Such-n-Such Bird Blog

2012 Valmont Gullapalooza!

2012-02-05T18:00:00.002-07:00

Yesterday, February 4^th, was the annual AmericanBirding Association/Boulder Bird Club/Colorado Field Ornithologists/DenverField Ornithologists/Xcel Energy Valmont “Gullapalooza” field trip, withleaders Ted Floyd, Nick Komar, Bill Kaempfer, Steve Mlodinow, Christian Nunes,Joel Such, and Marcel Such. For anoverview of this event’s history, see my previous blog post here: suchbros.blogspot.com/2011/01/valmont-gullapalooza-2011.html

No doubt due to a recent blizzard and accompanying coldweather for the past two days and right up to the morning of the trip, participationnumbers were brought down to a “mere” total of 92 birders (compared to lastyear’s all-time high of 227). Toreward the courageous folks that came to brave the knee-high snow and slusharound the power plant property, good duck diversity was seen on the lakes,including a Tundra Swan, excellent views of Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, andPrairie Falcon. Additionally,there was an unexpected and very exciting Red-necked Grebe that was a lifer formany (including yours truly).

As the sun dipped below the horizon at the end of the day,the die-hards who were still present in the dropping temperatures were awed tosee the thousands of floating gulls flocked on Valmont Reservoir rise up into a“snow globe of gulls*,” and drop back down into adjacent LeggittReservoir. Gull diversity wasn’tthe best this year (most likely due to the abnormally warm temperatures inprevious weeks that has left most area water completely open), but threeCalifornia Gulls and five Thayer’s Gulls were good additions to the Ring-billedand Herring Gulls that predominantly made up the flock.

*Bill Schmoker coined this most accurate term.

A dead American Coot

Red-necked Grebe with Common and Red-breasted Mergansers

Bald Eagles

Prairie Falcon

Golden Eagle

A "snow-globe" of gulls.

Cackling Goose

Canada Goose

Tundra Swan

Gadwall

American Wigeon

Wood Duck

Mallard

Green-winged Teal

Lesser Scaup

Canvasback

Redhead

Ring-necked Duck

Common Goldeneye

Hooded Merganser

Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Hooded Merganser

Ruddy Duck

Pied-billed Grebe

Horned Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Western Grebe

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Bald Eagle

Red-tailed Hawk

Ferruginous Hawk

Golden Eagle

American Kestrel

Prairie Falcon

American Coot

Ring-billed Gull

California Gull

Herring Gull

Thayer's Gull

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Rock Pigeon

Belted Kingfisher

Downy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker

Black-billed Magpie

American Crow

Common Raven

Brown Creeper

Townsend's Solitaire

American Robin

European Starling

American Tree Sparrow

Song Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Red-winged Blackbird

House Finch

House Sparrow

54 species

New Year Birding

2012-01-01T18:32:00.000-07:00

A Great Horned Owl hooted in the distance. A few minutes before we had heard a Canada Goose, our first bird of the new year, 2012. It was 6 in the morning, first light still an hour or so off. Along with me were Ted Floyd and Joel (a common group as of late). We walked down the gravel path towards a grove of cottonwood trees at Pella Crossings in Hygiene, Colorado, where we hoped for Eastern Screech-Owl. Another Great Horned joined the first, and soon we were able to distinguish four owls calling out somewhere in the dark - two males and two females. Though rather difficult to sex a single bird by call alone, being able to hear them together makes the lower-pitched call of the male easily identifiable.

Now entering the grove, Ted starts whistling an exact imitation of the tremulous, haunting call of the screech-owl. For several tense minutes, nothing happened. Then, emanating from a stand of trees on the far side of a meadow, we heard the real thing. For half a minute, Ted and the owl "sang" with each other. Then the owl fell silent, as did the imitator. A new Boulder County species. Walking as quietly as one can on two inches of old, crusty snow and dry grass, we made our way across the field. Trying again to coax the little owl into calling again, we stood still and waited as Ted again tried to work his magic. But to no avail, the woods stood silent.

photo by Joel Such

With the sun now breaching the horizon, other birds started awakening. A flock of starlings whirred overhead - they would cause us trouble later by uttering perfect imitations of both Killdeer and Blue Jay. Red-winged Blackbirds called from a nearby cattail marsh as Brown Creepers and a Downy Woodpecker worked the overarching cottonwood branches above our heads. Though surrounded by ponds, we had to search for open, un-iced water. We found this in the form of two private ponds bordering the public land. Ducks and geese clogged these refuges in an otherwise frozen world. Despite our probing searches of these flocks, we neglected to turn up anything beyond the normal species: Canada Geese, American Wigeons, Redheads, Ring-necked Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, Common Mergansers, and American Coots.

Returning to the car, we also encountered a flock of wintering passerines near the trailhead. Searching through the flock, we found it contained numerous Song Sparrows, gambelii White-crowned Sparrows, Dark-eyed Juncos (of the Slate-colored, Oregon, and Pink-sided flavors), plus an incredible three Harris's Sparrows (a new county bird for me and Joel) and two "Myrtle" Yellow-rumped Warblers.

Immature Harris's Sparrow - photo by Marcel Such

Continuing on up into the mountains, we encountered a herd of completely unconcerned Bighorn Sheep licking salt off of Highway 7 just up canyon from Lyons. In Allenspark at the famous Fawnbrook Inn, we watched the feeders there and listened for an incoming flock of rosy-finches. Unfortunately, we never heard the raucous chatter that accompanies a massive flock of these mountain finches. However, we still saw two rosy-finches, a normal interior west Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch and coastal "Hepburn's" Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch, along with a flock of Evening Grosbeaks. At the Olive Ridge Campground near the Wild Basin trailhead in Rocky Mountain National Park, we saw a beautiful adult male Pine Grosbeak.

Bighorn Sheep - photo by Joel Such

"Hepburn's" Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch - photo by Joel Such

Evening Grosbeaks - photo by Joel Such

Evening Grosbeak - photo by Joel Such

Pine Grosbeak - photo by Joel Such

Red-breasted Nuthatch - photo by Marcel Such

Returning back to the foothills level, we stopped by our neighbor Davis's house. The purpose of this: Ted hadn't seen Pinyon Jays in Boulder County since he started eBirding in 2007. Davis resides in Larimer County, a mere stone's throw from the county line. Reclining on deck chairs overlooking his feeders, Davis sets out a handful of peanuts in an attempt to draw these Pinyon Pine specialists out of the depths of the adjacent Sisk conservation property. For a half-hour, we waited in suspense, for their gaudy calls to reveal their presence. With time constraints on Ted's part, we were forced to retreat to the car. Before that, however, we made a quick trip up to the top of the boulder pile just east of the Davis house. There, we caught the distant calls of a flock of Pinyon Jays. Staying just long enough to confirm that at least some of the birds were calling from the Boulder County side of the fence, Ted returned us to our house by noon. It was a productive morning of birding with 45 species seen on the first day of 2012.

Oldsquaw Twitching

2011-12-30T10:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we "chased" an Oldsquaw, or to be more scientifically and politically correct, a Long-tailed Duck, Clangula hyemalis. Though not particularly rare in Colorado, this species has eluded us ever since we started birding. I (Marcel) finally saw my lifer Long-tailed Duck in Maine this summer, but Joel had yet to see one. Seizing the opportunity of visiting the Denver Art Museum, we took the short side trip to the Denver City Park to look for a long-staying immature male bird. True to form, we easily found it in the Duck Pond behind the Denver Zoo, among the more common Mallards, Northern Shovelers, Redheads, Ring-necked Ducks, Common Goldeneyes, American Coots, and Canada Geese.

All photos by Joel Such

Canada Goose - 3000

American Wigeon - 4

Mallard - 16

Northern Shoveler - 8

Northern Pintail - 4

Redhead - 8

Ring-necked Duck - 14

Long-tailed Duck - 1

Bufflehead - 6

Common Goldeneye - 11

Pied-billed Grebe - 2

American Coot - 12

Ring-billed Gull - 35

Rock Pigeon - 3

Black-billed Magpie - 3

American Crow - 20

American Robin - 4

European Starling - 100

House Sparrow - 6

19 species

Fountain Creek CBC

2011-12-29T23:59:00.000-07:00

It's 8 PM on December the 20th, and we're pulling up to the Sochi-Floyd house in Lafayette, Colorado. Unrolling sleeping bags on their living room floor, we make last minute plans with Birding magazine editor Ted Floyd for our 4:30 AM departure for Colorado Springs and the Fountain Creek CBC. For the past two years of doing this count with Ted, we have left around 3 AM in order to arrive in time to try for Western Screech-Owl. With the 100% precedent of only seeing Great Horned Owls on these pitch dark outings, Ted decided to grant us all a couple of hours more sleep.

At 6:30 AM, we stepped out of the car in the parking lot of the Fountain Creek Regional Park's nature center, the sun still a good half-hour from breaking the horizon. Accompanying a deep hoot, a large, broad-winged bird swooped up the river corridor to land in a nearby cottonwood. "Leaving two hours late didn't cost us Great Horned Owl," I thought ruefully. As the four of us (we picked up Allan Burns of the Springs en route) descended into the riparian corridor of Fountain Creek, the high-pitched, bell-like flight calls of American Tree Sparrows emanated from the surrounding brush along with the notes of Dark-eyed Juncos and White-crowned Sparrows. The first of many, the husky chuck of a Song Sparrow came from the cattails lining one of the many ponds in the area.

All Photos By Joel Such

left to right: Allan Burns, Ted Floyd, Marcel Such

Throughout the course of the morning, we repeatedly traversed the two miles of river corridor assigned to us. We puzzled over the many "White-cheeked" Geese in the area, weighing our opinions on the differences between the nearly identical "Lesser" Canada Goose and the Cackling Goose against each other. The two Ross's Geese we found mixed in with the flocks of "Canadian Honkers" was a first for the count. The Virginia Rail, Marsh Wren, and Swamp Sparrows we found in the cattails are species that are localized to this area during the winter.

