Arapahoe County Reservoirs

November 26, 2014

Richard Stevens:

I walked the south side of Aurora Reservoir from mile 1.0 to 3.5 and found Surf Scoters, several Lesser Black-backed Gulls and two Thayer's Gulls (gulls in cove at mile 3.0).  Afterwards I drove to the north side and scoped the swim beach where another Lesser Black-backed Gull and Thayer's Gull was found among 600 gulls.  A Common Loon was to the east.

Hundreds of Gulls (mostly Ring-billed, dozens of Herring, and some California Gulls were at the swim beach, mile 3.0, the scuba area below the dam and scattered on the lake.  Thousands of White-cheeked Geese were accompanied by five Snow Geese and several Ross's Geese.  Other waterfowl included Ruddy Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, Bufflehead, Lesser Scaup, Mallards, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Western Grebes, Eared Grebes, Pied-billed Grebes and a few others I am forgetting.

At Cherry Creek State Park, I was able to confirm at least one Long-tailed Duck, the White-winged Scoter and a Barrow's Goldeneye.  Waves were quite high in the 14+ mph winds.  Long-tailed Ducks "sit low in the water" in my opinion.  The second one could still be there as well as the Red-necked Grebe. 

Gulls included Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a Thayer's Gull and over a dozen Bonaparte's Gulls.  Many ducks and gulls were too far away to identify.

Additional waterfowl included hundreds of Common Mergansers, half a dozen Red-breasted Merganser, Hooded Mergansers (their numbers went from a dozen to 90+ in the last two days), Bufflehead (first I have seen this fall), Lesser Scaup, Ruddy Ducks, Common Goldeneye, etc.

A Northern Shrike was between the Prairie Loop and Cherry Creek where it crosses the main road (Lakeview Road).  A Great Horned Owl was here also.

No owls were observed as the drove the DIA Owl Loop (Adams) on the way home.

Another Visit to Cherry Creek Reservoir

November 25, 2014

Richard Stevens:

Bryan Ehlmann and I went out owling at 3:00 am.  A search of previous locations of Northern Pygmy-Owls at Golden Gate Canyon State Park, White Ranch Open Space and Morrison Road along the east side of Red Rocks Park did not turn up any Northern Pygmy-Owls.  We did see one Great Horned Owl at Golden Gate Canyon State Park.

Later I stopped over at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe County) an hour earlier than yesterday.  The birds were probably the same today as yesterday; visibility was much better.  Winds gusts were over 20 mph at times.  I used the dam tower as a shelter from the wind.  Birds were probably closer to the Lake Loop, perhaps not.

White-winged Scoter, Long-tailed Duck and Barrow's Goldeneye were mingled in the large raft of ducks (Common Mergansers, Hooded Mergansers, Ruddy Ducks, Western Grebe, Eared Grebes and American Coots.

Many gulls hunkered down from the wind at the southwest marina.  At least one adult Thayer's Gull (probably two) and three+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls were among the group.  At least two Pelicans continued to "hang around".

High winds and waves made an accurate account close to impossible.

Note: Again looking at photos after returning home, I captured photos of the Red-necked Grebe, a possible second Long-tailed Duck, three+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes and many Bonaparte's Gulls.  Misses: Yesterday's Glaucous Gull.

Cherry Creek Reservoir in a Snowstorm

November 24

Richard Stevens:

Chores kept me busy until late afternoon.  I arrived at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe County) at 4:10 pm.  A drive through a mini blizzard almost turned me around, however, the sun shone through the clouds at 4:15 to 4:28 pm.

The sunlight lit up the large raft of ducks in the middle of the lake.  I was able to pick out the White-winged Scoter and a dozen Bonaparte's Gulls before sunlight was lost.  If the Long-tailed Duck was out there, I could not find it.  For the first time since 11/2, no Common Loons were spotted.  Best viewing point was off the Lake Loop.

Temperature was 38 degrees at 4:15 pm.  Anemometer readings were steady at 12 mph.  It felt cold.

NOTE: After looking at the 200 digital photos I took, I notice that I had captured a Red-necked Grebe in three of them.  The camera has helped in finding gulls also.  I just take shots of as many groups of gulls as possible and examine the photos later.  A large white Gull turned out to be a Glaucous Gull and not a Herring Gull as I had expected.  Captured shots of two Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a Gull looking good for a Thayer's Gull.

Short Trip South of Denver, Scoters & Owls (none)

November 22-23, 2014

Richard Stevens:

November 22

Bryan and Sue Ehlmann, Rebecca Kosten and I headed south (target bird: scoters and Spotted Owls).

A stop at Prospect Lake at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs found the trifecta of scoters; White-winged Scoter, Black Scoter & Surf Scoter!  We also saw two Greater Scaup and several Bonaparte's Gulls.

At our next stop, Big Johnson Reservoir, we saw two additional White-winged Scoters, a Long-tailed Duck and Common Loon.

We arrived at Pueblo Reservoir (Pueblo) late in the afternoon.  Gulls near the south marina included a Great Black-backed Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull.  Common Loons were observed off the sailboard launch area.

Bonaparte's Gulls flew around off the Fisherman's Point area, while no uncommon birds were at the north marina.  Misses included the previously reported Mew Gull and a wandering Red-necked Grebe.

After dark, Bryan and I drove up Phantom Canyon (Fremont).  No Spotted Owls called this night.  Our three "owl listening stations" did not pick up any sounds of Northern Saw-whet Owls (at previous spots) along Phantom Canyon Road.

