Ridin' at the Refuge

Saturday's mountain snow reached the plains by the overnight hours Saturday, and I awoke to a fresh dusting of four or so inches. After a quick shovel of the drive I headed off to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. It's been a while, so I am sorry if you have read my posts on this great location in the past. For anyone who has recently found this blog, or is not familiar with the Arsenal I strongly recommend it. This former farming community, turned weapons plant, turned petrochemical factory, turned Superfund site is quickly becoming a unique treasure of the National Wildlife Refuge system. As the Denver area expands it is becoming an increasingly surrounded oasis of prairie in the midst of human habitation. This spring the Refuge will see the grand opening of its new Visitor Center, and as each year passes the area continues to evolve to a more wild state.

I hadn't been out to the refuge since last summer/fall, and the fresh snow made it seem like an appealing destination. My drive in followed only a single set of tire tracks, and a Coyote welcomed me back as he sat near the side of the road. I approached the Visitor Center, and decided to check out the feeder station from my truck. Before I had even gotten started I had Western Meadowlark, Chickadee, Red-winged Blackbird, Northern Flickers, Black-billed Magpies, Song Sparrow, and scores of Dark-eyed Juncos. Of the Juncos, the White-winged is the race that I have found I see the least frequently.


So, I was happy to find one perching for me. Then, it like the others was drawn to the spilled seed on the snow.


I dropped into the Visitor Center to sign in, and found that the weekend tour was set to leave in fifteen minutes, and with the snow it was likely to be a small group. I decided to ride along. It had been just about a year since the last time I had been over to 'raptor row' or the Bison enclosure and I had hopes of seeing the light and dark Ferruginous Hawks again. (For those who have not been, the trailed area that is open to the public in the refuge is relatively small. The focus is on the animals, and they are able to live their lives more naturally with large areas where humans just don't go. Regular tours take visitors on a shuttle buss to see areas that they are not allowed to visit on foot.) While I had a few minutes to wait I wandered around what had been the Officer's Club (now the Visitor Center) to check some of the plantings and fresh tracks in the snow. Not many birds in the trees, so I completed my walk back at the feeders. Feeding there among the crowd was a first-year Harris's Sparrow.


Suh-weet! I have seen a handful of these largish sparrows, but all of them have been re-finds, where I went in with the hopes of locating a bird I knew had been in the area recently. This was the first that I had just picked out of a crowd - pretty cool.


The top of its head and throat will turn black in adult breeding plumage, and will merge with the necklace patch it has right now to form a backwards black hood. Here is a post that shows an adult bird closer to breeding plumage - note that it is a Harris's Sparrow, not a Harris Sparrow, it is possible to learn a few things over a couple of years. From the birds I have seen, Colorado mostly gets first or second year birds that have gotten a bit off course for winter. Typically this species overwinters just to the south-east, becoming more common into the eastern plains of Colorado.


With a great add to my list, to go along with White-crowned Sparrow, American Goldfinch, and Hairy Woodpecker, I was ready for a tour and some hawks! The group grew to seven, a ten year old boy and his dad, a couple of whom the wife had visited the refuge as a Girl Scout. "Back before they cleaned it up!" She explained to the boy, which was why she still "glows at night" Wink-Wink. There were also another pair of photographers to round out our crew. The stars of our trip yesterday were the Bald Eagles. Even a jaded birder like myself who was out for the hawks had to be impressed with the showing. My conservative count for the tour was a dozen, although I am guessing we had more but couldn't count some assuming they were the same ones that had just relocated as we drove. We had a nice mix of adults and juveniles of all ages. Many were perched in the trees, but we had a chance to see one on the snow over a kill, and others in flight.


My highlight was getting to see both the light and dark Ferruginous Hawks on the trip. The dark morph was just seen in passing, and I had no angle to get shots from the camera portholes on the bus. As seen below, the light-morph was much more accommodating. It appears that this light-morph is a recent addition to the area, last year's birds showed dark irides, a characteristic adults have but younger birds do not.


