
This past Saturday was a gorgeous day for a bird walk up at Walker Ranch. Settled in 1865 by James A. Walker, Walker Ranch is on the National Register of Historic Places not just for its historic buildings dating back to that time period, but also for several archeological sites from indigenous peoples, including the Arapahoe.
Before we even got very far on the trail we were greeted by the first of many singing Vesper Sparrows. Male Vesper Sparrows are easy to see during breeding season because they will sit on an exposed perch in the grassland and sing continuously. Their name comes from the fact that they will sing into the twilight hours, vesper meaning “evening” in Latin. They can be distinguished by their white eye ring, streaky breast, white outer tail feathers, and pale “mustache.”
Further into the scattered Ponderosas we encountered several Western Bluebirds and we were lucky to see a female bringing nesting material to one of the bluebird houses along the trail. Female Western Bluebirds are the nest builders and most nests are made out of grasses or pine needles with softer materials lining the nest. Interestingly, like Bushtits, sometimes previous Western Bluebird young will act as helpers, bringing food to their younger siblings.
Other birds of note that we saw were all three species of nuthatch (Red-breasted, White-breasted, and Pygmy), Mountain Chickadee, Pine Siskin, Chipping Sparrow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, a lone male Mountain Bluebird, and my favorite of the day, two Red-naped Sapsuckers. Sapsuckers are a type of woodpecker that has a specialized tongue to lap sap from trees. They also eat berries and insects and are often found in aspen groves.
We ended up with 28 species, which was a respectable haul for early spring during what has felt like a slow migration year. We hope you can join us on our next walk on June 14th. Until then, don’t stop birding!
Walker Ranch–Meyers Gulch, Boulder, Colorado, US
26 species (+2 other taxa)
Canada Goose 2
Broad-tailed Hummingbird 3
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Red-naped Sapsucker 2
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 2
Steller’s Jay 1
Black-billed Magpie 2
American Crow 4
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Mountain Chickadee 4
Tree/Violet-green Swallow 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Pygmy Nuthatch 9
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Northern House Wren 4
Western Bluebird 4
Mountain Bluebird 1
American Robin 10
Pine Siskin 2
Chipping Sparrow 3
Dark-eyed Junco (Gray-headed) 2
White-crowned Sparrow 1
Vesper Sparrow 6
Brown-headed Cowbird 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s) 1