I planned to make a quick stop at the Firestone gravel pits, but there were so many birds about that I ended up there for about an hour and a half. The second Red-Necked Grebe was back on the pond today! It has been missing since the 17th (only one has been seen on several stops by there). Perhaps the second one is on a nest part time? The ponds also has a variety of shore birds including 6 White-Faced Ibis, 1 Long-Billed Curlew, 3 Marbled Godwits and a variety of other more common ones. One of the highlights of the gravel pits visit today was a yard that is along CR 24 3/4 next to the largest gravel pit pond. The yard has many conifers and today in that yard was a Sage Thrasher, Hermit Thrush, Chipping Sparrows, Vesper Sparrows and Townsend Solitaires. The ponds themselves still have many ducks and a variety of grebes and a late Hooded Merganser. >From here I headed to Union Reservoir. It was overall not very good for shore birds while I was there (mid-day), but I did have a surprise "Black" Merlin! This sub-species of Merlin breeds only along the coastal island strip of the Pacific Northwest, so why two or three have been sighted (and photographed) in the last week here in Colorado is a bit of a Mystery! This bird had a full crop and was sleepy and let me wander around getting photos for a good 10 minutes and did not fly off. Photo of this lovely bird at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aphelionart/8676673678/in/photostream I also had an immature Harlan's Red-Tailed Hawk fly over. Good Birding! Cathy Sheeter Fort Lupton, CO
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