[cobirds] Marston Res -- Common Loon and Sabine's Gull

Hi all --

I birded Marston from all vantage points around noon today. Heat shimmer wasn't much of an issue. The biggest challenge other than the usual Marston challenge of standing in awkward places and looking through a chainlink fence (see the Colorado County Birding website for instructions on how to bird Marston) was learning not to get excited about the dorsal fins of carp. They would appear, wave around in circles, then disappear -- kind of otherworldly but also pretty annoying in my search for phalaropes.

Bird numbers have been marginal at best at Marston all year. I only saw about six Western Grebes today and no shorebirds other than Killdeer (no phalaropes). A nice loafing party of American White Pelicans, Ring-billed and California Gulls on the west side. One flotilla of ten American Coots was visible from every vantage. A party of seven Common Mergansers appeared on the east side and went arrowing after something or other.

I saw the previously reported Common Loon within minutes of arriving at the west side. It cruised past, close in to shore, peering underwater in the loon way, then disappeared for the rest of the nearly two hours I spent repeatedly scanning, scanning, scanning, repeating.

I almost didn't make the final stop along Bow Mar Drive. Good thing I did: on my second scan I caught a small gull flying out toward the middle of the lake. It was a Sabine's, possibly the one reported yesterday. It flew for fifteen seconds (majestically) then landed in the middle of the res and floated. Distant even with the scope. An awesome bird.

Good birding to all,

Chris Rurik

Denver CO

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