Waterton Canyon, Jeffco & Douglas

[Tom Wilberding]

Hello all,

Today Barb and I biked 6.5 miles up Waterton Canyon alongside the South Platte River, sometimes on the Jefferson County side, sometimes on the Douglas County side. Our first time there, loved it. Wild plum, very fragrant, in bloom along the river. Siberian elms green with samaras. Saw a pair of Say’s phoebes (what were they doing in a canyon?), golden eagle, Western bluebird, Townsend’s solitaire, belted kingfishers, lots of spotted towhees, heard canyon wrens. And lots of bighorn sheep, including rams with BIG horns. And fly fishermen, who knew exactly what flies were hatching out of the river today.

Enjoyed close views of several pairs of common mergansers, a.k.a. goosander, saw tooth, mergus merganser. I’m used to seeing this species in big flocks on large reservoirs. Surprising to see them on a narrow river in a mountain canyon. “Do they have enough room to take off?” One male sailed through whitewater like a kayak. The pairs were all on large rocks mid-stream, looking rather cozy and romantic.

Wikipedia says: “Nesting is normally in a tree cavity, so it requires mature forest as its breeding habitat. In places devoid of trees (like Central Asian mountains), they use holes in cliffs and steep, high banks.”

Lots of cliffs and steep, high banks in Waterton Canyon. Do they nest there?

 

Cheers,

Tom Wilberding

Littleton, CO

[Tom Wilberding]

Correction: I read this in Sibley’s about Say’s Phoebe: “Uncommon in expansive open areas such as prairies, tundra, farmland, and playing fields.” That’s where I have seen them in the past, one at a time; however, I neglected to read Sibley’s next sentence: “In summer associated with nesting sites in crevices on cliffs, rock outcrops, buildings, bridges, etc.” That’s where I saw a pair yesterday. Lesson learned.
TW