Bird #473 — Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay

Posted on November 25, 2016 by Roger

aphelocoma (from apheles, smooth, and kome, hair) woodhouseii (named for Samuel Washington Woodhouse, American naturalist and explorer )

Sunday, April 28, 2002

Route 115 west of Fort Carson — Colorado Springs, Colorado

One of the interesting things about the hobby of birding is that occasionally, you can add a bird to your list while sitting at home hundreds of miles from the nearest individual of the new species. It’s happened to me a couple times before, and it just happened again. The Western Scrub-Jay has been split into two species — California Scrub-Jay and Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay. I spotted my lifer Western Scrub-Jay (now my lifer California Scrub-Jay) in San Diego back in 2001. I spotted another Western Scrub-Jay, which would now be a Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, along Route 115 in southern Colorado Springs the next year. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but as of this past summer (and a few minutes ago when I discovered the update), that bird became lifer 474.

The two new species only overlap in range in a small area in Nevada, so there is no chance either of my lifer scrub-jays is misidentified. This is why it’s important to keep records.

I also saw a Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay when I visited Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs in 2012. From the photo I took, it’s evident that the bird saw me too.

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And just to round things off — on my recent trip (in November, 2016), I went for a hike at Garden of the Gods and saw yet another Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay. I only had my phone, so I didn’t get a photo of the bird, but I did take a picture of the scrub it was in.

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Garden of the Gods Again

Posted on November 13, 2016 by Roger

My wife flew out on Friday. I picked her up in Denver. We spent Saturday touring houses around Colorado Springs with  a realtor. After church on Sunday, we went to Garden of the Gods. This was my third visit, although my wife had never been there. Three things that have been true of all my visits:

  1. It was beautiful.
  2. It was crowded.
  3. I saw a Prairie Falcon.

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My wife was happy to discover that rattlesnakes aren’t allowed on the trails.

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We interrupted our visit for an excellent lunch at Savelli’s Pizza in Manitou Springs and for an auto tour of that freaky community.

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Back at Garden of the Gods, we parked and walked the short trail to the Siamese Twins.

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On our way back through the park, we happened upon a small herd of Mule Deer right along the road. There was a large buck out of decent cellphone camera range, but this doe was much closer.

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Castlewood Canyon — West Side

Posted on November 6, 2016 by Roger

The west end of the park is less developed, but it wasn’t less busy. By early afternoon, when I arrived, the lots were full and the trails were crawling. I hiked to the water fall and then made a big loop up to the remains of an old house.

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There was a young girl sitting on a ledge inside these ruins. She was maybe eight or nine — too young to be there by herself — but there were no adults around anywhere. I wandered around a bit to take photos, but stayed clear of her. That explains why there aren’t more interesting shots of the place.

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In all, I’d done 10 miles. That’s plenty for the first full day at altitude. I was worn out, but feeling fine.

One other note. On Monday, when I told people at work where I’d hiked, their near-universal response was, “There are a lot of rattlesnakes there.” I had seen a lone garter snake, but that was all.

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Castlewood Canyon — East Side

Posted on November 6, 2016 by Roger

Castlewood Canyon State Park is halfway between Denver and Colorado Springs. It’s out on the prairie, but within view of the Rockies to the west. It took me about 40 minutes to get there. On the way I passed a herd of Pronghorn. (I saw another six or seven herds during my two week stay in Colorado, including three along the entrance road to the airport. I wonder how long it will take before that becomes routine.)

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I arrived just as it opened and had the place pretty much to myself for the first hour. As the day wound on and warmed up, the park filled and I was rarely out of sight of other people.

The photos tell the story. I hiked most of the trails in the east half, from the bridge to the dam and back. I didn’t have my good camera or my binoculars, so my photos are grainy and most of the birds I saw are only guesses.

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This was my favorite spot in the park, and probably my favorite photo from the trip. That’s Pikes Peak way off in the distance.

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The chief historical feature in the park is the ruins of Castlewood Dam. It was build on Cherry Creek in 1890 to supply water for irrigation. In 1933, during a period of much rain, the dam burst and flooded Denver with “the second worst flood in Denver’s history.” Two people died and a bunch of bridges were washed out.

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A Cooper’s Hawk mocking me for not having a good camera.

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I was already tired, and I hadn’t brought nearly enough to drink. But it was only noon and the prospect of sitting alone in someone’s basement for an entire afternoon and evening wasn’t inviting. I drove east, stopped for refreshment at a gas station in Franktown, a small, quaint village about to be consumed by the sprawl of Denver, and headed for the west end of Castlewood Canyon.

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Horseshoe Donuts

Posted on November 6, 2016 by Roger

On Sunday, I was footloose and fancy free. I started my day at Horseshoe Donuts in Monument.

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As the woman behind the counter was putting my chocolate cake donut and apple fritter in a white box, I noticed that her T-shirt said, “Good things come in yellow boxes” … or words to that effect. When I questioned her about this, she told me that they’d come up with the slogan and ordered the shirts before they checked to find out if yellow boxes were available. 

The cake donut was good, but had a little too much chocolate on it. I didn’t know that was even possible. The fritter was delicious and huge and supplied the bulk of my sustenance for the remainder of the day as I hiked.

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