Tag: Bird Walk

August 12, 2023 Bird Walk to Lagerman Reservoir Open Sky Loop with Jamie Simo

Posted on August 18, 2023 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

As it says on the tin, the Lagerman Reservoir Open Sky Loop is almost completely open and without shade so it was a blessing that the morning of our walk was cloudy and relatively cool for August. It’s still a long walk though, and my hat’s off to those doughty birders who stuck it out with me.

August is a challenging time to bird as birds are generally no longer singing and migration hasn’t really hit its peak yet. Still, we had some great birds, including a female Lark Bunting almost as soon as we started our walk. Colorado’s state bird, the Lark Bunting is a large, grassland sparrow. While the male in breeding plumage is unmistakable, being mostly black with a prominent white wing patch, the female and juvenile are more subtle with brown streaking. They do have a particularly chunky bill for a sparrow, almost more like a finch, but the creamy wing patch is a dead giveaway and was what clued us in to the bird’s identity.

Female Lark Bunting. Photo by Jamie Simo

Buoyed by our first big find, we continued on and had some fantastic views of Say’s Phoebes, which appeared to be everywhere. Say’s Phoebes are a kind of flycatcher and, as is typical of phoebes, are known for bobbing their tails. A trip highlight was watching an adult Say’s Phoebe feed a juvenile. One way to tell a juvenile from an adult bird is the very visible fleshy “gape” around the base of the bill. When altricial birds are nestlings, a prominent gape allows their parents to locate where to put the food. On Say’s Phoebes this gape is an orangey-yellow color, which stands out against the dark beak and grey head feathers.

Juvenile Say’s Phoebe. Photo by Jamie Simo

Another highlight of the trip was seeing a Loggerhead Shrike. Although the bird never came close to us, we were able to scope it with the Swarovski ATS 65mm spotting scope, which allowed us to get great looks at it. Although shrikes are considered songbirds, they hunt and kill not only insects, but also rodents, lizards, and even other songbirds. To kill vertebrate prey, they use their hooked beaks to deliver a paralyzing bite to the back of the neck then shake their victim with enough force to break its neck. Because they lack talons like a raptor, they impale their kill on thorns or even barbed wire to help hold it steady to eat or even to cache it for later.

Some other cool sights we had were two Great Horned Owls in a barn, a Bald Eagle with prey, and a Sage Thrasher. In all, we had 41 species, which is incredible for August in the grassland. Hopefully you can join us on our next walk!

Lagerman Agricultural Preserve–Open Sky Loop, Boulder, Colorado, US
Aug 12, 2023 7:43 AM – 12:03 PM
7.07 mile(s)
41 species

Canada Goose 65
Mallard 11
Lesser Scaup 2
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 1
Eurasian Collared-Dove 9
Mourning Dove 1
Broad-tailed Hummingbird 1
Killdeer 2
Ring-billed Gull 1
Double-crested Cormorant 5
Great Blue Heron 3
Black-crowned Night-Heron 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Bald Eagle 2
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Great Horned Owl 3
Downy Woodpecker 1
American Kestrel 1
Western Wood-Pewee 2
Say’s Phoebe 11
Western Kingbird 1
Eastern Kingbird 3
Loggerhead Shrike 1
Blue Jay 1
Black-billed Magpie 4
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Tree Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 11
European Starling 38
Sage Thrasher 1
House Sparrow 3
House Finch 5
Lesser Goldfinch 3
American Goldfinch 3
Lark Bunting 1
Savannah Sparrow 2
Western Meadowlark 8
Red-winged Blackbird 32
Brewer’s Blackbird 1
Common Grackle 7
Blue Grosbeak 3

June 10, 2023 Bird Walk to Meyer’s Gulch with Jamie Simo

Posted on June 14, 2023 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

Well, we finally made it to Walker Ranch after last month’s aborted attempt! The Meyer’s Gulch trail is one of the best places for foothills birding in Boulder County. It’s also spectacular in the spring with its wildflowers and butterflies.

This past Saturday the weather was warm and sunny, but not too hot. We couldn’t have asked for a better morning. Before we even left the parking lot we had some great birds, including a singing Green-tailed Towhee and a Pine Siskin. As we started off down the trail the number of singing Vesper Sparrows was incredible. Vesper Sparrows are a grassland bird with a prominent white eye-ring, streaked breast, and white outer tail feathers. If you can get a good view of one (which is entirely possible because they like to sing from an elevated perch), you may see the little reddish patch on their shoulder. Their song starts off with a couple of whistles followed by a trilling song.

