Tag: Front Range Birding Company

Saturday, October 12, 2024 Bird Walk to Mud Lake with Wild Bear Nature Center

Posted on October 15, 2024 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

This past Saturday was October Big Day, the fall counterpart to Global Big Day where people around the world unite to share their love of our avian friends. In celebration of the day, Front Range Birding teamed up with Wild Bear Nature Center for a bird walk around their new nature center site up at Mud Lake Open Space!

Wild Bear Nature Center is Boulder County’s only year-round nature center. Currently located in Nederland in the Caribou shopping center, Wild Bear’s new location, which is currently under construction, sits on 5 acres of land and boasts access to 16 miles of nature trails. It’s designed from the ground up to include state of the art sustainable building practices like bird-friendly glass to prevent collisions and a net-zero energy footprint through the use of solar power.

Wild Bear staff generously provided coffee and donuts for the event and gave us a look at the construction site, though we weren’t able to enter the fence due to safety concerns (you can schedule a special hard hat tour through their website though if you’re interested in a more in-depth tour). After taking a look at the new center, we split up into groups to bird.

Fall starts a quiet time for foothills birding, so we didn’t see many birds on our trek. The most abundant birds were Common Ravens, Pygmy Nuthatches and chickadees, both Black-capped and Mountain.

One of the easiest ways to tell a Mountain Chickadee from a Black-capped Chickadee is by the Mountain’s white “supercilium” or eyebrow. To me, this eyebrow makes the Mountain look somewhat angry. The Black-capped has a full black cap with no white above the eye. Less noticeable, the Black-capped Chickadee tends to have buffier flanks while the Mountain is more grey overall. Their calls are also different, though this can be hard to hear. The Mountain’s chicka-dee-dee call is raspier, almost like it has a sore throat.

Black-capped Chickadee. Photo by Jamie Simo

Although not a bird, we’re equal opportunity when it comes to nature here at FRBC and the highlight of the trip was definitely the muskrat we saw in Mud Lake. Often mistaken for beavers, muskrats are much smaller (up to around a foot long versus up to 3 feet long, and 2-4 pounds versus an average of 40 or so pounds). While beavers have a flat, paddle-shaped tail, muskrat tails are long, thin, and slightly vertically flattened. Beavers are strictly herbivorous, meaning they only eat plants such as leaves, shoots, and the inner bark of trees. Muskrats, however, are omnivorous so, in addition to aquatic plants, they’ll also eat crayfish, frogs, and small fish. There aren’t any fish in Mud Lake, so perhaps they’re chowing down on tiger salamanders and chorus frogs.

American beaver. Photo by Dona Hilkey. https://flic.kr/p/w4CUW7

While we only had 8 species for the morning, the good company was more than worth it. We look forward to partnering more with Wild Bear’s staff!

Mud Lake Open Space, Boulder, Colorado, US
8 species

Steller’s Jay 1
Black-billed Magpie 1
American Crow 1
Common Raven 4
Black-capped Chickadee 3
Mountain Chickadee 3
Pygmy Nuthatch 4
Dark-eyed Junco 1

Reefs to Rockies North Park Wildlife Weekend with Front Range Birding Company

Posted on August 9, 2024 by frbcadmin - Blog

Summer in the high country of Colorado means cool and crisp mornings, warm and sunny afternoons, and baby birds galore. Oh, and moose. Our early August Reefs to Rockies trip to North Park provided all those things and more.

The three-day adventure began just west of Denver on a Friday morning, when guides Chip Clouse and Kyle Carlsen and a group of intrepid travelers climbed into a custom safari van dubbed the Roaming Bison and headed straight to the mountains. A stop in the tiny town of Empire gave us our first taste of Rocky Mountain birding, with gems like calliope and rufous hummingbirds, Steller’s jay, western tanager, and black-headed grosbeak, followed by Canada jay, Clark’s nutcracker, and Townsend’s solitaire at Berthoud Pass.

Reservoirs near Granby produced staggering numbers of ospreys, as well as a decent sampling of ducks and other water birds like American white pelicans. By early afternoon and after a delicious lunch and an obligatory stop for some Palisade peaches, we had reached the town of Walden in North Park, an intermountain glacial basin and our playground for the next two days.

Almost immediately we were welcomed by a cow moose and her calf standing at the edge of a meadow at Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge. We raised the pop-top of the van and spent the next few hours soaking in the landscape in true safari style. We had close views of multiple greater sage-grouse, several family groups of Swainson’s hawks, sage thrashers, mountain bluebirds, Brewer’s sparrows, lark sparrows, lark buntings, vesper sparrows… shall we go on? Mammalian highlights included the range-limited white-tailed prairie dog, Wyoming ground squirrel, and American pronghorn. So many pronghorns.

