Our birding adventures took us to Pueblo over the weekend. Pueblo is almost two hours south of Colorado and provides a very different habitat type than the Metro area and therefore there are many desert birds that don’t get this far north. We looked forward to birding in the area around Pueblo Reservoir. We were especially hoping to spot three rarities: Red-throated Loon, Dunlin and Great Black-backed Gull.
Pueblo Reservoir
When we arrived at Pueblo Reservoir just after sunrise it was 15 degrees.
First bird of the day, Mountain Bluebird . This was only one of the many Mountain Bluebirds we saw today.Yum! A berry! Another Bluebird the same color as the sky.Some of the many gulls loafing on the tires at Pueblo Reservoir. By looking through the hundreds of common gulls (Herring and Ring-billed Gulls) you can often find a few rarer species. This is the area where the Great Black-backed Gull hangs out so we were constantly on the lookout for him.One of the many Ring-billed Gulls which were definitely the most common species. This was the only California Gull we saw at the reservoir today. Although they are quite common in spring and fall, finding them in winter in Colorado can be difficult. You can also see a Herring gull in the background, sleeping, with pink legs.Hmmm. A Black-backed Gull, just not the right species. This is a Lesser Black-backed Gull, the smaller, yellow legged relative of the Great Black-backed Gull, who has dull pink legs.Gulls have an incredible ability to eat almost anything. The Lesser Black-backed has found a dead fish (?) on the shore of the lake.Finally! The Great Black-backed Gull, the largest gull species in the world!Time for a nap… It’s hard to see in this picture, but he towers over all other gulls.Another target bird, the Dunlin. Finding this small shore bird mixed in with the gull flock can be quite difficult. Thank you to the two other birders who pointed him out to us!If the Dunlin was behind the tires it would be almost impossible to spot him.After our luck with Gulls on the tires, we scoped the reservoir in search of the Red-throated Loon. Although this bird is a loon it is in fact a Pacific Loon. This is not the loon we were looking for.Another fun bird, a Horned Grebe.A Ground Squirrel on the shore of the lake.After scoping from every possible vantage point on the north and west sides of the lake we decided to check the grassland around the reservoir. One of the first birds we spotted was a Loggerhead Shrike perched in the distance.An American Goldfinch in the top of a willow tree. He is not in his bright yellow plumage during the winter months.A fearless Canyon Towhee. This is the only part of the state where this species can be found.
Valco Ponds
Valco Ponds are a group of ponds just downstream from Pueblo Reservoir.
Curve-billed Thrasher that was making a lot of noise in the bushes. They get their name from the way they thrash their bill through dead leaves on the ground looking for food.A male Red-breasted Merganser with some awesome hair.One of the smallest birds in Colorado, the Ruby-crowned Kinglet.A Belted Kingfisher hunting over the river.Yellow-rumped Warbler. You can see his yellow rump.One of two Killdeer foraging along the banks of the river.A female Eastern Bluebird was a pleasant surprise!And her mate, a male Eastern Bluebird not far away.A Bewick’s Wren skulking in the brush. The thorny Cholla cactus reminding us we are in a desert.
Pueblo Reservoir (Again)
In hopes of spotting our final target bird of the day we returned to Pueblo Reservoir.
Behind the Western Grebes you can see an extremely distant bird. Though it’s impossible to tell from this picture, it is a Red-throated Loon. We drove to the other side of the lake to get a better view of the bird, but because of bad glare from the setting sun we could not refind it.
What an awesome day of birding around Pueblo Reservoir. We found all three of our target birds and it turned out to be a super successful day!
