Tag: Front Range Birding Company

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

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

September 10th Bird Walk at Sandstone Ranch with Aron Smolley

Posted on September 20, 2022 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

The weather was cold and wet this morning but the upbeat attitudes and great conversation made this walk very pleasant and fun. We started off the day with some American goldfinches feasting on wild sunflowers, and even though they were flitting about we still managed to get everyone some good views of the male with his bright yellow feathers starting to fade into his more drab winter plumage. In fact, we get asked all the time in the store if goldfinches migrate, but the truth is, goldfinches are found in Boulder County year round- only in winter they are in disguise!

American Goldfinch in drab winter plumage. Photo by Jamie Simo.

As we continued down the hill towards the bridge, lots of wet birds were seen through the scope- northern flickers, American kestrels, mourning doves, and even a pair of adult bald eagles with their highly vocal juvenile offspring. We were also treated to a flock of blue-winged teal, a belted kingfisher, and a solitary sandpiper, all viewed from the first bridge. Further along we had a great blue heron, cliff and barn swallows, and a double crested cormorant. We finished off the day with a Cooper’s hawk at a distance- this provided us with a great opportunity to practice raptor identification.

Solitary Sandpiper. Photo by Aron Smolley.

Although on this walk we didn’t see that many species, a good time was still had by all. At the very least it was a great demonstration of the high performance of the Zeiss Gavia spotting scope even on a rainy day, still providing us crisp detail and bright colors despite the low light due to the sky being overcast. Come visit our Boulder location to try out the Gavia for yourselves!

Bird list:

American goldfinch

Northern Flicker

Mourning dove

Belted Kingfisher

American Robin

Gray Catbird
Mallard

Canada Goose

Blue winged teal

Blue jay

Bald Eagle

Solitary Sandpiper

Great blue heron

Cliff Swallow

Barn Swallow

Double Crested Cormorant

Ring-billed Gull

Cooper’s hawk

Hudson Gardens and South Platte River, August 27, 2022– with Andrea Cahoon

Posted on August 30, 2022 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

A group of 12 of us started our walk around 8:00 a.m. on a beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the mid-70’s. Though August is a bit of a quiet time for birds, we ended up seeing 25 species, with a total of 210 individuals. We had some excellent spotters in our group, and we all saw much more because of their contributions. Right off the bat we saw a Cedar Waxwing on a dead branch at the top of a tree across the river. Though seen more often in the warmer months, these stunning birds winter here and wherever berries are plentiful. We saw a bit of their aerial acrobatics while hunting for insects, but mostly they were in resting mode, perhaps recovering from the breeding season – those youngin’s are a lot of work! Cedar Waxwings often flock together, and are sometimes mistaken for a flock of starlings since they are about the same size. They are often seen in berry bushes and along rivers and ponds.

As we approached the bridge over the South Platte River, we spotted a Black-Crowned Night-Heron flying overhead. This heron is rather oval-shaped, with its neck hunched down. It is striking with its red eyes and yellow legs and feet. It roosts in trees during the day, and becomes active late in the day, foraging for fish and small aquatic animals in shallow water on the edges of ponds. We also saw a Great Blue Heron, more commonly seen than the Black-crowned Night-Heron. Missing today was the Snowy Egret, which breeds in Colorado and migrates to Mexico and South America. Though seen more often in the warmer months, the two aforementioned herons are here year-round.

Black-crowned Night-Heron. Photo by Jamie Simo.

After crossing the bridge and getting off the main trail, we saw many of our species: a Red-tailed Hawk; a Western Kingbird; three swallow species – Northern Rough-winged, Cliff and Barn; House Finches, a female Broad-tailed Hummingbird, and male Red-winged Blackbirds among others. We heard but did not see an American Goldfinch, making its “Potato Chip” flight call, and the skulky Gray Catbird.

Flying overhead, brilliant white in the sun, we saw several large groups of Ring-billed Gulls; one group had over 50 individuals.

Coming back to Hudson Gardens, we saw a lone male Wood Duck, another stunning bird, swimming in the stagnant pond. Wood Ducks nest in trees and nest boxes. When the ducklings are ready to leave the nest, they jump, sometimes as far as 50 feet to the ground!

We had a nice surprise at the Hudson Garden bird feeders – as the leader was reviewing the birds we’d seen and imitating the Gray Catbird, a Spotted Towhee responded with its similar call. More and more, the Spotted Towhee is becoming a regular backyard bird, not only scratching in the underbrush for insects, but also snatching seed dropped by other birds at bird feeders.

Here is the list in taxonomic order:

36 Canada Goose

1 Wood Duck

20 Mallard

2 Broad-tailed Hummingbird

3 American Coot

92 Ring-billed Gull

5 Double-crested Cormorant

1 Great Blue Heron

1 Black-crowned Night-Heron

1 Red-tailed Hawk

4 Northern Flicker

1 Western Kingbird

1 Blue Jay

2 Black-billed Magpie

4 Black-capped Chickadee

3 Northern Rough-winged Swallow

6 Barn Swallow

3 Cliff Swallow

3 White-Breasted Nuthatch

1 Gray Catbird

8 Cedar Waxwing

8 House Finch

1 American Goldfinch

1 Spotted Towhee

2 Red-winged Blackbird

Old St. Vrain Road, August 13, 2022–with Jamie Simo

Posted on August 23, 2022 by frbcadmin - Bird Walks, Blog

Old Saint Vrain Road in Lyons, Colorado is a gem for birders owing to the fact that it is what is known as an “ecotone.” An ecotone is a transition zone between one habitat and another and tends to be very biologically active because of that mixing. Old Saint Vrain transitions between riparian, rocky cliffs, and drier hillside with shrubs and Ponderosa pine and birds from all three habitats can be found here.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Photo by Jamie Simo.

