|
Field Trip ReportFriday-Saturday May 10-11, 2002 REPORT FROM NICK KOMAR'S BIRDATHON TEAM, 2002 (prepared by Nick Komar) The Fort Collins Audubon Society Birdathon May 10-11 was a huge success again. My team broke all previous FCAS Birdathon records with 169 species in 24 hrs (previous high was 162!). This is how we did it... Team members Nick Komar, Ollie Komar (my twin brother who was visiting from Kansas), Phil Cafaro, and Bobbie Tilmant began the count at 1 pm on Friday afternoon at Crow Valley Campground in Briggsdale (Weld County), part of the Pawnee National Grasslands (PNG). This is a migrant trap, and migrants found there included Black-and-white Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, MacGillivray's Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Brewer's Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow, Lark Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Brown Thrasher, Green-tailed Towhee, Hermit Thrush, Swainson's Thrush and Chimney Swift. By mid-afternoon, we moved on to the Murphy's Pasture section of the PNG. Here we found grassland specialty species such as McCown's Longspur, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Lark Bunting (our State Bird!), and Burrowing Owl. An immature Golden Eagle soaring over the plains was a pleasant surprise. We also picked up Mountain Plover at a staked-out location along Highway 14 as we left the grasslands area. A rare Ferruginous Hawk was also at this location. By late afternoon, we reached a premier birding area known as Beebe Draw which includes Lower Latham Reservoir (6 miles south of Greeley). Here we were joined by a fifth member of the team, Dan Laszlo. This wet area is especially attractive to shorebirds and waterfowl although this day there were not many shorebirds to be found. However, the reservoir was alive with waterfowl, and we added many species to the list: Clark's Grebe, Western Grebe, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, American Bittern, Cattle Egret, Snowy Egret, Black-crowned Night-Heron, White-faced Ibis, Red-necked Phalarope, Forster's Tern, Black Tern, Franklin's Gull, Virginia Rail and Sora. A low-flying Common Nighthawk after sunset was a surprise. A count of the total species observed the first half-day revealed 110 species, and we realized then that we may be on a record pace. Thus, we decided to try to add some nocturnal species to the list. After saying good-night to one of our team members (Bobbie), we called for Eastern Screech-Owls back in Fort Collins. At our second attempt at sites along the Poudre River, we were buzzed by a small owl that then proceeded to give its low tremolo call. Next, Phil and Dan called it a night, and Ollie and I (after a short break) began the long drive to Cameron Pass, some 70 miles west of Fort Collins, at the western edge of Larimer County. At the passt, we heard two Boreal Owls giving their distinctive call. We headed back down the mountains at about 2:00 am. At 4:00 am, we picked up our sixth team member, Scott Cobble, in LaPorte, and headed to the top of Rist Canyon for the "dawn chorus". On the way, we stopped to hear a couple of Poorwills calling. The dawn chorus was disappointing due to strong winds that drowned out
any distant bird songs we might have heard. Also, many breeding birds
apparently had not arrived on their territories yet. The lull in bird
sound gave me an opportunity to take a nap for almost an hour. At 5:30,
with the sun rising, we headed slowly down Rist Canyon, hearing and seeing
many new bird species, including: Dark-eyed Junco, Red-naped Sapsucker,
Hammond's Flycatcher, Townsend's Solitaire, 3 species of nuthatches,
Warbling Vireo, Plumbeous Vireo, Western Tanager, Virginia's Warbler,
Mountain and Western Bluebirds, Tree and Violet-green Swallows, Evening
Grosbeak, Red Crossbill, Cassin's Finch, Brewer's Blackbird, Turkey
Vulture, Common Raven, Steller's Jay, Western Scrub-Jay, Broad-tailed
Hummingbird and Canyon Wren. At the bottom of the canyon, at Watson Lake in Bellvue, Dan Laszlo rejoined the team. Here we added several species to our list, including: Wood Duck, Common Merganser, Belted Kingfisher, American Dipper, White-throated Swift and Rock Wren. Following a tip, we chased and found Eurasian Collared-Dove in LaPorte. However, a chase of a Painted Bunting seen the previous day in Fort Collins was unsuccessful. We then visited Prospect Ponds Natural Area along the Poudre River in Fort Collins and quickly added three new species to our long list: Blue Grosbeak, Least Flycatcher and Northern Waterthrush. With only a couple hours left, it was decision time. We decided to drive some 40 miles to the Longmont area where several species of shorebirds and a rare Laughing Gull had been recently sighted. Arriving at 11:30 am at Union Reservoir we quickly found the Laughing Gull, as well as an unexpected Bonaparte's Gull. New shorebirds here were: Semipalmated Plover, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Sandpiper and Baird's Sandpiper. At a nearby pond, more shorebirds were found: Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, and Long-billed Dowitcher. A final stop at Barbour Ponds State Park added several new species to the list: Bald Eagle, a rare Pectoral Sandpiper, Marbled Godwit and Great Egret. Thus ended my best 24 hours of Colorado birding ever! The final list of species is presented here: Pied-billed Grebe Total Species: 169
|
