Slow Days - Longer Afternoons

I don't think Thursday is ever going to get here! Between waiting for all my deliveries to arrive, the NCAA Basketball Tournament to begin, and my pager rotation to be over I think the slowing of time is actually making an audible screech that can be heard across the universe. Well, maybe not, but I do feel like a kid waiting for Christmas. Fortunately when time slows down it allows more time for getting outside, and with the extension of evening daylight that let me get a nice five mile walk in along the South Platte River. I was back in the area looking for the Long-tailed Duck, but didn't have any luck in that pursuit.

The fantastic part about that area is that there is a great deal of water around. I scanned four reservoirs and a good stretch of the river, and there are at least three additional larger reservoirs in the area. While that is great for seeing a bunch of wildlife, it makes the prospects of finding any single individual a bit longer than I would normally like.

But, the day was beautiful, and I saw 30 fairly common species - including my first Western Grebes of the year. The Killdeer up top was in an abusive mood - screaming and yelling at me as I walked past. Can't really blame it though, the lake that it has had fenced off for its own use for four months just reopened yesterday for fishing. There were lots of Northern Shovelers, American Coot, and Green-Winged Teal groups along the actual river. The Green-winged Teal, (male immediately above and Female two up), were showing off their namesake wing patches.

A Pied-billed Grebe shared a stretch of the river with these Coot, all riding the current to better fishing grounds I guess. As with most beautiful weather these days are all falling at the beginning of the week. Friday, a day I have off, it is forecast to snow!

Colatteral Duckage

Female Hooded Merganser

Saturday I had a bit of daylight left as I was heading back up from the hospital in south Denver, so I swung by a hot spot that I had not visited previously, but that was teeming with avian variety in the midst of the city. That is the stretch of the South Platte River that runs between Evans and Florida, and borders a municipal golf course.

Male Hooded Merganser

It was late afternoon on a short day, so I parked on the west bank, and walked north in the direction of the current.

Male Ring-necked Duck

I had a target species in mind, one that had been reported and refound multiple times in this same stretch over the course of a week.

Male Gadwall

While I was scanning for the single target individual I was amazed at the diversity of waterfowl that I was seeing along the half-mile or so stretch of river.

Male Northern Shoveler

All of these species were on display, and were well lit by the low sun angle and a bit of filtering by the shoreline trees.

Male Green-winged Teal

I didn't see a single new species on my walk, but I have never had an opportunity to get quality looks at so many different birds in one session, and to walk away with quality photographs of the majority was a really nice bonus.

Male American Wigeon

Not a single one of these birds was my target, that one is coming up in a following post along with its more frequently seen relative.

Male Bufflehead

No, all these ducks, and mergansers were seen simply because I had the good 'mis'fortune to turn north from where I parked and not check the 2o yards south of my car to the bridge at Evans Ave. But that species, and its comparison with its more 'common' cousins will have to wait for all these fine looking individuals to enjoy their time in the sun.

Wow - What a Day!

Some days are so nice you feel like shaking off winter.







It really was a great day yesterday. If this is the March lamb impression for arrival I hate to see what the lion is going to look like on the way out..... It really feels like May, which is scary for Colorado. As March is typically the snowiest month, we are either going to be in for a long dry summer, or we are going to get used to this 70 degree business just in time for a 3 foot blizzard. I think the best plan is just to enjoy it while it lasts.







I took full advantage, I went on walks at four different locations on Monday. During my lunch I visited a great location in Louisville that is just a great little open mesa area with some wooded sections on the path I use to get there. It was great watching the Red-tails soaring at midday. I even met a woman out taking her Macaw for a walk. She excitedly told me about the soaring hawks up ahead as I wondered if that Macaw was enjoying the outing as much as she was. Would they make a hawk snack? Very cool sight though.







In the afternoon I stopped at Frank Varra park where I saw three Red-tails circling in the distance, and not much else. So I abandoned it quickly and headed on to two of the best Broomfield Reservoirs, Brunner and Plaster. Brunner featured the Robin above, some Common Mergansers and Scaup on the lake itself and of course the usual supply of Ringed-bills.

On the way out I caught this House Finch in the sun against a dreary looking background. Honestly the Gull and Finch positioned themselves to make the sky look awful, but the sun was shinning and really caught the finch's color.






Off to Plaster where the Red-winged Blackbirds and House Finches were using the mild weather to get down to the business of staking out territory and attracting mates. It was great accompaniment to the beautiful weather. I did have a mystery along the way, and one that I have not convinced myself of completely. Based on the light dark coloring and small overall size of the bird below I am leaning to a Dark-eyed Junco with a bad hair day, but I could be very wrong.



If I am showing my ignorance and have missed something blatant please feel free to let me know by email or in the comments.

I did also enjoy the Song Sparrows, some of whom were actively singing.

For those still enduring real winter, wish you were here!

A Beautiful, Breezy Afternoon

After my trip to see the Trumpeter Swans Monday morning I was fired up and hoped for some more good birds after work. I did want to avoid as much of the wind as possible though. So I headed over to the Greenlee Preserve at Waneka Lake. There is a mile trail looping the lake, and the preserve has a wooden deck overlooking an adjacent marshland and pond. It is tucked into some trees - well sheltered from the wind. I fought the wind across the open areas surrounding the lake to get to the preserve, and then soaked in the peace and calm of the sheltered overlook. It was great!
The wind was clearing the air, and the sun was low enough to generate some good light - and frustrating shadows. I remained on the observation platform for an hour or so, enjoying all the sights and sounds I could, and relishing being back outside after the 4 days of sick. Nature was putting on a great show that afternoon. A group of Juncos were on one side of me as I arrived, and a pair of Downie Woodpeckers were working through the trees on the other. Robins, Chickadees, and House Finches all were busy around me; apparently they enjoyed the calm in the trees as well. Shortly after I got there a Red-tail, likely this one, took off from a spot further down on my side of the pond and made a slow circuit before settling on one of the far side trees. Red-winged Blackbirds were scattered throughout the reeds, displaying their epaulets and singing in the setting sun.
My photography was unproductive. The shadows of the tree limbs and thick branches made many shots cluttered, and many birds dark. It was one of those days where anything at a distance was in good light, and anything close was not. Even this Song Sparrow working an open area in the marsh grass was partially obscured.

That sun sure was nice, and down in the grass he wasn't feeling the wind at all.


Not the best pic of these Green-Winged Teal taking off, but the light caught the namesake green patch on the trailing edge of the male's wing.


Mmmmm! Tasty! I'm not certain what the main course was for this Ring-billed, but it looks suspiciously like a crayfish or shrimp head.

So I didn't add any more species, and there were no spectacular images captured, the day was beautiful despite the wind. Now that the Colorado weather has turned wintry again it is very nice to have a springlike memory from just two days ago.

2009 Count: 57

Lifetime: 87