To close, I am guessing that this will be the highlight bird for everyone on the trip who wasn't floored by an eye-level Ferrug or a feeding Harris's Sparrow....


...the just above eye level Bald Eagle. This bird was 10-15 yards from the shuttle bus, and just sat as we stopped and then slowly rolled past. Beautiful, and a great reminder of just how large these birds are. Our tour did get to see a handful of Bison, although they were distant and fairly well hidden in the downslope area of their range. By the time the bus got back I needed to be heading out, but I didn't regret taking the ride. I did notice someone birding from a vehicle at the feeders, and walked over to say hello and ask about the Harris's Sparrow. The man said he hadn't seen one himself that day but that there had been two around, a first and second year. Impressive little feeding station they have going there.

If you are in the area and remotely interested in wildlife do check this location out. The tour ride is a great experience for anyone interested in wildlife or history, regardless of your knowledge level. The ride is really great for kids, but parents be warned that it can run almost two hours. Be aware that the refuge isn't a park. It is a wildlife refuge, and there are a handful of differences for the visitor to be aware of - so check out the site or give them a call during visiting hours.

I can't wait to get back for a hiking day, although at the >95% of the water is frozen, so waterfowl are very limited. On the flip side this normally quiet site is in its off season, so you will have an even more intimate experience during the coming weeks than you will once migration heats up.

2011 Count: 64
Lifetime: 252

Morgan County Day Trip

On Saturday I decided to undertake a self-guided birding excursion. It was to be the better of the two weekend days, and I wanted a chance to really get out and enjoy the high plains environment, beyond the urban sprawl of the Front Range corridor. Flipping blindly through my Colorado atlas, and doing a bit of reading on the Colorado Field Ornithologists' birding website, I decided to head out to Morgan County for the day.
Morgan County is a 'smallish', rectangular county in Northeastern Colorado. It is the next step east from my large, neighboring counties of Weld and Adams. The county features a state park on a good sized reservoir, a well developed agricultural and commerce corridor bordering the South Platte River, and it is handily located along interstate I-76 - making getting there a snap.


My first stop, and main birding area, was Jackson Reservoir State Park. Having left my home at just after 7:00, I was pulled in and counting birds before 9:00. My first sighting in the park itself was a male Ring-necked Pheasant. A good sign of things to come, but on this outing the photography was taking a back seat. I was trying to lean a bit more on my ears and bins first, and get shots as an afterthought. It was a good decision, when I got back that evening I found that my sensor had somehow picked up a collection of dust to rival the area beneath my bed - yuck. Despite that there were a few pictures worth sharing, and species that didn't make the cut.
Above were a group of gulls taken from the pier on the west side of the lake. It was near an area of open water that had some great birds hanging out. Before getting to the gulls in the picture believe me when I say that my report of 48 Bald Eagles was conservative. I had to stop looking for species after I had arrived and just do a sweep of the area to count individuals before they moved around too much. Adding to the impression of the sight was the fact that only 10-15% of the lake was open, so the birds were gathered in a small area of the rather large lake.

Back to the picture above though. I caught the two gulls contesting a catch which was fun, but check out the darker guy on the right - a California Gull. I tallied the California, a good number of Herrings, and of course Ring-billeds at the park. Three gull species, not bad, I guess my gull watches are having some effect.

Gulls are still frustrating though, so lets pause to admire a posed Dark-eyed Junco. "Ah, that's better." The Juncos were part of a loose mixture in the trees as I cam back from the pier. I had American Robins, Mountain and Eastern Bluebirds all interacting with them. The Eastern Bluebirds were the first that I had seen in Colorado.

