Walden and Sawhill Ponds - Rails and Yellowlegs

Saturday morning offered many more species than sparrows to observe. I saw three shorebird species of particular note.

The Sora:


A life bird for me, and one that is common in wetland habitats around the state. I am glad to have made its acquaintence and hope to see more.


Another was the Virginia Rail, which is actually a fairly close relative of the Sora. The two are the most common Small Rails and are in the family Rallidae along with the Large Rails, Moorhens and Coots. (The Sibley Guide to Birds). They share size, shape and feather coloring, but even in the poorly angled picture above the tell-tale long orange bill is visible, making the second bird a slam dunk Virginia Rail.


I also had two distinct looks at a single Greater Yellowlegs. A first sighting for me in 2010. This bird is tricky to distinguish from its smaller counterpart, the Lesser Yellowlegs. Apart from general size the bill is the best way to distinguish the two, or so I have read repeatedly. The Greater Yellowlegs has a longer bill that upturns slightly, while the lesser has a bill that is about the same length as its head, and remains straight. Of course I am still seeking a Lesser Yellowlegs, so I have yet to see the distinction for myself. Not having personal experience with both of these species I welcome feedback if my identification is off.


As always it is fun to see new birds. The Virginia Rail I had seen in Wyoming, but never before in Colorado, and had never photographed adequately for posting. While none of the shots are eye popping, they are ones that help me to confirm what I have seen in the field, and can be used in the future as a comparison.

On an unrelated note I wanted to share a book note for any Colorado Birding readers who may find themselves in a similar state of enthusiastic, if far from expert birding. I was pointed to "Colorado Birds - A Reference to their Distribution and Habitat" by a fellow Colorado birder after posing a question about arrival and departure dates for Winter Wrens in Boulder County. I looked through it at the library and immediately decided that it was a book I needed for my home reference. The book was written by Robert Andrews and Robert Righter and published by the Denver Museum of Natural History back in 1992. It provides an entry for each of Colorado's then 443 recorded species of birds, as well as a great front section dedicated to the various habitats and regions of the state. This book is not a field guide in any sense. Each species shows a map of its range in Colorado, charts of both seasonal occurance and elevation, and a write up of its rate of incidence in various portions of the state. This is going to be a great sanity check reference for me, and one that I would recommend to others as well. I couldn't find it being sold new through any of the major online retailers, but I got a great used copy for less than the original price after shipping. If nothing else go check to see if your local library has a copy. I couldn't see myself checking it out, but would swing by to check on something if I was really stuck.

2010 Count: 199
Lifetime: 243

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