As we continued along the trail, we were stopped by the sight of a couple Western Bluebirds and got great looks at our most common and least shy flycatcher, the Western Wood-Pewee. Western Wood-Pewees almost always like to sit out in the open and they can be distinguished from other flycatchers by their relatively long wings, lack of eye-ring, and still tail (many flycatchers tail bob).

As mentioned previously, Walker Ranch is a great place for wildflowers. Some of the most notable were western wallflower, blue-mist penstemon, and locoweed (mistakenly identified by me on Saturday as a type of vetch). Broad-tailed Hummingbirds were abundant as they took advantage of the nectar and one even helpfully posed for several minutes so we could get a look at him and his gorgeous gorget.

Other species we saw on our walk were Chipping Sparrows, a Dark-eyed Junco, a Western Tanager, a lone male Red Crossbill, and several Plumbeous Vireos. Though remaining unseen, we also heard the songs of Macgillivray’s Warbler as well as Warbling Vireo.

Unfortunately we didn’t make it too far along the trail before having to turn around, but only because there was just so much to look at and listen to!

Walker Ranch–Meyers Gulch, Boulder, Colorado, US
29 species (+1 other taxa)

Broad-tailed Hummingbird 3
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Northern Flicker 2
Western Wood-Pewee 5
Cordilleran Flycatcher 3
Plumbeous Vireo 3
Warbling Vireo 3
Steller’s Jay 2
Black-billed Magpie 3
American Crow 4
Common Raven 2
Mountain Chickadee 3
Violet-green Swallow 3
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Pygmy Nuthatch 2
House Wren 7
Western Bluebird 2
American Robin 7
House Finch 1
Red Crossbill 1
Pine Siskin 1
Lesser Goldfinch 3
Chipping Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Gray-headed) 1
Vesper Sparrow 6
Green-tailed Towhee 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
MacGillivray’s Warbler 1
Western Tanager 1

May 13, 2013 Bird Walk to Chatauqua Park and Gregory Canyon with Jack Strobel

Posted on May 18, 2023 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

Thank you to everyone who came to our trip on May 13th at Chautauqua Park! It was not the planned location, as we could not get to the Meyer’s Gulch Trail. Unfortunately, there was an accident on the mountain leading to the trail head and the rangers were asked to close the roads and even some of the hiking paths up the mountain. Thank you for everyone’s patience as we adjusted on the fly that morning. Luckily, the park was just down the road from where we were originally going to go.

Overall, I think the trip ended up being great! We had a total of 34 species seen and heard. I loved seeing some of my favorites return like the swallows and warblers. It is a shame we didn’t see the MacGillivray’s warbler. It eluded our gaze in the trees! However, we did hear 4 separate individuals which is still a lovely day. The star of the show was the Grey Catbird. It was singing some strange songs and making a lot of weird noises. It even fooled me into thinking it was a Yellow-breasted Chat at first!

We walked just over 2 miles with a good hike there at the end for those who stayed. We certainly got our workout in for the day! The morning was lovely and sunny as well with clouds just starting to roll in as we took off.

Male Black-headed Grosbeak. Photo by Jamie Simo.

I hope to make it back out to Meyer’s Gulch trail at some point here soon. Our trip turned out well, but I am still itching to get to Meyer’s Gulch. Keep an eye out! Maybe sometime soon we will have a trip available once again at the Gulch.

For those who joined the trip, thank you once again. For those of you we missed, we hope to see you next time.

Thank you again!

