This afternoon (4/21), I walked my dog Iggy at Ketring Park and Marjorie Perry Nature Preserve. At Ketring, a *Savannah Sparrow* was around the brush at the edge of the lake near the marshy area. The absence of the Eastern Phoebe at Marjorie Perry Nature Preserve was the most notable thing about our time there. (Thankfully, Iggy picked up this bird for his county list during an earlier walk.)
This evening, I left Iggy at home and returned to Marjorie Perry Preserve to try again for the Eastern Phoebe. The phoebe either again evaded me or has moved on. But the preserve was birdier than it was this afternoon. Several *Tree Swallow*, a couple of *Northern Rough-winged Swallow*, and a single *Barn Swallow* were above the lakes. A *Hermit Thrush*, my first of the season, was kicking at leaves near the northern edge of the easternmost lake. Farther east, an Orange-crowned Warbler was foraging alongside a *Yellow-rumped Warbler*, a *Black-capped Chickadee*, and a *Song Sparrow* in the brush lining the High Line Canal. *Wood Ducks* kept flushing out of the canal on the eastern edge of the preserve as I continued along the canal trail. As the sun set, and I made my way back west to the preserve's entrance, the area's many, many *Common Grackle* gathered in the cottonwoods on the canal. Among their calls and those of the many, many *Red-winged Blackbirds* also at the preserve, I picked out the call of a single *Virginia Rail*. No Wilson's Snipe, though. As I left the park, a *Great Blue Heron* flew over -- I've yet to see one actually at the preserve -- and a *White Pelican*, which wasn't there when I arrived, was in the easternmost pond. - Jared Del Rosso Centennial, 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/bdf1cfa6-d9e5-424b-b624-1bd805527949%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
