Ring-billed Gull (c) Bill Schmoker

Saturday mornings at Chatfield during the summer are a bit of a mixed bag. The number of ways in which people find to entertain themselves there are astounding, and the atmosphere can be quite circus like. Almost everywhere you look on land and water you see more people, and often birds are being flushed and forced to try and find calmer spots – no easy task.

Nonetheless, this can always be a great place to see a good variety of birds, and occasionally some really great rarities show up. You never know what you’ll see there and you just have to go and check it out. So, that’s what sixteen of us did on Saturday morning, eventually tallying 32 species.

California Gull (c) Bill Schmoker

So, we could have could have subtitled this walk as The Three Most Difficult Bird Groups to Identify: Fall Gulls, Shorebirds, and Sparrows, because, perhaps to the consternation of several of the participants, we ended up spending an inordinate amount of time struggling to identify birds in these three groups.

Semi-palmated Sandpiper (c) Bill Schmoker

The gulls were perhaps the easiest, as we only had two species to deal with, but it is a harsh reality to realize that it takes most gulls 3-4 years to obtain adult plumage and there’s a lot of difficult identifications to wrestle with in the intervening years. So, not only did we see adult Ring-billed and California Gulls, but we also saw a 1^st winter Ring-billed Gull, and a 3^rd winter California Gull, and I’m sure we could have found even more with which to confuse ourselves. If this sort of masochism appeals to you make sure to come on some of our winter walks.

Least Sandpiper (c) Bill Schmoker

As for the sparrows, we did pretty well with the Lark Sparrows, even though they were mostly in their drab fall plumage, but then we ran into members of the Spizella genus. Yikes! Brewer’s, Clay-colored, and Chipping Sparrows are distinctive in breeding plumage, but things get very tough in the fall and really not something to which a nice bird walk leader subjects his/her participants. I’m not sure anyone got really good looks at these guys – not that it always helps – but learning to identify certain species at certain times of the year is not something that we can necessarily do without having spent hours (years?) of time in the field.

Baird’s Sandpiper (c) Bill Schmoker

Finally, we got to the “peeps,” the little sandpipers. And at this point, I want to encourage all of you who are contemplating getting a spotting scope to please do so soon, as it is so helpful to have multiple eyes working on all aspects of identification of this potentially tough group of birds. So, we wrestled with: what color are the legs, how long is the bill, does it have an eye-ring, are the wings longer than the tail, etc…? And we came away with some degree of success.

So, congratulations to those of you who persevered with me on Saturday as we worked on some tough identifications, and I hope that you will all look forward to taking up that gauntlet again in the near future.

Good Birding! Chuck

Chatfield State Park, Sep 2, 2017
32 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  60
Gadwall (Mareca strepera)  2
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  6
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)  4
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)  8
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)  8
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)  50
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  50
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)  6
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  16
Baird’s Sandpiper (Calidris bairdii)  2
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla)  1
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)  1
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)  1
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)  3
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  45
California Gull (Larus californicus)  7
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  2
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  4
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)  9
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  1
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  5
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  2
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)  4

Clay-colored Sparrow (Spizella pallida) 1
Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus)  7
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)  2
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  3
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  1

Snowy Egret (c) Bill Schmoker

It was a slow morning at Hudson Gardens this past Saturday. Thirteen of us, while moving from one patch of shade to the next, managed to tally only 24 species. We struck out on a few species that can generally be counted on such as Cooper’s Hawk, Cliff Swallow, and Yellow Warbler, so we had to find our entertainment from those species that we were able to locate.

First of all, we know that Canada Geese are primarily grazers. Create a few hundred golf courses, and watch the local geese population go up another ten thousand birds or so. However, on Saturday the geese were “grazing” in the riffles of the now relatively shallow South Platte River. What I did not know on Saturday, but have since learned, is that geese will at times eat crustaceans and mollusks. So, maybe there was some vegetation growing amidst the rocky riffles, but another possibility is that maybe the geese had switched over to being carnivores. Veloci-geese! Yikes!

