American Wigeon (c) Bill Schmoker
Throughout the summer when looking at ducks, most of what we see in the Denver area are Mallards with occasionally a few of the three teal species, and perhaps a Wood Duck, Northern Pintail, Redhead, or Common Merganser. It’s possible to see some other species, but they are pretty uncommon. Then, as we progress through the fall the Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teal leave and migrate south. However, starting in mid-September we gradually pick up about fourteen additional duck species that have bred farther to the north, and will then be in our area throughout the winter. On Saturday we had Blue-winged Teal that will only be around for about two or three more weeks, and we also had two newly arrived migrants from the north, Gadwall and American Wigeon.
Dark-morph Red-tailed Hawk (c) Bill Schmoker
Other highlights included a couple of juvenile Black-crowned Night-Herons, a dark-morph Red-tailed Hawk, a single Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and a single Orange-crowned Warbler – both of the latter perhaps on their way to spend the winter in the Sierra Madre Occidental of Jalisco, Mexico.
Juvenile Cedar Waxwing (c) Bill Schmoker
Finally, the big score of the day was the huge number of Cedar Waxwings we encountered. It’s possible to see these birds year-round, but their numbers seem to increase once we get past breeding season, and, in fact almost all the birds we saw were juveniles. We had multiple flocks of 15-30 individuals, and at one time had close to 50 birds in one catalpa tree. Outstanding!
Hudson delivers again!
Good Birding!
Chuck Aid
Hudson Gardens, Sep 29
29 species
Canada Goose 14
Wood Duck 9
Blue-winged Teal 7
Gadwall 5
American Wigeon 8
Mallard 55
Common Merganser 3
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 14
Mourning Dove 5
Killdeer 1
Ring-billed Gull 7
Double-crested Cormorant 4
Great Blue Heron 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Downy Woodpecker 3
Northern Flicker 8
Blue Jay 7
Black-billed Magpie 2
American Crow 1
Barn Swallow 20
Black-capped Chickadee 10
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
American Robin 60
Cedar Waxwing 54
House Finch 3
White-crowned Sparrow 7
Orange-crowned Warbler 1
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