During our time at Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge we used multiple citizen science apps – eBird, Merlin, iNat, and Seek – as part of a volunteer project focused on environmental education through wildlife observation.

Evening brought nighthawks and dinner, and the next morning we returned to exploring and enjoying the area. North Park supports diverse wildlife habitats, including sagebrush steppe uplands, grassland meadows, willow riparian areas, and wetlands. In other words, there was a lot to see (and eBird and iNat). A young peregrine falcon delighted us with several close flybys. We added prairie falcon shortly after. Two soras out in the open. More sage-grouse. Yellow-headed blackbirds. Mule deer. An array of wildflowers. And American badger!

Our time at Walden Reservoir proved just as fruitful with loads of eared and western grebes with babies on backs, rafts of ducks of several species, phalaropes, avocets, coots, cormorants, pelicans, gulls, terns, herons, and ibises. The sheer numbers of water birds on and around this reservoir at this time of year is mesmerizing. Black terns still in breeding plumage treated us with considerably close views.

The last morning of the trip brought two big highlights: a bull moose grazing in the willows right next to our van, and a golden eagle, a bird that had eluded us until now. Our route back to Denver took us to Cameron Pass and down through Poudre Canyon, and we picked up a few more montane species and had a serendipitous encounter with a Lewis’s woodpecker.

Pleasant weather, good company, and lots of birds and other wildlife made this a memorable tour through north-central Colorado. We cannot wait to do it again in August 2025!

Saturday, July 13, 2024 Bird Walk at Meyers Gulch Trail with Owen Robertson

Posted on July 13, 2024 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

Participants had to brave the heat for this month’s bird walk at Meyers Gulch, but were rewarded with a host of montane birds at this beautiful location on the west side of Flagstaff Mountain in the Walker Ranch area. The trail begins by passing through Ponderosa Pine savannah (open grasslands with scattered trees), then passes by a creek flanked by willows, Douglas Fir, and Colorado Blue Spruce. It’s a great place to find characteristic species of Colorado’s foothills, while the mix of habitats mean surprises are always possible.

The walk began with a mixed flock of Tree and Violet-green Swallows soaring over the parking lot – a unique sight in the mid-elevation habitats where these two species overlap. Identifying these species, while difficult on rapidly flying birds, is straightforward – Violet-greens have a distinct white rump band and pale face while, conversely, Trees have a solid blue rump and darker face. Meanwhile, dainty Pygmy Nuthatches flitted around in the canopy of nearby Ponderosa Pines and plentiful Vesper Sparrows (a prairie bird making use of the savanna-type habitat) serenaded us with their trilling songs.

**Mountain Bluebird. Photo by Jamie Simo**

A little further on, a gorgeous male Mountain Bluebird was spotted perching some distance away. This species is equally at home in alpine tundra or lowland prairie, and afforded us an opportunity to study the differences between it and the male Western Bluebird that we found nesting nearby – paler blue coloration with no rufous on the chest or back. The forest, though, harbored a different set of birds: Western Wood-Pewees caught insects from the tops of fir trees while Western Flycatchers, audible though not visible, gave their trademark whi-deet song from deep in the trees.

The highlight, however, was a stunning male Western Tanager that showed off its bright yellow and red plumage for the entire group to enjoy. The birds didn’t stop on the way back, either, with a singing Warbling Vireo (of the distinct “Western” vocal type) staying hidden in the canopy and an exciting mixed flock of bluebirds and Steller’s Jays keeping us busy. All in all, it was a thoroughly enjoyable walk, with good birds and great people in an incredible location!

Meyers Gulch Trail
July 13, 2024
25 species

Eurasian Collared-Dove – 1
Mourning Dove – 2
Broad-tailed Hummingbird – 4
Turkey Vulture – 1
Northern Flicker – 1
Western Wood-Pewee – 7
Western Flycatcher – 3
Warbling Vireo – 1
Steller’s Jay – 3
Common Raven – 1
Mountain Chickadee – 6
Tree Swallow – 5
Violet-green Swallow – 16
White-breasted Nuthatch – 3
Pygmy Nuthatch – 14
House Wren – 6
Western Bluebird – 9
Mountain Bluebird – 1
American Robin – 4
House Finch – 1
Chipping Sparrow – 3
Dark-eyed Junco – 3
Vesper Sparrow – 8
Green-tailed Towhee – 1
Western Tanager – 4