Gadwall

Hooded Merganser

Killdeer

As the time for the midday compilation neared and we were forced to return to the nature center, I quickly counted up our list for the day. I listed 48 species. "We can't go back until we have fifty!" said Ted, half jokingly. Unfortunately, there was really only one more potentially easy species, House Sparrows at the nature center feeders. Sure enough, we found two of them feeding on the ground at the nature center. Resigning ourselves to 49 species (we were already 15 minutes late), we pulled out our lunches and entered the nature center where the compilation was being held. Halfway through the reading of the list by compiler Dan Maynard, Allan started pointing out the window and saying "Ted! Ted, look! Look up there!" Sure enough, a male Harris's Sparrow was feeding under the feeders right outside the window. 50. And then, at the end of the compilation, somebody else started pointing out the window and saying, "That's a weird looking White-crowned Sparrow." With many people now gawking through the window, it turned out that it was actually a White-throated Sparrow, yet a new species for the day, and our final.

Harris's Sparrow

Ross's Goose - 2
Cackling Goose - 20
Canada Goose - 904
Gadwall - 25
American Wigeon - 8
Mallard - 92
Northern Shoveler - 25
Green-winged Teal - 28
Ring-necked Duck
Lesser Scaup - 1
Hooded Merganser - 12
Common Merganser - 3
Pied-billed Grebe - 12
Great Blue Heron - 1
Northern Harrier - 1
Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1
Red-tailed Hawk - 4
Virginia Rail - 1
American Coot - 18
Killdeer - 6
Rock Pigeon - 2
Eurasian Collared-Dove - 1
Great Horned Owl - 1
Belted Kingfisher - 4
Downy Woodpecker - 6
Hairy Woodpecker - 1
Northern Flicker - 7
Black-billed Magpie - 3
American Crow - 12
Common Raven - 1
Horned Lark - 40
Black-capped Chickadee - 19
White-breasted Nuthatch - 5
Brown Creeper - 4
Marsh Wren - 1
European Starling - 45
American Pipit - 2
American Tree Sparrow - 16
Song Sparrow - 33
Swamp Sparrow - 2
Harris's Sparrow - 1
White-throated Sparrow - 1
White-crowned Sparrow - 34
Dark-eyed Junco (undifferentiated) - 24
   Slate-colored - 40
   Cassiar - 1
   Oregon - 3
   Pink-sided - 13
Red-winged Blackbird - 68
Western Meadowlark - 1
House Finch - 55
Pine Siskin - 1
American Goldfinch - 6
House Sparrow - 2

51 species

Mount Sanitas and the Boulder Christmas Bird Count

2011-12-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Mount Sanitas CBC Crew

Left to right: Skye Lewis, Marcel Such, Levi Stone, Joel Such

On Sunday, December 18th, we hit the trails of Mount Sanitas for the Boulder Christmas Bird Count. Though a rather small area for the Boulder circle, this area can take all day because of the miles of trail needing to be covered, and only a tiny section of road in one corner, which de-marks one of the easier habitats to cover, the foothill's suburbs. Elsewhere, it is foothills Ponderosa Pine forest, with some scattered Wild Plum riparian areas. These habitats don't have as high a density of birds - typically just a handful of roving wintering flocks of juncos, chickadees, and nuthatches, plus some scattered jays and woodpeckers - but that makes it all the more difficult to obtain accurate counts. For the previous two years we have covered this area by ourselves, but this year we joined forces with the newly formed Boulder County Audubon Teen Naturalists' program for a great day of hiking and birding.

All photos by Joel Such

Levi Stone on Mount Sanitas against a backdrop of Boulder

The Dakota Ridge Hogback

Sanitas Valley Trail

Black-billed Magpie

American Kestrel

American Robin

Red-tailed Hawk

Golden Eagle

Bushtit (we saw these little guys everywhere!)

Eastern Bluebird (see note below)

(previous years totals in parenthesis)

Canada Goose - 1 (3)

Sharp-shinned Hawk - 2

Northern Goshawk - 1 flying through Sanitas Valley.

Red-tailed Hawk - 4 (5)

Golden Eagle - 1 (1)

American Kestrel - 2 (2)

Rock Pigeon - 43 (28)

Eurasian Collared-Dove - 3

Downy Woodpecker - 2 (1)

Hairy Woodpecker - 2 (3)

Northern "Red-shafted" Flicker - 12 (12)

Steller's Jay - 39 (35)

Western Scrub-Jay - 3 (3)

Black-billed Magpie - 38 (27)

American Crow - 21 (210!)

Common Raven - 17 (6)

Black-capped Chickadee - 7 (7)

Mountain Chickadee - 14 (16)

Bushtit - 52 (28)

White-breasted Nuthatch - 9 (3)

Pygmy Nuthatch - 71 (39)

Brown Creeper - 4 (2)

Canyon Wren - 2 (1)

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1 (2)

Eastern Bluebird - 1 male, we typically see Western Bluebirds in this area, which is what we originally identified this bird as. Looking at photographs that Joel took, however, caused us to doubt this assumption. The correct identification was actually Eastern. We did not obtain any pictures of the female, so we cannot be certain of its identification.
Bluebird species - 1 female

Townsend's Solitaire - 37 (30)

American Robin - 48 (2)

European Starling - 13 (1)

Spotted Towhee - 17 (1)

Dark-eyed Junco (total) - 129 (167)

undifferentiated - 56 (71)

Gray-headed - 34 (62)

Oregon - 2 (3)

Pink-sided - 24 (22)

Slate-colored - 13 (9)

House Finch - 44 (65)

House Sparrow - 12

32 species

Longmont Christmas Bird Count

2011-12-27T13:38:00.002-07:00

To kick off the Christmas Bird Count (CBC) season, we participated in the Longmont count circle with Bryan Guarente on Dec. 17th. Our plan for the day was to hike a bit of Hall Ranch and spend the rest of the day trekking through the partially frozen Saint Vrain River in waders.

At Hall Ranch, we hiked one and a half miles through the juniper scrubland picking up many Western Scrub-Jays (12) and Townsend's Solitaires (22), plus a Spotted Towhee meowing in the shrubs and a male Cassin's Finch amongst the numerous House Finches.

Hall Ranch

We covered four miles of river from the intersection of Highways 36 and 66 (just east of Lyons, CO) to half way up Apple Valley Road (northwest of town).

One of 18 American Dippers seen up the river.

Left to right: Marcel Such, Joel Such, and Bryan Guarente

This video will give you a good idea of what it was like to walk through some parts of the river.

After our excursion on the river, we drove around the remaining area including the Lyons Cemetery (1 Merlin), and up Red Gulch Road (19 Wild Turkeys).

Merlin

Bird Count:

Mallard – 10 in the river.

Wild Turkey – 19 in the tops of trees at the bottom of Red Gulch Road.

Sharp-shinned Hawk – 1 fly-by.

Cooper’s Hawk – 1 along the river.

Bald Eagle – 1 immature on the foothills highway, and 1 adult flying low over the river.

Golden Eagle – 1 perched on the sandstone cliffs of Steamboat Mountain.

Red-tailed Hawk – 9 seen here and there.

Harlan’s Hawk – 1 perched on a power pole along the Foothills Highway.

American Kestrel – 11 mostly along the Foothills Highway.

Merlin – 1 perched in the top of a backyard tree near the Lyons Cemetery.

Rock Pigeon – 47 along the Foothills Highway.

Eurasian Collared-Dove – 27 around the Lyons Cemetery.

Belted Kingfisher – 8 along the river.

Downy Woodpecker – 7

“Red-shafted” Flicker – 21

Steller’s Jay – 2 on Twilight Road and Hall Ranch.

Blue Jay – 5 along the river.

Western Scrub-Jay – 13 at Hall Ranch.

Black-billed Magpie – 32 along the Foothills Highway and Hall Ranch

American Crow – 5 or so heard only.

Common Raven – 13 along the river.

Black-capped Chickadee – 24 mostly along the river.

White-breasted Nuthatch – 3 at Hall Ranch.

Brown Creeper – 4 along Apple Valley Road.

Canyon Wren – 1 on the sandstone cliffs of Meadow Park.

Winter Wren – 1 at the very south end of Apple Valley Road along the river.

American Dipper – 18 along the river (last year’s dipper count was over 40).

Ruby-crowned Kinglet – 1 along Apple Valley Road.

Townsend’s Solitaire – 44 mostly at Hall Ranch with a few along the river.

American Robin – 163

European Starling – 54 in the town of Lyons.

Spotted Towhee – 1 at Hall Ranch.

American Tree Sparrow – 6 mixed in with flocks of juncos.

Song Sparrow – 5 along the river.

White-crowned Sparrow – 3 in with the mixed sparrow flocks along the river.

Dark-eyed Junco – 127

Unidentified – 28

Pink-sided – 60

Slate-colored – 22

Oregon – 16

Gray-headed – 1

Red-winged Blackbird – 4 along the Foothills Highway.

Cassin’s Finch – 1 at Hall Ranch.

House Finch – 96

American Goldfinch – 1 along the river.

House Sparrow – 18 in Lyons.

Check out the Yard Moth Challenge!

2011-12-12T14:14:00.001-07:00

Check out the Yard Moth Challenge blog (yardmoths.blogspot.com), where I (Marcel) have recently started contributing.

Hypercompe permaculata (Many-spotted Tiger Moth)

Boulder County Audubon Teen Naturalists - Winter Raptors

2011-12-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

This morning was the Boulder County Audubon Teen Naturalists' inaugural event, a wintering raptor survey in Boulder County. With three participants - myself, Joel, and Skye Lewis - and our able guides Steve Jones and Sarah Bexell, it was a great beginning of what looks to be an excellent group.

