Hello, Birders. Y'know how the weather in the Front Range region has been pretty nice for the past month? Well, that's all about to change. If you believe the National Weather Service, the Front Range region is about to experience several days of snow and cold.
And that's great news for this weekend's "Gullapalooza" event, co-sponsored by the American Birding Association, Boulder Bird Club, Colorado Field Ornithologists, Denver Field Ornithologists, and Xcel Energy. (If Xcel Energy would change its name to Excel-with-an-E Energy, the Gullapalooza co-sponsors would be A, B, C, D, and E. Strange coincidence or harmonic convergence? You be the judge.) As we all know, great gulling (and great birding more generally) at the Valmont Reservoir complex depends on meteorological misery. All this snow and cold will cause the gulls and other water birds to pile up at Valmont, so we may be in for a real treat on Saturday. And the best thing of all is that, at least according to the current forecast, all the snow should have ended just about the time Gullapalooza is getting underway. Speaking of which... Gullapalooza will start at the crack on noon (12pm) on Saturday, Feb. 4th. Note: February FOURTH. (Somewhere, a few days ago, I saw that date given incorrectly.) We will meet in the parking lot at the main entrance to the Valmont/Excel plant. Here's a map: http://tinyurl.com/6vyfzra If you want to have any chance of finding a parking space, please arrive at least 15 minutes early. Carpooling and public transportation are recommended: Note that the JUMP bus stops just one block from the main entrance to the Valmont/Xcel plant. We will bird from noon till shortly after sunset. There will be opportunities for folks to leave during the afternoon, but please note that late arrivals cannot be accommodated. If you're not there by noon, there will be no gulls for you, and your day will be ruined. We will be outside the entire time, so please dress accordingly. Even on relatively warm winter days (not in the offing for us; I'm being hypothetical), the experience of standing around staring at distant 2nd-cycle gulls can be bone-chilling. A few outdoor toilets (emphasis more on "outdoor" than on "toilets") are usually available. Bring binoculars. Bring a spotting scope if you have one. BRING WARM CLOTHES. Come prepared to have a wonderful learning experience. As in years past, we will break into at least five different groups. Two groups will do "hard" birding, including the notorious crossing-of-the-ice-plank-of-death. Two other groups will do "medium" birding. We will also have a limited-mobility track, suitable for folks with baby joggers, walkers, wheelchairs, etc. (The limited-mobility track has had the annoying habit, in recent years, of finding the good birds first!) Leaders will be Ted Floyd, Jeff Gordon, Bill Kaempfer, Nick Komar, Joel Such, Marcel Such, Christian Nunes, Nathan Pieplow. Dave Madonna, Engineer and birder with Xcel Energy, will be with us, too, for crowd-control purposes, for a bit of "interpretation," and for help in pulling bodies from the raging, snake-filled torrents beneath the ice-plank-of-death. NO NEED TO RSVP. Just show up. If you do have any questions, feel free to contact me by e-mail ([email protected]), but, again, RSVPs are not necessary. Dress warm, and see you on Saturday! (Yes, it's okay to bring beer and other gifts for the leaders.) Ted Floyd [email protected] Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado -- 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.
