Hi all,
I went up to Conifer with my, alas, non-birding family today (Dec. 26th). It wasn't very birdy at high elevations, with a raven & Mountain Chickadee being the only species I saw, and a few more "usual suspects" (crows, magpies, a Red-tailed Hawk and Steller's Jay) lower down. On the way back to Denver, however, I finagled a couple of all-too-brief visits to Red Rocks Park & Chatfield Reservoir.
It was about 11:00 when we got to Red Rocks and 15 minutes was about all I managed to get there. I'd had visions of Rosy-Finch flocks dancing through my head, but nothing of that kind materialized. I think I must have seen the same two Gray-crowned Rosies Mike Henwood reported earlier, one each of "Hepburn's" & "interior" types. I assumed I was too late in the morning, but after Mike's message concluded it simply wasn't meant to be today. I also had a great look at the Golden-crowned Sparrow. There were quite a lot of birds, but nothing unusual or unreported recently. Unlike Norm Lewis, however, I *did* see a White-breasted Nuthatch.
It was just after 11:30 when I got to Chatfield. Mostly scads of white-cheeked geese around the tiny bits of open water, along with several Bald Eagles on the ice & nearby trees. I was grateful for their presence as they gave my non-birding companions something to look at. I did see both recently mentioned grebe species. I was especially delighted with Red-necked Grebe, my sixth species of grebe for Colorado. I did wonder if the Western Grebes' patch of open water was truly in Jefferson County, or whether that's Douglas--everything else I'm comfortable with calling Jefferson County birding. Any & all opinions welcomed!
Cheers,
Rob Parsons
Winnipeg, MB
CANADA
(but temporarily in unincorporated Arapahoe County for at least another 12 hours)
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