Welcome to Colorado - Western Gull

This evening I had the good fortune to observe and photograph what will be, if accepted, the first recorded Western Gull in the state of Colorado.


Western Gulls (big surprise) live on the Pacific Coast. I tried hard to create one when I traveled to Lake Tahoe this winter, but even on the eastern California border the gull is a rarity. This one seems to be good for the telltale fieldmarks. Note the large bright-yellow bill with a red spot on the lower mandible. A pale eye-ring on an otherwise plain white head, and dull pink legs. The bird has a fairly dark gray back, with black wing tips that show white tips on the primaries. The underside of the far wing, and the flight photos below show the lone white wingtip visible when the bird is above.


Glenn Walbek is the local birder that discovered the bird this morning at Chatfield State Park. By mid-day the confirmations were coming in. Then it was a matter of hoping the bird would remain through the rest of the work day, and a rush hour drive south through the metro area.


When I arrived I was surprised that there were no obvious birders around the marina where the bird had been reported. I walked a bit, and then checked my email - the word was in, the bird had relocated to the west side of the lake. I retraced my drive and shortly had the bird in scope, on the west side of the lake, and notably in Jefferson County.


Three of us kept a vigil for an hour or so, as others came and went. We were hoping for a wing-stretch, or a circling flight to show us the underwing details, but when it came the bird headed out across the lake, and beyond trees that hid it from view. Based on the direction of flight and the sightings from earlier in the day it seemed possible if not likely that the bird had returned to the sand spit where it had been spending the majority of its time. I retraced my route once again, and was rewarded by finding the bird back in its original location - this time in Douglas County. Not bad, a likely state record bird, a lifer for me, and now on two county lists in the same day.


There is a darker side to the excitement of extremely rare bird sightings. Often the birds are far away from their familiar habitat, and it is unclear if this bird will ever find its way back to the Pacific. The bird does seem to be hampered by some injury to its left leg. It is not placing weight on the limb, but was using it to scratch at times. Time will tell if this bird can adapt to its current surroundings.


The reality is that the bird is here for the time being, and that it presents a great opportunity to observe this species close to home. Hopefully many Colorado birders will have the chance to do so in the coming days.

2011 Count: 199
Lifetime: 277

Roxborough State Park

Our bizarre mild December continues here in Colorado, making it tough to process that the holidays are nearly upon us. I fear that Colorado is not going to give me a preparatory cold snap before I head to Minnesota at the end of the month.


On the bright side though, walking around in a t-shirt and light jacket last Wednesday wasn't bad at all. I spent a few hours in almost perfect solitude on the South Rim Trail at Roxborough State Park. It was one of those days where the air wasn't stirring a bit, and the silence was palpable. I would hear animals and birds moving on the ground or through the branches from dozens of yards away. The Western Scrub Jays (top) and Spotted Towhees (not pictured), were generally stationary and I would pass groups or individuals as I walked. Chickadees, both Black-capped (above) and Mountain (below), were moving about - with mixed flocks moving past at times. They would all gather around to get a look as they flew from branch to branch, responding to my very quiet pishing. Twice, they were joined by Downy Woodpeckers (two below) - who seemed to associate more with the Mountain Chickadees than the Black-capped ones.


Roxborough didn't produce those great Gray Foxes, as it did during my last visit. Even so it continues to grow on me. Wednesday was great for reflection, while getting in a bit of exercise. For a few weeks now I've been chewing on the question of how far my birding skills have progressed. Along those lines I had a great opportunity to wrap my mind around ways to improve one's birding skills. I had some thoughts...but am curious about what others think. If there was a single tip you could give to a beginning or novice birder, what would it be. Feel free to comment or email, I would like to see if my thoughts are in-line with those of others.


I haven't had the lens or lighting to show off the rock formations of the park on my visits to date. To set the scene think of a more intimate Red Rocks or Garden of the Gods if you are familiar with those types of rock formations. The view that I had from the crest of the South Rim ridge moving counter-clockwise around the loop was just great; it offers views north towards Long's Peak.


Hopefully I will get back on a day with better light to show off the impressive geology. A young Red-tailed Hawk was trying to make up for the overcast sky, and doing an admirable job.

