[cobirds] Oct 9-10: Chatfield and Ken Caryl region

Oct 9

During the snow I visited several spots at Chatfield, but found the lake with few birds (and limited visibility), and other than Mountain and Western Bluebirds there was not really evidence of anything moving around because of the snow. The model air field area had an American Pipit and a Say's Phoebe. The Swim Beach had a Sabine's Gull. A Merlin was near the Marina. The view down to the Platte inlet from the new heronry overlook included Lesser Black-backed Gull, 7 Dowitcher sp. (presumably LBDO), and 1 Solitary Sandpiper. The upland habitats there had 2 tardy Clay-colored Sparrows and a Green-tailed Towhee.

South Platte Res had an American Pipit along the Jeffco portion of the shoreline, but no waterbirds visible during my visit. There was a flock near the first bend of the entry road that had 4 Clay-colored Sparrows in sunflowers with many goldfinches.

Back home at Ken Caryl Valley, as the day went on quite a few Steller's Jays moved into my home area, and I had 6 at once time in my yard.  Both Western and Mountain Bluebirds were around, and after the snow cleared out I saw a late Turkey Vulture move south. 6 Cassin's Finches visited my feeders late in the day.

Oct 10

An absolutely gorgeous day with the great combo of blue sky, snow cover and fall color. But DFOs field trip to Ken Caryl Valley met with a cold start at 24 degrees and limited bird activity. But we eeked out birds here and there. Highlights were a Clay-colored Sparrow, Townsend's Solitiares, Lincoln's Sparrow, bluebirds, a number of Steller's Jays, Orange-crowned Warblers. An Evening Grosbeak staged a brief fly over. At Hine Lake at Robert A. Easton Park some dabbling ducks had come in, with 2 Buffleheads, about 105 Redhead and about 290 Ring-necked Ducks, among others. Two Blue-winged Teal were later than most for the local area.

At home in Ken Caryl Valley there was still at least 1 Broad-tailed Hummingbird. I visited the White-throated Swift roosting cliff at Deer Creek at the Lyons Hogback twice in the late afternoon, and saw one White-throated Swift still present at about 3:45 pm, but none were evident close to 5 pm. I had two flocks of southbound Sandhill Cranes: about 30 flying over my home  at 3:41 pm, and 11 over South Valley Park at 4:14 pm. 

David Suddjian

Ken Caryl Valley

Littleton, CO

Virus-free. www.avast.com

--
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/CAGj6Roo4rWOO%3DOJUjHhtn%2Bi31QF5AKAbTeGE-4pDiv%3DkfN6Jqw%40mail.gmail.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.