Hi All,I birded with PJ Ross and Chris Rurik this afternoon. First we went to Marston Reservoir. What a surprise, the Surf and White-winged Scoters were in the north part of the lake, not the south part where they have previously been. As usual the Surf Scoter was in the way far middle of the lake. Chris found the little bugger and from the look today the lighting was better than I have seen it so far. FINALLY today for the first time I was able to pick up a vertical whitish patch against the bill on the Surf Scoter. I could not see any other white patch because of the distance, nor could I see if the crown was darker than the back of the bird [because of the distance].Birds in general were in lesser numbers today. NOTE : While viewing from the SW side of the water board's fence I talked to a very nice lady who lived next to the water . This area is at the very south end of a housing development where there is a split rail wooden fence. There is a small opening in the fence and a green sign on a pole which says "No Tresspassing,Bird Sanctuary" I asked her if she minded me parking in front of the sign and looking at the birds from where the opening of the fence was. She said no, but that there had been some police officers stop at this area, and they went into the Sanctuary to talk to some birders who had walked quite a ways in, down the little hill. She said she had no idea if someone who lived in the area had called the police and she did say that some of the neighbors had been talking about cars coming and going. She also said a lady who was part of the Homeowner's Association lived very close to the area. Yes, you can see better at times from this area, sometimes. BUT please let's not give birders a bad name and PLEASE watch the birds from the sidewalk or right next to the sidewalk. This lady who I talked to, said she and many others moved to the neighborhood, off Layton Rd, because they loved nature and they wanted to be on the water. I posted the Scoters with a bit of caution because of this no tresspassing sign, hoping folks would stay very, very, close to the fence. Remember we as birders are visiting a neighborhood, and I would hate to have all access [meaning watching birds from the sidewalk], closed to us. PJ, Chris and I went to Fort Logan Cemetary afterwards to see what we could see. There were 5, Greater White-fronted Geese at the pond just east from the first entrance pond. The entrance pond had 1, Greater White-fronted Goose. Back to the pond just east of the entrance pond was 1, White-morph juvenile Ross's Goose [I presume the same bird which has been around the Cemetary for the last week]. At this pond also, was 1, F. Greater Scaup. There has been a resident pair of Greater Scaup for the last week at this pond but I did not see a m. Greate Scaup on 12/6. MORE of a surprise on thursday was seeing a Richardsonii Merlin sitting for about 1, hour on the rim of my whiskey barrel. Happy Birding !!Tina JonesLittleton, Jeffferson County, 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 https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