Left to right: Sarah Bexell, Marcel Such, Skye Lewis, Steve Jones, Joel Such

photo by David Such

We surveyed Boulder County Nature Associations' South Rabbit Mountain route north of Boulder, and had a good number of hawks, kestrels, and eagles, marking the locations of the birds on a topographical map for a county-wide database of such sightings. And though raptors were our main focus, we also enjoyed the other wintering bird species that we happened across. As we gathered back at our meeting point, Joel spotted an adult Bald Eagle flying over, a fit end to a wonderful morning. Too bad it wasn't countable for the survey!

photo by Joel Such

Immature Ferruginous Hawk

photo by Marcel Such

Male American Kestrel

photo by Joel Such

"White-cheeked" Goose - 100

Red-tailed Hawk - 12 (including one dark-morph bird, and one eastern borealis bird)

Ferruginous Hawk - 3 (the most I've ever seen in the county on one day)

Golden Eagle - 1

American Kestrel - 12

Rock Pigeon - 10

"Red-shafted" Northern Flicker - 1

Blue Jay - 2

Black-billed Magpie - 6

Common Raven - 2

American Robin - 2

European Starling - 60

Dark-eyed Junco - 6

Red-winged Blackbird - 5

American Goldfinch - 6

16 species

Tufted Duck!

2011-01-23T14:49:00.005-07:00

Tufted Duck at Golden Ponds, Longmont, Boulder County, Colorado. Third state record.

Photo by Joel Such

Check out Marcel's Sweaty Sanderlings blog post for the story . . . sweatysanderlings.blogspot.com/2011/01/perfect-storm.html

FYI, the Sweaty Sanderlings is a communal blog with some other youngish birders and records our birding while running exploits. We happened to be running at Golden Ponds on January 18th when Larry Semo and Steve Mlodinow found the bird. So you're not confused, for this blog we all use nick names . . . Marcel is Masai and Joel is Welch.

Valmont Gullapalooza 2011

2011-01-09T18:51:00.019-07:00

Yesterday, January 8th, was the annual Xcel Energy/American Birding Association/Colorado Field Ornithologists/Denver Field Ornithologists/Boulder Bird Club/Nikon Sports Optics Valmont Power Plant “Gullapalooza” field trip. A major seasonal highpoint for the Front Range birding community, this trip – one of the largest regularly organized events in the country – draws massive numbers of birders from up and down the Front Range, from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs. For the 2010 venue, an incredible total of 121 participants signed up, a total which few thought would be broken. But, this year an unbelievable 227 signed in, with many more slipping through without being counted. What makes this trip so popular? Many factors come into play here, some of which are listed below.

1 – Accessibility

The Valmont Power Plant in Boulder and its adjacent cooling reservoirs are generally closed to the public, only opening once or twice a year for these heavily attended field trips. At all other times, the closest viewing is a half a mile away at nearby Legion Park or Red Hill, where, with the help of super powered optics, one can just make out the vast numbers of distant ducks and roosting gulls on the two closest reservoirs, Hillcrest and Valmont. The third reservoir, Leggitt, however, is too far away for any possible viewing. So, when a chance arises to get “up close and personal,” people understandably jump at the opportunity.

The Usual View from Legion Park

2 – The Birds

Merely by themselves, the Valmont reservoirs are nothing special . . . just some other large, deep reservoirs, but with an industrial landscape on half its shoreline. If any other lakes in the area are free of ice, you’re likely to have just as good of luck birding there. But add freezing cold weather, and Valmont instantly becomes a premier birding location in Boulder County. Because of warm cooling water being discharged from the coal-fired electrical production plant, the reservoirs remain open all winter, no matter how low the mercury drops. So, when all other potential lakes and reservoirs in the area freeze over, all of the ducks, geese, grebes, gulls, and other water-needy birds converge on the Valmont reservoirs, creating an incredible birding environment.

The Evening Fly-In

3 - The People

With so many people converged on a single spot, this has become not just a birding trip, but also a massive social event. I can’t speak for everybody, but one of the main pulls to this event for me isn’t just the birds, but also the opportunity to meet, greet, and bird with some of the best birders in the state, or country, for that matter. Among the excellent pool of trip leaders for this event are Ted Floyd, editor of Birding; Jeff Gordon, President of the American Birding Association; Bill Schmoker, one of the countries best known bird photographers; Nathan Pieplow, a bird sound expert and editor of Colorado Birds; Bill Kaempfer, an excellent Boulder County birder; and Mike Frieberg, an excellent birder and Nikon Birding Market Specialist. Joel and I were even invited to co-lead alongside Ted Floyd, which is a great honor and provides us with valuable experience. And, lots of other good birders show up and happily share their scopes and expertise with the crowd.

4 – Trip Timing

Unlike nearly every other birding type field trip, the Valmont trip starts at noon! Because it is really cold in the morning, and because the regular waterfowl stay just as active in the afternoon as they are in the morning, and because the roosting gulls don’t come in until just before dark, it makes far more sense to start this bird walk at noon instead of the standard early morning departure. And, it seems, this time also appeals to a far greater number of people than just the die-hard bird freaks.

So there you have it, if you ever want to create a super-massive field trip to rival all else, you know to largely restrict the site to birders except for one or two days a year; make sure that there are a lot of birds; make sure that you spread the word via the news media and internet; and start your trip at noon.

Though the conditions weren't completely perfect today - some of the nearby reservoirs had shucked their ice in the "heat wave" that started a couple of days before the walk - we still had good numbers of ducks, and a good variety of gulls (highlights being a Mew, a few Californias, and a couple of Thayer's and Lesser Black-backs). There was also a Tundra Swan that has made Valmont home for the past few weeks.

Dave Madonna of Xcel Energy and Ted Floyd,

both key players in the organization of this annual trip.

Cackling Goose - 1

Canada Goose - 400

"White-cheeked" Goose - 150

Tundra Swan - 1

Gadwall - 7

American Wigeon - 15

Mallard - 50

Northern Shoveler - 125

Green-winged Teal - 2

Canvasback - 8

Redhead - 5

Ring-necked Duck - 8

Lesser Scaup - 2

Bufflehead - 2

Common Goldeneye - 25

Hooded Merganser - 40

Common Merganser - 550

Red-breasted Merganser - 75

Ruddy Duck - 1

Pied-billed Grebe - 110

Horned Grebe - 3

Eared Grebe - 1

Western Grebe - 20

Double-crested Cormorant - 2

Great Blue Heron - 2

Black-crowned Night-Heron - 3

Bald Eagle - 3

Northern Harrier - 2

Sharp-shinned Hawk - 1

Cooper's Hawk - 1

Red-tailed Hawk - 6

Ferruginous Hawk - 2

Golden Eagle - 2

American Kestrel - 1

American Coot - 425

Mew Gull - 1

Ring-billed Gull - 4400

California Gull - 4

Herring Gull - 35

Thayer's Gull - 3

Lesser Black-backed Gull - 2

Rock Pigeon - 240

Belted Kingfisher - 3

Downy Woodpecker - 1

Northern Flicker - 1

Black-billed Magpie - 20

American Crow - 40

Common Raven - 7

Raven sp. - 3

Black-capped Chickadee - 1

American Robin - 1

European Starling - 400

American Pipit - 1

American Tree Sparrow - 1

Song Sparrow - 6

"Gambel's" White-crowned Sparrow - 5

"Pink-sided" Dark-eyed Junco - 1

Red-winged Blackbird - 2

House Finch - 1

House Sparrow - 15

Summer Recollections - Part 4

2010-11-16T18:13:00.012-07:00

Dusky Grouse Extravaganza!

June 23, 2010 – Day 8 of Neil’s Visit

We stood, standing on a dusty dirt road in Moraine Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, gaping at a hole in a nearby Aspen trunk, cameras at the ready. A chattering House Wren, which we were avidly ignoring, was scolding us from a bush at the base of the tree, before it swiftly entered another hole in the same tree, though smaller and closer to the ground than the opening we were intent upon. Suddenly, “There it is!” Begging calls of fledgling Red-naped Sapsuckers sounded from the hole we were gazing at, as a blur of woodpecker swooped into the hole. The adult had only remained on the outside, in our view, only long enough for us to bring the viewfinder to our eyes. “Get any photos?” I ask. “No,” Neil replies. With some time and patience, we did manage to get a few photos. Eventually we continued walking down the road. At a trailhead sign for “Cub Lake,” we turned onto the rocky, uneven, and heavily traveled trail.

Male Red-naped Sapsucker

Part way up the trail, we encountered a couple of birders. We started talking, and it turned out that one of them, Chris, was doing a Big Year! (His blog recording his Big Year can be found at: slowbirding.blogspot.com). As we were chatting, Joel suddenly called out from behind us, “Goshawk!” Sure enough, an adult was circling above a distant ridge, just a speck on the pine-shrouded horizon. This species was one of our (Joel and Marcel’s) “nemesis” birds (and as such was a lifer). Everybody else was super excited to see it too, as it was even a new year bird for Chris, the big year lister! A little farther up the trail, we heard a Dusky Flycatcher, a common bird but another year bird for Chris. As we started the final ascent to the lake, a large bird erupted from a bush on the side of the trail. “DUSKY GROUSE!!!” After relocating it at the edge of a meadow, we stayed and photographed it for over an hour. This adult male was “booming” with its built in “sub-woofer,” calling to any nearby female, and warning possible rivals. This was the bird we hoped to find on this particular trail. It was a life bird for Neil and yet another year bird for Chris. At this point, hunger turned Chris and his wife around, while we continued on to Cub Lake.

Northern Goshawk

Male Dusky Grouse

Finally, the lily-encircled and leech-filled lake came into view, along with a multitude of patrolling dragonflies. After a thorough survey of the pond side, we managed to identify American Emerald, Belted Whiteface, Four-spotted Skimmer, Darner sp., and lots of Northern/Boreal Bluets (near impossible to identify without the benefit of magnification). While we were eating lunch, a completely habituated pair of Mallards and a Golden-mantled Ground-Squirrel boldly begged for scraps. They obviously have a lot of success at this location.