Belted Kingfisher (c) Bill Schmoker

I talked about eclipse plumage last year, and I’m going to repeat myself here, so I hope that’s okay. All of our male Mallards on Saturday were in eclipse plumage. This is when male ducks at the end of breeding season molt from their brilliant breeding plumage to a dull, cryptic plumage. This all happens at the same time that the main flight feathers are moulting, and some ducks actually become flightless for a few weeks.  It makes good sense, if you are temporarily flightless, that it might be to your advantage to be more cryptically colored.  The duration of the eclipse plumage varies between species, lasting for some just a couple of weeks, and for others persisting into early winter.  With the next molt the brilliant male colors return.  One interesting thing to contemplate in all this eclipse plumage business is to think about the inherent advantages in remaining cryptically colored for a longer period of time versus regaining one’s brilliance more rapidly. To be camouflaged longer is to be less visible to predators; while to regain breeding plumage more rapidly is to have a “leg up” on impressing the females, but may be deleterious if you really can’t quite fly yet.

Double-crested Cormorant (c) Bill Schmoker

The main highlight of the morning was getting to see three Snowy Egrets apparently cooperatively foraging with five Common Mergansers; and a Belted Kingfisher taking advantage of the chaos to get its share of what was happening, as did a Double-crested Cormorant. Four species of piscivores (fish-eaters) having a pretty successful time of it in the shallows at the edge of the river. I always enjoy seeing the “golden slippers” of the Snowy Egrets, but did you know that at the very peak of breeding season the feet actually become redish-orange, as does the bare skin between the beak and the eye – something to look for next year.

So, we still have young fledglings begging for food from their parents, we have some birds preparing to migrate, and others, apparently, have already hit the road. An interesting time of year!

I hope to see you on another walk soon!

Best, Chuck Aid

Hudson Gardens, Aug 26, 2017

22 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  19
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  23
Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)  5
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)  3
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  3
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)  3
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)  2
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  1
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis)  9
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon))  1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  1
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  2
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  4

Downy Woodpecker 1
Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis)  1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  2
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  8
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  11
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  2

Bushtit 4
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  3
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  7
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  10
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  4

Thirteen of us had a great Saturday morning at the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, recording 33 species (see list below).

American Goldfinch (c) Bill Schmoker

The finches were well represented and we had great looks at both American and Lesser Goldfinches. American Goldfinches are about thirty percent bigger than Lesser Goldfinches, being about half-an-inch longer and more stocky, and they are found throughout the year in Colorado. Lesser Goldfinches used to be found rarely in the winter in Colorado, generally wintering from central Arizona and New Mexico south into Central America, but they have been wintering here increasingly in recent years. Furthermore, thirty years ago Colorado Lessers had a rather brief breeding season (late June to late August), this has expanded, so that we see breeding activity now from mid-May into October. There is much debate as to what may have caused this dramatic change. An interesting aspect of Lessers is that virtually all the birds on the west coast have green backs while all the birds in Texas (the eastern extent of their range) have black backs. Here in eastern Colorado we find both, with the average amount of black increasing as one heads southeast from Colorado. The back patio of the Front Range Birding Company is an excellent place to sit down and study these guys up close.

Lesser Goldfinch (c) Bill Schmoker

While we had many great moments Saturday morning, including a fly-over Golden Eagle, the real highlight was an adult, light morph, Ferruginous Hawk. We tend to think of Ferruginous Hawks as a fairly common winter species here in eastern Colorado. However, they do occur here occasionally in the summer, breeding primarily out on the eastern plains. Generally, the young fledge by mid-July, and as they disperse so, too, do their parents. There have been almost no reports over the last couple of months of any Ferruginous Hawks in the Chatfield area, making our bird one of interest. Here is the description I submitted to eBird, as this is a rare sighting, and they requested documentation:  “Seen primarily from above. Light morph adult in flight – soaring in wide loops with slight dihedral. Rusty back and upper wing coverts. Distinctive tail, white proximally, and pale rufous distally. Long winged, with obvious white primary panels. Seen from about 800-1000 ft with both 8x binocs and 22x scope.”

Overall, it was a rather quiet morning – the calm between the end of breeding season and the advent of migration. Nonetheless, we were very entertained!

See you soon on another Front Range Birding Company bird walk!

Chuck

Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, Aug 5, 2017
33 species (+1 other taxa)

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)  4
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  2
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  2
Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)  1
Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)  1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  3
Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis)  1

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon))  4
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  9
Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus)  8
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  8
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)  1
Say’s Phoebe (Sayornis saya)  2
Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis)  4
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  2
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)  9
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  12
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina)  2
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  3
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)  2
swallow sp. (Hirundinidae sp.)  6
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  4
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  2
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  4
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  3
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  1
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  6
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  14
Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria)  13
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  9
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  2

Naylor Lake (c) Chuck Aid

Audubon’s Warbler (c) Rob Raker

Twelve of us braved periodic rain, trail-side hail from the prior afternoon, slippery roots, and muddy creek crossings as we wended our way up the Silver Dollar Lake trail Saturday morning. Bird activity was fairly minimal, and we came away having tallied only fourteen species (see list below). Those that we got the best looks at were engaged in feeding recently fledged youngsters – Yellow-rumped Warblers and White-crowned Sparrows.

