A cool but sunny afternoon coaxed me down to the South Platte Valley for a walk along the river and its wetlands. The recent hard freeze has taken a toll on the fall colors but, on the positive side, it eliminated most of the bothersome insects.
Still a bit early in the waterfowl migration season, the number and variety of ducks won't peak for a few more weeks but a fair mix was present on the river, lakes and marsh-lined ponds. Mallards and gadwall were most abundant, joined in the shallows by small flocks of pintail. wigeon and green-winged teal. Aside from a group of ring-necks, the deeper waters were left to the pied-billed grebes; double crested cormorants were noticeably absent, perhaps spooked south by the recent cold weather. Joining these water birds were great blue night herons, black-crowned night herons, belted kingfishers, killdeer and a lone beaver; cruising one of the larger lakes, the beaver looked more playful than industrious on this sunny afternoon.
Down from the mountains, white-crowned sparrows moved along the wood borders, where a variety of regulars (magpies, flickers, chickadees, song sparrows) made their appearance; American kestrels and a red-tailed hawk rounded out the bird observations. All in all, it was an unremarkable, October afternoon in the South Platte Valley.... just what I needed!
