Park County, that is…and South Park mostly. Yesterday (10/28) I visited all the birding bodies of water, some high forest, and some lower Ponderosa forest. 17 degrees at sunrise was the low, but the day warmed to the low 50s, and it was unexpectedly calm much of the day. Highlights included below are White-winged and Surf Scoters, Red Phalarope, Pacific Loon, 14 (!) Common Loons, and McCown's Longspur.
Near sunrise, a flock of 110 *American Crows* feeding at a carcass near Jefferson provided a high count for Park County. A little later, a male *Am. Three-toed Woodpecker* made himself apparent at Hoosier Pass along Highway 9. Some stops along County Road (CR) 8 out of Alma provided 21 *Red Crossbills* (Type 5), one *Pine Grosbeak*, and one* Nor. Goshawk*. Buffalo Creek Reservoir had one each of female *White-winged Scoter* and female *Surf Scoter*, foraging amid a flock of Bufflehead, one *Common Loon*, one male *Greater Scaup* and four *Hooded Mergs*. This reservoir is near the start of Pike NF Road 433, off Highway 285 a few miles north of the junction with Highway 24. All three of the big reservoirs had large numbers of water birds, perhaps inflated by movement associated with the cold front the day before. I list composite counts of some of the regular species below after the highlights of each site individually. Highlights at Antero Reservoir were 1* Pacific Loon*, 3 *Common Loons*, 9 *Long-billed Dowitchers* (SBDO eliminated by default, really, as they were a long ways off), 1 *Clark’s Grebe*, 8 *Bonaparte’s Gulls* and 2 *Franklin’s Gulls*. Still 8 *American Avocets *present. 2 or 3 *Prairie Falcons* Spinney Mountain Reservoir had 3 *Common Loons* (one calling often), 1 *Peregrine Falcon*, and 1 *Bald Eagle*. Eleven Mile Reservoir had a *Red Phalarope*, 7 *Common Loons*, 14 *Greater Scaup*, 1 *Franklin’s Gull*, and 2 *Bald Eagles*. A *McCown’s Longspur *was with numerous Horned Larks along CR 59 near the central section of the reservoir. There will still three young Western Grebes begging from their parents at this reservoir. Composite totals for some waterbirds from these three reservoirs: Gadwall (1845), American Wigeon (1220), Mallard (142), Nor. Shoveler (69), Nor. Pintail (150), Green-winged Teal (98), Canvasback (143), Redhead (1115), Ring-necked Duck (40), Lesser Scaup (790), Bufflehead (2065), Common Merganser (18), Ruddy Duck (1075), Eared Grebe (290), Western Grebe (325), American Coot (11,700). I made 10 stops in Ponderosa pine forest (with spruce in some areas) along roads south and southeast of Eleven Mile Res., including CR 100, 98, 61 and Forest Road 234. Areas rich in cone crops had large numbers of the interesting fringillids. *Red Crossbills* were locally abundant; I noted over 550 on my 10 stops. Ninety percent were Type 2, but there were also Type 5, and some spots had both together. *Evening Grosbeaks *were delightfully common; I detected about 150. Most of these were along Pine NF Road 234 off CR 98 at the intersection with CR 100. Indeed, stops along Road 234 in for about a mile off CR 98 were really fun. At one spot my pygmy-owl imitation and attracted over 50 interested crossbills clustering in the trees around me, along with a bluster of other species. And then I attracted a real *Northern Pygmy-Owl* and all the littler birds went ballistic! I also saw a tardy *Lewis’s Woodpecker* along Road 234, flying south. Lake George had the usual suspects, with a tardy* Double-crested Cormorant* and *Virginia Rail* being the only birds of note, plus two *Hooded Mergs*. Tarryall Reservoir was a disappointment with no waterbirds at all. After dark, in the cold, I detected a *Boreal Owl *along Weston Pass Road. Some *Nor. Saw-whet Owls* were pretty vocal in areas of Ponderosa or mixed forest near Bailey. David Suddjian Littleton, 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]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAGj6RooyYZpB-%3DujSN_LobUaaAc-BJ4sJ7HnAv7wi5Z6p2475Q%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