White-crowned Sparrow (c) Bill Schmoker

So, we found other ways to entertain ourselves. Luckily we had some rather nonchalant rodents close at hand that provided excellent views – Pine Squirrels, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels, Pikas, and Yellow-bellied Marmots. Pikas are an exceptionally cute member of the rabbit family. They are only about seven inches long, with no visible tail, little round ears, and have an emphatically loud squeak given from the talus slopes where they reside. They often sit hunched up on a boulder above their nearby piles of fresh hay, on which they feed during the winter. Marmots, on the other hand, also live in talus slopes, but they hibernate through the winter. These guys are surprisingly huge, being about eighteen inches long with their large bushy tail, and they can weigh up to ten pounds. They like to have a large boulder from which to survey their domain and periodically offer up their high-pitched alarm chirp – hence their other name of “whistling” marmot.                    

Finally, of course, we saw many wonderful flowers along the streams and in the tundra.

Larkspur (c) Chuck Aid

Whipple’s Penstemon (c) Chuck Aid

Parry’s Primrose (c) Chuck Aid

Tall Chiming-bells (c) Chuck Aid

Good Birding!

Chuck

Silver Dollar Lake Trail, Jul 29, 2017
14 species

Hairy Woodpecker (Rocky Mts.) (Picoides villosus orius/icastus)  1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) (Colaptes auratus [cafer Group])  2
Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis)  2
Steller’s Jay (Interior) (Cyanocitta stelleri [diademata Group])  1
Common Raven (Corvus corax)  2
Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli)  4
Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)  1
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s) (Setophaga coronata auduboni)  4
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)  1
Dark-eyed Junco (Gray-headed) (Junco hyemalis caniceps)  5
White-crowned Sparrow (oriantha) (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha)  8
Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus)  2

Not a huge number of species this past Saturday morning, only 27 (see list below). It warmed up quickly which may have been a factor.

Brown Creeper (c) Bill Schmoker

We got to see a Red-wing chasing a Red-tail, attempting to move it on out of the area. In the same part of the color spectrum, a few of us were able to see the crown of the male Ruby-crowned Kinglet (see above photo) as he carried food back to the nest to feed his youngsters. We had a great, though distant, view of a male Black-headed Grosbeak; got to watch a Brown Creeper working over a Douglas-Fir pretty thoroughly, and had a dazzling to-and-fro display by the local Cliff Swallows, that nest on the US 285 bridge by the parking lot, as they carried food back to their mud nests.

Wilson’s Snipe (c) Jeff Jaacks

We had a number of interesting side discussions as we contemplated the flattened petiole of the aspen leaves, relished the multitude of path-side flowers, and learned a bit about differentiating the various conifers from one another, e.g. pine needles grow in bundles (fascicles), while spruce and Douglas-Fir needles emerge singly. Jeff Jaacks shared some fascinating geology tidbits, explaining how the mosaic of underlying igneous and metamorphic bedrock at Meyer Ranch, due in part to differences in pH, directly influences the forest that grows from their soil – Lodgepole Pine forest growing locally on amphibole biotite gneiss (a metamorphic rock), and Ponderosa Pine forest growing on granite (an igneous rock). I told Jeff, that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, so I hope I’ve gotten this at least partly right.

The highlight of the morning was having four calling Wilson’s Snipe, of which we were able to see one very well and quite close to us. We saw two others that were more hidden, and heard a fourth a bit further off. Very special!

Good birding!

Chuck

Meyer Ranch Open Space, Jul 1, 2017
27 species

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  1
Wilson’s Snipe (Gallinago delicata)  4
Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus)  3
Hairy Woodpecker (Rocky Mts.) (Picoides villosus orius/icastus)  1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) (Colaptes auratus [cafer Group])  3
Hammond’s Flycatcher (Empidonax hammondii)  1
Cordilleran Flycatcher (Empidonax occidentalis)  3
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  4
Steller’s Jay (Interior) (Cyanocitta stelleri [diademata Group])  3
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)  35
Mountain Chickadee (Poecile gambeli)  6
Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea)  10
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)  1
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)  5
Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)  1
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  7
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s) (Setophaga coronata auduboni)  2
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)  3
Dark-eyed Junco (Gray-headed) (Junco hyemalis caniceps)  11
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)  2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  3
Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana)  2
Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  5
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  1
Pine Siskin (Spinus pinus)  1

Female Wood Duck (c) Bill Schmoker

We had an enthusiastic group of 16 birders this past Saturday morning at Hudson Gardens, and we tallied 35 species of birds.

