11 April 2016 Barr Lake - South side Overcast, slightly breezy American Avocets, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, seaweed dancing Western Grebe pairs, and many other signs of spring abounded at Barr this morning. I'm just here to report that the previously located Harris's Sparrow is still present in the same location as a week or so ago. If you're familiar with the back side of Barr, there is a small boardwalk and gazebo (not the larger, well known one farther east). The entrance to this area is just north of the bridge on the trail in the area of the Obrian canal. On the opposite side of the trail from the entrance to the small boardwalk is a downed tree and scrubby looking area that seems perfect for sparrows and wrens. This is where the Harris's has been. The first time I went by there this morning I had two Song Sparrows and two Black-capped Chickadees and nothing else. Ten minutes later, I had multiple Song Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, and the Harris's Sparrow. At one point, the Harris's flew west to a cottonwood tree with a large dirt mound next to it. So if you don't see anyone there, you may just want to wait a few minutes.
The Harris's was quiet last week, but was chirping away today. He even managed to sing to me a few times. I know what you're thinking. He was singing an unrequited love song to the non existent female Harris's Sparrows he was hoping to find. But hey, I'm a sad and lonely old man, and if I say he was singing for my benefit, do you really want to take that away from me? I tried to get a video of the song, but only managed a few call notes instead. Such is life. Map of Barr Lake. If you look at the bottom of the water, you will see the canal and the area the bird is at. https://disperser.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/barr-lake-state-park-map.jpg John Breitsch Denver, Colorado https://www.flickr.com/photos/breitschbirding/ -- 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/cbb68ba3-8e38-4be5-853f-908af131e718%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
