Gray Catbirds and Western Wood-Pewees arrived in western Arapahoe County over the weekend. I had my first of the seasons of both on Sunday (5/14) at deKoevend Park.
On Monday (5/15) morning, I birded west Arapahoe Co. I had more of both catbirds and Western Wood-Pewees at Willow Spring Open Space. I also had my first Northern Mockingbird in west Arapahoe Co. at Willow Spring. The bird was silent but conspicuously perching atop small conifers in the scrubby field near the Holly St. entrance. From Willow Spring, I visited Marjorie Perry Nature Preserve in Greenwood Village, where I had my first Eastern Kingbird of the season. (Pewees were there as well.) After finishing up at the preserve, I went home, picked up my dog, Iggy, and headed to Richmil Ranch Open Space in Deer Trail, CO (eastern Arapahoe Co.). There were plenty of singing mockingbirds, a few Bullock's Orioles, and many chattering Western Kingbirds. A Lincoln's Sparrow, which I only ever see in fairly thick understories, was a surprise, perched atop a tree trunk, out in the open, near a picnic table. After walking the trail that goes around the open space, Iggy and I took a lunch and water break at the picnic shelter near the open space entrance. A Common Nighthawk, my first of the season, called while I ate. No other bird gets me to my feet as quickly as a nighthawk. I looked for it, but only spotted a shape, way up high, that was moving like a nighthawk. Iggy and I then headed back into the open space to try to confirm that we'd indeed heard Cassin's Kingbirds. We indeed had. After inspecting a lot of Western's, I finally found two making the right noises and showing the right, white-tipped tails as they flew away from me. A Red-headed Woodpecker made an appearance at Richmil as Iggy and I left. (From the car, I spotted another just south of the open space on CO-40.) We took the "back way" home to look for sparrows in the farmland. We found Lark Buntings & Lark Sparrows, Horned Larks, several more mockingbirds, and one or two Loggerhead Shrikes.
Today (5/16), Iggy and I walked around deKoevend Park. Along the southern edge of the park, near Big Dry Creek, we had a nice collection of birds among some cottonwoods -- Yellow Warblers, a White-breasted Nuthatch, a pewee, robins, flickers, and my first Black-headed Grosbeak of the season. We then checked out the Big Dry Creek Trail south of Cherry Knolls Park. We found an Olive-sided Flycatcher, several Western Tanagers, and a few more pewees along the trail where it meets St. Paul Ave. There were many Broad-tailed Hummingbird up and down the trail, with several, especially, near where the trail forks at E. Dry Creek Rd. My first Lesser Goldfinches of the year were also along the trail. Iggy and I then made a brief stop at a small park called Milliken Park in Centennial. Bordered by the High Line Canal and an odd undeveloped space filled with towers / antennas, old satellites, and a small, dilapidated building, the park, I suspect, has a nesting pair of Western Kingbirds. (Last July, I saw six of them at the park.) I stopped at the park to look for signs of this and found two Western Kingbirds flycatching around the undeveloped space.
At home, I heard a chipping in my yard and found, again, a male MacGillivray's Warbler. When I last reported one on May 8 & 9, I said that I suspected that it was the same one that visited my yard 5/17-5/19 last year. Now I'm not so sure. Perhaps this is a second MacGillivray's that inexplicably found its way to the line of bushes and trees that separates my yard from my neighbors' yards. In any case, I hadn't seen or heard a MacGillivray's in my yard since May 9, despite spending a lot of time out there doing yard work. The bird on the 8th and 9th chipped and occasionally sang. This one briefly sang and chipped a bit as well. Perhaps its the same bird as the May 8 bird. Perhaps not.
- Jared Del Rosso
Centennial, CO
-- On Monday (5/15) morning, I birded west Arapahoe Co. I had more of both catbirds and Western Wood-Pewees at Willow Spring Open Space. I also had my first Northern Mockingbird in west Arapahoe Co. at Willow Spring. The bird was silent but conspicuously perching atop small conifers in the scrubby field near the Holly St. entrance. From Willow Spring, I visited Marjorie Perry Nature Preserve in Greenwood Village, where I had my first Eastern Kingbird of the season. (Pewees were there as well.) After finishing up at the preserve, I went home, picked up my dog, Iggy, and headed to Richmil Ranch Open Space in Deer Trail, CO (eastern Arapahoe Co.). There were plenty of singing mockingbirds, a few Bullock's Orioles, and many chattering Western Kingbirds. A Lincoln's Sparrow, which I only ever see in fairly thick understories, was a surprise, perched atop a tree trunk, out in the open, near a picnic table. After walking the trail that goes around the open space, Iggy and I took a lunch and water break at the picnic shelter near the open space entrance. A Common Nighthawk, my first of the season, called while I ate. No other bird gets me to my feet as quickly as a nighthawk. I looked for it, but only spotted a shape, way up high, that was moving like a nighthawk. Iggy and I then headed back into the open space to try to confirm that we'd indeed heard Cassin's Kingbirds. We indeed had. After inspecting a lot of Western's, I finally found two making the right noises and showing the right, white-tipped tails as they flew away from me. A Red-headed Woodpecker made an appearance at Richmil as Iggy and I left. (From the car, I spotted another just south of the open space on CO-40.) We took the "back way" home to look for sparrows in the farmland. We found Lark Buntings & Lark Sparrows, Horned Larks, several more mockingbirds, and one or two Loggerhead Shrikes.
Today (5/16), Iggy and I walked around deKoevend Park. Along the southern edge of the park, near Big Dry Creek, we had a nice collection of birds among some cottonwoods -- Yellow Warblers, a White-breasted Nuthatch, a pewee, robins, flickers, and my first Black-headed Grosbeak of the season. We then checked out the Big Dry Creek Trail south of Cherry Knolls Park. We found an Olive-sided Flycatcher, several Western Tanagers, and a few more pewees along the trail where it meets St. Paul Ave. There were many Broad-tailed Hummingbird up and down the trail, with several, especially, near where the trail forks at E. Dry Creek Rd. My first Lesser Goldfinches of the year were also along the trail. Iggy and I then made a brief stop at a small park called Milliken Park in Centennial. Bordered by the High Line Canal and an odd undeveloped space filled with towers / antennas, old satellites, and a small, dilapidated building, the park, I suspect, has a nesting pair of Western Kingbirds. (Last July, I saw six of them at the park.) I stopped at the park to look for signs of this and found two Western Kingbirds flycatching around the undeveloped space.
At home, I heard a chipping in my yard and found, again, a male MacGillivray's Warbler. When I last reported one on May 8 & 9, I said that I suspected that it was the same one that visited my yard 5/17-5/19 last year. Now I'm not so sure. Perhaps this is a second MacGillivray's that inexplicably found its way to the line of bushes and trees that separates my yard from my neighbors' yards. In any case, I hadn't seen or heard a MacGillivray's in my yard since May 9, despite spending a lot of time out there doing yard work. The bird on the 8th and 9th chipped and occasionally sang. This one briefly sang and chipped a bit as well. Perhaps its the same bird as the May 8 bird. Perhaps not.
- Jared Del Rosso
Centennial, CO
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/23abdb38-4279-4038-bd19-2763a6e7004f%40googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
No comments:
Post a Comment