Saturday, May 11, 2024 Bird Walk to Golden Ponds with Jamie Simo

Posted on May 17, 2024 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

I maintain there is no better month in Colorado than May, and Golden Ponds is a fantastic place to enjoy spring unfolding. Like most of the ponds in the state, Golden Ponds is the product of reclamation following gravel mining. The first pond closest to the parking lot is a good one for American White Pelicans in the spring and summer and we saw several of those right off the bat. Historically, pelicans would mainly pass through Colorado on their way north to breed, but the addition of so many ponds and reservoirs means they now breed in several places within the state. The bumps on their bills are called caruncles and have some function in courtship that scientists don’t entirely understand yet. Both sexes show them in the breeding season.

Golden Ponds is one of the areas where Eastern Phoebes return each year to breed. As their name suggests, Eastern Phoebes are commonly found in the eastern United States and midwest, but the increase in tree canopy in Colorado within the last several decades have allowed these birds, as well as birds like the Blue Jay, to start colonizing further west. Eastern Phoebes are a brown flycatcher that often sits out in the open. It says its name: “Phoebe!” and bobs its tail regularly. There’s been one hanging around near the footbridge over St. Vrain Creek near the Beckwith diversion structure for a few weeks now.

Other migrants we were able to see and/or hear were Yellow Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and a male Bullock’s Oriole that helpfully perched low for us to get a decent look. Less accommodating was a Warbling Vireo that we could hear singing, but hid in the tree canopy out of sight.

As expected, nesting birds were plentiful, including a pair of Bushtits constructing their pendulous nest, which looks like a messier version of an oriole’s nest, with moss, grasses, and conifer needles woven together with spider webs. Both Cooper’s and Red-tailed Hawks were also on their nests with the Red-tailed Hawk having a downy chick already.

Finally, of special note were the amorous pair of Spotted Sandpipers who we saw copulating. Unlike most birds, it’s the male that will do the incubating and chick-tending while the female may go off to establish another territory and another nest with one or more additional males.

Another great bird walk! We’ll see you again in June!

Golden Ponds Park and Nature Area, Boulder, Colorado, US
36 species (+1 other taxa)

Canada Goose 6
Mallard 3
Mourning Dove 3
Killdeer 1
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Double-crested Cormorant 3
American White Pelican 20
Great Blue Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 7
Osprey 1
Cooper’s Hawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Downy Woodpecker 2
Northern Flicker 3
American Kestrel 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Warbling Vireo 1
Blue Jay 3
Black-capped Chickadee 2
Tree Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 5
Bushtit 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
House Wren 2
European Starling 1
American Robin 6
House Sparrow 4
House Finch 5
American Goldfinch 5
Song Sparrow 6
Bullock’s Oriole 1
Red-winged Blackbird 28
Brown-headed Cowbird 7
Common Grackle 5
Yellow Warbler 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler 4
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s) 1

Saturday, March 9, 2024 Bird Walk to Waneka Lake and Greenlee Preserve with Sarah Spotten

Posted on March 11, 2024 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

In March, one can almost sense the excitement of Colorado birders in the air: the changing of the guard is near! Soon, after a long winter of anticipation, the spring migrants and summer breeders will be arriving in our favorite patches, and our winter visitors will be heading off to points north. But until then, we can still enjoy the winter waterfowl in their breeding finery, at the same time that we are enjoying the early-spring songs of our local year-round resident birds gearing up for the breeding season.

Adult Cooper’s Hawk. Photo by Sarah Spotten.

Waneka Lake and adjacent Greenlee Preserve in Lafayette, Colorado boast several habitats which attract a diverse mix of birds year-round: reservoir, wetland, and nearby farmland surrounded by suburban neighborhoods. At Greenlee Preserve there are also some bird feeders, which have been known to host wintering White-throated Sparrows and several species of hummingbirds in the summer.

Our outing on March 9, 2024 began with the raucous serenade of dozens of European Starlings singing in the trees near the Waneka Lake Park parking lot, imitating several other birds like American Kestrel, Killdeer, and what sounded like Sora. Northern Flickers were also giving their territorial calls and drumming on trees and trash cans. Not far from the parking lot, we found an adult Cooper’s Hawk, which betrayed its presence by its “kek-kek-kek” call. This adult perched in one spot long enough for us all to get great looks through the scope. At one point, it was joined by a second individual, this one an immature bird, allowing us to compare how the plumages of the two ages differ.

