Well done CSUFO, Great report! On Sunday, May 3, 2015 at 4:39:27 PM UTC-6, Francis Commercon wrote: > > This morning several members of CSU Field Ornithologists enjoyed the > organization’s last field trip of the semester. We gathered this morning at > 7:30AM on campus before our drive down to Barr Lake State Park. Just > before we left, we spotted a CHIMNEY SWIFT flying overhead! A very special > first of season bird to start off the day! > > > > Stepping out of the cars at the Barr Lake visitor center parking lot, we > were warmly greeted by the calls of WESTERN KINGBIRDS. The ubiquitous > presence of these yellow-breasted, audaciously vocal flycatchers felt > wonderfully appropriate as the intensifying heat (~80F!) signaled a > decisive shift in season. HOUSE WRENS belted forth their loud, complicated > songs with astounding force, and a YELLOW WARBLER tested out his song > faintly in the treetops. > > > > We set out on foot to observe and enjoy this bountiful avian diversity. > Birding at the interface between the open lake and a narrow belt of > cottonwoods and willows to our north and the open prairie to our south and > east, we encountered a stunning variety of species. Among the hundreds of > Western Grebes and several dozen Ruddy Ducks on the lake, we spotted a > COMMON LOON in breeding plumage. We beheld spectacular views of BLUE WINGED > TEAL and CINNAMON TEAL. Throughout the day, flocks of several dozen > AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS soared gracefully against a scene of placid blue > water, lush shoreline forest, and majestic snow-capped peaks. > > > > In the shade of a flooded willow woodland along the Niedrach trail, Megan > found a spectacular pair of WOOD DUCKS. A local park naturalist pointed out > a nesting Black-Billed Magpie. We marveled at the magpie’s innovative > construction—a spherical nest with a roof, walls, and two entrance holes. > Just then, a SOLITARY SANDPIPER alighted on the driftwood near the shore. > Tree Swallows flew by, grackles darted across our path, Swanson's Hawks > filled the sky, blackbirds and robins and wrens sang endlessly, and > everywhere one looked one saw a bird. The strange calls of Woodhouse’s > Toads accompanied all the action. With the advent of new, green leaves, the > land just felt alive. One simply cannot understate the magic of Spring. > > > > As we walked westward along the path around the lake, a mother Mallard > guided her seven tiny ducklings around the vegetation at the edge of the > lake. In a nearby irrigation ditch, four adorable, yellow, fuzzy goslings > pecked at insects and plants as they followed their parents along the bank. > geese really are much cuter when they are babies). > > > > Back near the nature center, we finally had great views of male and female > YELLOW RUMPED WARBLERS (Audubon’s) as they methodically gleaned insects > within the shaded boughs of a tall cottonwood. At the banding station > (where Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory operates twenty mist nets in the > fall), a BARN OWL peeped out at us from its nest box. > > > > Part of the group continued for an extra hour, spotting four BURROWING > OWLS up close at a prairie dog colony along Picadilly Road (just south of > the intersection with CR 128). Brandon and Megan’s cars also spotted WHITE > FACED IBIS, Lesser Yellowlegs, Brewer’s Blackbirds, WILSON’S PHALAROPES, > Spotted Sandpiper, and YELLOW HEADED BLACKBIRDS in a small cow pond on > Picadilly Road north of the park entrance. > > > > Once again, CSUFO had a very successful trip, where advanced birders > glimpsed exciting species while beginning birders learned their first field > marks and songs. We’ll be back again this fall with even more great trips, > meetings, and more! > > > > Cheers! > > > > -Francis Commercon, Fort Collins, Larimer County >
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