Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, Jefferson County
Brian Johnson
Today I got up early in the morning, 5ish and went out to Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge to see what I could find. Turns out the early start was good since the bird activity died down about 8ish. I parked at the north entrance, off of 128. (If you have not been there take State Highway 93 to 128th and go three miles, at the 3 mile sign start looking. There is no sigh, just the NWR wooden sign and one-way access road, its past a bend after the mile marker, also the map maker indicates a bathroom but the porta potty is busted on the side and locked).
From I parking lot I hiked to the Lindsay Ranch, hiked that loop and back, about 6 miles. There was nothing out of the ordinary, ebird however flagged my Vesper Sparrow count, they are very locally abundant. The cool bird sighing was the Wilson Snips I saw at Lindsay Ranch, which contains a nice wetland. I could not tell for certain but the snip I saw was sitting on a grassy hummock near a small pond and might have been on a nest. I heard two others nearby. Other non-bird sightings were a herd of 7 Elk cows; Elk calve hear at the Flats. At the parking lot I saw a Loggerhead Shrike on a power line along 128, but it was gone after I spotted it. A rather fun morning excursion, but I would recommend starting early, it gets hotter then blazes out there and the birds settled down once it does.
Brian Johnson
Englewood CO