So. Many. Towhees. Arapahoe

[Jared Del Rosso]

On Sunday, Geoff Stacks and I birded a small section of the High Line Canal in Cherry Hills Village, between Dahlia Hollow Park and Colorado Blvd. None of last year's overwhelming flocks of robins or waxwings. But we did have a nice patch of Spotted Towhees, amid Buckthorn. I'll occasionally have visits from 6 or 7 Spotted Towhees around the chokecherry thicket and feeders in my yard. But I've rarely encountered that number in a single place on trails away from feeders. We counted at least 7 in one spot -- and several more around other parts of the trail. Very likely, there are feeders around the homes along the trail, helping to concentrate the towhees in certain areas. But, still: a lot of Towhees.

We also encountered a White-throated Sparrow with the towhee flocks. They're among my favorite winter birds in Centennial. I still recall, though less and less each year, the first time I heard a White-throated Sparrow song in northern Minnesota. Novice birder that I was, I had to work out if there was another person (unseen to me) somewhere whistling on the trail -- or if a bird could whistle that well.

- Jared Del Rosso

Centennial, CO