Winter through Spring along several Northern sections of the South Platte River can provide great birding. In particular stretches from 64th and York Streets toward the Denver Wastewater treatment Plant and beyond, south of 74th Street to the confluence of the South Platte River and Clear Creek, and 78th Street north along the South Platte from Steele Street Park are typically open and nutrient rich, due to the warm treated discharge from the wastewater treatment plant. Waterfowl persist throughout the day and can be readily observed with binoculars and scopes. Other favorable attributes along some of these stretches are water reservoirs that can be open at this time of year and the riparian shrub habitats and adjacent meadows that are regularly patrolled by raptors that take advantage of the towers and telephone poles human infrastructure provides.
Saturday, March 8, started somewhat cold but sunny as 11 Evergreen Audubon birders met at Steele Park to begin a morning-into-early afternoon bird walk. An abundance of spotting scopes and sharp eyes glued to binoculars allowed our group to sort and identify the large numbers of waterfowl along this northernmost section of our birding. Northern Shovelers, Gadwall, and American Wigeon were, unsurprisingly, very abundant along this stretch, but Green-Winged Teal and Common Goldeneye were present in significant numbers as well. Although few in number, the presence of the trifecta of Megansers (Hooded, Common, and Red Breasted) on the reservoir adjacent to the river was a highlight. A Northern Harrier kiting low over the far bank of the South Platte provided great views, although when it dropped on potential prey, the real challenge was to find this well-camouflaged raptor!
The group then parked at 74th Street, adjacent to the west bank of the South Platte, and walked upstream to the confluence with Clear Creek. In prior years, this stretch of the Platte has been very productive, with a wide variety of waterfowl, including long-tailed ducks — sea ducks that are a rare winter visitor. Although no long-tailed ducks were seen this year, the normal complement of South Platte waterfowl were present, many of the same species seen by Steele Street Park.
We were very fortunate to see a brown first-winter Northern Shrike perched on a fence along the trail. Shrikes in general are considered uncommon to rare; this individual had the characteristic shrike bill, but exhibited the strong brown color and weakly defined dark mask of an immature bird (Sibley, 2nd edition).
We concluded our walk by driving down York St. to just past 64th St., where an informal parking lot provides access to the South Platte upstream of Metro Wastewater’s discharge. Traditionally, multiple Black-Crowned Night Herons roost in the riparian brush just upstream of the discharge. While we were able to spot one individual, we were dismayed to see significant removal of the riparian brush at this spot as part of a foot and bicycle bridge being installed over the Platte at this point. While disappointing to lose this habitat, it will be interesting to see where the Black Crowned Night Herons relocate. We added additional waterfowl and gulls to our count as well.
Despite ongoing urbanization and encroachment, the north metro section of the South Platte remains a great place to bird during all seasons. More visits by more birders may help make the case for limiting these types of infrastructure encroachments. Make your presence known by being out there birding!
Ed Furlong
Community Science Director
Northern Stretch of the South Platte Bird Walk
March 8, 2025
38 species (+1 other taxa)
11 Participants
Birdlist:
Canada Goose 72
Northern Shoveler 677
Gadwall 566
American Wigeon 13
Mallard 103
Northern Pintail 8
Green-winged Teal 167
Ring-necked Duck 6
Lesser Scaup 27
Bufflehead 13
Common Goldeneye 6
Hooded Merganser 2
Common Merganser 1
Red-breasted Merganser 2
Common/Red-breasted Merganser 0
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 1
American Coot 700 (estimate, likely low)
Ring-billed Gull 2
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Black-crowned Night Heron 1
Northern Harrier 1
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Belted Kingfisher 2
Northern Flicker 1
Northern Shrike 1 First winter bird, brown
Say’s Phoebe 1
Black-billed Magpie 3
American Crow 3
Black-capped Chickadee 19
Bushtit 6
European Starling 5
American Robin 1
White-crowned Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 8
House Finch 2
Western Meadowlark 1
Red-winged Blackbird 11
gull sp. 7