Tag: heil valley ranch

Saturday, July 12, 2025 Bird Walk to Lichen Loop at Heil Valley Ranch with Jamie Simo

Posted on July 13, 2025 by - Bird Walks, Blog

Photo by Bruce Raup

After the previous sweltering hot days, it was a relief that this past Saturday was cool and overcast, especially since the 2020 Cal-wood fire burned most of the trees along the Lichen Loop. Also, the last time I led this walk the trail was severely encroached upon by thistles and mullein, but I was happy to note that wasn’t the case this time.

Bullock’s Oriole bringing food to nest. Photo courtesy of Bruce Raup.

We had an extremely birdy morning! Not only did we get to see and/or hear all of our target species (Blue Grosbeak, Lark Sparrow, Yellow-breasted Chat, and Lazuli Bunting), but we were treated to great looks at not one, but two sets of parents feeding nestlings. A pair of Bullock’s Orioles and a pair of Western Kingbirds had set up shop in nearby trees so we were able to watch the parents coming and going as they brought in breakfast for the kiddos.

Bullock’s Orioles weave their nests primarily out of grasses or rootlets and, on average, lay 4 or 5 eggs. It seemed a little late for this pair to still have babies in the nest, but apparently they may re-nest if something happens to the first clutch. Rarely, they may also have a second clutch.

Western Kingbird on nest. Photo courtesy of Bruce Raup.

Unlike orioles that make pendulous nests, Western Kingbirds construct cup nests, many times in the crotch of a tree, which is exactly where this nest was. They lay a similar number of eggs to Bullock’s Orioles (usually between 3 and 5). We could see at least one baby when either of the parents came to feed and before mom would plop down onto the nest. From how frequently feedings were happening for both nests, it seems like there are plenty of insects at Heil Valley Ranch this summer!

Other than the nesting birds, the highlight of the walk was definitely the Lewis’s Woodpecker. This woodpecker is unusual in that it acts more like a flycatcher, sallying forth from a branch to catch insects in mid-air, versus drilling them out of bark, although they will sometimes also do that. About the same size as a Northern Flicker, Lewis’s Woodpeckers are also unusually colorful for a woodpecker. Their pink and green coloring makes me call them the “watermelon bird.” I’ve heard that Lewis’s tend to show up about 7 years following a burn so 5 years after the Cal-wood fire is about on-schedule.

In all, we had 31 bird species, a great showing for a non-riparian area in July. We hope you can join us on a future bird walk! No matter what we see, we always have a great time!

Lichen Loop Trail, Boulder, Colorado, US
31 species

Mourning Dove  5
Black-chinned Hummingbird  1
Broad-tailed Hummingbird  3
Lewis’s Woodpecker  2
Hairy Woodpecker  4
Northern Flicker  5
American Kestrel  2
Western Wood-Pewee  4
Western Flycatcher  1
Eastern Phoebe  2
Say’s Phoebe  1
Western Kingbird  4
Blue Jay  1
Black-billed Magpie  3
Violet-green Swallow  1
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Rock Wren  1
Northern House Wren  3
House Finch  4
Lesser Goldfinch  3
American Goldfinch  3
Lark Sparrow  5
Vesper Sparrow  1
Spotted Towhee  6
Yellow-breasted Chat  1
Western Meadowlark  9
Bullock’s Oriole  4     Feeding in nest
Brown-headed Cowbird  2
Western Tanager  2
Blue Grosbeak  3
Lazuli Bunting  4

July 8, 2023 Bird Walk to Heil Valley Ranch’s Lichen Loop with Jamie Simo

Posted on July 11, 2023 by - Bird Walks, Blog

Unfortunately our guest bird walk leader wasn’t able to lead this month’s bird walk, but that just meant I had the pleasure instead! Heil Valley Ranch is one of the jewels of Boulder County’s open space program with over 100 bird species recorded there.

