Winter Ducks in Warm Weather: Teen Naturalist January 2026
By Megan Jones Patterson and Jennie Rabe
The Boulder County Audubon Teen Naturalists program kicked off 2026 with a photography-focused outing to Prospect Park in Wheat Ridge, CO to observe and photograph wintering ducks. In winter, when most of the lakes, ponds, and small streams freeze across Colorado, Clear Creek continues to flow through Prospect Park in part due to the generous releases of warm water from the Coors Brewing factory just upstream. The narrowness of the creek and the concentration of ducks makes this a fantastic location for duck observation and photography.
This winter has started off a bit differently than many other Colorado winters with very mild temperatures and little snowfall, contrasting usual cold temperatures and snow. This year, water has remained unfrozen on lakes and ponds, meaning that ducks and other waterfowl can spread out more. The trip leaders, Megan Jones Patterson, Courtney Rella, and Steve Jones, wondered how this would impact the ducks we’d see and photograph on this trip.
On Saturday, January 18th, 7 Teen Naturalists, 2 parents, and the 3 trip leaders enjoyed blue skies and temperatures above freezing; and still saw lots of ducks and other bird species. Our group included several Teen Naturalists on their first trip with the BCAS Teen Naturalist program and a few veterans that had weathered very cold winter duck trips in past years.
Mallards along Clear Creek, Prospect Park, Wheat Ridge, CO. Photo by Courtney Rella.
This year, Teen Naturalists learned how to distinguish between ducks based on bill shape, body size, and coloring. They also learned a bit about duck anatomy and the differences between diving and dabbling ducks. Additionally, there were several teens who borrowed cameras and learned about shooting from different angles.
Freezing overnight temperatures meant there was some ice near the shores of the lakes at Prospect Park and along the adjoining Wheat Ridge Greenbelt but all still had lots of open water, providing spaces for ducks and waterfowl to disperse.
Tabor Lake provided viewing opportunities of many diving ducks including one female Canvasback, Ring-necked Ducks, Buffelheads, and Hooded Mergansers. We were able to watch a male Common Goldeneye doing its breeding display, throwing its head backwards over its back, for an adjacent female. A count of 8 Double-crested Cormorants on or flying over the lake prompted an eBird High Count Alert as that number is unusual for this time of year.
Male Ring-necked Duck at Prospect Park. Photo by Couryney Rella.
Along Clear Creek, the beautiful morning light shone off the iridescent green of the male Mallards and highlighted the subtle pattern and beauty of Gadwall. We also saw a few, smaller Green-winged Teal along the creek. The narrowness of the creek provided the best photography of the morning.
Walking through the bare trees and undergrowth along the way, we came across a flock of Cedar Waxwings foraging in the trees, along with Black-capped Chickadees, Northern Flickers, Song Sparrows, and more.
Overall, the group spotted 25 species of birds, 9 of these being ducks.
You can view the full list of species and see additional photos on the group’s eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S295091390.
To learn more about BCAS Teen Naturalists activities and find out when the next trips are, visit the Teen Naturalists webpage.