Swamp Sp., Ross's & Snow Goose - West Arapahoe

[Jared Del Rosso]

I spent the morning (11/11) birding in west Arapahoe County. I started by owling within the Denver CBC circle, scouting for screeches. I picked up two during an early morning walk. One responded to my imitation by swooping to a nearby perch and watching me. The second whinnied and trilled back at me.

My first stop after sunrise was Ketring Lake. Two Canvasbacks and a female Common Goldeneye were FOSs for me. So was a Marsh Wren, which responded madly to me as I pished for a sparrow that turned out to be a Swamp, a state bird for me. 

After Ketring, I stopped at Blackmer Lake in Cherry Hills Village. A Ross's Goose with a flock of Cackling was in the playing fields around Kent Denver School. 

From Blackmer, I headed to Westlands Park in Greenwood Village. In the fields around the park was another white goose with a flock of Cackling & Canadas. I took it, initially, for the same Ross's (which I saw when I arrived at Kent Denver, but not when I left). But closer inspection revealed it to be a Snow Goose, my first in Arapahoe. A Greater White-fronted X something else, perhaps the same hybrid I saw a week or two ago at Kent Denver, was half of what I needed for another county bird. No sign of the Indigo Bunting from earlier this week. Several Wood Ducks in the northern most pond. Around the pond, was a heap of robins, juncos, Black-capped Chickadees, Bushtit, and Cedar Waxwings. 

Back home, I had my first yard American Tree Sparrow of the fall. This bird was foraging in my flower garden (though under a feeder, so I don't know what it was after). I followed an absurd, complex song to a Song Sparrow, which was vocalizing something odd.

- Jared Del Rosso

Centennial, CO

[Jared Del Rosso]

This morning (11/12), a Ross's Goose was at Marjorie Perry Nature Preserve (Arapahoe) in Greenwood Village. It may be the same one that was at Kent Denver School yesterday, as the preserve and school are fairly close. Heaps of Cackling were with it, one or two of which were about as small as any goose I've ever seen.

Back home, I've begun hallucinating redpolls. I also had a couple of Mountain Chickadees pass through my yard this morning. I last saw these birds in my yard in early-April 2016; that time, a lone bird came through, singing as it went. A couple of Townsend's Solitaires were also welcome visitors. 

This afternoon, I made a quick stop at Curtis Park to see if I could get a view of the Golden-crowned Kinglets that have been there lately. I didn't. While there, I saw Adam's post about deKoevend & the police and decided not to look for the Fox Sparrow. 

- Jared Del Rosso

Centennial, CO