin drop for about 30 seconds.
Our birding day ended with a drive around the DIA Owl Loop in search of Short-eared Owls. No owls tonight, we did count 5 Northern Harriers, 2 Red-tailed Hawks, and a Ferruginous Hawk along the way.
Great Day at Aurora Reservoir
December 24, 2008
Richard Stevens:
My birding day started at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe County). About 45 minutes before sunrise I searched for the Short-eared Owl reported on 12/5 by Glenn Walbek. I was able to relocate the owl on 12/6. On 12/12, I was real fortunate to find it along the 12 mile Beaver Pond trail. It was not found on Wednesday.
I met Gary Weston and Bill Cryder just after sunrise at Aurora Reservoir. In the next 6 hours we circled the 8.0 bike trail. We went for lunch and returned to end our day there.
We started our hike near the northwest corner of the reservoir. About 400 gulls were along the shore at the southwest end of the dam. An adult Mew Gull allowed us great looks. This was approximately mile marker 7.0.
Bill had said that 90 percent of the lake was frozen on Saturday. Strong southern winds today had opened up about 60 percent of the reservoir.
At around mile marker 4.5, we found a female Greater Scaup and male Barrow's Goldeneye swimming among 38 Common Goldeneyes and 2 Common Mergansers. (The swim beach is mm 7.7 and 0.0 as numbers increase counterclockwise).
We counted many White-cheeked Geese and a few more Common Goldeneyes and found few uncommon birds until we returned to the northwest corner of the dam (mm 6.8).
At a little after Noon, many gulls flew in from DADS (Denver Arapahoe Disposal Site) to the northwest. First one adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was observed landing on a small island of ice south of the dam's tower. Then a second adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, and finally a third adult Lesser Black-backed Gull also came in. Eventually we also observed a 1st year Lesser Black-backed Gull come in from DADS.
Other gulls counted included 17 Herring Gulls, hundreds of Ring-billed Gulls, and 2 California Gulls. The only additional waterfowl were Mallards, Gadwalls, and at least one Cackling Goose.
Richard Stevens:
My birding day started at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe County). About 45 minutes before sunrise I searched for the Short-eared Owl reported on 12/5 by Glenn Walbek. I was able to relocate the owl on 12/6. On 12/12, I was real fortunate to find it along the 12 mile Beaver Pond trail. It was not found on Wednesday.
I met Gary Weston and Bill Cryder just after sunrise at Aurora Reservoir. In the next 6 hours we circled the 8.0 bike trail. We went for lunch and returned to end our day there.
We started our hike near the northwest corner of the reservoir. About 400 gulls were along the shore at the southwest end of the dam. An adult Mew Gull allowed us great looks. This was approximately mile marker 7.0.
Bill had said that 90 percent of the lake was frozen on Saturday. Strong southern winds today had opened up about 60 percent of the reservoir.
At around mile marker 4.5, we found a female Greater Scaup and male Barrow's Goldeneye swimming among 38 Common Goldeneyes and 2 Common Mergansers. (The swim beach is mm 7.7 and 0.0 as numbers increase counterclockwise).
We counted many White-cheeked Geese and a few more Common Goldeneyes and found few uncommon birds until we returned to the northwest corner of the dam (mm 6.8).
At a little after Noon, many gulls flew in from DADS (Denver Arapahoe Disposal Site) to the northwest. First one adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was observed landing on a small island of ice south of the dam's tower. Then a second adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, and finally a third adult Lesser Black-backed Gull also came in. Eventually we also observed a 1st year Lesser Black-backed Gull come in from DADS.
Other gulls counted included 17 Herring Gulls, hundreds of Ring-billed Gulls, and 2 California Gulls. The only additional waterfowl were Mallards, Gadwalls, and at least one Cackling Goose.
Owling Trip
December 21 & 22, 2008
Bryan Ehlmann:
Rich Stevens and I tested some camping equipment for a friend and combined that with a few nights of owling.
Saturday night we camped out in Pike National Forest at a "cool" 8 degrees. Winds were surprisingly calm. For several hours we walked Forest Road 560, playing Northern Pygmy-Owl tapes, but not getting any response.
Early Sunday morning, we did get a response at nearby Reynolds Park also in Jefferson County. Shortly after one owl responded a second owl also joined in for about 10 minutes along the Oxen Draw Trail.
Returned to Pine Valley Ranch Park after sunrise, but didn't have additional success. A search for American Three-toed Woodpeckers was also not successful.
In the afternoon we received a text message about the Dunlin at Chatfield State Park and shuffled off to southwest Denver. A short 5 minute walk from the dog walking area below the Chatfield Reservoir dam and we saw the Dunlin and a Killdeer. Both were on the mudflats about 200 yards south of the C470 Bridge.
Afterwards we searched for owls in Deer Creek Canyon. Again a Northern Pygmy-Owl answered our recordings!
Sunday night we camped near Golden Gate Canyon State Park. The temperatures only reached 10 degrees, warm?
Monday morning we were up early and searched for owls in Golden Gate Canyon State Park and the White Ranch area. Bingo, we found our fourth and possibly fifth Northern Pygmy-Owls of our excursion!
Monday night my warm bed was heaven! I bet Richard felt the same way!
Bryan Ehlmann:
Rich Stevens and I tested some camping equipment for a friend and combined that with a few nights of owling.
Saturday night we camped out in Pike National Forest at a "cool" 8 degrees. Winds were surprisingly calm. For several hours we walked Forest Road 560, playing Northern Pygmy-Owl tapes, but not getting any response.
Early Sunday morning, we did get a response at nearby Reynolds Park also in Jefferson County. Shortly after one owl responded a second owl also joined in for about 10 minutes along the Oxen Draw Trail.
Returned to Pine Valley Ranch Park after sunrise, but didn't have additional success. A search for American Three-toed Woodpeckers was also not successful.
In the afternoon we received a text message about the Dunlin at Chatfield State Park and shuffled off to southwest Denver. A short 5 minute walk from the dog walking area below the Chatfield Reservoir dam and we saw the Dunlin and a Killdeer. Both were on the mudflats about 200 yards south of the C470 Bridge.
Afterwards we searched for owls in Deer Creek Canyon. Again a Northern Pygmy-Owl answered our recordings!
Sunday night we camped near Golden Gate Canyon State Park. The temperatures only reached 10 degrees, warm?
Monday morning we were up early and searched for owls in Golden Gate Canyon State Park and the White Ranch area. Bingo, we found our fourth and possibly fifth Northern Pygmy-Owls of our excursion!
Monday night my warm bed was heaven! I bet Richard felt the same way!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
South Platte River, North of Chatfield Reservoir
December 21, 2008
Richard Stevens:
Bryan Ehlmann and I took time out of our Owling quest and stopped by Chatfield Reservoir (Douglas County).
We made the short walk north from the dog walking area down to the C470 bridge. The Dunlin was with 2 Killdeer on the shallow mudflats several hundred meters south of the highway.
We watched the shorebirds for 30 minutes and drove through the State Park looking for additional birds. Most of the reservoir is frozen and there were only a few birds around. Nothing uncommon turned up.
Richard Stevens:
Bryan Ehlmann and I took time out of our Owling quest and stopped by Chatfield Reservoir (Douglas County).
We made the short walk north from the dog walking area down to the C470 bridge. The Dunlin was with 2 Killdeer on the shallow mudflats several hundred meters south of the highway.
We watched the shorebirds for 30 minutes and drove through the State Park looking for additional birds. Most of the reservoir is frozen and there were only a few birds around. Nothing uncommon turned up.
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