Jack Strobel

Gregory Canyon, Boulder, Colorado, US

34 species

Mallard 1

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 2

Mourning Dove 3

Broad-tailed Hummingbird 16

Turkey Vulture 6

Downy Woodpecker 1

Hairy Woodpecker 1

Northern Flicker 10

Cordilleran Flycatcher 2

Say’s Phoebe 1

Steller’s Jay 2

Blue Jay 5

Black-billed Magpie 21

American Crow 5

Black-capped Chickadee 4

Tree Swallow 3

Violet-green Swallow 3

Cliff Swallow 1

Bushtit 4

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1

Red-breasted Nuthatch 1

White-breasted Nuthatch 1

House Wren 2

European Starling 4

Gray Catbird 1

American Robin 15

American Goldfinch 1

Dark-eyed Junco 1

Spotted Towhee 29

Common Grackle 7

MacGillivray’s Warbler 4

Yellow Warbler 6

Yellow-rumped Warbler 0

Wilson’s Warbler 1

Black-headed Grosbeak 1

April 8, 2023 Bird Walk to Sawhill Ponds with Patrick Morgan

Posted on April 10, 2023 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

The bird walk on Saturday, April 8, at Sawhill Ponds was a great one! The weather was a perfect 60 degrees with minimal wind, which was quite the change from the snowstorm earlier this week. With the ponds thawed out and migration beginning to get underway, 10 birders joined the walk and were excited to see what they could find.

It didn’t take long for us to find some of our first target birds for the day. A pair of Ospreys that nest at the park were flying around the parking lot. One of them ended up catching a fish, which they proceeded to eat on top of one of the utility poles. As we watched, an adult Bald Eagle swooped in quickly to attempt to steal the fish! The Osprey was able to get away, while we marvelled at the aerial battle taking place.

All throughout the walk, we could hear Red-winged Blackbirds and Song Sparrows singing to establish their territories amongst the cattails. Only male Red-winged Blackbirds were spotted, so the females were either hidden amongst the cattails creating their nests or haven’t quite started migrating back yet. A pair of Killdeer were seen flying overhead, while the sounds of drumming woodpeckers, such as Northern Flickers, Downy Woodpecker, and Hairy Woodpecker, could be heard throughout our walk.

Waterfowl were plentiful throughout the various ponds, with Green-winged Teals, Gadwalls, and Ring-necked Ducks being the most common. Hooded Mergansers, Northern Shovelers, American Wigeons, and Mallards were also seen, while a pair of Blue-winged Teals were a joy to see. The ubiquitous Canada Goose was also seen throughout the park, with one particular bird having already established a nest on an island in one of the ponds.

The smaller songbirds were also very active. We enjoyed seeing American Goldfinches in their bright yellow, breeding plumages, while the Black-capped Chickadees were very active throughout the area. One flock of chickadees seemed to be following us around, and their calls and active habits were a joy to watch. We were also able to spot an uncommon bird for the area. While we watched for birds along Boulder Creek, one of our birders spotted a small passerine hopping around on the bank. We determined it was a Lincoln’s Sparrow by their finely streaked buffy breasts feathers and slender bill. Lincoln’s Sparrow typically are only passing through the area on their way to higher elevations to breed.

As we finished our walk, we spied a Northern Flicker poking their head out of a cavity nest. Northern Flickers often have to contend with the invasive European Starling for nesting space and are usually bested by the latter, so it was nice to see that this one was claiming this cavity as their own. At the end, we finally spied a Belted Kingfisher perched high up on the power line, which was a nice end to the walk. All in all, a great day to kickoff the spring birding!

Taxa Reported: 35

32 Canada Goose

2 Blue-winged Teal

8 Northern Shoveler

20 Gadwall

2 American Wigeon

8 Mallard

16 Green-winged Teal

10 Ring-necked Duck

2 Hooded Merganser

9 Rock Pigeon

2 Mourning Dove

2 American Coot

2 Killdeer

2 Greater Yellowlegs

7 Double-crested Cormorant

3 Great Blue Heron

2 Osprey

1 Bald Eagle

1 Red-tailed Hawk

1 Belted Kingfisher

4 Downy Woodpecker

1 Hairy Woodpecker

4 Northern Flicker

2 Blue Jay

5 American Crow

10 Black-capped Chickadee

1 White-breasted Nuthatch

6 European Starling

18 American Robin

9 American Goldfinch

4 Song Sparrow

1 Lincoln’s Sparrow

1 Spotted Towhee

36 Red-winged Blackbird

2 Common Grackle

March 11, 2023 Bird Walk to Pella Crossing with Jamie Simo

Posted on March 15, 2023 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

After scouting out Pella Crossing the day before on a very chilly and overcast Friday morning, it was a blessing to wake up to such a sunny, beautiful day on Saturday. Unsurprisingly, the majority of activity at Pella was at Webster Pond, which is set aside as an emergent wetland for native fish and is therefore closed to fishing. The pond held 11 different species of duck.

