First Creek - Adams and Denver Sides

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Both the Denver Open Space trail and the Rocky Mountain Arsenal trail had a variety of species this morning ( Saturday, 9/1/18).  On the Denver side, a sleepy Great Horned Owl rested near the creek, a Wilson's Snipe flew around in the area of Pena Blvd, and sparrows enjoyed the fields north of the trail.

Over on the Arsenal trail, there was a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hammond's Flycatcher and another unidentified empid, warblers, sparrows, a Ferruginous Hawk, and a Cooper's Hawk.  

Both sides had Lazuli Buntings and a couple of interesting species crossed Buckley to be recorded in both counties, but not until they confused me first.  The situation was that I saw what I believed to be a Lincoln's Sparrow, but it dove into a small bushy tree near the creek before I could get a positive ID.  I moved around to the concrete edge to get a look and the bird I next saw in that tree wasn't the sparrow but a Red-eyed Vireo.  It flitted about and then tucked under a few leaves only to appear moments later, this time as a Gray Catbird.  What?  Where the heck did the sparrow go?  Or the Vireo for that matter.  The same thing happened to me earlier along the first north turn in the creek on the RMA trail.  I was watching a Ruby-crowned Kinglet which turned into - in order - a Wilson's Warbler, House Wren, Yellow Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, and then some kind of flycatcher.  I'm telling you, avian transmogrification sure does make bird identification difficult.  

John Breitsch

Denver, CO

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