Waterfowl was scarce on Waneka Lake, but we did have a few species on the water: Canada Goose, Common and Hooded Mergansers, Gadwall, Mallard, and Green-winged Teal. Greenlee Preserve, surprisingly, was a bit of a bust – hardly any birds around! But, that’s the nature of nature sometimes. We did have a couple of singing Red-winged Blackbirds nearby and two Black-capped Chickadees checking out potential nest cavities in tree branches.

Most of the group continued walking on to nearby Hecla Lake, about a half-mile southwest of Waneka Lake Park. On the way there, we heard and saw a singing White-breasted Nuthatch, singing Black-capped Chickadees, and singing House Finches. Although the water level was low at Hecla Lake, there were a number of interesting birds about. We got good scope views of Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, and Northern Shoveler. A group of Cackling Geese, conveniently hanging out with some Canada Geese, afforded some good comparison between these very similar-looking species. It still somehow seems like recent news, but I realized in writing this report that it will be 20 years this year since Cackling Goose was split off as a separate species from Canada Goose by the American Ornithological Society (Banks, et al. 2004). One of the best finds for the day at Hecla Lake was two American White Pelicans, which as of this writing appears to be the first eBird report of American White Pelicans for the season in Boulder County! Spring is indeed on its way.

Thanks to everyone who joined us this morning for some good birding and good company. See you next time – until then, happy spring migration!

eBird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S164242686

Waneka Lake Park, Greenlee Preserve, Hecla Lake, and environs, Boulder, Colorado, US

28 species (+2 other taxa)

Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii) 5

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 28

Northern Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) 4

Gadwall (Mareca strepera) 14

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 3

Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 19

Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) 5

Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) 7

Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) 2

Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon)) 16

Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) 2

Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 1

American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) 2

Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) 2

Sharp-shinned/Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter striatus/cooperii) 1

Downy Woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) 1

Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 8

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 1

Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia) 1

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 9

Common Raven (Corvus corax) 2

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 6

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) 1

European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 30

American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 1

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) 4

House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 10

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) 1

Dark-eyed Junco (Pink-sided) (Junco hyemalis mearnsi) 2

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 10

References:

Banks, Richard C., Carla Cicero, Jon L. Dunn, Andrew W. Kratter, Pamela C. Rasmussen, J. V. Remsen, James D. Rising, and Douglas F. Stotz. Forty-Fifth Supplement to the American Ornithologists’ Union Check-List of North American Birds. The Auk, Volume 121, Issue 3, 1 July 2004, Pages 985–995, https://doi.org/10.1093/auk/121.3.985

Saturday, February 10, 2024 Bird Walk to Milavec Reservoir with Jamie Simo

Posted on February 12, 2024 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

Well, it was certainly a cold, snowy morning for a bird walk, but after having to cancel due to dangerous cold last month, I was reluctant to cancel a second month in a row. Happily, the weather meant we had the trail to ourselves and the ducks! One of the best things about Milavec Reservoir is how small it is and how the trail goes all the way around so it’s very easy to get good looks at everything on the water.

Northern Shoveler pair. Photo by Jamie Simo.

Strangely, there weren’t any geese on the water on Saturday, though we more than made up for it by the number of ducks, especially Northern Shovelers, which were by far the most numerous species. The sound of their wings was impressive when a young Bald Eagle flew over, flushing them briefly. Intermingled were a good number of Canvasbacks, which are named for the male’s bright white body that resembles the color of a blank canvas. They are the largest of our diving ducks and have a distinctive, “ski slope” forehead. Other ducks present were Common Goldeneye, Mallards, and even a pair of Green-winged Teal.

One of the other most numerous species was the Common Merganser. Mergansers’ bills are narrower and sharper than most other ducks with serrations that make it easy for them to grab and eat fish and mollusks. In fact, those serrations earn them the nickname “sawbill” in some circles.

While there weren’t many songbirds that braved the weather, we did see and hear several Horned Larks fly over. Horned Larks have distinctive “horns” (really feathers) on their heads called plumicorns, and dark facial masks. Their presence was likely due to the fallow agriculture field next to the reservoir as they love bare ground and short grasses. Believe it or not, Horned Larks are the only true lark found in North America; Meadowlarks are actually members of the blackbird family.

A short but sweet walk, we netted 16 species in all, which wasn’t too shabby all things considered. Here’s to a warmer, sunnier March bird walk!

