All, Longish post, but fun day out birding, so I thought I'd share some stories (nothing super rare here). Yesterday I decided to explore some new places in CO, look for some state birds and a couple potential lifers around Canon City and Pueblo, mostly. Nothing like waiting until it's the dead of winter to go look for my first Colorado N Saw-whet Owl pre-dawn. Closer to Sedalia, my dash temp gauge said it was -1. I was seriously questioning my sanity at this point, but that ship sailed many years ago. I made 4 stops on Hwy 67 up towards Rampart Range Rd in Douglas Co and whistled up a *N Saw-whet Owl* at my last stop at dawn. It was a balmy 9 degrees. I had a Great Horned Owl at another stop, so owls at 2 of 4 stops in bitter cold is pretty good in my book. Nice start.
I went to look for the *Acorn Woodpecker* in CO Springs (El Paso Co), but missed it. However, it was pretty neat to see *Stellar's, Western Scrub*, and *Blue Jay* in the same tree together. I zipped down to Brush Hollow SWA in Fremont Co. No roadrunners, but I finally got a LONG overdue lifer *Northern Shrike* (yeah, I'm am easterner who just couldn't find one, it was almost a nemesis bird!) and after some hiking around through the junipers and kicking up tons of juncos, a flock of *Bushtits*, a *Canyon Wren* and a half dozen *Townsend's Solitaires*, a couple *Juniper Titmice *made themselves apparent (second lifer of the hour!). http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26530972 I drove up Phantom Canyon Rd for a couple miles and had hordes of *House Finches* (snooze) and *Pine Siskins* (always fun to see and hear), and while looking at a couple *Western Bluebirds* in the bunch, a *Bewick's Wren* started fussing at me and posed for photos. The Bewick's was my first for CO and one of my targets for the day. I didn't even have to try for it. An immature *Sharp-shinned Hawk* flushed everything. A suspect *Chihuahuan Raven* was seen and heard (at a distance), but I left it as Raven sp. Neat area! On to the Tunnel Dr area, just west of Canon City. After a little hiking, I found one highly cooperative *Rufous-crowned Sparrow*, a couple *Canyon Towhees* (I still like these guys a lot), and *Canyon *and *Rock Wren*. Amazingly, the Rock Wren was the only one that I got a good look at in CO this year. We have a rocky relationship and they've always been tough for me for some reason, although I have photos of one on a street sign that said "Rocks Ahead" from near the Paton's Place in SE AZ earlier this year. http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S26532727 I wasted some time looking for birds I had little chance of finding at around Canon City but saw about 100 *Am Wigeon* munching on grass in a city park, much like Canada Geese. I then rolled east to the S Shore Marina at Pueblo Res (now in Pueblo Co.). I quickly refound the adult *Great Black-backed Gull* and a couple adult *Lesser Black-backed Gulls*. I had at least one *Canyon Towhee* among the scrubby trees and concrete blocks immediately south of the tires where the gulls gather. I didn't expect that, but I apparently don't know much about Canyon Towhees. I didn't spend too much time at the marina, mostly trying to stay on schedule. More time scoping every gull would have been better. It was nice to see a bunch of places I've read about, even if I didn't have hours to explore each one. Next time! I lastly made a quick drive through the Sunset neighborhood, just south of Pueblo City Park, looking for *White-winged Doves*, as suggested by Brandon Percival (thanks for the all advice and tips Brandon!). The only bird that I saw in 5 min of driving around that wasn't a Canada Goose was one White-winged Dove. I saw one within 30 sec of getting into the neighborhood. Talk about some good luck! I've seen White-winged Doves in many states, but this was a CO bird for me and practically on the route home, so that was nice. And I got home a little early, keeping my wife happy. I forgot about the Trumpeter Swans near our place in Littleton, or I'd have stopped to look for them as well. There will be more opportunities to explore. It was a great day in the field to mostly end 2015. I got almost all the target birds for the day (that I realistically had a chance at and time to look for) plus a bunch of state birds and a couple lifers to boot! I saw some great new places and landscapes and learned quite a bit about some birds. Can't wait to get down there again and spend more time stomping around! Some photos from yesterday start in a gallery here: http://www.pbase.com/shoeman/image/162229790 Great birding! Scott Somershoe 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/CAJmtx%2BXd%2BVogXerd3B-BmpwqE2gB3uD6o4G3xj8nejocf0PQQw%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
