Greetings All
Today's roulette wheel was not based on presence of open water, but rather that of birds. Today Cathy and I started at Barr Lake and finished Union Reservoir BARR LAKE 6 ROSS'S X SNOW GEESE (4 adults and 2 imms together). Also, 8 Ross's Geese. 1 SNOW X CANADA GOOSE Many Am White Pelicans 600+ RN Ducks Several hundred Redhead, several dozen Canvasback, >100 Am Wigeon and several hundred N Pintail. Lotsa waterfowl. AURORA RESERVOIR Snooorrrrrre. Lotsa gulls, almost all Ring-billeds, very little in way of waterfowl QUINCY RESERVOIR Just keep on driving CHERRY CREEK RESERVOIR A flood of smiles and laughs from Loch Kilpatrick and Glenn Walbek, who are both always a riot. Thanks to Glenn for playing guide and pointing out the local celebs. ICELAND GULL: 1 first year. Same bird Glenn found a week ago GLAUCOUS GULL: 2, a first year bird and an adult. Glenn also saw a second year bird LBB GULL: 12; 4 adults/subadults, 1 second year, 7 first years. THAYER'S GULL: 4 adults, 1 second year, 7 first years Herring Gull: 600+ Am White Pelicans: 60+ Common Mergansers: 1000+ LUNA RESERVOIR Nada rare, lotsa birds 800 shoveler 100+ Lesser Scaup 60+ Canvasback a handful of Greater Scaup 56 Ruddy Ducks 11 Horned Grebes COAL RIDGE WASTE RESERVOIR, CR 23 and CR 18, Weld County 100+ Common Mergs Lotsa Lesser Scaup, Canvasback, a few Herring Gulls, a couple Greater Scaup FIRESTONE GRAVEL PITS Okay, not a reservoir. Live with it! nearly 700 Canvasback Over 300 Lesser Scaup 8 Greater Scaup GREATER YELLOWLEGS Ongoing RED-NECKED GREBES (2) UNION RESERVOIR Open water and birds only on north side. 2 GREATER YELLOWLEGS 1 THAYER'S GULL (adult) Also, yesterday, in the sleet, along the entrance road to St Vrain State Park (NO PARKING, NO STOPPING) the MUTE SWAN continued in the big pond on the right as you drive along Weld Co Rd 7 and, on the left where a bend in the river approaches the road, the was a LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER. So.... Ducks are blasting through, and it seems a banner year for Canvasback. Cherry Creek Res is a blast, but may not remain so after the ice totally melts, and predictions are for 70 degrees mid-week Finally, and of note, WHEN LOOKING AT GEESE NEAR THE FRONT RANGE, do not assume a goose that looks like a Blue Goose is one. I am not certain what my ratio is, but I'd say I see a hybrid Snow/Ross's x Canada/Cackling for every 2 Blue Geese in counties such as Boulder, Larimer, w. Weld, Adams, etc. Also, do not assume small white geese are ROSS'S GEESE. It seems that Snow x Ross's are rare, but not hideously so, and near the Front Range, I probably see a Snow x Ross's for every 10 Ross's. Good Birding Steven Mlodinow Longmont, CO -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
