David Dowell, Chris Rurik and I spent a pleasant four hours at Chatfield SP this morning. At the Plum Creek Delta in the chill morning air were 3 Marbled Godwits and 2 White-faced Ibis hunkered down sleeping, trying to stay warm. American Pipits numbered 30+. Two Turkey Vultures in a tree nearby looked like mourners at a Greek funeral and were far from any roost, having been "put down" by the storm. Out on the lake were a Common Loon (winter plumage) and a Clark's with the Western and Horned Grebes.
Just arrived were a Wilson's Warbler upstream from Kingfisher Bridge, near the loop at the end of the paved path (Jeffco) and an Orange-crowned Warbler near the south end of the series of ponds west of there. We saw at least 4 Hermit Thrushes in the Park, as well as Tree and Barn Swallows and one Violet-green. Raptors were evident and we had at least 4 Ospreys, 4+ Sharpies, a Cooper's, plenty of Kestrels, an adult and a younger Bald Eagle and a distant Peregrine. I'd expect a lot of raptors passing by the Dino Ridge Hawk Watch site today. The lake was big on coots, small on ducks and gulls. At the footbridge over Plum Creek the Eastern Phoebe was calling, as per usual. It sang near what looked like a newly constructed nest, (i.e. not looking like last year's nest), about 15 feet up in a tree. Puzzling! It looked like a phoebe nest, but that seems highly unlikely, with the bridge structure affording nest sites nearby. I read that before humans put up buildings and bridges phoebes nested on cliffs. In trees, not so much. Some other species? I hope someone can explain this nest to me. Western and Mountain Bluebirds were everywhere in the Park, and at the model airplane field were Vesper Sparrows and a Savannah Sparrow with loads of Horned Larks. Nothing unusual. Each day seems to bring new birds. I'm glad that February is well behind us. Joe Roller, Denver -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
