Hey, all.
Dick Pautsch mentioned the dearth of ducks at Walden Ponds, Boulder County, and it's something that was striking to me when I was there late yesterday afternoon, Wed., Apr. 15. Dick conjectures that the recent weather may have a role to play, but I would also say that the various waterbodies at Walden Ponds have been relatively duckless for many weeks now. Nearby Teller Lake No. 5 is teeming with ducks, as is Sombrero Marsh, just a bit farther away. So I wonder what's up at Walden.
It was getting windy when I was there yesterday afternoon, but a Virginia rail was kek-kek...kek-kek...kek-kek...kek-kek'ing steadily, a magnificent great horned owl posed for passersby, and there was an eastern phoebe well upstream from the 75th Street Bridge. (Which I didn't visit.)
It was gratifying that various walkers and hikers got to see the owl. Everybody was wearing masks and keeping distances considerably greater than 6 feet. (Where did this figure of 6 ft. come from? I don't know about you, but my sneezes expectorate aerosol contamination considerably in excess of that distance! I was a social distancer before social distancing was a thing.)
Ted Floyd
Lafayette, Boulder County