November 23, 2014

The four of us enjoyed morning walks around the Canon City area.  A previously reported Williamson's Sapsucker was relocated at Centennial Park.  Unfortunately, no Rufous-crowned Sparrows were found during our 1.5 hour search along Tunnel Drive.

Weather followed predictions and started to turn toward the worse.  We had to nix plans to visit the Park County Reservoirs and instead headed back east and north to Denver. 

A stop at Brush Hollow Wildlife Area (Fremont) added a Juniper Titmouse and Bushtits to our trip list.  Misses: Pinyon Jays

Beaver Creek Wildlife Area was quiet.  No uncommon birds, no Northern Pygmy-Owl responded to our recordings.

Search for Northern Pygmy-Owls, White-tailed Ptarmigan and Return to Cherry Creek Reservoir

November 21, 2014

Richard Stevens:

I enjoyed this beautiful fall day (61 degrees, calm winds except for Guanella Pass) with Bryan Ehlmann, Jacob Washburn and Ray Simmons.

We departed Denver at 3:00 am with the intention of going to Park County Road 58 in search of Northern Pygmy-Owls.  We did not make it to CR 58.  A Northern Pygmy-Owl was found along Sugar Creek Road at approximately 1-1.5 miles south of Deckers Road (Douglas County).

All enjoyed the hike around Guanella Pass Road (Clear Creek).  Beautiful weather, fantastic scenery and eight White-tailed Ptarmigan.  For those wanting to attempt, as Bruce Neuman wrote yesterday, going from Georgetown is a better choice.  We accessed from Grant and had some problems with road conditions.  Bruce indicated that even with nice weather, the road will be closed on December 1.  After that date, a hike/snowshoe trip of 3.5 to 4 miles round trip will be required.

I ended my birding day back at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe) for the three evening in a row.  Practice helps; I was able separate the uncommon birds from the hundreds of Eared Grebes, Western Grebes and Common Mergansers with less frustration than the last two days.  It took about 5 minutes to find the White-winged Scoter when I walked the Cherry Creek dam trail (about halfway to the dam tower).  The Long-tailed Duck was quite far off the dam (just as far from the Lake Loop).  I picked it out in another 10 minutes!  Thanks again to Alec Hopping for mentioning the Long-tailed Duck on Wednesday.

Gulls included three Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 12+ Bonaparte's Gulls, a Thayer's Gull, dozens of California Gulls and hundreds of Ring-billed Gulls.  The three Common Loons were also out there.

Return Trip to Cherry Creek Reservoir

November 20, 2014

Richard Stevens:

Personal business sent me to Rose Hospital.  Afterwards, I stopped by the Denver Zoo.  Unfortunately, landscapers have clear much of the brush that had attracted a few uncommon birds in the past.  Three Black-capped Chickadees were the highlight of an hour walk through the zoo.  Ferril Lake and Duck Lake were ice covered; no uncommon birds found at either.

I spent the last two hours of daylight at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe).  Again, it was quite frustrating picking the Long-tailed Duck (found yesterday by Alec Hopping) out of the hundreds of Eared Grebes, Western Grebes and Common Mergansers.  Eventually the female was found after my seventh or eighth scan of the large raft of ducks.

The effort was well worth it.  Calm winds and temperatures in the 50s made the exploit rewarding.  A female type White-winged Scoter was also swimming along the near edge of the ducks.

Gulls found included Lesser Black-backed Gulls (3), Bonaparte's Gulls (23+), Thayer's Gulls (2) and many California and Ring-billed Gulls.  The three Common Loons were still out there also.  The two male Greater Scaups found yesterday, were missed today.

Long Day at Aurora Reservoir, Short Stop at Cherry Creek State Park

November 19, 2014

Richard Stevens:

Bill Cryder took six hours to hike the 8.7 mile trail circling Aurora Reservoir (Arapahoe County).  Temperatures reached into the 50s; winds were less than 4 mph.  On the way into the reservoir, we found a Bald Eagle and Red-tailed Hawk perched on adjacent fence posts.

We counted 4500+ gulls at the swim beach.  This was less than 25 percent of the gulls there!  Eventually we recorded: two Lesser Black-backed Gulls, six+ Thayer's Gulls, two Bonaparte's Gulls, and a Mew Gull (cove at mile 3.0).  Of course many Ring-billed, California and Herring Gulls.

One Common Loon swam around mile 4.0.  Two Greater Scaup were at mile 1.0 to the swim beach area.  A Surf Scoter continued around mile 5.0 to the scuba cove.

My birding day ended at Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe).  I enjoyed a superb sunset and watching the hundreds of waterfowl swim around.  Winds were calm; the lake was like a mirror.

I thought finding the Long-tailed Duck in a conglomeration of 400+ Eared Grebes yesterday was a nightmare.  Today they were spread around the lake, making finding the Long-tailed Duck even more difficult.

The Long-tailed Duck was eventually spotted in the large raft of ducks, which included hundreds of Common Mergansers, some Common Goldeneyes and Eared Grebes.  She was over a hundred yards east of the middle of the road below the dam.

While searching for the female Long-tailed Duck, I found two Greater Scaup.  At least ten American White Pelicans continue on the lake as do three Common Loons. 

More than a dozen Bonaparte's Gulls flew back and forth just below the dam.  Their tern like flight makes is easy to pick them out from the hundreds of gulls there.  Sure, their wing tips are an easy field mark to see; I look first for their distinctive flight patterns.

Once again, like last night, a Great Horned Owl flew into the cottonwoods around the dam tower's parking area (around 5:25 pm).

I will post photos of the Bald Eagle and Bonaparte's Gulls on the Colorado Birding Society's photo library later tonight.