Site Details

Severance area - Weld County
Aliases: Woods Lake, Angel Lake, Franklin Lake, Law Reservoir
Ownership: None Listed
Description: The good-sized Woods Lake, ringed with trees, attracts improbably vast legions of Cackling and smaller numbers of Canada Geese, with a smattering of uncommon species (Ross's, Snow, Greater White-fronted) during winter and early spring. It also attracts a reasonable scattering of gulls, grebes, and ducks, with rarities such as Red-throated Loon and Mexican Duck having been found here. During summer and early fall, when water levels are low, small numbers of shorebirds and herons are also often present, including Glossy Ibis at least once in past. It can be scanned from several points along CR 74, but take care to pull all the way off the road. A pish at the Russian Olives along the road can sometimes draw out reasonable sparrow flocks.

Angel Lake is an interesting swampy little place ringed with cottonwoods and willows. Scanning requires care, as there is only one decent place to pull over on the north side of the road, and it is not obvious. Like Woods Lake, vast numbers of geese hang out here during late winter and spring (after hunting season) and Wood Ducks breed here. Also, large numbers of ducks are sometimes found.

Franklin Lake itself can be barely scanned at a distance from the north along CR 74, but its marshes are closer to the road. Just to the east, past the entrance to the Baldridge subdivision, is a small seasonal pond with shorebird potential. Another similar pond is a half mile south on the west side of CR 25.

The very small Law Reservoir must be better than it looks, since Hudsonian Godwit has shown up here, although that was probably before the encroachment of the subdivisions. Use caution when pulling over, as the shoulder is very narrow.
Habitat: Pond/Lake/Reservoir, Marsh, Urban/Suburban
Elevation:
Directions: To get to Woods Lake, take exit 265 off of I-25 (CO 68/Weld CR 74) and go east for a little over 9 miles. The lake is on the right, just east of the intersection with CR 27 (which is 5.2 miles west of Eaton and US-85). Angel Lake is just west of that intersection, on the north side of the road. Franklin Lake is on the south side of CR 74, 9 miles from I-25. Law Reservoir is on the west side of CR 23, a half mile south of CR 74, on the south side of Severance.