CO birders, Apologies for the late post.
The 3rd annual Mountain Plover Festival took place in Karval, Lincoln County, CO this past weekend. Beginning with dinner and an evening bird tour on Friday and ending with breakfast, another tour and then lunch on Sunday, the festival was a big hit. The folks of Karval really rolled out the red carpet for their out-of-town visitors. Saturday featured three meals, two bird tours, and fabulous entertainment on Saturday night. There were vendors selling their wares, a photography contest with wonderful prizes, and a silent auction that left me with a much lighter wallet! The weather was a bit nippy in the mornings but the wildlife was well worth it. Bird guides included Seth Gallagher from RMBO, Katy Fitzgerald from USFWS, Ken Morgan and John Koshak from CDOW, and yours truly. Local guides included Dan Merewether, Carl Stogsdill, Russell Davis, Jeff Thornton, Mark Carling and Steve Bailey. I hope I didn't leave anyone out! Check out the Karval Community Alliance website at http://karval.org/home and science teacher Mark Carling's Karval Birding Blog, at http://birdingkarval.blogspot.com <http://birdingkarval.blogspot.com/> . Both sites feature some photos from the fantastic weekend. The Fri & Sat bird list is on Mark's blog and the complete list including Sunday is posted below. Wood Duck - Sun only (female only) Gadwall - Sun Mallard Blue-winged Teal - Sun Northern Shoveler - Sun Hooded Merganser - Sun Ruddy Duck Eared Grebe - Sun Western Grebe - some displaying was observed Double-crested Cormorant - Sun White-faced Ibis Northern Harrier - check out Mark's post on the displaying male on Saturday Swainson's Hawk Red-tailed Hawk Ferruginous Hawk - Sun Golden Eagle - Sun American Kestrel American Coot Sandhill Crane - Sun (a one-legged bird with an obvious stump. It was hopping, feeding, and flying OK though) Killdeer - broken wing display and nest found at Karval Lake Mountain Plover - nice displays from one bird in particular on Sat morning Spotted Sandpiper Dowitcher spp. - Sun (too far for definite ID to species) Wilson's Phalarope - Sun Black Tern - Sun (probable but not confirmed - 2 seen only by me as they were flying away) Rock Pigeon Eurasian Collared-Dove Mourning Dove Great-Horned Owl Burrowing Owl Long-eared Owl - Sun (very cooperative and the second best bird of the festival) Northern Flicker Say's Phoebe Cassin's Kingbird - Sun Western Kingbird Loggerhead Shrike American Crow - Sun Horned Lark Cliff Swallow Barn Swallow Rock Wren House Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Hermit Thrush American Robin Northern Mockingbird European Starling Yellow-rumped Warbler-both Myrtle & Audubon Summer Tanager - Sun (nice male and probably the best festival bird, except for Mtn Plovers, of course) Green-tailed Towhee Spotted Towhee Cassin's Sparrow - Sun Chipping Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Lark Sparrow Song Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird Western Meadowlark Yellow-headed Blackbird Brewer's Blackbird Common Grackle Brown-Headed Cowbird House Finch House Sparrow 67 species - I made a stop back at Karval Lake after lunch on Sunday and added Great Egret, then down at Jeff Thornton's family property, where I saw a male Lark Bunting and a Black-crowned Night Heron. My goal was 70 and I hit the nail on the head. Tell your friends about this great little festival and come check it out next April. You won't be sorry! Chip Clouse Outreach Coordinator Birders' Exchange Coordinator American Birding Association 4945 N 30th Street, Suite 200 Colorado Springs, CO 80919-3151 _________________________________________________ Phone: (719) 884-8240 Toll-free: (800) 850-2473 x240 Fax: (719) 578-1480 _________________________________________________ Email: [email protected] Website: www.aba.org <http://www.aba.org> Please support the American Birding Association: Click on http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=884482 <http://www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=884482> to search the internet. Every search provides support to the ABA's programs in Education, Conservation, and Publications. P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Join us at the 2009 Convention in Alamosa: http://cfo-link.org/convention/index.php You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.as/group/cobirds?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
