Field Trip Report

Saturday September 29, 2001
Barr Lake State Park

Leader: Phil Friedman

Seven people met at the Harmony Transit Center (I-25 and East Harmony Road) at 7 AM and carpooled to Barr Lake State Park. We arrived at about 8:10 AM. Barr Lake is about 73 miles from the Harmony Transit Center. The weather was warm and sunny. A great fall day. We left Barr Lake at about 1:15 PM. At Barr Lake SP, we visited the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory banding station. Birds are caught in mist nets which are set out in the forested area near the lake shore and adjacent to the banding station. The nets are checked every 15-20 minutes and birds found are placed in small cloth sacks and transported to the banding station. At the banding station, the birds are identified, aged, sexed, weighed, and measured. After banding, they are released. Nelda Gamble, Brian Gibbons, and Tony Leukering (all from RMBO) provided information and answered our questions.

We saw--very close up--the following:

Hermit Thrush
Wilson's Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Green-tailed Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco

After leaving the banding station, we walked to the southern end of Barr Lake, (which was quite low) to observe waterfowl, shorebirds, and other species. During this walk of about 2 miles we saw: