Scott Roederer already posted about the Nashville and Black-throated Blue Warbler found at Lake Estes, Estes Park (Larimer) today. I appreciate Scott doing that.
I just wanted to add they were still present as of 5pm in the same trees where originally found. If you park at the parking lot for the City of Estes Park Visitor Center (south of the VC off SR36 just southeast of the US34 junction) and start walking east along the bike trail that goes on the north side of the lake you will come to a memorial bench for "Don Kaufman". Just east of that on the right begins 5-foot high wooden fence with widely spaced rails (the golf course is to the north on your left). Just east of where the post fence starts is a sign on your right attached to the fence talking about how some of this trail is funded by the "Great Outdoors Colorado" and the lottery. The crabapple a few feet south of this sign with the prominent little red apples is the one the warblers kept coming back to between 10:30am and 5pm. The leaves of this tree (and all the nearby crabs) are loaded with a particular aphid. I collected several and will try to get a determination of which species. Mountain Chickadees were also eating these aphids. They would be good trees to watch over the next few weeks. Also, in looking at my photos, I think there just might be two Nashvilles. One shows a yellow throat (male) and another photo shows one with a very pale throat (first fall female?). The male was wagging its tail a lot and showed a yellow rump which contrasting with the back and I think it is a "western" (ridgwayi), which in my experience are considerably less common, at least on the East Slope, than the "eastern" subspecies (ruficapilla). Dave Leatherman Fort Collins -- 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.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
