Eastern Phoebe - Rocky Mtn. Arsenal

[Luis Alberto Matheus]

Hello Coloradans,

I was visiting Colorado for work and managed to get a little birding in Rocky Mtn Arsenal yesterday (Tuesday, 4/5) before my morning meetings.

A notable sighting was an eastern phoebe at the eastern end of Wildlife Dr., right over the canal. I was driving by when I heard the bird call so I stopped and located it, but couldn't pull the camera out on time to get a shot before it moved north into the woods. A pair of mountain bluebirds was in the same area.

Also notable were the more than 50 ruddy ducks I counted at the south end of Lake Ladora and Lower Derby Res. My eBird records show I'd seen only 13 in the 6 years I lived in CO, so I was surprised by their numbers. Lesser scaup were also thick, followed by northern shoveler. Tree swallows checked out nesting boxes and chased each other (eBird flagged the report?).

The eastern plains of Lincoln county were mostly devoid of birds. I stopped by Flagler Res. which remains almost entirely drained. A handful of green-winged teals and gadwalls were making use of the little water left. A yellow-shafted flicker remained isolated from a group of 5 red-shafted birds, and otherwise very quiet. A nice sighting was a nesting pair of Ferruginous hawks between Arriba and Genoa.

Weather was very pleasant and the (good) beer variety you get in CO is hard to beat, so all in all, the trip was a success!

Happy birdin'

Luis (Beto) Matheus

Delray Beach, FL