After checking some of the Russian-Olive groves in that area I met another birding couple who mentioned having had a group of 7 Long-eared owls fly into the trees near them back near the visitor center. I stopped by on my way out of the park. I never saw the owls, but enjoyed this odd moment of nature from the parking lot. Two tom Wild Turkeys were displaying and competing with one another, but were separated by a chain link fence. I have no idea how long the dominance display lasted, or if in a Turkey's mind such a thing can be decided when there is an incomprehensible barrier dividing rivals. It was good for a watch though, and more comical as there was a large opening in the fence just to the left, but these two were so hung up with one another that they may still be there now.

After a very enjoyable time at the park I headed off for my next target - a pair of adjacent parks in Fort Morgan along the South Platte, one of which was appropriately named Riverside Park. A pond there had the full compliment of exotic waterfowl, along with high numbers of both Canada and Cackling Geese. Riverside Park was a bit overdeveloped and crowded on a mild Saturday afternoon, so I headed for the more natural Canfield Park. I had to work for birds, as my walk out was pretty quiet, but eventually birds started appearing. The river itself was strangely dull. I saw 6 Mallards and 11 Killdeer on the banks or in the water, and that was about it. On my return trip I stayed more inland, and was rewarded with more cooperative subjects, like this American Goldfinch.

As I turned from the Goldfinch a Wilson's Snipe exploded from the bank of a fishing pond behind me. A few minutes later a fisherman on the far side flushed it again, and it landed briefly in the open to allow a single shot in the light.

As I walked along I added a pair of Downies and dozens more Red-winged Blackbirds, and got this shot of an Eastern Bluebird posing with the sun at its back.

It was now mid-afternoon, and I had one more area I just had to check out. One of the locations the CFO site listed was a winding county road that cut through the dunes in the southern portion of the county. I wanted this route as it was reported as a great site for raptors, and who doesn't like winding country roads through dunes?

On my way south I picked a road at random from my atlas, county road "Q", and drove east. It was while I was on this road, trying to reach my target while swinging past a SWA, that I witnessed a site that many are inspired by, hundreds of miles away at Bosque del Apache. That site was the rising of thousands of white geese from a reservoir that was dammed immediately to my right. Because the light was fading my pictures were a sad display, but I will be back in the area again to try to do justice to what I was able to witness. Just incredible!

To that end, if any reader happens to know the area, please feel free to reply to let me know if the large processing plant on the south side of that reservoir has any public access to the lake? It is just south of County Rd Q, and west of the Brush Prairie Ponds SWA.

In the fading light I did head on, and reached my target road. I saw no one for ten miles, just two dogs that chased me for a mile or so, and one Red-tail Hawk. I wouldn't have traded the experience though. At one point I stopped to pull a jacket from the back seat, and got out just to listen to the silence. I wasn't rewarded with any sightings, but that didn't matter right then. Finally as I was returning to a paved State Highway and turning back to the interstate in the cloud induced early dusk I had a pair of Harlan's Hawks, one flying and one perched, in my area. A good sighting to wrap up my first of many visits to Morgan County. The hundred Ross's Geese I saw added one life bird to my list in force. I had hoped for photos, but there should be more opportunities as migration approaches.

2010 Count: 70

Lifetime: 207

Sunny Stop Between Errands

Today was the day Girl Scout Cookies showed up at the office! Of course I didn't have the correct cash on me when they arrived. So, lunch featured a quick swing by the bank, and then a stop to break a twenty. In between I made a fortuitous stop along a creek behind the Safeway in Superior. There were dozens of Juncos moving about, but most stayed deep in the brush. I caught the Slate-colored individual above as it spied on me through a branchy frame. The visit reminded me why I have liked this spot in the past. In the ten minutes I stopped I had 20 or so juncos, three Northern Flickers, a Downy Woodpecker, a group of House Finches, and flyovers from geese and ducks. They were all singing their heads off, and I could feel that my appreciation of the springlike weather wasn't isolated just to humankind.