Cub Lake

American Emerald

We continued on towards “The Pool,” an alternate route back to the parking lot. When we were nearly back to the parking lot, we suddenly heard a quiet clucking noise from the side of the trail. We spied a brownish chicken head protruding from the nearby grass. “Look! A female grouse!” we excitedly whispered to each other. After watching it for a while, it slowly crossed the trail, followed by a half dozen Dusky Grouse chicks, each no more than a few days old. We had just gotten the full slam-dunk of Dusky Grouse . . . male, female, and chicks.

Female Dusky Grouse

Dusky Grouse Chick

Summer Recollections - Part 3

2010-11-15T20:55:00.014-07:00

"The Coolest Bird"

June 21, 2010 – Day 6 of Neil’s Visit

Crisp mountain air greeted our slightly sluggish bodies as we stepped out of our Subaru Outback, grabbed our daypacks, and started up the Wild Basin Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park. Our goal was Ouzel Falls with the object of finding “The Coolest Bird,” as Black Swift fanatic Richard Levad coined it. Ouzel Falls is a known nesting colony for this waterfall dwelling wraith of darkness, which was one of the highest species on Neil’s “need-to-see” list. Here, you just might spot a dark bullet shooting out of the waterfall at dawn, or vice versa at dusk. During mid-day it is also possible to discern the "stiff-winged stunt-plane" from among the massive flocks of smaller Violet-green Swallows, which nest in the nearby Aspen groves. The thing is, these flocks of swallows are a good thousand feet up, looking no bigger than ants. But, this was what we were hoping for, as we were getting a late start on the trail and were destined to get to the waterfall at least an hour or two after the sun had already cleared the mountainous horizon.

Ouzel Falls

When we reached the falls, where Ouzel Creek tumbles fifty feet down a sheer granite rock face, we sat down for an early lunch (about three hours early) just outside of the waterfall's spray zone. Just as we were about to get up and snoop around by the creek, Neil suddenly cried out “Swift!” Lo and behold, a dark shadow had just parted from the rock face next to the waterfall and had come hurtling past us at eye level, close enough that we could see the faint silvery marks on its face and neck. The funny thing is, at 9:30 AM, the swifts were supposed to be out hunting for the flying insects that make up their diet, not still by their nest! Still heartily congratulating ourselves on this unexpected find, we proceeded with our previous plan of snooping around the waterfall.

Fairyslipper AKA Calypso Orchid

Yellow-bellied Marmot

Curiosity fulfilled, we set back off up the trail to another trail that loops back to the parking lot. But, before we had hiked more than fifteen minutes, we heard a gentle tap tap tap, barely noticeable above the ruckus of Steller’s Jays and Yellow-bellied Marmots. Instantly recognizing the subtle “call,” we began to search through the dead Lodgepole Pines along the trail. Almost in another instant, Joel had located it slowly working its way up and around the beetle-killed trunk, a small, charcoal-black woodpecker with a barred white back and belly and a small yellow patch on top of the head . . . a male American Three-toed Woodpecker! We had found one previously on another hike, but the view was less than satisfactory, with only a couple brief glimpses and the bird deeply shrouded in shadow. But now, it was right there, only twenty feet away and almost completely exposed! Cameras snapping, we continued to watch it until it flew farther down into the surrounding pines.

American Three-toed Woodpecker

Western Pine Elfin

--Dragonflies--

Mud Lake Open Space, Boulder County

On the way home the this eventful hike, we stopped at a small Boulder County open space area called Mud Lake to feed another obsession of ours, dragonflies. We had never been to this particular location before, but the name seemed promising. As we pulled the car into one of the many open spaces in the parking lot – there was only one other vehicle – an old rusted bus missing all of its tires and window glass, a reminder of the Boulder Hippie days. On a ledge inside the bus, however, we found an active Cordilleran Flycatcher nest with two eggs.

Riding the Hippie Bus

At the lake, which was fairly small and completely edged with reeds and a cattail marsh, our hopes were realized . . . dragonflies and damselflies of all sorts were patrolling the shores. Among the most obvious were Twelve-spotted Skimmers, Four-spotted Skimmers, and Variegated Meadowhawks. Among the damselflies we found were some Bluet sp., and a female Lyre-tipped Spreadwing, which was only the second spreadwing of any type that Neil had ever seen.

Male Twelve-spotted Skimmer

Male Four-spotted Skimmer

Neil Photographing the Lyre-tipped Spreadwing

Female Lyre-tipped Spreadwing

Summer Recollections - Part 2

2010-11-07T20:06:00.005-07:00

Tundra Chickens

June 20, 2010 – Day 5 of Neil Gilbert’s Visit

The Never Summer Mountain Range

Above tree line in Rocky Mountain National Park, we walked stealthily along, as well as one could, at least, with five layers of thermal clothing on. The sun was just peeking over the jagged snow-capped peaks around us. We tried our best not to slip on the ice covered trail edged with tiny, delicate alpine flowers and mosses. So far no luck on our goal, however . . . just the pleasant songs of the common local breeders – Horned Larks, American Pipits, and Mountain White-crowned Sparrows. We were looking for another breeder, a larger but less obvious one.

Neil Searching Through the Krumholtz

Circling back through the krumholtz habitat – stunted and scattered juniper bushes just above treeline – we searched every nook and cranny. Just as we were about to give up, however, a sudden flurry of wing beats and a loud clucking screech. A blur of brown with white wings exploded out from underneath a nearby bush. We eagerly ran up the hillside as fast as the thin air would allow, carefully jumping from one rock to the next to preserve the delicate alpine flora. Finally, with much huffing and puffing, we found it again . . . a small brown chicken with mottled white in the feathers and a pure white tail – a White-tailed Ptarmigan, our target bird and a life bird for Neil.

WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN!

We slowly crept up a bit, with cameras at the ready. One thing we've found with ptarmigan is that they seem more or less fearless, or oblivious, and seem to go about their business with an audience quietly watching them. On our way back out, we flushed yet another ptarmigan! This individual joined a small group of birds, which were all chasing each other over the alpine tundra, completely oblivious to our presence. Our final tally of ptarmigan was four.

Summer Recollections - Part 1

2010-10-29T09:16:00.036-06:00

Prairie Wanderings

June 18, 2010 – Day 3 of Neil Gilbert's Visit

“Get out quick!” As soon as the car doors swung open, an intense cacophony assaulted our ears . . . the gut-wrenching screeches of Yellow-headed Blackbirds, the comparatively pleasant con-cer-ees! of Red-winged Blackbirds, the dull sub-woofer like booms of American Bitterns, the musically eclectic vocalizations of Great-tailed Grackles, busy and perky territorial songs of Marsh Wrens, and the diminutive witchity-witchity-witch calls of Common Yellowthroats. Oh yeah, and snap, snap – our camera shutters. Lower Latham Reservoir has always been one of my favorite stops for marsh birds in Colorado, and the breeding shorebirds aren’t that shabby either! It is one of the not-too-common Colorado breeding locations for both Black-necked Stilt and Wilson’s Phalarope. Virginia Rails and Sora are also pretty easy to find here, both visually and audibly, and we weren’t let down.

Black-necked Stilt - by Renee Haip

Juvenile Red-winged Blackbird - by Joel Such

White-faced Ibis in Flight - by Joel Such

Male Wilson's Phalarope - by Joel Such

Black-necked Stilt - by Joel Such

Throughout the rest of the day, we continued meandering east to Jackson Reservoir State Park in Morgan County, where we ate lunch and briefly birded before heading north to Pawnee Buttes for a late afternoon hike. En route, however, we stopped frequently to gawk at the hordes of breeding sparrows, among them Grasshopper Sparrows, Cassin’s Sparrows, Lark Buntings, and the prize, McCown’s Longspurs! After our hike, we spent the remaining daylight hours driving random county roads to see what we could find. We picked up the remaining common sparrows (except the much-desired Chestnut-collared Longspur), and we also discovered a Dickcissel and a couple families of Burrowing Owls!

Colony of Cliff Swallows over the South Platte River - by Marcel Such

Cliff Swallow in Flight - by Joel Such

Dilapidated Farmhouse on the Pawnee - by Renee Haip

Pronghorn - by Marcel Such

McCown's Longspur! - by Marcel Such

Lips Bluff (with wash in foreground) near Pawnee Buttes
by Renee Haip

by Renee Haip

Exploring the dry wash near Lips Bluff
by Renee Haip

Joel attempting to catch some

puddling Lance-tipped Darners (dragonfly)

by Renee Haip

Brown Thrasher - by Renee Haip

Wandering towards Pawnee Buttes - by Renee Haip

Greater Short-horned Lizard - by Renee Haip

Neil photographing the above lizard - by Renee Haip

Dickcissel on random county road - by Joel Such

Common Nighthawk at Murphy's Pasture - by Marcel Such

Common Nighthawk - by Marcel Such

Brewer's Sparrow (with Common Nighthawk in background)

by Marcel Such

Extremely Rutted CR 96 through the legendary Murphy's Pasture

by Joel Such

A Burrowing Owl to Close Out a Fabulous Day - by Marcel Such

Catching Up...

2010-10-25T13:04:00.015-06:00

It has been a long time since our last post in May! Since then, we enjoyed a pleasant, entirely birdy summer in Colorado punctuated by schoolwork, and a busy fall of bird banding, running, writing projects, and yes, more schoolwork.

In June, one of my (Marcel’s) friends from the Great Texas Birding Classic, Neil Gilbert of California, came out and stayed with us for a couple of weeks before we (Neil and I) both went down the American Birding Associations’ Camp Colorado in Woodland Park, near Colorado Springs. During his visit, we (Neil, Joel, Mom, and myself) birded all throughout northern Colorado, from the snowy heights of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, down to the intense heat of mid-summer at the Pawnee National Grassland, and almost everywhere in between.

In the next few posts, I’ll try my best to recap the highlights of summer and the excitement of fall migration in Colorado, as we prep for the fast approaching winter months and the accompanying shifts in birding life!