While the female Wood Duck we saw was not quite as colorfully attired as a male would have been, I always enjoy seeing any Wood Duck and know that good views of males will come again on another trip.

American White Pelican (c) Bill Schmoker

Perhaps the BIGGEST highlight of the morning was provided by the couple of American White Pelicans we saw soaring overhead. So, if I tell you that a Red-tailed Hawk has a wing-spread of four feet, guess what the wing-spread of an American White Pelican is. What do you think? Can you imagine a bird with a nine-foot wing-spread? Pretty incredible, no?!!

From the entertain perspective, the highlight was provided by a family of raucous Belted Kingfishers. They never settled down for a good look, and just kept flying in circles around us (clockwise, as one astute participant pointed out). Likely, a couple of recently fledged birds were still demanding a three-course meal from one of the parents, who, while hesitant to abandon the youngsters, was ready for them to take on the job of provisioning themselves.

Cedar Waxwing (c) Bill Schmoker

The most numerous award goes to the ubiquitous Cliff Swallows that nest on the nearby Bowles Street bridge and then forage over the adjacent river and ponds. They were everywhere.

A couple of other great moments were provided by Cedar Waxwings, Yellow Warblers, and Bullock’s Orioles, just to name a few.

Hudson Gardens, Jun 24, 2017
35 species

Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)  1
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  16
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)  6
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)  1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon))  2
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  9
Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus)  1
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  3
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  3
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  4
Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  1
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)  1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  1
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina)  1
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  5
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)  80
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  4
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)  3
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  8
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  11
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)  7
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  15
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  5
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  10
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  22
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  3
Bullock’s Oriole (Icterus bullockii)  2
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  8
Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria)  2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  2

It was a beautiful morning at the Botanic Gardens at Chatfield! The birding never slowed down and seventeen of us came away with 45 species (see list below).

Highlights included numerous Great Blue Herons – somewhere between 2 and 12 of them. It seemed like every time we scanned the sky here came another Great Blue. A lone Swainson’s Hawk hung around just long enough to give us a good view and attract a whole slew of Red-winged Blackbirds who aggressively sent him on his way. Always a crowd pleaser, a Belted Kingfisher gave us a nice long look, and at the same time we got to watch a female Bullock’s Oriole working on her nest. A bit later we got to watch another female gathering weaving material for her nest – there was a distinct preference for the old hairy bark of dead cottonwood branches. Beautiful views were also had of Say’s Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Yellow Warbler, and Western Meadowlark; and five species of swallows provided a good opportunity for a nice impromptu seminar on the Hirundinidae family.

Song Sparrow (c) Bill Schmoker

Lark Sparrow (c) Bill Schmoker

A couple of birds of note were Song Sparrow and Lark Sparrow. On the Song Sparrow note the gray head with brown streaking, the coarse brown breast streaks converging in a central breast spot, the strong brown lateral throat stripes, and the fairly long tail (for a sparrow). Also, this particular photo shows a typical Song Sparrow behavior – the drooping wingtips. With regard to the Lark Sparrow, it is one of our largest sparrows, having a long, rounded tail. Note the boldly patterned head and clean, white underparts. In flight, the tail pattern is unique (take a look in your field guide). With regard to behavior these guys have a preference for open ground, or, as we saw on Saturday, they may even forage on an old asphalt walkway.

Migration is pretty much done, and the business of nest-building and laying eggs is high on the priority list.

Hope to see you soon on another Front Range Birding Company walk!

