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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. 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.
