of Christmas counts and snow

When people at work ask me what I am doing for Christmas, I tell them I already had Christmas with my family during Thanksgiving week.  It has been a long time since we were all in the house at the same time.
     Saturday was the Denver Christmas Bird Count.  The count circle is in the southwest metro area, a bit  "gerrymandered" to include Chatfield State Park. At 8:45 am  I joined a small group of women in Area 20, near the center of the count circle.  Its a mostly residential area with a few ponds.  We found the expected residents, and many American Crows.  The ponds/ lakes were mostly frozen with ducks and geese standing on the ice.  The group dis-banded at lunchtime, and I drove the neighborhoods in the northern part of Area 20 looking for feeders attracting small birds.  Harriman Lake had a sliver of open water with several ducks and geese.  5 pairs of Hooded Mergansers were the day's best bird for me.
     The evening compilation potluck was a fun event.  A count total of 105 species was considered average.
      Monday (14th) in the evening and Tuesday the 15th we had a snowstorm.  10 - 12 inches was more than the forecasters and the city expected.  I am not driving in that much snow !!  I took a bus to work for 4 days.  After 2 days the main arterial streets and highways were clear enough, but the snowplows never came to my neighborhood.   Boooooo !   The local streets became icy and slippery and waited until the daytime temperatures melted the ice over the weekend.

a few photos of winter ducks and snowy mountains.   Top photo is a Green winged Teal,  above photo is Mt Elbert from Hwy 24,  to the right is a Ring necked Duck.

not our neighborhood, a local winter scene

early December

Thanksgiving week temperatures dropped below 30 F and the ponds began freezing.  Gadwall and other ducks have arrived, and are finding less open water to swim.
      This morning I saw American Wigeons, Bufflehead, and a pair of Ring-necked Ducks on a lake to the north.  A firm skin of ice claimed most of the pond leaving the ducks and Geese only a little open water.

I spent Thanksgiving week in NH and CT with family.  Good times. 
    This Great Blue Heron was photographed in Oyster River, NH on a misty morning.

White Pelicans on the move, not flying in a V like the Geese.

Walden Pond near Boulder, looking west

And the BIG news,  a new LIFE bird !!   Its a Pink-footed Goose.  My sister knew about it landing in CT and we drove to the pond in central CT to see it.   This is an internet photo, I did not get pictures of it.  The goose we saw was swimming with the Canada Geese and did not display its pink feet.