Our group met at the main parking area at 8am to walk the Lichen Loop. It’s been interesting charting the changes to Heil since the Cal-wood Fire roared through in fall of 2020. The Lichen Loop in particular was heavily impacted by the fire, its forest canopy replaced by grasses, native wildflowers, and invasive weeds. What trees remain are mostly charred skeletons, a striking counterpoint to the lush understory and the perfect backdrop for our colorful migrants.

Along the stream running parallel to the parking lot we heard the newly renamed Western Flycatcher, formally classified as the Cordilleran Flycatcher. It’ll be hard to think of it as anything other than the Cordilleran though because its high-pitched call sounds very much like it’s saying its name: “cordi!” We also heard the melodious song of the Lazuli Bunting, though we wouldn’t get a good view of one until about halfway through our walk when a beautiful male perched long enough for us all to get a good look at his azure back, white belly, and orange breast.

Male Blue Grosbeak. Photo by Jamie Simo

We were also privileged to get great looks at several male Blue Grosbeaks, a grass and shrubland bird that didn’t frequent the Lichen Loop prior to the Cal-wood Fire. Like its relatives, the Blue Grosbeak is named for its large, seed-cracking bill, which is a silvery grey color. A deeper blue than the Lazuli Bunting with chestnut wings, the Blue Grosbeak sounds a little like a scratchy American Robin when he sings, only with fewer pauses.

Lark Sparrow. Photo by Jamie Simo

Another bird of note was the Lark Sparrow, a large sparrow with a beautiful red face pattern that makes me think of Southwestern Native American pottery. We also saw several Western Kingbirds with their contrasting grey backs and bright yellow bellies. Back in the parking lot we wrapped up our trip with a flock of 10 Wild Turkeys, a pair of Golden Eagles that perched in a tree on the hillside, and a gorgeous male Western Tanager. A perfect morning for birding!

Lichen Loop Trail, Boulder, Colorado, US
28 species

Wild Turkey  10
Mourning Dove  4
Broad-tailed Hummingbird  2
Turkey Vulture  2
Golden Eagle  2
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  1
Western Wood-Pewee  5
Cordilleran Flycatcher  1
Western Kingbird  3
Eastern Kingbird  1
Steller’s Jay (Interior)  2
Black-billed Magpie  8
White-breasted Nuthatch (Interior West)  3
Rock Wren  1
House Wren  1
American Robin  1
Lesser Goldfinch  4
Chipping Sparrow  1
Lark Sparrow  1
Spotted Towhee  2
Western Meadowlark  4
Bullock’s Oriole  2
Brown-headed Cowbird  1
Brewer’s Blackbird  8
Western Tanager  1
Blue Grosbeak  5
Lazuli Bunting  5

Heil Valley Ranch, July 9, 2022–with Stephen Chang

Posted on July 9, 2022 by - Bird Walks, Blog

Our Saturday walk at Heil Valley Ranch consisted of a good crew of seven. The Cal Wood fire torched the area 2 years ago, killing much of the Ponderosa canopy in the area. Because of this, the vegetation that is coming back is quite weedy, consisting mostly of common mullein and musk thistle. This has led to an explosive growth of some grasshopper and butterfly groups in the valley.

Mourning Dove. Photo by Jamie Simo.

As for the birds, we either heard or saw a total of twenty-seven species, the most abundant of which were Mourning Doves, Lesser Goldfinches, and Lazuli Buntings. Views towards the canyon walls to the east were initially difficult due to the lighting in the morning, but we were able to identify many birds by call or song. We talked about the Western Tanager’s song being like “a robin with a sore throat.” Additionally, after hearing Rock Wrens sing for almost an hour up the hill without good looks, we were finally rewarded when one flew in close and perched on a nearby rock (fittingly).

Rock Wren. Photo by Jamie Simo.

Because of the heat forecasted for the day, we did a short loop around the Lichen Loop trail and called it a little bit early. It was both eerie and hard to see the destruction caused by such a high-intensity fire, but there are still some birds who have taken advantage of the situation and are thriving at Heil Ranch.

