All:
Over the last few days of hiking and birding it's been a real
challenge on some of the trails due to wet conditions. Four days ago
Boulder Mountain Parks trails turned into a morass of mud and rivulets.
Ditto Rocky Mountain National Park - in some areas the trails turned into
creeks. Check trail conditions below.
These notes are all for Boulder County (Rocky Mt National Park (RMNP) side
and Boulder Mountain Parks (BMP) and Boulder County neighborhoods)
Great horned owl nest sites - 6 - owlets coming off the nests fast
Bald eagle - 4 nest sites being monitored - chicks being fed
Coopers hawks - lots - plus one (undisclosed) nest site
Sharp shinned hawks - several in Boulder Mountain park
Red Tailed hawks - dozens of nest sites throughout Boulder County
Swainson's hawks - dozens have arrived - nest building has begun
Osprey - at least a dozen - at nest platforms throughout Boulder County
Prairie falcon - active nest site in Bear Creek Canyon - traditional nest
site that can be observed through a scope
Turkey Vulture - throughout Boulder County and BMP
Mountain bluebirds - investigating cavity nest sites - RMNP and BMP
Ruby crowned kinglets - lower and upper elevations up to 10,000 feet -
dozens singing
Blue gray gnatcatchers - BMP
Mourning doves - numbers increasing
Rock wren - BMP
House wren - everywhere
Canyon wren - BMP defending territories
THREE TOED WOODPECKER - 3 locations in RMNP above and below Ouzel Falls \
Wild Basin trails
Red napped sapsucker - RNNP - two breeding plumage males in territorial
dispute - Wild Basin - gorgeous!
Spotted towhees - large numbers in BMP
Broad tailed hummingbirds - BMP - dozens, males in display flights
Lazuli bunting - large numbers in the Bear Creek complex BMP
American white pelican - Walden \ Sawhills - up to 100 some days
White faced ibis - Sawhills
Virginia rail - Sawhills
American avocets - Sawhills
Pied billed grebe - Sawhills - staking out nesting areas
Great Blue Heron - 4 know rookeries observed including: Boulder Valley
Ranch \ Crane Hollow Road \ Sawhills Ponds \ Kenosha - Boulder Creek
Audubon's warblers - both low and high elevations. High elevation birds
(above 9,000') are already singing and staking out territories. RMNP \ BMP
Empid. ssp: - two seen in BMP. Either Dusky's or Hammands. No song.
EASTERN PHOEBE - nesting under bridge at 75th and Jay road
BLACK PHOEBE - still at 75th and Jay road bridge
Black billed magpie - of note: with the massacre of hundreds of cottontail
rabbits on the roads the magpies and other corvids are coming down to the
roads in droves.
Common raven - carrying food items - BMP
Chipping sparrows - at high and low elevations - singing
WHITE WINGED DOVE - song heard on Cottontail Trail last week; there are
two birds in Park Lane Road vicinity in Gunbarrel
Bushtit - three locations in Louisville CO
Trails: Boulder Mt Park:
Gregory Canyon Road is under construction and blocked off from both
directions, including the restrooms for 6 weeks of repairs.
Gregory Canyon footbridge is still out. Access from Chatauqua Park is
possible, but you'll have to cross the creek without a bridge.
Bear Creek footbridge in upper Bear Creek is still gone and no signs of
repair yet. The creek can be crossed, with care and hiking poles.
Upper Bear Creek Canyon footbridge is still gone - it can be crossed on a
small plank.
South-East portion of Shannahan Ridge Trail is closed for repairs.
Trails: Rocky Mt national Park
The Calypso Cascades bridges are intact.
The Bridge at Ouzel Falls is gone - no signs of repairs. North St. Vrain
River is reaching spring runoff heights. It would be fool-hardy to try and
cross here.
Primitive Trail above Ouzel Falls (backcountry campsite side) is doable but
you will need ski poles, spikes, and gators. Tons of snow and water
coming down the trail.
Blooms: pasque flower; spring beauties; wild plum (past peak); hawthorn;
chokecherry (starting); mustard ssp; vetch ssp; Oregon grape; wild
iris; bluebell; bladderrpod; death camas: sand lilly; townsendia
ssp; mouse-eared chickweed; wallflower; pussytoes (early);
goldenbanner; and dozens more.
Happy wet-birding, John T (Tumasonis) of Louisville CO
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