Friday June Fourth Recap - Common Loons

Even if you aren't much of a birder you may be thinking, "Those aren't Loons, they're Pelicans!", and of course you would be correct. Click on the picture to see the larger view. Their formation gives the impression that they were flying in a loop. Even as we rightly consider ecological disaster and gloom, we must remember that elsewhere life endures, and birds have the freedom of flight. It is good to observe nature and savor the simplicity and peace we find when we are out in it.

A bird that I have been watching for since I began birding is the Common Loon. Having grown up in Minnesota, the haunting cries and maniacal laughter of these diving birds were a part of the environment on many a canoe trip. Finally getting to see them here, where they are occasional but consistent visitors was very welcome.

Getting to see them near the shore as I drove along the berm-top road was even more so. Attempting to age these birds is a bit beyond my skill, they may be first summer birds, or adults that have just not molted back to their alternate (breeding) plumage. The birds I remember from the summers of my childhood were all in that traditional breeding plumage, so I am not too sure if adults would retain their basic look this late or not.

I am also unsure if these are a pair of late migrants that will continue further north, or if they will stick around out on the plains for the season. Perhaps I will make a return visit in a few months to see if they are still around. Either way, I hope that I won't have to wait another couple of years before seeing Common Loons once again.

2010 Count: 180

Lifetime: 232

On the way to the Airport

I had an evening flight after work on Thursday, from work I took highway 7 straight east from Boulder, and Tower Rd south from Brighton. The best part about that route, (other than avoiding traffic), is that it swings right past Barr Lake State Park, and I had enough time to drive slowly to the boat launch and back before heading on to park for my flight.

I was following a storm out, so the light was a pretty mixed bag, but it was a nice break between work stress and airport stress. There were bunches of Eastern Kingbirds along the access road.

One of the risks of stopping on the way to the airport is that there is a risk that self discipline will fail, and the necessary time to continue on to make the flight seems to come very quickly. Even as I pushed that limit I had to make one stop as I exited the park. A well marked Swainson's Hawk is always worth a quick stop, even in poor light.

Trip details to follow, but I need to work on a replacement for a failed hard drive in my laptop, (apparently Minnesota didn't agree with it).

Monday at the Marshes

I wanted to get back up to the Cottonwood Marsh, Sawhill Ponds, Walden Pond area in Boulder now that the migrants are arriving. Monday, being the day I get off work at 3:00 was the perfect opportunity.
Before heading up I checked the recent emails that referenced the location and knew that both Mew Gulls and Black Phoebes had been spotted recently. I did a quick lookup on each so that I would be prepared to identify them if I saw them. (I didn't see either, but it seems like a good way for me to prepare for trips, and learn about likely species before I see them.)
At the entrance to the complex I was checking the Cottonwood Marsh mudflats for shorebirds when a couple passed me and told me that if I wanted to take pictures I should head over a couple of lakes to one where 50 or so Pelicans were feeding.
The complex is large - there are many different lakes, marshes and woodlots to explore. As such it is always nice to get a target destination right off the bat. I headed over and sure enough there were a large group of Pelicans feeding in the lake.


I initially counted 66, and another dozen arrived in pairs or solo while I was watching. Carry a camera and binoculars around a nature preserve and you will quickly find that others in the area immediately consider you an expert....either that or they were testing me. I started getting questions about how long the Pelicans would stay, and whether or not the American White Pelican was the largest bird in Colorado.
Anybody know the answer to that one? I said that I wasn't sure, but that some of the swans or cranes may be larger.

The Pelicans were fun to watch, and I hope that some of them hang around. This one successfully caught a fish and was happy to show it off.

Just to the north of the Pelicans I spotted a Great Horned on her nest, and just around the corner - west of the boundary - there was a fairly developed Great Blue Heron rookery. It looked like the pairs were still in nest building mode, but getting back there with some morning light will have to be a priority.

I spotted this bird from across a lake and despite being the first one I had seen in the wild I knew it immediately.

Osprey! When perched with their wings folded their white heads can look a bit like a Bald Eagle, but the black eye band/cheek patch gives them away, as does their white belly from below. I really like this bird, and got the opportunity to direct a late arriving birder towards it as I was heading back to the entrance.

In an area like this heading back is an hour proposition, and I still had plenty of time to enjoy the American Wigeon seen here and all the other waterfowl as the sun sank.

I stopped by the spot where I had listed my first Great Horned Owl back in January, and there were two sitting in the next tree over. Back to back days seeing three Great Horneds, I am getting spoiled!

In addition to the great Owl, Pelican, and Heron sightings I added three new life birds on my trip. As well as the Osprey pictured above I got a Barn Swallow (not even close to pictured), and a Black-and-White Warbler (pictured but too small and far to show up well on the page). The day was very good, I got 35 species between three stops and just enjoyed a long enough afternoon that I could almost bird/hike 5 miles before it got too dark to continue.

2009 Count: 83
Lifetime: 107

An even nicer evening at Stearn's Lake

The shorebird above is an American Avocet, just one of the 6 new life birds I saw on Tuesday evening. It was so nice on Tuesday that I decided to stop at Stearn's on the way home for a bit of a walk and some more pictures. While I was there I saw 3 shorebirds, including the Avocet above, two new Grebes, and an American White Pelican which I knew would be coming any day now. For the record I did peek at the Farmer's Pond across from the parking lot. That is where I spotted the Avocet, a Solitary Sandpiper, and the standard assortment of ducks, Red-wings and Killdeer.

Here is a Greater Yellowlegs walking along the beach. I am going to do my best with shorebirds, but will very likely be wrong at some point along the way. Feel free to email or add corrections in the comments.

I saw a lone American White Pelican on the lake and apparently the fishing was better towards the middle than it was for the humans on the bank. It was quite a battle for the Pelican to get it lined up for swallowing.

A quick note on Pelicans. Back a few years I spotted one on the lake at a local golf course. I was shocked that Pelicans showed up in Colorado. In Minnesota where I grew up there is a town called Pelican Rapids where White Pelicans nested, but they were fairly isolated, from what I knew, and I really thought that the additional 4000 feet of elevation would be prohibitive. At any rate - I started noticing Pelicans, even thought at that time I was far from doing any actual birdwatching. Since I started keeping a list last October I have known that at some point the Pelicans would return and I would get see them officially. What a cool way to get to see my first of the year, catching a monster fish.

I also had three species of Grebe on the lake, two of which were lifers. The Horned Grebes above were a long way out, but their distinct buff "horns" and bill shapes made the ID clear.

Also present were two similar species of Grebe, the Western above which is fairly common...

and this Clark's Grebe which is less so. I actually got several shots with multiple Westerns and the Clark's in frame, but they were far enough apart that the formatting would have made them indistinguishable blobs.

The above pictures still aren't great, but they show the major differences for making an ID. On the Western the black on the head drops down below the eye, and the body is mostly dark. The Clark's has a whiter face, including the area around the eye and the mottled light sides. Also of note is the difference in bill color. The Western's bill is a greenish-yellow and the Clark's is bright yellow to orange.

This Killdeer was in great light with a group as I walked past it in a field. Check out that great red eye.

I saw this Great Blue Heron way up in a Cottonwood that was somewhat removed from a small pond on the way to the Cradleboard trail. Interesting to see something that large, on those skinny legs, standing 40 ft up in a tree.

What a day!

Between my earlier walk along coal creek and the evening spent at Stearn's I really saw some of nature's best. I added six new life species on the day. They were, American Avocet, Solitary Sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs, American White Pelican, Horned Grebe, and Clark's Grebe.

2009 Count: 78

Lifetime: 102