A Trek Across Denver

January 24, 2020

Richard Stevens:

It reached 56 degrees and stayed quite warm until sunset.  Winds were 8-9 mph with gusts to 14 mph.

Temperatures reached a pleasant 56 degrees today.  Winds were 6-7 mph with gusts to 15 mph. Hello cobirders;

Rebecca and I headed west across Denver today.  The Lesser Black-backed Gull was still on the ice at Lake Ladora, Rocky Mountain Arsenal (Adams County).

The female Long-tailed Duck was still on East Gravel Lakes (Adams).  A male Barrow's Goldeneye swam in the South Platte River upstream of the green/white tower.

After a late lunch, we made it to Lake Arbor (Jefferson).  Most of the geese were taking off at 4:00 pm.  Unfortunately, the Brant was not around.

We decided to check Indian Hills Golf Course (Jefferson) a short distance southwest of Lake Arbor.  No geese were seen from the main parking area.  However, we observed many geese flying over the golf course (coming from the direction of Lake Arbor).

We drove south to 72nd Avenue, then west to the first turn north which was Carr Street.  Just north of the intersection is 72nd Place.  We parked west of Carr and followed the paved bike path east along the Golf Course.

Thousands of White-cheeked Geese walked along the southern side of the Golf Course.  The Brant was among them, perhaps 400 yards east of Carr.

I put photos of the Brant and a Sharp-shinned Hawk found at southern Dahlia Ponds today on the Colorado Birding Society's photo library.  It was getting dark at 4:20 pm and photos are not the best.

Fremont & Pueblo Counties

January 22-23, 2020

Richard Stevens:

January 22

High temperature was 53 degrees.  Winds were strong all day.  Anomometer readings were 14-15 mph with gusts to 22 mph.

I headed to Fremont County by way of Chatfield State Park (Jefferson/Douglas Counties).

Interesting birds on Chatfield Reservoir included the previously reported loons: Common Loon, Pacific Loon & Yellow-billed Loon.  The White-winged Scoter was also swimming around off the north boat ramp.

Winds were quite strong today; I decided to skip Pueblo Reservoir until my return tomorrow.

Instead, I searched past locations of sapsuckers in Canon City (Fremont).  Unfortunately, none was found at Holy Cross Abbey, Lakeside Cemetery, Rouse Park or Centennial Park.

At dusk, I drove up Phantom Canyon Road in search of owls.  Regrettably, not one owl was found this evening.  Winds were roaring down the canyon.

January 23

It was colder today with a high of only 47 degrees.  Winds were 4-5 mph with gusts to 10 mph.

Two hours before sunrise I again drove Phantom Canyon Road; target birds were Spotted Owls and Northern Saw-whet Owl.  None was found.  No Northern Pygmy-Owls appeared at Beaver Creek Wildlife Area.

Winds were quieter than yesterday at Pueblo Reservoir (Pueblo).  However first I searched and found the Palm Warbler at Valco Ponds Wildlife Area.  The previously reported Golden-crowned Sparrow along the Arkansas River below City Park was not found.

The rest of my birding day was spent walking Pueblo Reservoir at many locations along this long Lake.

Most of the "goodies" previously reported were relocated.  Loons included the Red-throated Loon and two Common Loons.  One of the two Dunlins was off the south marina.

Gulls included the wintering Great Black-backed Gull, one Bonaparte's Gull, a Lesser Black-backed Gull and Iceland Gull.  The Red-necked Grebe was at the western end.

Misses included the Franklin's Gull, the Long-tailed Ducks, Yellow Warbler and Black Phoebe also previously reported.

After an early dinner, I headed back to Denver, deciding to skip the detour to Teller County in search of owls this trip.

Search for Short-eared Owls in Weld County

January 21, 2020

Richard Stevens:

The high was 44 degrees.  Winds were calm to 2 mph.  A few gusts reached 7 mph.

I headed up north toward Lower Latham Reservoir (Weld) today.  The plan was to look for Short-eared Owl near dusk.

A stop at Ken Mitchell Park (Weld) found no uncommon birds.

