[cobirds] Eastern Colorado Field Trip on 2/22 (Morgan, Washington and Logan Counties)

I led a Boulder Audubon field trip or 13 birders out east today to Prewitt, North Sterling and Jackson Reservoirs.  A lake trip in February, you might ask.  Well it was pretty darn good, even without any super rarities.

 

We started at Boyd Pond SWA in Log Lane Village were the pair of Trumpeter Swans made themselves visible through dense fog—a really magical sight.  We continued on the Prewitt, stopping first at the US 6 marsh/pond just west of the Prewitt entrance.  It was full of geese with both Great Horned Owl and Ret Tailed Hawk on nest in the trees behind the wetland.  Someone called Greater White-fronted Goose, but as I tried to move into position to see it, I managed to flush all the waterfowl off the water.  Oh well, only a year bird…. But I didn’t realize that Greater White-fronted was stepping to the head of the class to be the bird of the trip.  All of a sudden there was one overhead, then a few more flying over, then a whole flock of more than 50 with their strange un-goose–like sound.

 

We continued on into Prewitt Res. itself.  What had been total ice when I scouted last Sunday was now breaking up at the west end, thanks to lots of water pouring in through the canal.  The birds were distant, and spooky thanks to the ring of Bald Eagles on the ice—a small flock of 13—but again included both white-cheeked geese and scores more Greater White-fronted plus flocks of Mallard and Northern Pintail.   The pond in the woods along the road out from the middle of Prewitt was full of water fowl, again up to 50 Greater White-Fronted Geese and about 10 assorted duck species.

 

From Prewitt we continued to North Sterling Reservoir and State Park via the back way up through Merino.  Lots of Ferruginous Hawks (at least 4) and  Rough-legged Hawks on the poles and stumps as we drove north, and just outside North Sterling a Prairie Falcon that all got to enjoy.  At the west end of North Sterling there was a bit of open water with geese, mergansers and a couple dozen Ring-billed Gulls with one Herring Gull.  From the west end I counted 30 Bald Eagles, a larger flock.  Most impressive, though, was a mass of white and blue geese—10,000 strong with a handful of Ross’s candidates included.  We then went to the east side, which was totally frozen to our eyes, but still held 14 more Bald Eagles (44 total at NSSP), a Northern Shrike on the way in and a flyover Lapland Longspur. 

 

On the drive down to Sterling we stopped at a roadside pond with at least 9 more Greater White-fronted Geese among 500 Cackling Geese and a few Canada Geese.

 

At this point we headed back toward Jackson Res.  We had a Golden Eagle north of Ft. Morgan and a Northern Shrike outside Weldona, but little at Jackson Res. SP outside a large flock of robins.

 

Bill Kaempfer

Boulder