Right away we spotted both Canvasback and Redhead ducks, which are two diving ducks sometimes confused for each other. Males of both species have reddish heads in breeding plumage, but while Redheads have conventional round heads, Canvasbacks are easily distinguished by their “ski slope-like” foreheads, which make their profile very triangular.

Among other diving ducks seen were Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Duck, which are also often confused for each other. While males of both species sport black heads which shine iridescent in the right light, Lesser Scaup males have grey backs with whiter flanks. Ring-necked Duck males, however, have black backs and greyer flanks with a white vertical “spur” at the shoulder area. If close enough, you can also see that Ring-necked Ducks have ringed bills while Lesser Scaups lack this feature.

Male Ring-necked Duck. Photo by Jamie Simo

Male Lesser Scaup. Creative Commons [[File:Lesser Scaup (11636209866).jpg|Lesser_Scaup_(11636209866)]]

Although it’s still a little early for spring migration, we did witness several hints of spring. We saw several Hooded Merganser males, which are a type of fish-eating duck, exhibit courtship behavior, puffing up their crests and stretching their necks out for the accompanying females.

Across the agricultural field to the south we also witnessed a Red-tailed Hawk bringing sticks to a nest. Such “nestorations” are a prelude to breeding and egg-laying, which may begin as early as later this month for this species. While songbirds were in short supply due most likely to the breeze, we did also see two other raptor species: two soaring immature Bald Eagles and, making its appearance just before reaching the parking lot at the end of the walk, an adult Cooper’s Hawk.

All-in-all we saw 28 species, which wasn’t bad for the “calm before the storm” of spring migration!

Pella Crossing Open Space, Boulder, Colorado, US
28 species

Cackling Goose 40
Canada Goose 100
Wood Duck 2 Quick fly over. Heard alarm call from female and saw two ducks.
Gadwall 11
American Wigeon 6
Mallard 6
Green-winged Teal 2
Canvasback 2
Redhead 3
Ring-necked Duck 1
Lesser Scaup 5
Bufflehead 3
Common Goldeneye 5
Hooded Merganser 8
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 5
American Coot 1
Cooper’s Hawk 1
Bald Eagle 2
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Belted Kingfisher 1
Northern Flicker 1
Common Raven 2
American Robin 2
House Finch 4
American Goldfinch 1
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Song Sparrow 2
Red-winged Blackbird 6

February 11, 2023 Bird Walk to Waneka Lake and Greenlee Preserve with Jamie Simo

Posted on February 13, 2023 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

After a very cold and windy Thursday scouting out Waneka Lake and Greenlee Preserve for February’s bird walk, it was a relief for Saturday’s sun and calm winds. While the lake was mostly frozen, there were a couple circles of open water and we were able to get decent looks at Green-winged Teal and a lone, male Common Merganser. From a distance, the creamy patch near the Green-winged Teal’s tail is a great field mark to look for. Males in breeding plumage also have a white, vertical stripe on their “shoulder,” which is visible from the side.

Male Green-winged Teal. Note the vertical slash near the head and the creamy patch near the tail. Photo by Jamie Simo.

Although there wasn’t much open water for geese, we saw many Canada and Cackling Geese flying over. In one group there was even a Snow Goose. Snow Geese will often intermix with flocks of Canada Geese, so keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary!

We had better luck with songbirds than waterfowl. Before we had even left the parking lot, we were treated to a cacophony of European Starling chatter as they scouted out nesting cavities in the big trees between the parking lot and lake. Northern Flickers were also active pecking around on the ground possibly for their favorite food of ants. We even saw one female Northern Flicker with yellow wing and tail linings, a sign of a hybrid red-shafted x yellow-shafted flicker.

At the feeders near the shack we were treated to great views of Spotted Towhees and White-crowned Sparrows. Spotted Towhees are particularly striking with their black, orange, and white coloring. Towhees love tangles of brush and as ground feeders can be attracted to millet on a low platform or sprinkled on the ground.

Probably the highlight of the morning for me was the immature Red-tailed Hawk that posed in a tree not that far away from us then soared low directly over our heads. At the end of the walk she (female raptors are bigger than males and this was a fairly large bird) even landed on a power pole directly over our heads. Red-tailed Hawks are extremely variable, but even though immature Red-tails lack the red tail, you may still be able to distinguish them by their chocolate brown head, belly band (can be variable, but the belly band was thick and obvious on this bird), white scapular (shoulder) V, and, if soaring, their bulging secondary wing feathers and dark patagial marks.

