Judith Sanborn's Page

The Denver Field Ornithologists hosted a Barr Lake birding event on Sunday, April 20th. Gregg Goodrich was the leader, and it was open to the public. 15 or 20 people participated and it was a very friendly and knowledgeable group. Gregg had canvassed the area a few days earlier so he was able to lead us directly to a great horned owl nest and to clue us in on expected birds elsewhere. The eagle nest seen from the observatory was sadly vacant. The group concensus was that it was a failed year, as… Continue

The Platte river is very, very low - there are places shallow enough to walk across just south of Platteville. The water fowl was not as varied and numerous as usual per the landowner, but it was magical to me. We were disappointed that the only wood ducks spotted were in the air. Two large dogs roaming along the river played a part in that, no doubt. The green-winged teal were everywhere and they didn't seem a bit jumpy. None of the photos or videos were successful because of the… Continue

So far it's scouter: 3, me: 0. I made 1 attempt on 4/3 and 2 attempts on 4/4 to see the scoter which was spotted by Gary Lefko. The first day I missed it by minutes (Gary was there at the time so he knew the scoop). Who knows the other two times. Friday morning there must have been 30 people lined up by the Middle Prospect Pond, all looking in vain. I must say, I had an awful lot of fun not finding it. Birds I saw at Prospect Ponds on 4/3 and 4/4/08: lesser scaups, buffleheads, common goldeneye… Continue

I set off with my scope, camera, binoculars and book pack with the intent of power walking around Dixon Reservoir twice as a training strategy to get in shape for City of Rocks. Mistake. I don't have the willpower to pass by a chance to check out the birds and once I started I was a goner. I did get around the Reservoir once, but it took almost 2 hours. Once again the videos helped me identify birds. It wasn't until I studied them that I nailed the green-winged teal. A new life bird for me. I w… Continue

Yesterday I took digiscope pictures using my Nikkon Coolpix P5100 camera and my PF 80ED Pentax scope with the SMC zoom eyepiece (8-24mm). The camera was hand held, and the process is awkward but for the first time this camera yielded some decent video and one good, one fair picture (out of maybe 30!). Now that I have confidence this camera/scope combination may work, I finally ordered an adapter. Jason at Eagle Optics recommends using auto focus once everything is set but I have my doubts. So fa… Continue