Birding with Neil Gilbert at Walden Ponds, Boulder County

Sea Lyons

2010-05-03T15:47:00.068-06:00

Tole Mour Anchored off Santa Barbara Island

by Joel Such

Marcel and I (Joel) embarked on a five-day sailing trip off the coast of California. Our neighbor, Clark (a.k.a Patch), organized this trip for Lyons area teens. We flew to LA on March 28th with a total of 29 kids and 6 chaperones with one being our dad.

Upon arrival, we beheld a 156-foot long, 340-ton, three masted tall ship moored at the Long Beach Harbor . . . the Tole Mour . . . the ship we were going to learn to sail. We spent our initial day on land exploring Long Beach where I got in as much birding time as possible. The next day we would be loading onto the ship where we would have few if any opportunities for dedicated birding. I was pleased to find a few Black Oystercatchers, Willets, Marbled Godwits, Heermann’s Gulls, etc.

Willet - by Joel Such

Willet in Flight - by Joel Such

Marbled Godwit - by Joel Such

Heermann's Gulls - by Joel Such

Heermann's Gull Bathing - by Joel Such

We spent our first evening at the Long Beach Aquarium getting a behind-the-scenes tour and performing some experiments. When we turned in for the night, we all found a spot on the floor next to the big tanks where large fish swam by our heads through the night. The next morning we boarded the Tole Mour! As we headed out of the harbor, we saw Surf Scoters and our first Sea Lions of the trip, our group’s namesake.

Sea Lions and a Western Gull - by David Such

When we got out of the harbor, it was time to set sail! They first showed us how it was done and we only did a little of the work. As the wind blew us farther out to sea we saw our first whale of the trip . . . and my first ever whale. It was a Fin Whale followed shortly after by a second Fin Whale. These are massive creatures, the second largest living animal after the Blue Whale! Both Fin and Blue Whales are baleen whales, which means they do not have teeth, but rather baleen plates for filtering food from the water.

Fin Whale Surfacing near the Tole Mour - by David Such

Headsails - by David Such

After sailing most of the day, we anchored off the coast of Santa Barbara Island. We climbed to the crow's nest and got a bird's eye view of the deck below and a spectacular view of the island.

Joel Climbing to the Crow's Nest - by David Such

Bird's Eye View of the Deck - by David Such

We started the next morning (and every morning of the trip) with an optional polar bear jump into the ocean followed by a warm, tasty breakfast. Our morning activity was snorkeling off the island's shore where we swam with sea lions. It felt very odd being encircled by gazillions of these curious creatures. We saw very few fish and were told that there are so many sea lions around the island that the fish population is low.

Marcel Takes the Polar Bear Plunge - by Clark Hodge

California Sea Lion - by Clark Hodge

Surrounded by Sea Lions - by David Such

After our morning of snorkeling, we took a small raft (the Landlord) to Santa Barbara Island. The winding trail up to the closed visitor center had yellow-blossomed Giant Coreopsis growing along the trail. We continued on, hiking to the other side of the island. Some of the birds I saw were Yellow-rumped and Orange-crowned Warblers, Western Meadowlarks, Horned Larks, Western Gulls, and Brown Pelicans.

Joel Walking Through Giant Coreopsis - by David Such

Blooms of the Giant Coreopsis - by David Such

Joel Photographing Western Gulls - by David Such

Western Gull on Santa Barbara Island - by Joel Such

The Such Crew on Santa Barbara Island

After the visit on Santa Barbara Island, we got ready to set sail for Catalina Island. I had my hands full setting the Mainsail as I saw a petrel flying low over the ocean . . . too far to identify by naked eye, and if I dropped the line to get my binoculars . . . I would be in big trouble. The petrel species will forever be a mystery to me! As we got to the island, we started tacking and jibing and saw Common Dolphin, scientific name - Delphinus delphis.

We anchored in Isthmus Harbor and while I hung from the yard arms furling one of the squaresails, I noticed lots of twinkling flashes in the water far below. During the upcoming night hours, thousands of squid swarmed around the boat, unmatched by anything the captain had seen since 1996. It was likely the ship's lighting that attracted them. Perhaps they thought it was moonlight. One of the crew members (Beckett) jumped in the water with his snorkeling gear and my dad's little waterproof camera and took AMAZING photos of the squid!

Squid as Observed from the Deck - by Dave Such

Underwater Squid Photo - by Beckett

Over the next three days, we continued sailing around the Channel Islands learning the ropes and getting proficient at setting the sails. We jumped into the sea every morning before breakfast, washed dishes, scrubbed decks, snorkeled, kayaked, went ashore at Toyon Bay, got doused by big waves crashing over the bow, felt sorry for our shipmates who got seasick, studied marine biology (plankton, bioluminescence, sea mammals, bio-accumulation of toxins, etc.), saw a Gray Whale, rode the bowsprit while dolphins swam beneath us, and learned the value of hard work, teamwork, and cooperation.

Furling the Sails (Marcel in front) - by David Such

Unfurling the Squaresail (Marcel on far right)

by David Such

Sails - by David Such

Riding the Bowsprit - by David Such

Garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus)

California's State Marine Fish

by David Such

Common Dolphins Swimming Alongside the Tole Mour

by Maia Lang

On our last day, we Sea Lyons struck and set the sails for our voyage back to Long Beach Harbor in our record time of 19 minutes unassisted by the Tole Mour Crew. It was an amazing trip full of incredible experiences! Thanks to Patch for all the time and energy he put into making this trip happen and to Captain Snark and the rest of the Tole Mour crew for a great adventure!!!

Sea Lyons Crew on the Tole Mour

Great Texas Birding Classic

2010-05-02T10:16:00.032-06:00

2010 ABA TROPICBIRDS TEAM

(Bottom tier, from left to right: Spencer Hardy, Chip Clouse, and Andy Johnson. Second tier, left to right: Neil Gilbert and Harold Eyster. Top tier: yours truly. Photo by Chip Clouse)

I recently returned from the Upper Texas Coast with the American Birding Association’s Tropicbirds youth team, where we competed in the annual Great Texas Birding Classic. Our final tally for the Big Day was 206 species, a great number for the Upper Coast, and in fact, nine more than the winning 2010 adult Upper Coast team and six off of the Upper Texas Coast Big Day record for any age group! Chip even had to shave his head, as he promised he would if we hit 170 species! I saw a total of eleven life birds in Texas, which was far more than I was expecting. It wasn’t just the birds and the opportunity to raise funds for a good cause that made this trip incredible, but also the camaraderie of my fellow teammates Andy Johnson and Harold Eyster from Michigan, Neil Gilbert from California, Spencer Hardy from Vermont, and our faithful chaperones and adult mentors Chip Clouse of the American Birding Association and Charles Hesse of Tropical Birding. They were all extraordinary! I have posted below some of my better photos from the event plus a couple of Chip Clouse's photos.

To all of you who donated to the ABA’s youth program on my behalf, I extend a heartfelt thank you. To those of you who would still like to contribute to this worthy cause, you may still make a tax-deductible pledge online at: aba.org/yb/tropicbirds

THURSDAY ARRIVAL IN TEXAS - APRIL 22nd

We saw this Black-bellied Whistling-Duck near Sheldon Lake State Park while waiting for our last two teammates to arrive at the airport.

A female Eastern Pondhawk. One of the many great things about our team was that everyone had a broad interest in nature, not just restricted to the avian world.

A second-year Yellow-crowned Night-Heron at Sheldon Lake State Park.

Ribbon Snake at Sheldon Lake State Park.

SCOUTING DAY - APRIL 23

On the scouting day we were allowed to take photos, but on the Big Day, we wouldn't even stop to tie our shoes, let alone take photos! Just run, run, run!

King Rail at Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge.

Same King Rail. Most of the rails at Anahuac are "Cling" Rails, Clapper x King Rail hybrids, though this one appears to be a pure King.

A Great-tailed Grackle at Boy Scout Woods, High Island.

Fellow team member Harold Eyster photographing an exhausted male Summer Tanager at Smith Oaks, High Island.

The aforementioned Summer Tanager.

One of the many American Alligators circling the waters around the Smith Oaks rookery islands, hoping for an unlucky egret chick to fall out of its nest.

A Great Egret in full-on breeding plumage.

THE BIG DAY - APRIL 24th

Big days start early and end late! We birded 22 hours straight! Here we are at about 5 AM in the Piney Woods listening for nocturnal flight calls and early singers. Photo by Chip Clouse.

Team member Neil Gilbert navigating to Fish Crows on the Big Day. We found them, though they remained completely silent while we watched them. After finally identifying them by bill length, wing formula, and gut feeling, we were driving away when we heard a single distinct Fish Crow call in the distance.

DEPARTURE DAY - APRIL 25th

A Cattle Egret in breeding plumage flying over the Rail Prairie of Anahuac the morning after the event.

Our final visit to Anahuac for the legendary Rail Walk where we flushed up a Yellow Rail! Wading through knee-high needle-sharp Spartina grass in nought but shorts and sandals is something I'll never do again. When I did the walk two years ago on a Colorado Field Ornithologists trip, I was still miserable after wearing rubber boots and jeans.

A beautiful male Painted Bunting found stunned underneath a random gas station window. After photographing it, Spencer caught it and moved it to a more suitable habitat, out of reach of hungry grackles.

Support the Tropicbirds!

2010-04-13T15:20:00.030-06:00

On April 24th, I (Marcel) will be joining forces with four other young birders from across the country to compete in the Great Texas Birding Classic (GTBC). Together we are the "Tropicbirds," the American Birding Association's (ABA) GTBC team. We will be doing a Big Day in which we will count as many bird species as possible within a 24-hour period. That's right, 24-hours of non-stop birding fun with no sleep! This year we are doing the Upper Texas Coast, birding such legendary places as High Island, Sabine Woods, Galveston Island, and Anahuac. All entry fees support bird conservation and awareness. Additionally, this is the main fundraising event for the ABA's education and young birder programs, so I greatly encourage you to make a pledge. The future of birding and bird conservation depends on today's youth to carry the torch forward!