As I gingerly stepped back up to the path a pedestrian asked if I was taking pictures of Eagles, "nope" I said, "just too nice not to get out for a few minutes". I kind of laughed to myself as I walked away, a Bald Eagle in that tiny little grove would have so dominated the scene that I wouldn't have been the only one to notice it.

Then, as if word had gotten out that a Bald Eagle sighting was requested by a non-birder I saw a black and white speck in the distance.

Regrettably the walker was gone as I had been heading the other direction, but I still had a few minutes to enjoy this avian giant mastering the thermals over an area of fairly dense condos and commercial development.

It wasn't alone either. I am not sure if these two were willing co-inhabitants of their common airspace. But neither species really seemed to interact too closely with the other. Readers ready for an airborne ID? Look for a field mark on the non-eagle before getting to the bottom of the page.

The two birds may have tolerated one another, but even the Eagle has its limits.

Not quite enough depth of field to get both in focus - so I split the difference and missed both! Oh well, still a fun sight to see. I got a few shots a bit closer, but this was a different sighting from in the past. This was a prolonged appreciation of a flying eagle - never perched - never really flying with a purpose. It, like all the other birds I watched this afternoon just seemed to be soaking up the beauty of a bright day, and the sun that was coming down from above and back up from the snow.

Any non-hawkwatchers able to identify the other bird above? If you thought Red-tail Hawk you were correct! Note the dark aspects on the lower side of the wing. The dark wrist commas and patagial bars (dark patches on the leading edge of the wings between the commas and the body) mark this as a Red-tail. Bright days with snowy ground are fantastic for watching soaring raptors. All of those indicators that are obscured by shadow beneath the bird on a normal sunny day, get a nice highlight.

The Frustrations of being a 9-5er

I count my blessings every day that I have a job, and that the job I have is rewarding, varied, and filled with people, who while not my dearest friends are certainly enjoyable coworkers and good people to spend time with.

That being that, birders can make you frustrated at not already being happily retired at times. I have been reading reports of people who have enjoyed hours of watching a Snowy owl in a subdivision well south of Denver, and here I am fulfilling my obligations and getting in a bit of lunchtime birding on a few occasions. Today I was skunked for photography. At least I walked away with decent contrast on the Slate-colored Junco above.

The Juncos seemed to be working the edge of the receding snowpack for food. This seemed similar to the high alpine behavior I witnessed in Rocky Mountain National Park this summer when birds could be found around the isolated snow drift edges. There they are reportedly catching insects as the emerge from the ice, I would think the same was happening here. Even with that stretch for insight my walk today was beautiful, but quiet.

Despite having an oncall weekend rotation I may try for an early morning look at the reported Red-shouldered Hawk in Weld county. I am going to have to hope that the Snowy is content to hang around for another full week if I want to take my chance with it. Although based on the uproar between pro and anti birder residents, and the same between well behaved and rotten egg birders, and the cumulative effect they are all having on one another I wouldn't blame the owl if it packed its bags and headed back north before then.

Well it will be another weekend of hoping that good luck shines on my limited opportunities, even if it doesn't the trying will be well worth it! Take care all, and if you find yourself out birding please consider the effect your presence may have on the lives around you, both animal and human.

Improving Temps and Targets

Today's lunch excursion was met with high hopes, a cleaned lens, cleared memory card, and many fewer layers. Of course after cleaning the sensor my camera was once again left in 'artsy' mode - aka black and white. Oh well, appreciate the contrast and highlights of the White-breasted Nuthatch!

I got my gear sorted out, and started getting a few captures of Chickadees against the clear blue sky, when I spotted something moving up high in the tree. Could you see it in the picture above?

Here is a tighter crop, a Brown Creeper! One of my better shots of these well camouflaged and always moving acrobats. While this one taught me something about looking for these trunk dwellers at the treetop level I was not surprised to see it hang inverted several times as it spiraled the branch it was on barber pole style. It was also so good as to give me one solid call to reinforce its distinct style as I watched it. All the better as I had heard several on the CBC, but had not gotten more than a passing look that time.

