Ibis and Ring-necked Pheasant in Fremont Co.

I found the pictured male Ring-necked Pheasant in the rugged Florence River Park this afternoon. He was accompanied by 2 females. This guy was unusually bold, walking around as though he owned the park--fortunately it there was a strong, cold wind blowing so the only other person was a fisherman on the other side. The Colo Breeding Bird Atlas indicates that these birds engage in strutting behavior and the bare skin around their eyes is a brilliant red color due to engorgement during spring courtship which begins in March--this certainly matches this guy and may explain his emboldened behavior.

Florence River Park also produced the first Great-tailed Grackle of the year for this area.

Nearby I saw 1 Greater Yellow-legs and 3 Wilson's Snipe at the BLM's Blue Heron ponds. Along Florence River Road were 4 Lesser Yellowlegs, several Cimmamon Teal, 2 N. Shovelers,a few Killdeer and several other ducks in a flooded field.

And I found 7 ibis species (couldn't tell if they were White-faced or Glossy Ibis), the first I've seen in Fremont Co., at a private pond near Canon City.