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher near Anahuac NWR

by Joel Such

The ABA's youth programs have helped myself and many other young birders hone their note taking, illustration, photographic, and writing skills through the ABA Young Birder of the Year competition. ABA camps for young birders bring kids together to bird and learn along side some of the best birding mentors in the country. And last, but certainly not least, the ABA's publications, such as Birding, Winging-It, North American Birds, and other brochures, help broadcast and educate the general public about birds, birding, conservation, and other vital environmental subjects. If you are willing and able to make a substantial pledge, that is great, BUT lots of small five or ten dollar donations are equally or dare I say even more powerful! I'd love to see a swell of support for bird education from across my home state of Colorado and beyond! To make a pledge or to find out more, go to this link, or

www.aba.org/yb/tropicbirds/pledge.html

Be sure to select the Great Texas Birding Classic. Those of you who want to do a $$/species pledge, rather than a fixed pledge, will receive an invoice by mail after the event telling you how many species were tallied on the Big Day and what you owe based on your pledge. FYI, we are expecting to find about 150 species. All donations are tax deductible! If you make your pledge online, please put a note in the comment section that says "through Marcel Such" and send me a quick e-mail (mpsuch AT gmail.com) so that I can keep track of who's donating on behalf of my fundraising efforts. I thank you in advance for your consideration.

Our team this year is:

Andy Johnson, Age 17, Ann Arbor, MI

Neil Gilbert, Age 17, Orange, CA

Marcel Such, Age 14, Lyons, CO

Spencer Hardy, Age 15, Norwich, VT

Harold Eyster, Age 16, Chelsea, MI

Go to www.aba.org/yb/tropicbirds/photos.html for our team's photos and bios.

Go Tropicbirds!

Here are some photos of just a few of the birds we expect to see . . . these photos are from the spring of 2008, when my family visited the Upper Texas Coast with the Colorado Field Ornithologists.

Laughing Gulls at Galveston Ferry Terminal

by Marcel Such

Green Heron on Galveston Island - by Joel Such

Dunlin at San Luis Pass - by Marcel Such

Louisiana Waterthrush at Sabine Woods - by Renee Haip

Roseate Spoonbill at Smith Oaks, High Island

by Marcel Such

Purple Gallinule at Anahuac NWR - by Marcel Such

Behind the Scenes at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science

2010-03-11T18:17:00.000-07:00

Today we got a "behind-the-scenes" look at the zoological collection of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science with the Foothills Audubon club. With approximately fifty-two thousand bird specimens, this collection is the largest in the western United States. Thanks to Ron Harden for organizing this and to zoology collections curator, Jeff Stephenson, for an amazing tour.

Pectoral Sandpiper

Martial Eagle of Africa, Accipiter sp., Accipiter sp. tail., plus a magpie sp.

Colorado's one-and-only Magnificent Frigatebird . . . accused of dive bombing a windsurfer and subsequently stoned to death. The people who killed it worried that they had an eagle on their hands. They called the Colorado Division of Wildlife, who confiscated the body and donated it to the museum.

The rest of the frigatebird tray with the Colorado frigatebird on the far right.

A parade of skeletonized birds.

Carolina Parakeet (continental North America's only native parrot north of Mexico, which is now extinct).

Huia (extinct bird from New Zealand)

Elephant Bird eggs! There are reportedly only about 16 of these in the world and DMNS has two intact eggs! The eggs are 15 times larger than an ostrich egg. The Elephant Bird was native to Madagascar. It was flightless and believed to be about 10 feet tall and 880 pounds. They are believed to have gone extinct in the 16th or 17th century likely due to human activity.

The nearly extinct Black-footed Ferret

The type specimen for Gunnison Sage-Grouse.

Long-tailed Ground-Dove (type specimen, from Belize)

Northern Bobwhites (type specimens for a southwestern subspecies.)

Bachman's Warbler! (presumed to be extinct)

San Benedicto Rock Wren, a Rock Wren subspecies endemic to San Benedicto Island in the Revillagigedo Islands off Mexico. This subspecies became extinct in 1952 when this volcanic island erupted.

Two possibly extinct Eskimo Curlews on the left with extinct Passenger Pigeons on the right.

More Passenger Pigeons

Passenger Pigeon Eggs

The largest woodpecker in the world, Imperial Woodpeckers (three on the left) and the second largest, the Ivory-billed Woodpeckers (three on the right). Both species are presumed to be extinct.

Another view of the large woodpeckers tray.

Watcher of the Collection

Snowy Owl Twitch!

2010-01-23T20:53:00.007-07:00

On the 23th of January, we chased the Snowy Owl in Peyton, Colorado with our neighbor Davis. This bird was found around Christmas, and has been predictable ever since. On the long three-hour drive we looked at all the raptors that were perched on the power poles, most of them were Red-tails but a few of them turned out to be Ferruginous Hawks. When we arrived at our destination we started searching around the subdivision that we thought the Snowy Owl was being seen in, but after an hour of searching, we never found the owl, or the hordes of birders who are said to follow the bird. So, we decided to read the written directions instead of following Davis’s GPS, which was how we got to this locale. As it turned out, we were in the wrong neighborhood. We did manage to find a wintering flock of Mountain Bluebirds during our wanderings, which was great. Upon arrival at the correct neighborhood, we spotted the owl almost immediately. The large, chunky, snow-white, yellow-eyed owl that should be hunting the arctic thousands of miles north of here was perched on top a white structure, and, as Davis said, "That can't be the owl . . . it can't be as white as what it's perching on!"

Mountain Bluebird - by Joel Such

Mountain Bluebird - by Marcel Such

Mountain Bluebird - by Joel Such

Snowy Owl - by Marcel Such

Snowy Owl Video Through Scope - by Joel Such

Pronghorn - by Joel Such

Indian Peaks Winter Count

2010-01-17T10:40:00.006-07:00

On the 16th of January, we participated in the Indian Peaks winter bird count!!! This winter's participants were Bill Kaempfer, Todd Deininger, Gary Matthews, Marcel and myself. We split up into two groups . . . Todd, Marcel, and me in one, and Bill and Gary in the other. Our group first stopped in Ward and checked out some bird feeders and saw Steller's Jays, Mountain Chickadees, and Dark-eyed Juncos. We next winded up a mountain and stopped at the Brainard Lake trailhead where we hiked around and found two Gray Jays at the trailhead hoping for handouts. After that we walked around Spring Gulch and drove around on some roads looking for nuthatches, crossbills, etc. We were successful in finding Pygmy Nuthatches, an American Robin, a Townsend's Solitaire, and one Red Crossbill. After joining with the other group we drove to the Gold Lake Resort and saw several juncos and a Gray Abert's Squirrel. The other group said that they saw Pine and Evening Grosbeaks in Ward at one of the bird feeders so we returned in hopes of seeing them. We saw the Pine Grosbeaks and only one Evening Grosbeak. We also saw Red Crossbills and a couple Red-breasted Nuthatches. We decided to go to Allenspark to see if we could find rosy-finches. On the way, we saw a Rough-legged Hawk flying over the road, a Belted Kingfisher on a power line, and Clark's Nutcracker on the hillside. When we got to Allenspark, we saw a male and a female Pine Grosbeak along with Mountain Chickadees, Steller's Jays, Black-billed Magpies, a Common Raven, a White-breasted Nuthatch, a Hairy Woodpecker, and a Northern Shrike, but no rosies today.

Gray Jay - by Joel Such

Evening Grosbeak - by Joel Such

Rough-legged Hawk - by Marcel Such

Pine Grosbeak - by Marcel Such

Gull Bonanza at Valmont Power Plant

2010-01-11T09:50:00.010-07:00

Gulls, Gulls, and More Gulls - by Joel Such

I, Marcel, had the pleasure of being one of the sub-group leaders for the annual ABA/CFO/DFO/BBC Valmont Reservoir Complex field trip on January 9th. Generally closed to the public and holding some of the only open water in Boulder County in the midst of winter's freezing temperatures, Xcel's Valmont Power Plant opens its gates to birders once a year . . . a special thanks go to plant engineer, Dave Madonna and Ted Floyd for organizing it! The turnout was even better than usual, perhaps because our Jan. 8th scouting trip yielded a second-cycle ICELAND GULL in the local gull roost, along with some other good gulls, including a first-cycle Great Black-backed Gull.

This is one of the few birding events that begins at noon, as one of the real goals is to watch the influx of gulls in the late afternoon. My group started out with great views of the two local breeding Great Horned Owls who were roosting in a large cedar. Almost as soon as we got to the first of the three reservoirs, Leggitt, two adult Black-crowned Night-Herons flew by. These are a winter specialty at Valmont, as most leave for warmer climates during the colder months. For the first couple hours of the trip, we concentrated our efforts on the many ducks and geese which inhabit these reservoirs, plus the passerines in the plentiful Russian-olive trees. But, later in the afternoon we directed our attention to the hordes of gulls, mostly Ring-bills and Herrings, which were now streaming in from their day jobs, i.e. McDonald's parking lot cleaners, quality control at the county dump, and other such jobs. Among one of the first fly-ins, around three o'clock, was the immature Great Black-backed Gull. Birders lined the causeway, watching waves of gulls continue to stream in through the rest of the afternoon. In one of the later flocks was the prize, the second-cycle "Kumlien's" Iceland Gull! Also among the gull count was a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Thayer's Gulls, and a couple of California Gulls. We ended the day with a pending total of over 60 species of which 7 were gulls, a great number for a chilly mid-winter day in Colorado! Other highlights seen were a male Mandarin Duck, a Clark's Grebe, a "Prairie" Merlin, and a Rough-legged Hawk, not to mention great views of Bald and Golden Eagles.

