Hi all,
I'm back in your great state. Wonderful weather and not bad birding! I'm here for a wedding and won't have much time for birding, alas. I did manage to sneak in a little today, though.
A brief stop at the rest stop in Julesberg, Sedgwick County immediately yielded a couple of Eurasian Collared-Doves. What would a visit to Colorado be without some? (First of year for me.) Wouldn't that be a much more exciting state bird than a Lark Bunting? (Anyone who knows me at all knows I'm speaking tongue-in-cheek, because I'm a huge fan of Lark Buntings.) Speaking of Lark Buntings, I had a sighting of a seemingly quite late individual along the Interstate, just south of the rest stop.
Arriving in Arapahoe County, I managed a walk over to Cherry Creek and, although I didn't see a huge variety of species, one of the first birds swimming in the reservoir I clapped eyes on eventually proved to be a Sabine's Gull. It never actually flew, but only swam. I looked at it for quite some time, and nearly convinced myself that's what it was--a small & slender brownish gull--but a small nagging voice kept asking me if I was *sure* it couldn't be something else. (Although there was a Franklin's Gull not too far away available for comparison and I really thought it was slightly heftier looking than the probable Sabine's.) Fortunately for me, it eventually raised its wings, revealing the striking white, black & brown triangles on the wings and I believe I yelled "YES!" when it did. I was aware there had been several seen there but figured no way would any of them linger for me. If anyone is still looking for one, it was along the west side, about half way between the so-called bird observation point and the marina area.
Ah, what an awesome state Colorado is. Where else can you see a Lark Bunting and a Sabine's Gull on the same day?
Cheers,
Rob Parsons
Temporarily in Arapahoe County
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