All in all, it was a gorgeous day for birding and we saw 25 species. Not bad for mid-February! Happy birding!

Waneka Lake/Greenlee Preserve, Boulder, Colorado, US
25 species (+4 other taxa)

Snow Goose 1
Cackling Goose 4
Canada Goose 36
Cackling/Canada Goose 47
Mallard 5
Green-winged Teal 4
Common Merganser 1
Eurasian Collared-Dove 5
Ring-billed Gull 8
Red-tailed Hawk 2
Downy Woodpecker (Rocky Mts.) 2
Northern Flicker 4
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 1
Blue Jay 3
American Crow 2
Black-capped Chickadee 5
White-breasted Nuthatch (Interior West) 2
European Starling 16
Townsend’s Solitaire 1
American Robin 1
House Sparrow 6
House Finch 6
Dark-eyed Junco 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored) 1
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 1
White-crowned Sparrow 8
Song Sparrow 2
Spotted Towhee 6
Red-winged Blackbird 14

January 14, 2023 Bird Walk to Sandstone Ranch with Aron Smolley

Posted on January 16, 2023 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

Saturday, January 14^th Bird Walk: Sandstone Ranch with Aron Smolley

Kicking off 2023 with our first bird walk of the year, we returned to Sandstone Ranch and its variable habitats to boost our year list with some diversity. Although our target bird- the northern shrike- and several of the expected species, such as American tree sparrow and belted kingfisher, eluded us today, there was some interesting bird activity, and a great time was had by all.

Ferruginous Hawk chasing immature Bald Eagle. Photo by Jamie Simo.

Canada and cackling geese were numerous as we made our way from the parking lot towards the riparian area. A ball of horned larks swooped and swirled around the hills to our left and a downy woodpecker flew overhead. A pair of American kestrels caught our attention with their high-pitched calls, and everyone was able to view them through our Zeiss spotting scope. A great blue heron flew by while blue jays and mourning doves flitted about the trees over the creek. As soon as we crossed the first bridge, we had a burst of action from two immature bald eagles and a ferruginous hawk all chasing each other. From the smell we assumed there must have been an animal carcass nearby- soon after we discovered a deceased goose on the island in the river. We spent some time scanning for water birds and had one common goldeneye and one common merganser among the ubiquitous mallards and Canada geese.

Northern Harrier eating a goose carcass. Photo by Jamie Simo.

The highlight of today by far was the female northern harrier that gave me my closest view of this bird to date! She flew directly in front of us, low and slow and in perfect lighting. The cherry on top was that she descended upon the dead goose, and everyone got to witness the graphic spectacle of her feeding upon it. HPAI concerns aside, this was quite fascinating to observe through a high-powered scope. It’s not every day you get to see a northern harrier perched on the ground, much less eating prey.

From that spot we also had quite a few other raptors; mostly immature bald eagles (at one point we had seven individuals in one field of view!) as well as several red-tailed hawks, all very different plumages. A couple of white-tailed deer made their presence known as we started heading back to the parking lot. We stopped a few more times for western meadowlarks, song and white-crowned sparrow, and a gigantic adult bald eagle flyover. Final species for the day was a gang of wild turkeys that followed us out and prompted a hilarious conversation about collective nouns for animals. All in all, another successful bird walk. Happy new year everyone and happy birding!

Bird List:

Canada goose: ~200

Cackling goose: ~50

Mallard:~50

Common goldeneye: 1

Common merganser: 1

Great blue heron: 1

Downy woodpecker: 1

Northern flicker: 1

American kestrel: 2

Mourning dove: 5

Rock pigeon: 6

Blue jay: 8

Bald eagle: 8

Ferruginous hawk: 1

Red tailed hawk: 4

Northern harrier: 2

American crow:10

Wild turkey: 7

Horned lark: ~20

Song sparrow: 2

White crowned sparrow: 5

American goldfinch: 1

December 10, 2022 Bird Walk to Milavec Reservoir with Jamie Simo

Posted on December 13, 2022 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

Milavec Reservoir in Frederick, CO has always been a reliable place for good, close views of ducks and geese in the winter. So I was initially disappointed that there weren’t more birds on the water when we climbed the steps from the parking lot. My disappointment didn’t last long, however. I guess the birds were just waiting for it to warm up a little more!

