Wild Goose Chase, some Franklin's Gulls and a Common Loon

[Jeff Parks]

Hi all -

After reading reports of a large flock of White-Faced Ibis on Lagerman Reservoir yesterday, I thought I would see if they were still hanging around today.  I got up there around 9 am, it was still windy, but no signs of any Ibis.  There was an American Avocet wading around on the far side, and a Greater Yellowlegs, along with a couple of Killdeer.  A Northern Harrier flew over at close range, got some good looks at that one.  An bird sitting on a fencepost threw me off for a minute, I was trying to figure out what kind of hawk it was until it took off again, when it became obvious that it was an Osprey.

On a whim, I thought I would take a look at Clover Basin Reservoir, since it is close by, but there were only a handful of Redheads and Ringnecks on that one.  What the heck, let's see what is on McIntosh Reservoir, it is only a short distance from here ...  There was a good sized flock of American White Pelicans, around 35 or so, along with some Redheads, a few Blue-Winged Teal and some other ducks.  As I was looking along the near shore, I spotted two gulls that didn't appear to be Ring-Billed gulls, they turned out to be Franklin's Gulls.  Close enough to get a couple of pictures (posted below).  I watched them for awhile, until a Bald Eagle flew overhead, sending them out over the reservoir somewhere.  After watching the Pelicans for a litle longer, it was time to head on to the next stop.

Driving east from 287 on Yellowstone Road, I was almost to N 115th when I spotted a duck flying east over the field next to me.  I was a bit surprised to see it land up in the trees along the road.  Once I got the binoculars out, it turned out to be a male Wood Duck.  I don't know why it landed in that tree, but it made for some good looks.  Once I got up to Ish Reservoir, there were a few Pelicans, a Horned Grebe, a few Gadwall and some Green-Winged Teal.  

Deciding that it had been mostly a Wild Goose (Wild Ibis?) chase, I headed back to Boulder.  I decided to stop by Baseline Reservoir to see if the Franklin's Gulls were still there, and there was a pretty good flock on the north end.  I counted 130, there may have been more than that.  A single Common Loon and one Western Grebe were seen in the mix as well.  I didn't stop on the south end, but saw a bunch of ducks on the water there from a distance.  It was time for lunch.

Good birding -

Jeff Parks

Boulder