On Saturday the 13th we met at the adjacent Picture Rock Trail parking lot for Heil Valley Ranch then walked the short distance down to Old Saint Vrain Road. The scrubby environs around the parking lot are ideal for Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, which we heard, but didn’t see. These small blue-gray (hence the name) birds are slightly smaller than a Bushtit with longer legs and bill and a tail they tend to hold up like a wren. They have a conspicuous white eye-ring and make a distinctive scratchy squeak call.

One of the houses along Old Saint Vrain Road has bird feeders up all year long and, in late summer, can play host to all four species of hummingbirds likely to be seen in Colorado. Along with the usual Broad-tailed and Black-chinned Hummingbirds, which breed along the Front Range, we saw one female Rufous Hummingbird.

Adult male Blue Grosbeak. Photo by Jamie Simo.

Along with the usual cohort of Wild Turkeys, including some young of the year, the highlights of the morning were probably the Blue Grosbeaks and Lazuli Buntings. We had a spectacularly deep blue Blue Grosbeak male singing his heart out as well as what I mistakenly labeled an adult male molting into duller winter plumage. I’ve since discovered that, upon reaching adulthood, male Blue Grosbeaks retain their blue feathers all year. Therefore, the reddish-brown bird we saw was either a first year male not yet in adult plumage or a female. Grosbeaks are named for their big, conical beaks (gros=large), which they use to crack seeds.

Immature male or adult female Lazuli Bunting. Photo by Jamie Simo.

Like their relative the Blue Grosbeak, Lazuli Buntings can also be found in shrubby open areas. The males remind me of sherbet with their orange, white, and electric blue coloring. We had a quick glimpse of an adult male along with better views of a either a young male or a female, which was more cinnamon-hued with hints of blue.

Old Saint Vrain Road never disappoints, even during the dog days of summer! In all we had 32 species.

Old Saint Vrain Rd

32 species (+1 other taxa)

Wild Turkey 8
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 6
Eurasian Collared-Dove 2
Mourning Dove 2
Black-chinned Hummingbird 2
Rufous Hummingbird 1
Broad-tailed Hummingbird 10
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Downy Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted x Red-shafted) 1
Western Wood-Pewee 3
Cordilleran Flycatcher 1
Say’s Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 5
Black-capped Chickadee 4
Barn Swallow 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 1
Pygmy Nuthatch 1
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
House Wren 2
European Starling 1
Gray Catbird 4
American Robin 1
Cedar Waxwing 12
House Finch 9
Lesser Goldfinch 7
American Goldfinch 4
Spotted Towhee 1
Yellow-breasted Chat 1
Western Tanager 1
Blue Grosbeak 2
Lazuli Bunting 3

Denver Littleton S. Denver | Great Birding Supplies | Front Range Birding Company Top Reviews

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Jack Corn - Uncategorized, Videos

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Front Range Birding Company
10146 W San Juan Way, Suite 110
Littleton CO
80128

The Front Range Birding Company is committed to providing you with the best service and products available. We strive to support American suppliers and manufacturers who can give you the best value for your money. Through that aim we stock unique items made in America to the maximum extent possible.

We are conveniently located in the Southwest Denver metro area. Look for us in the Jefferson Village/Kohl’s Shopping Center at the northeast corner of C-470 and Kipling Parkway. We are certainly easy to find if you are in the neighborhood. Nearby, the Audubon Society of Greater Denver at Chatfield, the Denver Botanical Gardens at Chatfield State Park, and beautiful Red Rocks Park offer great birding and nature adventures. You can always give us a call at 303-979-9260 or toll free at 1-888-979-9260.

Hours of Operation:
Monday – Friday 10am – 6PM
Saturday – 10am – 5PM
Sunday – 12PM – 6PM

Service Areas:
Colorado, USA, Denver, Littleton, Lakewood, Highlands Ranch

Here is a list of just some of the services we offer:
Birding Supplies, Birding, Birdseed, Binoculars, Sport optics, Birdbath, Sand S Optics,

What separates us from your competitors:
Our Specialties: Back yard birding knowledge – how to get multiple bird species to visit a backyard location
No waste/no mess birdseed – hulled seed that leaves nothing behind and will not germinate
Personal service to ensure customer satisfaction
Guaranteed results with products
Squirrel proof bird feeding
Knowledge of best local birding sites and best time to visit them
Free bird walks, talks, and seminars
Bird tour and travel to local and out-of=state birding hot spots

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrontRangeBirding

Subscribe to YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/frontrangebirdingco

See what others are saying about us at Google+ Local: https://plus.google.com/+Frontrangebirdingcompany

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Front Range Birding Company Littleton CO & S. Denver | The Top Bird Walks | Top Reviews

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Jack Corn - Uncategorized, Videos

https://frontrangebirding.com
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Birding Supplies 5 Star Reviews