Along with the American Robins and European Starlings that favor the Russian olives that grow around the reservoir, we got to see not only the usual red-shafted form of our Northern Flicker, but the intergrade form. The Front Range is where the red-shafted Western and yellow-shafted Eastern types of the Northern Flicker mix and mingle. Often you can catch a hint of a bird’s Eastern heritage by a faint red crescent on the nape of the neck (missing in Western birds) or by yellow or orange wing and tail linings rather than the reddish linings more typical of Western birds. On our walk we had a female bird with definite yellow linings and a male who showed a red and black malar or “mustache” stripe.

Male intergrade Northern Flicker. Photo by Jamie Simo.

Common Goldeneyes and Northern Shovelers particularly favor Milavec, interesting as this indicates there’s enough diversity in food to accommodate both diving and dabbling ducks. We witnessed a large group of shovelers milling around in a circle called a “scrum” making a whirlpool to draw things up from the bottom of the reservoir. Their large beaks are designed to filter food out of the water column. Curiously, we saw many males in non-breeding plumage. These males were likely first-year males, which take longer to gain their breeding plumage.

When the geese finally started leaving the adjacent golf course and agricultural fields and taking their siesta on the reservoir, we had a couple of special visitors. One was a Greater White-fronted Goose. We were first alerted to its presence by its call, which is very different than the Cackling and Canada Geese it was surrounded by. This large goose is named for the white at the base or “front” of its orange bill, which is the same color as its feet. We also had a hybrid goose, most likely a Snow x Cackling Goose hybrid due to the visible dark “grin patch” and small size.

Hybrid Snow x Cackling Goose surrounded by Cackling Geese. Photo by Jamie Simo.

Other species of note were an adult Bald Eagle, Ruddy Ducks, and American Tree Sparrows, a winter migrant. A great morning!

Frederick Lake (Milavec Reservoir) & Recreation Area
Dec 10, 2022
24 species

1 Greater White-fronted Goose
300 Cackling Goose (Richardson’s)
1 Snow x Cackling Goose (hybrid) — Pictures to follow
100 Canada Goose
1000 Cackling/Canada Goose
200 Northern Shoveler
1 Bufflehead
13 Common Goldeneye
3 Ruddy Duck
4 Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)
3 Eurasian Collared-Dove
1 Ring-billed Gull
1 Cooper’s Hawk
1 Bald Eagle
2 Red-tailed Hawk
1 Downy Woodpecker
3 Northern Flicker
2 Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted x Red-shafted)
3 Blue Jay
1 Horned Lark
8 European Starling
40 American Robin
1 American Goldfinch
7 American Tree Sparrow
2 Dark-eyed Junco
1 Song Sparrow
3 Red-winged Blackbird

November 12, 2022 Bird Walk to Lagerman Reservoir with Patrick Morgan

Posted on November 26, 2022 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

The Boulder Front Range Birding Company November walk was held at Lagerman Reservoir on November 12 at 8:00 am. The morning was a little frigid, with the temperature in the 20s and a frozen reservoir shoreline. 5 intrepid birders showed up to brave the cold, though we weren’t the only ones. Two other birding groups were there, along with a running group. We joked that there might be more observers than birds at the park this morning.

Looking south across the reservoir with the sun right in your face can make viewing the birds on the water somewhat difficult, so we aimed to make it to the south shore of the reservoir to get a better view. Viewing backlit birds can be a good test of identification skills, however, and we used some of these skills to identify some Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, and the ubiquitous American Coots that frequent the reservoir in the winter months.

While we were on the western shore, we noticed multiple Killdeer flying around. These were the only shorebirds that we were seeing, but then we noticed one that was quite smaller in size. The sunlight was making a confirming id difficult, but we were able to narrow in on a Least Sandpiper. The small “peep” had a slightly down-turned bill and greenish yellow legs, good identifiers for this shorebird. They can be pretty rare this time of year, but this one seems to have been hanging out at the reservoir for a couple of weeks.

As we continued on to the south shore, we noticed multiple juvenile Bald Eagles flying around. There is a nest south of the reservoir, barely visible with the naked eye, so these ones could be offspring of that nested pair, but they could also be winter migrants that move into the area in the winter. We noticed them flying low to the ground west of the reservoir, along with multiple Black-billed Magpies and two Ferruginous Hawks. There must have been some type of carcass over there, as a couple of Bald Eagles stayed perched on the fence over there for the duration of our walk.