Good birding!  Chuck

Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, Jun 3, 2017
45 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  8
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  6
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)  2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  6
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  1
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)  2
Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)  1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)  2
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon))  1
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)  1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  4
Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri)  1
Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus)  2
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  3
Western Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus)  3
Say’s Phoebe (Sayornis saya)  2
Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis)  2
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus)  1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)  1
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)  3
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  2
Common Raven (Corvus corax)  1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)  1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  2
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina)  6
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  3
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)  1
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  1
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  22
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  17
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)  9
Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus)  3
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  3
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  22
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)  5
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  3
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  1
Bullock’s Oriole (Icterus bullockii)  6
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  5
Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria)  2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  3
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  1

Dear Front Range Birders:

Western Kingbird (c) Bill Schmoker

Eight of us explored the Hudson Gardens environs until the ominous black clouds coming from the west were joined by a gusting breeze beginning to carry raindrops which hastened our return to the visitor center. So, we quit a bit prematurely but managed, before doing so, to have seen and/or heard 32 species (see list below).

Before sharing some of our highlights, I want to mention a couple of species that we did not see. Last year, by the end of June, we had a Wood Duck hen with six ducklings on the turtle pond. Today we saw no sign of any Wood Ducks, but we will hope to do so on our next walk on June 24. The other species that was conspicuously absent was Cooper’s Hawk. We’ve been extremely fortunate for several seasons now in getting to have views of a nesting pair of Cooper’s in the cottonwood grove just north of Nixon’s Coffee House by the bike path. This morning we saw neither hide, nor hair, nor feather of these guys. Again, we will be checking again in the future.

Bullock’s Oriole (c) Bill Schmoker

Now, as to this morning’s highlights, we had great views of a pair of Western Kingbirds foraging over the river on the plentiful insect fare, Yellow Warblers were numerous, a pair of Bullock’s Orioles were right above us in a cottonwood, and American Goldfinches were doing a lot of chasing one another around.

There were also numerous swallows in the air over the river just prior to the rain moving in.

Yellow Warbler (c) Bill Schmoker

I think the real highlight was getting to watch the efforts of a male Red-winged Blackbird trying time and again to chase a foraging Great Blue Heron away from what he considered to be his particular patch of cattails. The heron was hunting by slowly wading along the edge of the cattails, but the Red-wing would have none of it. Presumably there was a nest close by. The Red-wing would fly down at the head of the heron, and the heron would respond by lunging upward with open beak and without leaving its feet. This went on for quite sometime – a good drama, of which we did not see the outcome. As I explained at the time Great-Blues eat a variety of food items – essentially any living organism that they can grab including fairly large fish and muskrats.

Spring migration is coming to an end and many species are now on eggs or even starting to have fledglings. I hope you are managing to get out and enjoy the show.

Good birding!

Chuck

Hudson Gardens, May 27, 2017
32 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  4
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  8
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)  4
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)  2
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  3
Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus)  2
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  3
Western Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus)  2
Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis)  2
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)  1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)  4
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina)  5
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)  1
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)  50
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  4
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  7
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  5
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  1
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  3
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  8
Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina)  2
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)  2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  9
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula)  12
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  3
Bullock’s Oriole (Icterus bullockii)  2
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  5
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  4
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)  1

Yellow-breasted Chat (c) Bill Schmoker

We had glorious weather for the Front Range Birding Company open house, and ten of us started off the day by going birding at Chatfield before joining the festivities at the store. Three species dominated the morning: House Wren, Yellow Warbler, and Yellow-breasted Chat. They seemed to be everywhere.

A few other highlights were the great looks we had of a male Common Yellowthroat, a few fleeting looks at Gray Catbirds and a single male Western Tanager, and then there was a female Black-headed Grosbeak that stuck around, but was mostly foraging methodically deep in a bush and good looks were brief.

Yellow Warbler (c) Bill Schmoker

House Wren (c) Bill Schmoker

Common Yellowthroat (c) Bill Schmoker

At 10:30 we made our way over to the banding station run each spring at Chatfield by the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies. For the next hour we were totally enthralled getting to see Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, Bullock’s Orioles, and a Northern Rough-winged Swallow in the hand.

Breeding season is in full swing, and there’s something new and wonderful to see almost every day. I hope you’re getting your fair share!

Best,  Chuck

Chatfield State Park, May 13

32 species

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)  6
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)  2
American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos)  7
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)  1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)  1
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)  1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  1
Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus)  6
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus)  1
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)  1
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia)  1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  3
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis)  4
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)  9
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)  3
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)  32
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)  1
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)  3
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)  2
Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)  4
Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia)  48
Yellow-breasted Chat (Icteria virens)  17
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)  4
Western Tanager (Piranga ludoviciana)  1
Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus)  1
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)  17
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)  1
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater)  4
Bullock’s Oriole (Icterus bullockii)  2
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus)  2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)  5