Category: Colorado Birding

Owls Part 1

Searching For Owls In Northeastern Colorado, February 15

We drove to Northeastern Colorado (Logan and Jackson Counties) in search of owls and other rare birds. Our goal was to find a Short-eared Owl which would be a lifer. They are most often seen hunting at dawn and dusk so we birded at Sterling Lake in the early morning and at Jackson Lake in the evening. Both are favorite owl hangouts but we were unable to find a Short-eared on this trip. We did find other birds (and owls) of interest.

Snow Geese
Hundreds of Snow Geese flying overhead.
Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle perched in the distance.
Ferruginous Hawk
A Ferruginous Hawk sitting on top of a power pole.
Northern Harrier
Northern Harrier cruising over the fields.
Coyote
A Coyote loping across a grassy field.

Our next birding location was Jackson Lake State Park. In winter this reservoir attracts many hard to find species.

Long-eared Owl
A Long-eared Owl perched in a dense clump of willow bushes.
Long-eared Owl
Can you spot the Long-eared Owl sitting in the bushes?
Long-eared Owl
What cute and long ear tufts!
Bald Eagle and Brewer's Blackbird
A Bald Eagle chillin’ in the top of a tree with a flock of Brewer’s Blackbirds.
Brewer's Blackbird
And here’s a closer look at two male Brewer’s Blackbirds.
Gulls and Eagles
Several eagles perched on the ice with some gulls.
Jackson Lake
Although it doesn’t look like it in this picture, the whole of Jackson Lake is frozen. A cool optical illusion.
Great Horned Owl
After sunset we spotted our second owl of the day, a Great Horned Owl. Although the light was disappearing quickly we were able to photograph the bird, one of several Great Horned Owls that were calling.

Arapahoe County, February 16

There was a report of an Eastern Screech-Owl close to our house. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to see this bird in his daytime roost.

Eastern Screech-owl
Eastern Screech-Owl sleeping in a cavity. Once we found the right tree it was easy to spot the owl.
Eastern Screech-owl
Squinty eyed little fellow.
Eastern Screech-Owl
Look at those little claws!
Eastern Screech-Owl
What’s that below me?
Eastern Screech-Owl
A little stretch.

Front Range, February 22

We took a break from owling during the early part of the day to chase some other rare birds. Our first stop was a small lake near Brighton which is a town just northeast of Denver. A Mew Gull had been reported at this lake. Mew Gulls are very difficult to identify because of how similar they are to Ring-billed Gulls. The biggest differences are its bill and head shape.

Mew Gull
After scoping the 250 Ring-billed Gulls for almost an hour we finally spotted one bird that looked slightly different from the rest.
Mew Gull
The bird in the center facing right is a Mew Gull!
Mew Gull
In this picture you can clearly see one of the key field marks to differentiate Mew and Ring-billed Gulls. The bill of the Mew is skinny and pointed and is all yellow. All the surrounding gulls (Ring-billed Gulls) have a broader bill with a black ring around it. The Mew Gull’s head is also more rounded than the Ring-billed Gulls.
Bald Eagle
An immature Bald Eagle sitting in a tree on the edge of the lake.
Western Meadowlark
A Western Meadowlark intermittently singing from the top of this fence post.

After spotting the Mew Gull we drove to Fort Collins to look for a Gyrfalcon that has been hanging around Larimer County landfill. Over the past two winters we have made more than 15 trips in search of the falcon without success. The Gyrfalcon did not make an appearance during our stay but we were able to see the gulls that congregate around the landfill. All the gulls were very distant but identifiable.

Gulls
Many gulls roosting at the Larimer County landfill.
Glaucous Gull
A more cropped image of the last picture. The large all white gull standing on top of the rock is a Glaucous Gull. Although all the gulls are far away it is a fun challenge to identify them at this distance.

After dark we birded the foothills of Jefferson County trying to hear a Northern Saw-whet Owl. This small owl is extremely hard to find either by ear or by sight. This bird would be a lifer for me so the opportunity to finally hear one was thrilling! After only a short time we heard the distinct tooting call of the Saw-whet Owl!

What a great two weekends of birding, ending with our fourth species of owl which was also a lifer!

Camera: Nikon COOLPIX P1000, SONY Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V

Optics: Celestron TrailSeeker Scope and Nikon Monarch 7 ATB 8×42 Binoculars

White-winged Crossbill

A White-winged Crossbill was reported on eBird on Saturday night by Holden Maxfield. This bird would be a lifer so that night I emailed Holden asking for details on where he found the bird. Around 9 am Sunday morning he responded to my email with an excellent description of the bird’s location. We immediately headed to Brainard Lake Recreation Area to find the crossbill.

When we arrived after driving almost two hours, we realized we weren’t properly prepared. Every person in the parking lot had either cross-country skis or snowshoes except us. This of course would have been a wise decision considering the elevation was well over 10,000 feet and it was snowing quite hard. Not to be defeated, we headed out along the snowshoe trail. Thankfully the trail was well packed and the snowshoers were quite nice even if they were a little confused. After hiking almost a mile we reached the location.

Brainard Lake
The tree where the crossbill had been seen the day before (I think). He was not in the fallen tree today.
Brainard Lake
Walking up the mountain…
Red Crossbill
A Red Crossbill. This bird was the first of a small flock of eight that we saw.
Red Crossbill
He gave us a moment of excitement before we realized it was not the White-winged Crossbill.
American Three-toed Woodpecker
After a little while, we heard tapping in the woods very close to the trail. At this elevation there was a good chance this bird was an American Three-toed Woodpecker but we could not locate it. The only choice was to wade off the trail into the 5 feet of snow to get a look at the tree where the tapping was coming from. Thankfully we walked only a few feet in before locating the bird.
American Three-toed Woodpecker
He was an American Three-toed Woodpecker!
Red Crossbill or White-winged Crossbill
I have gone back and forth on the identification of this crossbill. Unfortunately we never got a good look at this bird’s wings because it was sitting in the very top of a tree. It is probably just a weird Red Crossbill but we may never know.
American Crows
Just about the only other birds we saw that day. A tree full of crows.
Brainard Lake
Figuring out which way to go.

Although we didn’t photograph the White-winged Crossbill we did hear its distinctive flight call. Even though we didn’t see it we can still count it as a lifer because we identified it by call. This is not the most glorious way to get a lifer, but it still counts!