We finally made it to the south shore after walking less than a mile in about an hour and a half (you tend to not make it very far when the birds are flying around!) and decided that we would view the birds from here and then turn around. We could spot Northern Pintails, Redheads, and Lesser Scaups, but we were most amazed by the flocks of geese flying overhead. This time of year is great to view geese, as thousands of them come down from the north and congregate on the various reservoirs in the area. Most of what we saw were Canada and Cackling Geese, which when flying overhead can be pretty difficult to distinguish. What really excited us was a group of about 12 Snow Geese that flew over the reservoir. After watching the birds flying around and on the water we decided to head back to the trailhead.

Hope to see you next month for our December Bird Walk!

Taxa Reported

13 Snow Geese

500 (est) Cackling/Canada

8 Mallard

7 Northern Pintail

5 Green-winged Teal

7 Lesser Scaup

8 Bufflehead

3 Common Goldeneye

6 Ruddy Duck

30 American Coot

4 Killdeer

1 Least Sandpiper

3 Ring-billed Gull

1 Northern Harrier

4 Bald Eagle

1 Red-tailed Hawk

2 Ferruginous Hawk

1 American Kestrel

4 Black-billed Magpie

2 Common Raven

3 American Tree Sparrow

2 Western Meadowlark

October 8, 2022 Bird Walk to White Rocks Trail with Aron Smolley

Posted on October 8, 2022 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

We could not have asked for a more magical day to spend birding for today’s walk along the White Rocks Trail. Our group showed up raring to go and we set off down the trail; black-capped chickadees, American goldfinches, and spotted towhees greeted us as we walked by. The sound of a belted kingfisher reached our ears and, sure enough, we spotted it perch hunting over the riparian area towards the beginning of the trail.

As the morning mist dissipated, we came across a very cooperative red-tailed hawk perched in a snag right by the trail and everyone got excellent views of its field marks through the Zeiss Gavia spotting scope. Further along, we started hearing killdeer and, sure enough, we looked up and observed a group of 5 migrating overhead.

At the first pond, we watched a northern harrier zoom past as an osprey ate its breakfast of fish on a post. An American white pelican showed up as we glassed over the waterfowl on the pond- a surprise treat for all of us. Other birds of note on the pond included a cackling goose, a cooperative pair of great-blue herons, a couple of pied-billed grebes, and 8 beautiful wood ducks- including one stunning male perched up in a tree. Ring-billed gulls chased each other over the pond and gadwalls gathered in the water.

We continued along the trail through the prairie dog down and were lucky enough to find a merlin perched on a fence post- this tiny falcon definitely had the songbirds on edge. As the sun warmed us up, red-tailed hawks, bald eagles, a Cooper’s hawk, and another osprey soared overhead on thermals, while a second northern harrier perched calmly on a post in the distance. The last noteworthy bird of the day was a white-throated sparrow, which is always fun to see this far west.

We also got our cute mammal of the day- a young raccoon peering down at us from high up in a tree! After all was said and done we tallied 34 species total (2 lifers for some of the participants!) in just under 4 hours. This trail area is definitely an underrated birding hotspot and I will definitely be returning here for future walks.

White Rocks Trail area, Boulder, Colorado, US Oct 8, 2022 8:05 AM – 12:05 PM

34 species

Cackling Goose 1 Observed in scope in water by 9 birders.

Canada Goose 13

Wood Duck 8

Gadwall 20

American Wigeon 1

Mallard 10

Pied-billed Grebe 2

Killdeer 5

Ring-billed Gull 2

American White Pelican 3

Great Blue Heron 3

Osprey 2 One perched and one flying over it.

Northern Harrier 2

Cooper’s Hawk 1

Bald Eagle 2

Red-tailed Hawk 5

Belted Kingfisher 1

Downy Woodpecker 1

Northern Flicker 4

Merlin 1

Blue Jay 5

Black-billed Magpie 5

American Crow 1

Black-capped Chickadee 3

European Starling 25

American Robin 7

American Goldfinch 4

Chipping Sparrow 3

White-crowned Sparrow 9

White-throated Sparrow 1

Spotted Towhee 2

Red-winged Blackbird 6

Common Grackle 2

Yellow-rumped Warbler 1

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