Pueblo City Park-Wood Ducks and more

Yesterday I met two other birders in Pueblo City Park. Pueblo City Park is a hotspot for birding, netting many warblers in spring, summer and sometimes beyond, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in fall and winter, lots of waterfowl and gulls up close at their pond.

The other birders had been there for awhile before I could get there. They had seen one of the two Pine Warblers and one of the two Nashville Warblers, both of which had been there for several days in a mixed flock with Yellow-rumped Warblers. When I got there, we couldn't refind that mixed flock though I did see several Yellow-rumped Warblers. There were also several Ruby-crowned Kinglets and a number of Dark-eyed Juncos in the many trees in this park.

I took these photos of two of the Wood Ducks on the pond in Pueblo City Park. Male Wood Ducks have such dramatic plumage as shown in these photos. I left some of the surrounding water as it made more interesting photos. The plumage on male Wood Ducks reminds me of head of anegyptian sphinx.

There are many Wood Ducks not only in this pond but along the nearby Arkansas River. A local resident used to raise Wood Ducks, some escaped and he may have released some. Since Wood Ducks are native in the area, they flourished. You can see some more photos of other ducks here with the interesting water scenes by clicking here.

Before the others returned to the Denver area, we drove to the Pueblo Reservoir, only 5 minutes away, to look for the black Brandt Goose which we found still at the Rock Canyon swim beach with a number of Canada Geese and an immature Greater White-fronted Goose.