Frederick Lake (Milavec Reservoir) & Recreation Area, Weld, Colorado, US
16 species (+1 other taxa)

Canada Goose 1
Cackling/Canada Goose 7
Northern Shoveler 400
Mallard 27
Green-winged Teal 2
Canvasback 10
Common Goldeneye 10
Common Merganser 20
Ring-billed Gull 2
Bald Eagle 1
Northern Flicker 2
Black-billed Magpie 1
American Crow 1
Horned Lark 4
American Robin 3
American Goldfinch 1
Song Sparrow 2

Saturday, January 6, 2024 to S. Platte River with David Suddjian

Posted on January 14, 2024 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

The South Platte in Adams County near 88th Avenue was the destination for the Littleton store’s walk on January 6. The river is a winter haven for many hundreds of ducks, its food resources bolstered by the inflow from a water treatment plant located upstream. The nutrient rich – and warmer – waters attract many ducks during the winter season as they gather to feed and find refuge.

We walked to different vantage points along the river, at first braving a chill breeze, but later ready to shed some of our winter layers. Ducks crowded the river all the way. We saw many Northern Shovelers, Gadwall, Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, and Mallards, representing our dabbling ducks. Diving ducks were less numerous in the river channel than the dabblers, but we saw many Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye, and one section had lots of goldeneyes and Lesser Scaup. As we walked along we spied hunting a Northern Harrier and a cooperative American Kestrel.

The Platte’s channel is shallow, but large reservoirs lying alongside the river corridor offer a deeper water habitat, probably with more fish, too. These attract mostly diving ducks during winter. We climbed up a low bank to scan the birds at one of the reservoirs. There we added all three merganser species – Common, Hooded and Red-breasted, and many more scaup.

Birding the South Platte River Trail north of Denver is like finding a ribbon of life tucked away in an urban world. During our visit, all the waterfowl along the river seemed to be at peace. Plenty of food and resting places for all, and the winter sun highlighting such wonderful and varied colors and patterns on the ducks. It makes a fine winter walk.

Female American Kestrel. Photo by Anne Craig 2024©

Saturday, December 9, 2023 to White Rocks Trail with Jamie Simo

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

I wasn’t sure what the weather would be like the morning of the bird walk given the winter storm warning we had the previous day, but Saturday dawned cold, but bright and sunny. It was a perfect winter wonderland day with fresh snow!

White Rocks Trail in the winter is a fantastic place to view raptors and right off the bat we had our first: a female American Kestrel perched right over the trail. American Kestrels are our smallest falcon being about the size of a Blue Jay or Mourning Dove, and one of the only raptors in Colorado where the plumage of males and females are noticeably different. Females are mostly brown with dark barring on the back while males are rusty and slate-blue. Look for them on power lines where their distinctive, hunched posture and tail pumping easily give them away. You can also sometimes see them mobbing larger raptors like Red-tailed Hawks in defiance of their small size!

Female American Kestrel. Photo by Jamie Simo

Bald Eagles have been known to inhabit the area around White Rocks and sound was our first indication that the pair was in residence that morning. Contrary to what advertisers would have you believe, Bald Eagles don’t “scream” like Red-tailed Hawks, but emit a series of high-pitched whistles. Sure enough, we were soon able to get a good view of the pair perched in trees ringing the mostly frozen pond #9 on the adjacent ERTL property.

We also had an id challenge farther along the trail when we saw a large Buteo (soaring hawk) perched in a tree. Our initial thought was that the bird was a Red-tailed Hawk, which is the most common soaring hawk in Colorado. However, certain things didn’t quite add up. For one, even though the bird did have brown speckling across its white breast like the “belly band” of a Red-tailed Hawk, the head that was more pale than a Red-tail’s chocolate brown was odd. The biggest indicator though was the large, yellow mouth “gape,” which is a characteristic of the Ferruginous Hawk. After consulting photos, we determined we were indeed looking at a juvenile Ferruginous Hawk! Ferruginous Hawks are closely tied to prairie dog towns, which is their main source of food, and White Rocks Trail has no shortage of prairie dogs.

Juvenile Ferruginous Hawk. Photo by Jamie Simo

Other target species which we were fortunate enough to see were the Northern Shrike (an arctic breeder and resident in the northern portion of the US only in the winter) and several immature Northern Harriers, which passed by close enough for stunning views of their pumpkin-colored bellies.

Finally, not a bird, but we were also treated to a hunting coyote. Unconcerned by his/her audience, the coyote repeatedly pounced in the grasses off to the side of the trail. Finally, success! We watched as it contentedly munched on an unlucky vole. You never know what you’ll see when you come out on a bird walk with us!

