Hello all, I left Ft Collins this morning at 2:45am and headed up the Cache la Poudre for Jackson County, one of my favorite spots in Colorado. I tried for Boreal Owls at a few spots before hearing at least 2 (perhaps more) at Cameron Pass between 4:45-4:55am, close to the Michigan Ditch Trail. I would have stayed and tried to see them but it was beginning to get light in the east, and I still wanted to try for sage-grouse. I believe I heard a Dusky Flycatcher here, which seems high, but the habitat looked all right... perhaps someone can educate me on this.
I drove some of the back roads between CO 14 and CO 125 west of Gould before sunrise hoping to run into some grouse and found lots of Horned Larks - good experience to see them with their very different looking young. After many twists and turns I arrived at Arapaho NWR right at 6am and figured I was too late for grouse, so I just drove the 6-mile loop and enjoyed all the birds. White-faced Ibis, several Baird's Sandpipers, Willets that wouldn't get out of the way, Greater & Lesser Yellowlegs, Wilson's Phalaropes, many avocets, Sora, Peregrine Falcon, lots of ducks and a Sage Thrasher made for a fun loop. The mosquitoes here are formidable; however, most are so large that you can crack your car windows and still hear, but they can't fit through the gaps. About halfway around the loop I looked over and saw three (eventually four) Greater Sage-Grouse sitting about 50 yards off the road at 6:50am.. They allowed scope views and pictures from the car. This was just before stop #5 on the self-guided tour. Walden Reservoir was full of Eared & Western Grebes, California Gulls, cormorants, geese and a few scattered ducks. I ran into three birders/biologists doing an annual colonial birds count (for the RMBO, if I remember correctly) who kindly shared their patch of ant-infested ground as they counted adults and immatures of several different species. From our vantage point there were 80+ Western Grebes, 90+ Eared Grebes, 70+ cormorants, and over 150 White Pelicans. I left before they finished and drove up the road, hoping for Forster's Terns or Franklin's Gulls, but saw only more of the aforementioned species plus a Swainson's Hawk. Stopping at the Moose Visitor's Center on CO 14 east of Gould turned out to be a good decision. The feeders were full of hummingbirds - dozens of Broad-tailed, a half-dozen Rufous (3 males at once), and a couple Calliope, including a nice male that sat and posed for pictures. Pine Grosbeaks, Lincoln's, Fox and White-crowned Sparrows, Cassin's Finch, juncos and Pine Siskins (new latin name: Spinus pinus!) occupied the seed feeders and ground below. Spectacular views, good birds, cool weather (109 back home today) and two lifers... a fun day I'll remember for a while. Good birding, Andrew -- Andrew Core Tucson, AZ (Ft Collins, CO until 7/30) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
