I should have been at the Valmont Res Gullapalooze yesterday looking for the Mew Gull with 227 other dedicated birders. Instead, I visited Westminster where I found two Rock Pigeons at a nest with one recently hatched young. While this first of year breeding bird atlas confirmation won't knock anybody's socks off, it was testimony that breeding bird records can be captured in any month of the year. I went next to the South Platte walking south from 88th and Colorado Blvd. At the Thornton Water pond on the west side of the river, there was a single female Long-tailed Duck among the Gadwalls and other puddle ducks. This is the same location where 3 Long-taileds were found last winter. Among the cattails close to the trail along the river, I found a single Marsh Wren. A flock of about a dozen American Pipits flew in and foraged along the edge of the river alternately disappearing in the weeds and perching low in Russian olives. A Killdeer flew to a dirt and gravel strip across the river accompanied by a sandpiper that was slightly smaller. I couldn't ID the sandpiper due to distance, but it seemed to be hanging with the Killdeer and may have been the Dunlin reported previously. There were a good number of goldeyes, mostly in female or 1st winter male plumage, on the river. I was not able to find any Barrow's, though one male was possibly a Barrow's x Common hybrid. It appeared to have more black in the scapulars and a less-than-round spot on the face.
Chuck Hundertmark 2546 Lake Meadow Drive Lafayette, CO 80026 Phone/fax: 303-604-0531 Cell: 720-771-8659 [email protected] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
