Hello, Birders.
The annual birding trip to the Valmont Reservoir complex, Boulder County, will
be this coming Saturday, January 9th. We will start at noon. That is not a
typo. It's just that there's no reason to get there early in the morning, when
it's bitterly cold and there are actually fewer birds. We'll bird throughout
the afternoon, remaining until sundown when all the gulls fly in.
We'll meet in the main parking area for the Xcel Energy plant, off 63rd Street.
Here is a map:
http://tiny.cc/rRxAx
The blue stickpin indicates where to park. Please carpool if possible, as we
have run out of spaces in the parking lot on birding trips in recent years.
The trip is hosted by Xcel Energy and Plant Engineer Dave Madonna.
Leaders are Ted Floyd, Chip Clouse, Bill Kaempfer, Bill Schmoker, Marcel Such,
and Walter Szeliga. The trip is sponsored by the American Birding Association,
the Boulder Bird Club, Colorado Field Ornithologists, and Denver Field
Ornithologists.
We will split into five groups, and at least one group's route will be suitable
for persons with limited mobility. (Another route will be suitable for persons
who relish the prospect of walking across narrow icy planks high above roiling
waters coursing swiftly down steep concrete embankments.)
We will look for waterfowl, raptors, unusual landbirds, and of course gulls.
Possibilities include Hooded and Red-breasted mergansers, Bald Eagle,
Ferruginous Hawk, Golden Eagle, Prairie Falcon, Thayer's and Lesser
Black-backed gulls, Northern Shrike, and American Pipit. Notables seen on this
trip in the past three years have included Red-necked Grebe, Mew, Glaucous, and
Great Black-backed gulls, Chihuahuan Raven, Carolina Wren, Brown Thrasher, and
Swamp Sparrow.
This trip is free and open to the public. Persons of all interest and
experience levels are welcome to attend; non-birding companions are welcome.
No RSVP required. Just show up by noon this coming Saturday. Please bring a
scope if you have one. Dress very warmly. Even if it is a nice day, with
temperatures in the 40s and plentiful sunshine, you will get cold standing in
place on the dikes for hours on end pondering feather wear on third-cycle gulls.
Hope to see lots of you on Saturday!
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Ted Floyd
Editor, Birding
Follow Birding magazine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BirdingMagazine
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Colorado Field Ornithologists: http://www.cfo-link.org/
Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/
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