I got up fairly early this morning and headed south to Fountain Creek Regional Park. I spent about an hour wandering the trails. I didn’t see anything rare, but I did find 30 species, which is pretty good for this time of year. Among other things, I spotted a small flock of Turkeys.
And a Great Horned Owl who sat in a tree 20 yards away and was so bored by my presence that, shortly after I took this photo, it closed its eyes.
It was a beautiful day, jacket weather, crisp and clear. Here’s a shot up Fountain Creek toward Pikes Peak.
My list from Fountain Creek
Canada Goose
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Wild Turkey
Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Great Horned Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Bushtit
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
European Starling
Dark-eyed Junco
White-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Red-winged Blackbird
House Finch
From there I drove down to Lake Pueblo State Park. The Pueblo Reservoir isn’t the garden spot of the state, but on an amazing day when the cottonwoods still had some color, it had its beauty.
I went because birders have been seeing Common and Red-throated Loons and a Great Black-backed Gull. I did find one Common Loon way out. I saw no sign of the other two. There were thousands of Ring-billed Gulls to sort through, my least favorite birding. The highlights here were a Canyon Towhee, a Bewick’s Wren, and an immature Golden Eagle that soared overhead below the dam.
My list from Lake Pueblo
Gadwall
Mallard
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Loon
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe
Western Grebe
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Golden Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Ring-billed Gull
Herring Gull
Belted Kingfisher
Northern Flicker
Mountain Chickadee
Bewick’s Wren
Mountain Bluebird
Canyon Towhee
House Finch