I was in a meeting in Pueblo so didn't get to Brush Hollow Res until after 6 pm when the winds were strong and there were lots of fishermen (including a few boats and several walmart rubber rafts) so I didn't have high hopes of refinding the Red-throated Loon found this morning by Rich Miller. I was pleasantly surprised to spot a loon on the west side of this fairly small reservoir. After driving to the west side, I was rewarded with good views of the loon for a few minutes until some fisherman flushed it out into the center of the reservoir. I did get one reasonable photo with my digital camera (400 mm lens, 1.4 extender and some additional enlargement as my camera is not full frame) that I have posted on my blog at http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com .
Also at Brush Hollow Res was a flock of at least 150, and more likely more than 200, Lark Sparrows. Though this species breeds in this area, I have never seen so many before. As many of the birds were singing it sounded like an avian choir with them all singing the same song. Another unusual occurance was a very late male Hooded Merganser near Canon City just 2 days ago. More normal are the fledgling Great Horned Owls in the area. Interestingly I heard an adult Great Horned Owl giving a vocalization that at first sounded like a barking dog. After watching the owl I wondered if the parent bird was calling to it's offspring to entice them either out of the nest or away from tree branches? I also found a nest with 3 Curve-billed Thrasher young in natal down. Though the nest is in a cholla cactus, a normal location, the area is within 50 feet of the Arkansas River in a generally riparian area surrounded by fertile farmland with a small patch of cactus. SeEtta Moss Canon City http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com The Red-throated Loon that Rich Miller found is still being seen at Brush Hollow Reservoir, near Penrose in Fremont County, as of about 15 minutes ago. Brandon Percival Pueblo West, CO --- On *Tue, 5/19/09, millerri...@aol.com <millerri...@aol.com>* wrote: From: millerri...@aol.com <millerri...@aol.com> Subject: [cobirds] Red-throated Loon at Brush Hollow Res., FreCo To: cobirds@googlegroups.com Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2009, 12:11 PM Usually I don't expect much when I check out Brush Hollow Reservoir this time of year because of the heavy use by fishermen. Early this morning, however, I was amazed to find a basic RED-THROATED LOON out in the middle of the res. just off the boat launching ramp. I was able to get some pretty awful pictures of it with my zoom, point and shoot Sony. Brush Hollow Res is near Penrose in Fremont Co. It is small with lots of access points so the RTLO would very easy for someone to find if it stays there. Rich Miller Canon City ------------------------------ *An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2 Easy Steps!<http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1221823248x1201398651/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=62%26bcd=MayExcfooter51609NO62> * --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Join us at the 2009 Convention in Alamosa: http://cfo-link.org/convention/index.php You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.as/group/cobirds?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