Of course Chickadees were everywhere, and this one happened to catch the light as well as any.

On the way back I followed some old Nordic ski tracks and was rewarded with a good flock of Juncos, most that I saw were Pink-sided, and some House Finches. They were returning to the trees I passed in the open space between visits to a local house with well stocked feeders.

A New Trailhead in a Favorite Area

Any trail that I come across where a Coyote and I cross paths at midday is one that holds good potential for me. This one even more so, because it is fairly close to my work, and is accessible during a lunch break.


My furry, young, companion decided that I was not someone who was going to yield the trail, so it dove for the trailside underbrush ahead of me. I had a feeling that I knew where the wanderer would emerge from the thickets ahead, so I slowed and then stopped, 'pishing' the bushes as I waited.

I tracked the progress of my unwitting helper by the increasing numbers of juncos who were rising from the depths of the brush as a predator slunk below them.

When the path of starting birds merged with the end of the brush I though I was ready, little did I know that the Coyote was many feet closer to my position, and unfortunately I missed the close up as it peeked through a gap. Realizing it was too close for comfort it returned to the depths and reemerged at the anticipated spot seconds later, allowing me the two shots above from a still respectable range.

The opportunities were not wasted by me as the juncos rose from the depths to stay at a safe range from hungry teeth. Above, a Gray-headed representative of the Dark-eyed Juncos posed for a shot.

Not to be outdone, an Oregon race perched at the top of the stack, with only the snowy backdrop keeping the eye from fully resolving. I also had passing picks of Pink-sided individuals, who are close in appearance to their Oregonian cousins, but lack the highly contrasted dark hood.

In lieu of a poor junco shot I will show this Song Sparrow, who thanks to a response to some 'pishing' finally appeared amongst the camouflage of branches and a lichen covered concrete marker. The marker brings me back around to this trail, which is one I will be sure to visit again, especially as spring arrives, and the brush that was so productive yesterday will be full of even more goodies. In addition to the wildlife it features a placard that points out the historic foundations of the old mining town of Superior, Colorado.

A Few More Count Day Images

Just a few more shots taken on the Boulder Christmas Bird Count last Sunday.

There were White-winged form Dark-eyed Juncos, one that I don't know that I have previously photographed.


Nuthatches were all about, and for whatever reason Sunday was the day that the Red-breasteds were the most photogenic.


I really enjoyed the chance to spend hours learning and then practicing identifying the dramatically different calls of the various Nuthatches. Hopefully I will have a chance to hear a few in Minnesota over the next few days.


A Townsend's Solitaire is no stranger to a perch atop a juniper, but this one stopped close as we were gathered next to, and just upslope of his perch. It was the spot from which we had been observing the Northern Pygmy Owl, and ended up being well lit for the Solitaire as well.

To any and all, may your Holiday be filled with family and friends, food and fun, fur and feathers, and if your location favors it at least a bit of frost!

Waiting for the Weather Change

I headed out at lunch today to see if I could get any pics before the weather really turns this evening. We are supposed to have a cold front blow through bringing rain and snow, who knows it may even drop off some migrants.


Unfortunately, there wasn't much moving along the wooded section of Coal Creek I visited. A Dark-eyed Junco was among the bare branches, confirming that winter is another day closer.

The only other bird I photographed was this lovely Downy Woodpecker. I glimpsed her twice moving through the trees before I got these long range shots.

I'll have to see if she gets any company as the weather turns unpleasant. As I was heading back to work the "Greeley Wind" had arrived, a typical inversion situation along the northern Front Range where certain trapped smells quickly take on the aroma of the noticeable feedlots around Greeley, Colorado. Fair or unfair, I have been hearing the name for the 15 years I have lived in Colorado, and it is an almost certain indicator of snow, which I welcome. So bring on the snow, and the migrant fallout!

