David Suddjian

Our DFO Deer Creekers team birded only in the Deer Creek watershed of Jefferson County, ranging from the upper watershed near 8,000' to the creek's inlet at Chatfield Reservoir. The day was clear to partly cloudy with calm to light winds, and temperatures from 37 to the low 60s. But there was intense smoke from Canadian fires making for poor visibility at lower areas below the foothills, especially early in the day. We did well overall, but Chatfield Reservoir did not deliver as many waterbirds as we hoped, probably due to extremely high water levels flooding things widely, lots of floating debris, and some boating activity. In addition, some migrant song birds were late in showing up and some species that should be around and easy or not too hard to find were not found at all (e.g., Cordilleran Flycatcher). As always, some stake outs failed to show. Our 93 species includes one hybrid for which neither parent species was found: EAPH x BLPH. We might have found one or a few more if we persisted past 4 pm, but starting at 3:15 am we were pooped and ready to quit. We are pleased with the great fundraising response for our team with over $4,100 raised by our effort.