Pacific Wren

After three days of searching for the Pacific Wren we finally found him on Christmas morning! He was first seen on December 23rd at Bear Creek Lake Park. The Wren’s range is normally the Pacific Coast. This bird represents the first record ever for Jefferson County, Colorado.

I’ve only seen this bird once before in Rocky Mountain National Park. A nesting pair of Pacific Wrens had taken up residence within the park. We hiked six miles to find the birds.

December 23rd

I received eBird’s notification at 10:14 am on the 23rd that a Pacific Wren had been found by Chris Wood at Bear Creek Lake Park. I got there as quickly as possible after hearing the news, arriving around noon. My mom and I birded the area where the wren had been found for 3 ½ hours. No wren!

Belted Kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher having a bad hair day…
Northern Flicker Feather
Northern Flicker feather.
American Dipper
American Dipper.
American Dipper
Dipper blinking which shows white eyelid.
Black-billed Magpie
Magpie.
Pacific Wren location Bear Creek
Bear Creek.

December 24th

Not to be defeated by this bird, I brought my dad for an extra set of eyes. The three of us arrived at 10:45. The bird had been seen at 10:30 by many people. When we arrived it was nowhere to be found. We searched for an hour and a half before cutting our losses and heading to Chatfield Reservoir for some rare waterfowl.

Bear Creek

American Dipper foraging along the creek
American Dipper
American Dipper.

Chatfield State Park

Chatfield State Park
Mom and I scoping the rarities at Chatfield.
Common Goldeneye
Common Goldeneye.
Pacific Loon
Pacific Loon, one of the rarities.
Red-necked Grebe
The other rare bird: a Red-necked Grebe.
Western Grebe
Four Western Grebes.

December 25th

Birding on Christmas Day was nothing new to us, having spent the holidays last year in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. Because the bird was seen around sunrise the previous two days we arrived early to have the best chance of finding him. We got to the park at 7:30 and were the first birders to arrive. We searched high and low for 30 minutes and were joined by several other birders. The bird was finally located around 8:00 and gave us excellent views. As had been reported he was quite chatty and happy to sit still just feet away from us.

Pacific Wren
Finally a Pacific Wren!
Pacific Wren
Cute little fellow.
Pacific Wren
Wren showing buffy throat which is a key field mark.
Pacific Wren
Why are those people taking pictures of me?
Our little friend the Pacific Wren calling.
Canada Geese
Flyover Canada Geese.

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

Optics: Celestron

Denver Metro Rare Birds Dec 13th 2019

Today, Friday December 13th, Mom and I chased 2 previously reported rarities: a male White-winged Scoter and a Varied Thrush. Both of these birds are rare in the Denver metro area.

The Scoter had been reported at Chatfield Reservoir at the north boat ramp along the dam. It was a clear and sunny day with wind gusts above 25 mph! We had trouble locating waterfowl because of the strong winds churning up the water. After about 30 minutes of scoping the Scoter flew in from the southeast corner of the reservoir. The Scoter gave us great views from less than 30 yards away.

White-winged Scoter
Male White-winged Scoter.
White-winged Scoter
White-winged Scoter
White-winged Scoter
Scoter riding over the waves.
Chatfield Reservoir
View of Chatfield Dam from inside the park.
Chatfield Reservoir
Many white caps whipped up by the wind.

The Varied Thrush had been seen in someone’s yard in Lakewood off and on for a few days. We missed the bird on Monday but returned today. It was possible to view the Thrush from the street. He was quite skulky and hid in the bushes unless birders remained in their cars.

American Robin
A thrush, but not the thrush. American Robin, one of the Varied Thrush’s closest relatives.
Varied Thrush
Varied Thrush. Picture taken through car window and chain link fence.
Varied Thrush
Sneaky little guy!
Varied Thrush

A great day with 2 rare birds in the Denver Metro area.