Northern Cardinal in Orchard Hills Park

[mitchellba...@gmail.com]

Hi folks,

Last Friday I found a female Northern Cardinal in Orchard Hills Park. The next day, myself and others looked for it with no luck. This evening, however, Joey Negreann and I went back and found it pretty quickly in the same spot. Based on Ebird records, cardinals have only made Arapahoe County appearances in 2014 and 1980! If you want to go look for it, follow the path from Tommy Davis Park to Orchard Hills Park. The bird was seen in the russian olives just north of the footbridge that crosses the ditch.

While I'm at it, I'll take the chance to promote this spot. I made this hotspot at the beginning of the year and it has quickly become my favorite local spot. Though surrounded by city on all sides, this park has a great mixture of different vegetation and water that hosts a variety of birds (and mammals). Homeowners maintain some feeders by the pond, and also have their own backyard feeders to keep birds like cardinals happy. Myself and a few others have seen 88 species at the hotspot this year, and I'd like to make that 100! Here's a link to the Ebird page.

Thanks,

Mitchell Bailey

Arapahoe County