SCOUTING VALMONT ON JANUARY 8

Walter Szeliga, Bill Schmoker, Marcel, Dave, and

Joel Such scout Valmont and lose feeling in their toes.

by Renee Haip

Scouters in Shadow

By Renee Haip

Three of Four Black-crowned Night-Herons

by Joel Such

Ring-billed Gull - by Marcel Such

Iceland Gull (pale gull in rear center, facing camera)

by Joel Such

VALMONT BIRDING - JANUARY 9

Birders Invade Valmont - by Renee Haip

Great Horned Owl - by Joel Such

Black-crowned Night-Heron - by Joel Such

Belted Kingfisher - by Joel Such

Gull Watchers in the Evening Light - by David Such

Juvenile Great Black-backed Gull - by Joel Such

Distant View of Gull Watchers - by David Such

Black-crowned Night-Heron - by Joel Such

Red Fox Sparrow!!

2010-01-08T19:06:00.014-07:00

On January 1st we were surveying the yard birds when a Red Fox Sparrow made a brief appearance below the feeders. Marcel kept his eye on the bird's general location, while I ran for a camera. The bird flew off before I got back, so I took off in pursuit of it. I relocated it upstream where it was drinking water from the creek. It flew up to a small cliff face and hopped through the rock crevices before flying into a ponderosa pine and then flying on and disappearing for good.

Today, January 8th, the Red Fox Sparrow was again spotted feeding on the ground below our feeders. After a while, it flew upstream. I followed it and found it in the cottonwood tangle where it was hopping up a massive cottonwood. The light was great and I finally got some good photos of this new yard bird.

Red Fox Sparrow - by Joel Such

CBC Wrap-ups

2010-01-03T18:36:00.007-07:00

Here is a wrap-up of the three additional Christmas Bird Counts that Joel and I participated in:

December 19, 2009: Longmont, Colorado

Today we did the Longmont CBC with Maggie Boswell, Deanna Williams, and Nic Berndt. We had the same area as last year. The hands down best highlight of the day was an "Eastern" Winter Wren (it's going to be split from the Pacific race - Pacific Wren - sometime in the very near future), which we re-found along the Saint Vrain River. Also up in the highlights was a juvenile "Harlan's" Red-tailed Hawk (another candidate for a possible split someday) that Joel and I found at Pella Crossing. We ended the day with 34 species . . . not a bad total for a mid-winter day in Colorado with no open water!

Joel and I started the morning out at Pella Crossing

before linking up with the other members of our team.

Scouring Pella Crossing

Diving American Dipper

by Joel Such

(Eastern) Winter Wren

by Marcel Such

December 20, 2009: Boulder, Colorado

Today we participated in the 100th anniversary of the Boulder CBC! Joel and I led a territory this year, Mount Sanitas. Check out our previous blog post for our scouting report. Yet again, we got another obvious highlight, a small flock of Western Bluebirds which we found just as the sun was dipping below the horizon. By no means rare during the summer, this species is quite noteworthy during the winter in the northern Front Range, with most of the bluebirds having gone farther south (and east). Also among our highlights were two Western Scrub-Jays, two Canyon Wrens, seven Spotted Towhees, and eight fly-over Red Crossbills (type-2, for those interested). We ended the day with 27 species and covered about 11.5 miles of trails plus about 7 miles by car.

Mount Sanitas

Red Rocks

Pygmy Nuthatch - by Joel Such

"Red-shafted" Northern Flicker - by Joel Such

Marcel in front of Red Rocks - by Renee Haip

January 2, 2010: Crook, Colorado

Today we participated in the Crook CBC, out in the far north-eastern corner of Colorado, with our good friend Ann Wichmann. We were assigned the western side of Tamarack Ranch State Wildlife Area. This brought up an interesting question . . . do you or do you not count the occasional goose that would fall from the sky courtesy the hunters lurking in the woods? By about nine o'clock in the morning, after we had been tromping around for a couple of hours, the birds finally started waking up. Being this far east, there were possibilities of some good eastern specialties, such as Northern Bobwhite, Northern Cardinal, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Eastern Bluebird. While hiking through the area, Ann would occasionally send her Black Lab, Lance, out into the surrounding brush to try to flush a covey of bobwhites or Wild Turkey. This never succeeded, but it was still fun trying. We never did find a cardinal, but we did find a couple of Red-bellied Woodpeckers and Eastern Bluebirds. Other highlights included a Snow Goose plus a "Yellow-shafted" Northern Flicker. We ended the day with 35 species.

Ferruginous Hawk with Rodent, East of Longmont, CO

by Joel Such

Looking out over the South Platte River (Left to right: Joel, Dave, Marcel, and Ann)

by Renee Haip

Tree over the South Platte - by Renee Haip

Boulder CBC Scouting

2009-12-27T19:54:00.007-07:00

On the 17th of December we scouted for the Boulder Christmas Bird Count which is on the 20th. Our territory is area 17 and it is on the west side of town in the foothills. Our area requires lots of hiking. We hiked up a ridge that topped out on Mount Sanitas where the view was spectacular . . . we could view all of Boulder. We then winded down the east side of the mountain and followed Sanitas Valley back down to the trailhead.

Bird Count:

Red-tailed Hawk - 4

Rock Pigeon - 13

Hairy Woodpecker - 1

Northern Flicker - 3

Steller's Jay - 5

Black-billed Magpie - 2

American Crow - 2

Common Raven - 2

Black-capped Chickadee - 1

Mountain Chickadee - 9

White-breasted Nuthatch - 2

Pygmy Nuthatch - 15

Canyon Wren - 1

American Robin - 1

Dark-eyed Junco - 5

Pink-sided Junco - 1

Gray-headed Junco - 5

House Finch - 1

Total Species = 16

Red-tailed Hawk - by Joel Such

Note: Blood on bill from its previous meal.

Overlook of Sanitas Valley from Mount Sanitas - by Joel Such

Overview of Boulder from Mount Sanitas - by Joel Such

Note: The reservoir in the photo is the Valmont Reservoir Complex.

Fountain Creek CBC/Valmont/Scott Rashid Talk

2009-12-15T10:58:00.013-07:00

At 5:20 AM we were standing in the Fountain Creek Nature Preserve parking lot with Ted Floyd in Colorado Springs, after an insane 2:45 AM departure from our house to meet up with Ted Floyd for a 3:30 AM departure from Lafayette. Joel counted no less than 50 flaming meteorites during the drive from Lyons to Colorado Springs thanks to the stunning Geminid meteor shower.

We trudged down the icy trail in the pre-dawn darkness, hoping for owls, and betting on what our first bird was going to be. That question was soon answered, as a female Great Horned Owl called from across a frozen lake. We stopped at nearly every grove of promising trees, calling for a possible Western Screech-Owl. As the sun started peeking out over the horizon, we stopped hoping for the non-existent screech-owls and turned our attention to the diurnal avi-fauna which was starting to awaken. An American Wigeon called from the river, and a flock of juncos started bustling around. Song, White-crowned, and American Tree Sparrows were also calling from the brush in a dry flood plain. Suddenly a loud, rich, smacking chick (Ted says "like a junco on steroids") caught our attention. We quickly located the Fox Sparrow, which turned out to be the "Red" subspecies! "Red" Fox Sparrows are very rare this far west, so this was an excellent find (with the bonus of being a life bird for Joel)! We watched it for a while before it flew off, following the junco flock. Other highlights include not one, but two Swamp Sparrows (one adult and one juvenile), two Virginia Rails, about eight California Quail (we have no idea how they got there, but we are almost certain that they are not of wild origin), and a "Harlan's" Red-tailed Hawk.

After the long return journey to Boulder we stopped by Valmont Reservoir to go "gulling." There was a large flock of gulls out on the edge of the ice, and after methodically sorting through them, we managed to pick out an adult Glaucous Gull (a lifer for Marcel!), an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull, and two adult Thayer's Gulls from the hordes of Ring-bills. We also found a California Gull and a couple of Herring Gulls, plus an Eared Grebe and a Prairie Falcon. While walking back to the car, we saw an awesome fly-over of thousands of both Canada and Cackling Geese. We tried to pick out some white geese in the fading light, but we were unsuccessful in this task.

Our day wasn't over yet! After parting with Ted, we headed north to Berthoud to hear Scott Rashid give his presentation on small mountain owls for the Foothills Audubon. It was an excellent talk, which we highly recommend to anyone who has the opportunity to hear it. We've put his book, Small Mountain Owls, on our wish list.

It was a twenty hour day . . . something we'd only do for birds. We apologize for the lack of photos in this post, as we unfortunately left the camera behind in our sleepy 2:30 AM departure.

The Harris's Sparrow has met its doom . . .

2009-12-08T16:12:00.012-07:00

I glanced out the front door at our feeder trees and found myself being stared at by the false eye spots of a Northern Pygmy-Owl. The owl noticed me and took flight towards the creek, lugging with it some very large cargo. My mom got a glimpse of it flying away, while Joel had missed it entirely. Joel quickly slipped his bare feet into our dad’s Crocs, donned a light fleece jacket, grabbed his binoculars and quickly exited out into the miserable 5° F. snowy weather. I, on the other hand, put on cold weather gear and went for the camera equipment only to realize that the long lens was in the car that my dad had driven to work! Joel came back in for warmer clothes (his idea for “warmer” is sneakers in 10 inches of snow, still no gloves) and we both went out, Joel armed with a short lens attached to the 40D and myself carrying a point and shoot with video capability. Immediately, Joel and I spotted the small owl sitting in a ponderosa pine with its quarry. It flew off into another, low-lying deciduous shrub and began to rip apart its prey. Joel and I crept to within about 15 feet of it and were finally able to identify the victim, the Harris’s Sparrow!

Northern Pygmy Owl with its prey, a Harris's Sparrow

by Joel Such

Northern Pygmy Owl with its prey, a Harris's Sparrow

by Joel Such

Can you find the Northern Pygmy Owl?

Click on image for a closer look.

Northern Pygmy Owl with Prey

Footage by Marcel Such

Harris's Sparrow!!!