Coyote eating a (meadow?) vole. Photo by Jamie Simo

White Rocks Trail area, Boulder, Colorado, US
28 species (+1 other taxa)

Cackling Goose 21
Canada Goose 15
Cackling/Canada Goose 27
Gadwall 7
American Wigeon 4
Mallard 6
Common Merganser 2
American Coot 1
Ring-billed Gull 7
Northern Harrier 2
Bald Eagle 2
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Ferruginous Hawk 1
Northern Flicker 1
American Kestrel 1
Northern Shrike 1
Blue Jay 3
Black-billed Magpie 1
Common Raven 1
European Starling 83
American Goldfinch 3
White-crowned Sparrow (Gambel’s) 40
Song Sparrow 5
Spotted Towhee 1
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 20
Belted Kingfisher 1
Say’s Phoebe 1
Western Meadowlark 19
Red-winged Blackbird 6

Saturday, Dec. 2 Bird Walk to Prospect Park at Wheat Ridge Greenbelt with David Suddjian

Posted on December 6, 2023 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

Today we were reminded we were in Colorado in December. Yes, we had some sunshine and pretty blue skies, but also a biting chill wind picked up as we began; our cheeks, fingers, and toes suffered. Wind makes land birding pretty tough, but our waterbirds may still be enjoyed. It was not so windy yet as we began at Prospect Lake, where hundreds of geese were the dominant theme. They were mostly Cackling Geese (short stature, near vertical forehead, short triangle bill, high barking calls) with great comparisons to the much larger but less numerous Canada Geese (sloped forehead, long bill, much bigger than Mallards). Prospect Lake also had a pair of Wood Ducks, some Lesser Scaup and a few others.
The winds grew and we dropped down to follow the trail up Clear Creek where there was a bit of shelter. Green-winged Teal added some flair among handsome Mallards and Gadwalls that love the creek, and an American Dipper buzzed in to offer great views! Up at exposed and windy Tabor Lake we found many ducks had sheltered along the west side, including a wonderful assembly of over 120 Hooded Mergansers. Red-breasted Mergansers were also there, along with Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, and lots of Shovelers. The heron flew in and flushed the crowd of shovelers from their sheltered shore. The flock flew fast over us, while flocks of Cacklers passed over higher up in other directions, blown to the side in the wind. It was a magical late fall moment.
December birding brings cold and sometimes wind, but there is great beauty, too. And always some treat awaits us birders who venture out to take a look.

Northern Shoveler & Hooded Merganser © Charles Hundertmark

Saturday, Nov. 18 Bird Walk to Hudson Gardens with the Incomparable Ruth Gabreski!

Posted on December 4, 2023 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

We began with a loud call of American Crow, in the stand of pines trees we observed flocks of Bustits, it’s a social songbird & one of the smallest passerines in North America. They were feeding on small insects & Bustits do love spiders one of their favorites. Along the South Platte, we heard many calls of American Goldfinches, Song Sparrows, House Finches singing, & Black-capped Chickadees surrounded us with their bouncy flight in & near cattails. As we continued along the river, Mourning Dove flew above with its long, pointed tail, & a sizable Buck was startled running along the other side river. Just as we headed across the bridge, we noticed a few Killdeers on the rocks in water & several Mallards, Buffleheads, & one stunning Common male Goldeneye. Passing the bridge, off to left a trail led us to a peaceful pond filled with Ducks both (dabblers & divers). We saw few Buffleheads, American Widgeons, a pair of Northern Shovelers, several Ring-necked Ducks, one Lesser Scaup, one American Coot. At the pond we watched closely 3 muskrats eating pond weeds or it looked like Cattails roots, & two Beavers swam by us. As we were getting ready to return back a few Common Mergansers flew in. These Mergansers, our only ducks that specific in eating fish & the largest of the three Mergansers we have. A delightful sunny bird trip with lots of Nature that surrounded us.

Bushtit 25

American Crow 1

American Goldfinch 4

Song Sparrow 4

Black-capped Chickadee 8

Red-winged Blackbird 2

Canada Geese 15

House Finches 6

Red-tailed Hawk 2

Morning Dove 1

Killdeer 4

Mallard

Belted Kingfisher 2

American Robin 1

Northern Flicker 3

Common Merganser 3

Common Goldeneye 1

American Widgeon 10

Bufflehead 12

Ring-necked Duck 8

Northern Shoveler 2

Lesser Scaup 1

American Coot 1

Muskrats 3

Beaver 2

Pterodactyls 0

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