Probable Dickcissel -- Cherry Creek SP, Arapahoe County

[Chris Rurik]

Hello CoBirders --

I think I may have seen and heard a Dickcissel at Cherry Creek State Park this morning. The encounter did not last long and I was late for work so I could not track it down. A sparrow like bird with its back turned singing from the top of a bush. Noticed that the back looked reddish. When it turned its head, I was surprised to see a gray head, sparrow like bill, with white stripes above the eye and in the moustachial region. Didn't get much detail beyond that. The song I remember hearing sounds like a pretty close match for Dickcissel.

I saw it along Cherry Creek Trail south of the wetlands, about halfway between its junction with E Lake View Rd and where it hits the Railroad Bed Trail. It was southwest of the trail singing from a shrub in the grassland.

If anyone is able to confirm this sighting, please let me know. For now, I'll leave it as a ???.

Other cool birds in the area: Blue Grosbeak, Eastern Kingbird, YB Chat, Gray Catbird.

Good summer birding,

Chris Rurik

Denver CO