Camping in Pike National Forest

Summer in Colorado equals camping in the high country. Or at least it should, as often as possible. I was fortunate to get a second trip up this past weekend, and once again had a great time. Unfortunately, the birding wasn't spectacular. The Grey-headed, Dark-eyed Junco posed nicely in the early morning light, but that was the extent of good, photogenic birds.
I think the great sleeping in open air, the lack of alarm clocks or even watches, and the presence of good friends on hikes are all conspiring against me. I know that if at some point I can rise in the very early morning hours that I can get a blind set and see some good sights, but until then I am just going to keep going back for the whole experience and let the birds be what they may.

That was not to say that it was an uneventful campsite. Saturday morning we had a prickly visitor! Not wanting a confrontation between the Porcupine and Charlie (one camping couples' six month old Yellow Lab) we encouraged the spiny fellow along by slowly walking behind it and speaking loudly in the areas where it stopped in the trees.

Unfortunately, a porcupine who is being encouraged to keep moving along only pauses in the thick brush at the base of trees, and doesn't dawdle through the spaces in-between.

The highlight of the trip was a hike to Gibson Lake. It was a 6 mile round trip hike, and a nice one at that. Our campsite was conveniently located in the vicinity of the trailhead, and after breakfast and porcupine watch we were on our way.
I did notice a difference in myself while hiking with my friends up to the lake at just below 12,000 feet. What I found was that my group was still in a mindset of reaching the destination, while over the past year I have changed my focus to the journey and appreciating the transitions between habitats. Reaching the lake was rewarding though, a cool breeze across the tundra, trout jumping, streams and waterfalls emerging from snow fields, and groups of Alpine Forget-me-nots coloring our grassy seats on the lakeshore. Poofy white clouds periodically sprang from the ridgeline, but never developed into dark masses that could spell trouble for anyone caught above treeline.

I saw a few White-crowned Sparrows, and Robins - of course, but no Ptarmigan, Rosy Finches, or other high alpine specialities. I also missed a Marmot that had been around before we arrived and failed to photograph a Pika that had disappeared on a boulder slope before I could get it in frame. Just more reasons to get back up there soon!

Birding Betasso Preserve

King of the mountain - Pine Siskin style.


Before I had any idea that my afternoon would forever be remembered for seeing my first wild American Black Bear, I did a pretty darn good bit of birding. As I arrived it was still unclear which way the clouds were moving, and I decided to hang around the picnic shelter for a bit. Not that it was much of a sacrifice, there were good birds everywhere. The siskins above were in a group of twenty-plus, and they were happy to do their things all around me giving lots of photo opportunities. There were Western Bluebirds and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds as well, and before I had even left I had a new species to add, a Rufous Hummingbird. Unfortunately the one picture I took was blurred and moving behind in-focus grass, but the colors were distinctive.

This Gray-Headed, Dark-Eyed Junco had a beakfull of goodies ready for dinner. He sat as the trail circled the tree he was perched in, I wonder if he needed a minute before returning to his demanding brood.

I also had a chance to watch a pair of Pygmy Nuthatches cycle food into their cavity nest. These were the first I have photographed, as my previous sighting was on the Boulder Christmas Bird Count at Betasso. Maybe we saw the same residents six months earlier under much different circumstances? I did notice that one of the pair carried away the avian version of a dirty diaper as it left the nest. I would never have known about the behavior or the importance if I had not seen this recent post by AstheMindWanders, check the comment from Nate that explains the behavior.

Western Bluebirds were a constant on my walk. I think he looks great even in the softer light.

Finally this Western Tanager's colors were really set off against the green of the trees across the beginnings of the valley. The best looks I have had so far at this colorful species.

All in all I had three lifer birds on Monday, the Rufous Hummingbird, a Dusky Flycatcher, and two Plumbeous Vireos sadly none were as photogenic as the bear, but there is always next time!

2009 Count: 158

Lifetime: 170