By mid winter, most lakes and ponds along the Colorado Front Range are frozen over and the South Platte River becomes a vital source of open water. Flowing northeastward through Metro Denver, the River attracts a wide variety of wildlife, a winding oasis in a dry, frozen landscape.
This morning, a walk along the South Platte offered a study in waterfowl. Hundreds of Canada geese rested in its shallows, soon to depart for a day of grazing on fields and grasslands. Joining the Canadas were mixed flocks of mallards, gadwall, common mergansers, common goldeneyes, buffleheads, ring-necked ducks, shovelers and hooded mergansers. A few coot, pied-billed grebes and great blue herons also fed near the banks.
The highlight of the morning was an adult bald eagle that moved ahead of us along the River. Perching in large cottonwoods that tower above the floodplain, the eagle would wait until we were within ten yards and then fly downstream for a quarter mile or so, repeating this pattern several times. Bald eagles are fairly common along the South Platte, especially during the colder months; they feed primarily on fish and injured waterfowl.