2009-12-06T12:38:00.013-07:00

For the past five days, our feeders have been graced by the appearance of a first-winter Harris’s Sparrow. Arriving with the snow storm of December 2nd, it has stayed for nearly a week, resting and tanking up on food. According to Colorado Birds (Andrews & Righter, 1992), the Harris's Sparrow is a very rare visitor to the mountains and foothills with only 22+ records (as of 1992). We don't know how many records there are by now. These birds commonly winter on the eastern plains, so this young bird presumably got blown west by the storm.

We're wondering how long this bird will stay, as another storm came in last night. He had a chance to leave a couple of days ago, but it obviously wasn't ready to go.

Harris's Sparrow - by Marcel Such

Harris's Sparrow - by Joel Such

Cassin's Finch - by Joel Such

List of birds that were seen in the past five days at our feeders:

Cooper's Hawk - 1 individual swept through the feeders today hoping for a songbird snack

Downy Woodpecker - A pair of locals that are present every day

Hairy Woodpecker - A local family (1 male, 1 female, 1 immature male) present every day

Red-shafted Flicker - A male and a female seen pretty regularly

Steller's Jay - ~8 seen all the time

Western Scrub-Jay - 1 individual that has taken up residence the past several months

Black-billed Magpie - 3-4 individuals seen regularly

Black-capped Chickadee - one pair seen regularly

Mountain Chickadee - one pair seen regularly

Red-breasted Nuthatch - 1 male seen off and on

White-breasted Nuthatch - 1 individual seen regularly

American Robin - 1-3 individuals seen fairly regularly

Harris's Sparrow - life bird/yard bird/great bird!

Dark-eyed Junco - lots of these daily (five sub-species)

Oregon Junco

Gray-headed Junco

Pink-sided Junco

Slate-colored Junco

White-winged Junco

Cassin's Finch - one male came in with the storm and stayed 3 days

House Finch - a few pairs seen regularly (one is a variant male with a golden head)

Pine Siskin - one came in with the storm and stayed 3 days

American Goldfinch - a flock of ~dozen seen regularly

Return to Ouzel Falls

2009-07-29T12:10:00.022-06:00

On Friday, July 24th, we decided to hike back to Ouzel Falls to photograph the fledgling American Dippers again and also try to find an American Three-toed Woodpecker, which we hadn't seen on our last trip.

At the first river crossing, we saw an adult American Dipper fly under the bridge, and we did not see it fly out the other side. We didn't investigate whether or not there was a nest under the bridge, because we were in a hurry to get to Ouzel Falls. Another dipper was spotted flying downstream at Calypso Cascades. I (Joel) also saw a Black Swift high in the sky while we were walking through the old burn zone. When we reached Ouzel Falls, there were no signs of dippers anywhere, but we did see adult and juvenile Golden-crowned Kinglets in the firs near the river. We spent some time observing them before heading back down the trail.

While we were showing another hiker some Red Crossbills and distant Band-tailed Pigeons, we noticed that there was a Black Bear feeding on the opposite hillside. People started piling up around us, as we observed the bear. Many of them had never seen a bear in the wild before. At the old burn zone, we saw a couple Wilson's and Yellow-rumped Warblers along with singing Hermit Thrushes.

Black Bear - by Joel Such

Wilson's Warbler with Fly in Bill- by Joel Such

Back at the first bridge, we peeked to see if there might be a dipper nest. Sure enough, there was a nest on a boulder just under the bridge with two chicks. We spent a lot of time observing the adult coming and going, as it fed the chicks.

American Dipper Flying in to Feed Chicks - by Joel Such

American Dipper Chicks in Nest - by Joel Such

Marcel Photographing American Dipper Nest - by Renee Haip

Just before reaching the parking lot, we found other hikers puzzling over a chicken-like bird with its two chicks grazing on Kinnikinnick berries along the side of the trail. The birds were Dusky Grouse! When we told the ranger about the grouse, he said that this local grouse had started out with 8 or so chicks, but now is down to two chicks with foxes likely having devoured the others.

Dusky Grouse - by Marcel Such

Dusky Grouse Chick - by Marcel Such

Below are a couple photos of butterflies we saw that day.

Weidemeyer's Admiral - by Joel Such

Hoary Comma with Opened Wings - by Marcel Such

Hoary Comma with Closed Wings - by Marcel Such

A Two Lifer Day (aka Our Mom's Belated Birthday Hike)

2009-07-20T19:19:00.022-06:00

Yesterday morning we hiked to Ouzel Falls in Wild Basin, Rocky Mountain National Park. Black Swifts nest behind this waterfall. Besides the swift, our two other "target" species for the day were Golden-crowned Kinglet, which we should have seen long ago, and American Three-toed Woodpecker, which is making a comeback due to all the trees infested with Pine Beetle.

We scored on Golden-crowned Kinglets right away (lifer #1)! There were two of them calling to each other near Copeland Falls. We also got a quick glimpse of a Warbling Vireo where the kinglets were. At Calypso Cascades we first heard, then saw, four Brown Creepers “creeping” up trees while foraging right along the side of the trail.

Brown Creeper - by Joel Such

At the old burn zone we saw a MacGillivray’s Warbler pair in some young Aspens and a Hermit Thrush singing in the top of a tall snag. Other Hermit Thrushes were singing in the distance. At Ouzel Falls there was a very tame Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel that was begging for handouts from other hikers and having much success. Of course, we ourselves didn't share with the ground squirrel. Not only is it illegal to feed wildlife in the park, we personally wanted to consume every morsel of our own snacks!

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel - by Joel Such

Below Ouzel Falls by the bridge we spent quite a long time observing a busy adult American Dipper (or Water Ouzel) actively feeding three fledglings. There were a lot of people out on the trail today, but few seem to notice these amazing little birds dipping and diving into swift moving currents.

American Dippers (adult on left, fledgling on right) -

by Marcel Such

Fledgling American Dipper - by Marcel Such

Fledgling American Dipper Begging - by Joel Such

Fledgling American Dipper - by Joel Such

Traveling beyond Ouzel Falls, we discovered that there was a side trail that would take us into different territory for a portion of our return trip. It was starting to threaten rain, so we had to hustle back down the remaining three miles of trail. On the way down, Joel spotted two Black Swifts “swiftly” flying by (lifer #2). Back on the main trail, we found a flock of “Gray-headed” Dark-eyed Juncos, which is our only local breeding subspecies of Dark-eyed Junco. There were actually more streaky juveniles than there were un-streaked adults. Marcel also found another adult dipper as we neared the trailhead, this one feeding just one fledgling. When we neared the parking lot, the sun emerged again. It was a nice two-lifer day with some extra entertainment thanks to the creepers and dippers!

And oh . . . Happy Birthday, Mom!

Odd-Looking Grebe

2009-06-09T17:46:00.005-06:00

While working through my photos from this year's trip to Texas, I (Marcel) came across this photo of a grebe. At the time the photograph was taken, there were both Least and Pied-billed Grebes in the pond, and I had assumed this was a Least. A few days ago, I looked at this photograph more closely and realized that something was amiss! I wondered if it could be a Least x Pied-billed Grebe hybrid. However, Pyle says that this type of hybrid has never been recorded before. I sent it to Tony Leukering and he also suspects that this is what a hybrid of that cross would look like. Note the huge bill and yellow eye. The only other option I can think of is a Least Grebe with a deformed bill.

Odd-looking Grebe

Estero Llano Grande State Park, Weslaco, Hidalgo County

February 23, 2009 - by Marcel Such

If you have an opinion on the identity of this bird, please leave a comment.

Check Out the Eyrie

2009-06-02T13:16:00.007-06:00

American Avocet at Blanca Wetlands - Joel Such

We recently attended the 2009 Colorado Field Ornithologists' Convention in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. Check out the ABA's Young Birder blog "The Eyrie" for my write-up, and some more of Joel's (and our mom's) great photos from the convention.

2008 ABA/Leica Young Birder of the Year

2009-05-18T19:17:00.035-06:00

The results of the 2008 ABA/Leica Young Birder of the Year Contest have been officially announced! I (Marcel) won the Photography module in the age group 10-13. Joel won the Notebook and Illustration modules for the same age range. He also won the overall title of Young Birder of the Year! Examples of the winning material will be published in a future issue of Birding magazine and will probably be posted on the ABA website at some point.

Thanks to the American Birding Association and Leica for putting on this annual competition. A big thanks also goes to the judges for the time and effort they spent evaluating work and providing thoughtful feedback. We enjoyed it, learned a lot, and encourage other young birders to participate in this event.

Marcel's Photography Samples

Lincoln Sparrow

Melospiza lincolnii

Neotropic Cormorants

Phalacrocorax brasilianus

Dunlins

Calidris alpina

Laughing Gulls

Larus atricilla

Joel's Illustration Samples

Williamson's Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus thyroideus

Killdeer

Charadrius vociferus

Juvenile American Robin illustration from Field Journal

Joel's Field Journal Samples

Journal Entry - 2 Page Spread

Journal Entry for Western Scrub-Jay

From the ABA website . . .

ABA/Leica Young Birder of the Year

2008 Contest Winners

Congratulations to the winners of the 2008 ABA/Leica Young Birder of the Year Contest, and thanks to all who participated in the event.

Overall 2008 Young Birder of the Year

Joel Such (Age 10), Lyons, CO

Notebook Module

Ages 10-13 - Joel Such (Age 10), Lyons, CO

Ages 10-14 - Harold Eyster (Age 14), Chelsea, MI

Illustration

Ages 10-13 - Joel Such (Age 10), Lyons, CO

Ages 10-14 - Harold Eyster (Age 14), Chelsea, MI

Writing

Ages 10-13 - Megan O'Brien (Age 13), San Jose, CA; Dakota Outcalt (Age 11), Rockford, IL

Ages 14-18 - Sarah MacLean (Age 16), Escondido, CA

Photography

Ages 10- 13 - Marcel Such (Age 12), Lyons, CO

Ages 14-18 - Malkolm Boothroyd (Age 16), Whitehorse, Yukon