Greetings All,
I had the morning off work, and after walking in the drizzle for a while locally, I realized that I had time to look at Black Hollow Reservoir (from Road 19, south of Hwy 14) at a time when neither looking into sun nor heat waves would be a problem. The numbers of RB Gulls were a lower than on the weekend (~1500 instead of ~5000), but I could see them well. There was a first cycle MEW GULL, seen both in flight and perched; also present were two first-cycle and one second-cycle LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULLS, and a first-cycle THAYER'S GULL. I then went to the N Weld County Dump, off of Hwy 14, and viewed from across Hwy 14. Not the best vantage point. I saw only a few hundred gulls, but did see another first cycle LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL. I noticed that the birds from the dump were headed to and from the wsw, not the direction in which Black Hollow Res lies. So, I followed them, and not far away found a small lake (or large pond) just south of Hwy 14 on Road 23. Google Maps tells me its name is Drake Lake. There were several hundred gulls present, with a continuous stream of birds coming and going. I got a decent look and photographed a first cycle gull that was either a GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL or GW x HERRING GULL. It disappeared as I was repositioning scope. An adjacent field had a bunch of roosting gulls as well. Overall, I had 2500 or so RB Gulls, about 150 Franklin's Gulls, another first year Thayer's Gull, and a Herring Gull plus a SWAMP SPARROW in marsh across street from Drake Lake. There were tons of passerines and other stuff around, but I had to race back to work. Definitely worth a check Best Wishes Steven Mlodinow Longmont, CO -- 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.