Not a remarkable birding day, but a memorable one nonetheless. Nature offered an intimate look at some of its more subtle sights, and I am glad I was there to accept.

Still a couple more posts in the works from last weekend, and will be getting in some type of outdoor activity this weekend as well.

Sights from Sunday Morning

While looking for loons at Chatfield State Park.


I found no loons, but this Townsend's Solitare was posing nicely.


As was this Downy Woodpecker.


A Black-capped Chickadee just looked cold, although those little birds move so much I don't think the cold would ever get a chance to catch them.


This juvenile Bald Eagle was just curious enough to let me approach along the shore. I think the hundreds of Coots just below him were happy to have me there.

Chatfield State Park at Daybreak

Occasionally my work requires me to be a different office, one that is conveniently close to Chatfield State Park. Driving from the northern edge of the Denver metro area to the southern at rush hour is not my idea of fun, so I started early on Friday and spent an hour at Chatfield State Park as the sun rose. I particularly wanted to work a bit with a different auto focus setting to see if I could get better results than I had with the Pipit. Before the sun had even risen the Osprey were hard at work, keeping the fish population in check.


For flight shot practice there may be no species better than gulls. They are inquisitive and predictable, often flying loops along the same stretch of shoreline. I was able to get a couple of passable shots, and confirmed that I am going to have to study up on gulls before the coming winter.


These were far from great, but a really good way to start a work day. Making my way back to my truck I headed away from the lake and followed a road, dividing areas of mowed lawn and native grasses. A Townsend's Solitaire posed on its perch in the early light, soaking up the soft colors.


Only a few minutes later the colors were getting brighter as I stopped to watch a bunch of Yellow-rumped Warblers doing their constant motion thing.


After work my plan was to return to Chatfield immediately and spend another few hours walking and birding rather than adding to the traffic congestion. As I headed back I saw a sign that indicated Chatfield and Roxborough State Parks were accessible from the same exit. With nothing to do but kill time I had to go for the different venue. It is one that I have certainly heard of, but really enjoyed getting to visit for a few hours. I would have enjoyed the visit if only for the red rock formations, scrub oak covered trails in all shades of fall color, and birds; but then there were the foxes who totally stole the show....

Black Phoebe

Successful Twitch! Today my work schedule set itself up to have me take a lunch break right at the end of the day. Coincidentally, a report of a Black Phoebe had shown up on the COBirds listserve from last night down at Chatfield Reservoir State Park. Being the first calm, sunny day in a while I just had to head down and get another use out of my parks pass. I figured that even if I didn't find the bird it would be worth the drive. As shown by the photos I didn't make the trip in vain.


After an initial look following the directions provided by the emailer I had headed back up the path, when I met up with another birder, Joe. I decided to accompany him back to the location of the original sighting and within a few minutes we had both gotten good looks.


After twenty minutes or so we headed off, although I made another stop back on my way out of the park to get another few shots of this unusual visitor for our area.

After getting home I did a bit of reading on Cornell's Birds of North America Online website and found that this Black Phoebe is actually a bit north of its range. Usually, Black Phoebes only head as far north as Arizona and New Mexico, and up to Oregon on the Pacific Coast. Here in Colorado we see more of the Say's Phoebe, but both are flycatchers and are readily found in prominent perches where they make repeated short flights to catch insects.


I was able to watch some of this behavior, the Black Phoebe made many flights, but unlike the Western Kingbirds which will be arriving soon the Phoebe never seemed to return to its same perch on any given flight. The Kingbirds I have watched repeatedly take off and return to the same branch or fence post.

It was neat to have an attempt to track down a local rarity succeed. The previous Harris's Sparrow was fun, but at a location I visit every few weeks. This one, at a more distant location and being shared with another birder sharing the same goal was cool in its own right. Unlike the Snowy Owl that I had the chance to see on its visit to Colorado this winter, this bird had only been seen within the past 24 hours, and I had no idea if it would remain in the area as I drove towards the park. A fun bird to add to my life list, and a flycatcher that even I can distinguish at first glance!

2010 Count: 98
Lifetime: 211