Thanks to all those who came!

27 Species observed

3          Wild Turkey

8          Mourning Dove

3          Broad-tailed Hummingbird

2          Northern Flicker

3          Western Wood-Pewee

1          Cordilleran Flycatcher

1          Western Kingbird

1          Warbling Vireo

1          Blue Jay

1          Black-billed Magpie

1          Common Raven

1          Violet-green Swallow

1          White-breasted Nuthatch

5          Rock Wren

1          House Wren

1          American Robin

3          Red Crossbill

3          Pine Siskin

10        Lesser Goldfinch

6          American Goldfinch

3          Spotted Towhee

1          Yellow-breasted Chat

2          Western Meadowlark

1          Western/Eastern Meadowlark

1          Western Tanager

1          Black-headed Grosbeak

4          Blue Grosbeak

10        Lazuli Bunting

Heil Valley Ranch, June 8, 2019

Posted on June 11, 2019 by - Bird Walks, Blog, Events

Photo courtesy of Dave McLoughlin

We couldn’t have asked for better weather for our trip to Heil Valley Ranch. Heil Valley Ranch is one of the jewels of the Boulder County Open Space program with over 6,000 acres of prime wildlife habitat, amazing vistas, and gorgeous wildflowers, all of which we were able to enjoy on a warm Saturday morning in June.

Cordilleran Flycatcher. Photo by Jamie SImo.

We first struck out on the Lichen Loop. Before we’d gotten over the bridge, we heard a Cordilleran Flycatcher calling. Cordilleran Flycatchers are small, yellowish flycatchers with large white eye rings that form a tear drop shape behind the eye. They tend to favor moist areas in coniferous forests, such as along streams, which is where we found this one. Flycatchers can be extremely difficult to tell apart, but this one helpfully says its name: “Cordi! Cordi!”

A visit to Heil Valley Ranch isn’t complete without a Wild Turkey sighting and we saw several. Most of Heil Valley Ranch is Ponderosa pine habitat and the turkeys eat the cones as well as insects and berries from bushes such as the chokecherry present in the valley. 

Not only is Ponderosa pine habitat good for foothills birds like Wild Turkeys, but also for mammals like the Abert’s squirrel and mule deer, both of which we got a chance to see on our hike. The Abert’s squirrels at Heil are almost exclusively melanistic, meaning that they’re a very dark brown or black color rather than grey. Heil is also an amazing place to go butterflying or wildflower watching and we were lucky to have some experts in our group to help identify them. Painted lady and orange sulphur butterflies were especially abundant.

Lazuli Bunting pair mating. Photo courtesy of Linda Hardesty.

Once we emerged from the Lichen Loop, we walked a short distance along the Wapiti Trail where we had fantastic views of a male Broad-tailed Hummingbird flashing his pink gorget, and several Lazuli Buntings. We even got to see a pair of Lazuli Buntings mating! Quite different from the bright blue and orange of the male, the female Lazuli Bunting is a warm cinnamon brown. She’s also much shyer than her mate; rather than singing from atop an exposed perch, she tends to hide in dense bushes. 

Male Lesser Goldfinch. Photo courtesy of Chris Friedman.

As we headed back to the parking lot, we finally got great looks at several birds we had only been able to hear deep in the trees: a male Lesser Goldfinch and a male Western Tanager. “Lesser” isn’t a value judgment; it really refers to having less yellow than our other Colorado goldfinch species, the American Goldfinch. Lesser Goldfinch males in Colorado have sooty black caps and dusky backs. When they fly, they flash large white patches on their wings. We had an unprecedented invasion of Western Tanagers in people’s yards this spring due to the cooler temperatures and late snow, but Western Tanagers typically breed up in the Ponderosa pine forests such as at Heil Valley Ranch. The males are a riot of red, yellow, and black, while females are a dingy yellow and grey.

Our trip netted us 25 bird species in all, plus an unidentified hummingbird (Broad-tailed or Black-chinned). Such a great day!