I found nothing uncommon on Luna Reservoir (Weld).  The previously reported Long-tailed Duck was not found.

The Long-tailed Duck was still swimming around Windsor Lake (Weld).

No Short-eared Owls appeared this evening at Latham Reservoir (Weld).  I did entice a Marsh Wren to pop out of the cattails.

Return to Adams & Arapahoe Counties

January 20, 2020

Richard Stevens:

High temperature was 49 degrees today.  Winds were 8-9 mph with gusts to 14 mph.

I headed back to Adams County this morning.  The Long-tailed Duck was back on Gravel Lakes.  The pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes was still on the South Platte River (upstream of the green/white tower).

The adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was back on Lake Ladora, Rocky Mountain Arsenal.

By the time I reached Aurora Reservoir (Arapahoe) it was 3:00 pm.  Hundreds of White-cheeked Geese stood on the ice or swam on the Lake.  It was close to impossible to pick out any waterfowl among the geese.

Aurora Reservoir is increasingly becoming ice covered.  The open water areas were more north and west than a couple of days ago.  

Gulls were closer.  I found two Lesser Black-backed Gulls and one Iceland Gull on the ice.

No Short-eared Owls could be found along the DIA Owl Loop this evening.

A Third Snowy Owl Search Is Unsuccessful

January 19, 2020

Richard Stevens:

High today was 45 degrees.  Winds were 4-5 mph with afternoon gusts to 12 mph.

Terry Michaels and I heard a Long-eared Owl and Eastern Screech-Owl while we camped at Jackson Reservoir (Morgan) this morning.

Again, most of the day was spent searching for the reported Snowy Owl.  Our search today extended north to hwy 14 and then west to Kersey.  That was in addition to driving most of the gravel roads north of Riverside and Jackson Reservoirs east to Weldona and west to Kersey.

Five Lapland Longspurs were found along the trek.  A Merlin was found near Weld CR 93 and CR 80.  Raptors included Red-tailed Hawks, one Ferruginous Hawk, two Rough-legged Hawks, half a dozen American Kestrels and a Great Horned Owl.

Another Search for a Morgan County Snowy Owl

January 18, 2020

Richard Stevens:

High temperature today was 43 degrees.  Winds were 8-9 mph with gusts to 18 mph.

Terry Michaels and I spent the day again searching unsuccessfully for the Snowy Owl reported near Riverside Reservoir.  The rancher who reported the owl is adamant that it is a Snowy Owl.

We did not relocate it.  A couple of Lapland Longspurs were found along Morgan CR 4.

We found a Swamp Sparrow along the western side of Andrick Wildlife Area.

A hike to the northwest corner of Jackson Reservoir 30 minutes before sunset found a Short-eared Owl flying back and forth across the field to the northwest.

Birding Around Denver

January 17, 2020

Richard Stevens:

Rebecca and I birded around metro Denver area today.  High temperature was 54 degrees.  Winds were quite strong at 16-17 mph with gusts to 31 mph.

We returned to Centennial (Arapahoe) for my fourth stakeout of the Carolina Wren.  Already missed 10 hours over three days I was going to give it three hours today.  

After we sat for two hours, the Carolina Wren flew to below the feeders in the backyard.  By the time I retrieved my camera, the wren had walked into a small depression in the yard.  As we waiting for the wren to pop back out, the forever present squirrel scared the bird away.  It did not return in the next hour and we left.

Our next stop was Rocky Mountain Arsenal (Adams).  The Lesser Black-backed Gull (photos on Colorado Birding Society's website) flew in from the direction of Havana Ponds.  When not on Lake Ladora, I would look at Havana Ponds if interested in seeing the Gull.

We continued east to the Town of Barr.  Only four of the resident flock of fifty Great-tailed Grackles were found today.  Winds of 20+ mph did not help the search.

At Barr Lake, we scoped the Lake from the boat ramp and found a Common Loon swimming in one of the few open water areas.  Less than a dozen gulls were seen.  Only seven Bald Eagles were counted.

No Short-eared Owls appeared this evening along the DIA Owl Loop (Adams/Denver).