[cobirds] Pueblo birds on 2 Nov 2012

Hi all,

I birded quite a bit today around Pueblo.  This is the date of the Chatfield Reservoir Long-billed Murrelet back in the late 1990s, so I was doing a lot of scoping the birds on Pueblo Reservoir today, hoping for any species of alcid.

It was easy to scope Pueblo Reservoir today, since it wasn't windy and it was overcast, both during the morning and the afternoon.  The best bird(s) was/were adult Lesser Black-backed Gull(s).  In the morning, one was swimming off Sailboard launching area and the afternoon one was on the South Marina tires, I'm not sure this is the same one or not.  I saw eight Common Loons, five together this afternoon off Sailboard launching area.  Bonaparte's Gulls seem to be scattered all around the reservoir, though I didn't pick out anything with them.  There were a few female Red-breasted Mergansers at a couple of locations around the Reservoir.  There were other ducks around, nothing of note however.  There are lots of grebes, though I didn't see a Red-necked Grebe, so maybe yesterday's bird, was a one-day wonder.  There a juvenile Northern Shrike along West Fishing Road, and a Ferruginous Hawk, between West Fishing Road and the North Shore Marina, in the prairie dog town.  The was one Double-crested Cormorant near the dam, this afternoon.

I went over to Pueblo City Park, during the early afternoon.  The best bird was an "Eastern" White-breasted Nuthatch, near the ravine in the north east portion of the park.  I didn't find any unusual mountain birds, or any warblers or sapsuckers.  I've had better luck in City Park during the mid-morning hours, recently.

I hadn't birded Rock Canyon much recently, so I went the Osprey Picnic Area, and eastern part was good for a lot of birds.  The best birds were two Eastern Bluebirds and a couple of Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Brandon Percival

Pueblo West, CO