Category: Colorado Birding

Front Range Rarities

On January 23, 24 and 26 we chased multiple Front Range rarities. We covered five counties: Adams, Jefferson, Douglas, Arapahoe and Boulder. We found most of what we were looking for and even a few surprises.

Chatfield State Park January 23

In the late afternoon we headed to Chatfield State Park in search of a Yellow-billed Loon. After carefully scoping the reservoir for 20 minutes we spotted two loons swimming very close to each other. One of them was the Yellow-billed, the other was a Common Loon.

Yellow-billed Loon
Yellow-billed Loon!
Yellow-billed Loon
You can see the light head & back and slightly upturned bill which differentiates it from a Common Loon.
Yellow-billed Loon
Great view of the light head.
Common Loon
Common Loon swimming near the Yellow-billed. He has a much darker back and head.
Yellow-billed Loon and Common Loon
Good comparison of Yellow-billed (on left) and Common (on right) Loons. You can see the much lighter back on the Yellow-billed.

Cherry Creek State Park January 24

We went to Cherry Creek State Park hoping to find some of the common local birds but were pleasantly surprised with an unexpected rarity. We found a Mexican Duck at the Marina. Mexican Ducks are very similar to Mallards, but the male does not have a green head like a Mallard and it is darker overall.

Mexican Duck
Male Mexican Duck on the left and female Mallard on the right. We know he is a male because of his yellow bill.
Mexican Duck
Mexican Duck feeding.
Mexican Duck and Mallard
Mexican Duck in the center surrounded by male and female Mallards.
Mallard
An interesting male Mallard still molting into breeding plumage.
Bald Eagle
This Bald Eagle flew over and flushed all the Mallards and the Mexican Duck we were looking at…
While we watched the Mexican Duck we saw this gull trying to steal dinner from a Hooded Merganser.
coyotes
Two coyotes feeding on some kind of carcass on the ice on the other side of the lake. Magpies standing by for leftovers.

Full Birding Day January 26

Today we looked for many rarities along the Front Range. Most of the birds we chased were uncommon or rare birds that were visiting bird feeders in people’s yards. To respect the homeowners who have shared these bird sightings, I will not post exact locations of the feeders and homes.

Morrison

We headed to private feeders in Morrison arriving just before sunrise. Our target was a Golden-crowned Sparrow that had been visiting this feeder. This was our third attempt to see this West Coast bird. After waiting for almost an hour the bird made an appearance and gave us great views!

Townsend's Solitaire
While we were waiting this Townsend’s Solitaire was feasting on berries.
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Our patience paid off when the Golden-crowned Sparrow flew into the feeder and started eating seeds on the ground.
Golden-crowned Sparrow
And time for a drink…
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Look at that gold crown!
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Unfortunately this bird is not in breeding plumage this time of year. Otherwise he would have been truly spectacular.
Littleton

Our next stop was another neighborhood where a Carolina Wren had been seen. The wren had been visiting two different feeders only a few blocks away from each other. Although we birded the neighborhood for two hours we only heard the bird call twice. He never made an appearance so we had to settle for just hearing him.

Red-tailed Hawk
A Red-tailed Hawk in a tree near the feeders.
Lyons

Our third stop of the day was also our third feeder watch of the day. After only five minutes of watching the feeders our target bird, Harris’s Sparrow, appeared on his favorite feeder, an upside down trash can lid. The higher elevation area also produced some other cool birds.

Steller's Jay
A Steller’s Jay on the Sparrow’s favorite spot.
Harris's Sparrow
The Harris’s Sparrow arrived on the feeder just after the jay left.
Harris's Sparrow
Enjoying some seeds.
Golden Eagle
After leaving the feeder we saw this Golden Eagle cruising over the ridgeline.
ridgeline
What a view! This is the ridge where we saw the Golden Eagle.
American Dipper
As we left Lyons we saw an American Dipper in St. Vrain Creek.
South Platte River at 78th Ave

As the sun began to set on an awesome day of birding we headed back towards Denver to a section of the South Platte River where a pair of Barrow’s Goldeneye had been reported. Although the sun set on our chances of seeing the Goldeneye we did get many other waterfowl.

Northern Pintail
A Pair of Northern Pintails.
Black-crowned Night-heron
Black-crowned Night-heron along the river.
Sun Set
The sun setting…

I love chasing Front Range rarities! January is normally not a great time to be doing this but we found some good and rare birds.

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

Optics: Celestron

Mountain Birds January 2020

Our goal for today was to find as many mountain birds as possible, especially small owls. We birded three locations, saw some great birds and a couple of four legged surprises.

Castlewood Canyon

Our first stop of the the day was Castlewood Canyon State Park. We arrived well before sunrise hoping to hear a Northern Saw-whet Owl. These small owls are extremely hard to find because they only call at night. During the day they roost in pine trees almost always in the densest part of the tree making them almost impossible to see. The best we could hope for with these owls was to hear them.

Castlewood Canyon State Park
Although we didn’t hear any Saw-whets we did get to enjoy a beautiful sunrise.
Red Crossbills
Undoubtedly the bird of the day, the Red Crossbill. This small flock landed in a tree along Castlewood Canyon Road in the predawn light.
Rampart Range Road
Red Crossbills
The first bird we saw upon arriving at Rampart Range Road was this female/juvenile Red Crossbill, just one of the many we saw.
Rampart Range Road
Unfortunately the ornament on this tree is the closest we came to seeing an owl. Although we did hear a Northern Pygmy-owl very close to the road, we could not locate it. The Nuthatches and Crossbills heard the owl as well judging by their continual panicked chatter just off the road.
White-breasted Nuthatch
After the Pygmy-owl stopped calling this White-breasted Nuthatch went back to his normal behavior.
Pygmy Nuthatch
A fearless Pygmy Nuthatch along the road.
South Platte River
The view along the South Platte River as we drove to our next birding location.
Elk
Look at the rack on that Elk!
Elk
He was fearless, standing less then 30 feet away from our car!
Steller's Jay
A Steller’s Jay along the road on our drive to Staunton State Park.
South Platte River
Consulting the map…
Staunton State Park
Staunton State Park
Spectacular view!
Pygmy Nuthatch
A Pygmy Nuthatch enjoying the pine cones.
Clark's Nutcracker
A very vocal Clark’s Nutcracker! We were able to locate him by his unique call.
Clark's Nutcracker
What a treat to have such close views of this Clark’s Nutcracker, by far the closest I have ever seen a Nutcracker. If only it was less obstructed…
Clark's Nutcracker
Ah, that’s better!
Cool Nutcracker call.
Red Crossbill
Great view of this male Red Crossbill. Look at that distinctly shaped bill!
Red Crossbill
Every time I see a Crossbill I marvel at the uniqueness of his bill.
squirrel
A squirrel enjoying a pine cone just like many of the birds we saw today.
Abert's Squirrel
My first Abert’s Squirrel!
Abert's Squirrel
Look at those ear tufts!
Mountain Chickadee
One of the many Mountain Chickadees we saw today.
Red Crossbill
Our last bird of the day was the same as the first, a Red Crossbill.

Although we had an awesome day looking for mountain birds we went one for two on hearing owl species and didn’t manage to see either of them. I know we will be back out soon to try and see those owls.