Field Trip Report

October 19, 2002
Boulder

We started out with 8 birders, maxed  out at 11, and dwindled down to 2 by day's end. It was calm and sunny all day, and the birding was slow. Here's a quick run-down on where we went and what we saw:

1. Jim Hamm Nature Study Area. Not much here. We did, though, get to study 4 different races (Pink-sided, Oregon, Gray-headed, and Slate-colored) of the DARK-EYED JUNCO.

2. Little Gaynor Lake. The best bird was a STELLER'S JAY, flying from the east, from Weld County. We also had a ROCK WREN a WILSON'S SNIPE, and a PRAIRIE FALCON here.

3. Teller Lake Number Five. There were two HOODED MERGANSERS on the pond, 1 or 2 PRAIRIE FALCONS off in the distance, and a FERRUGINOUS HAWK right overhead.

4. Walden Ponds. Best birds were 1 or 2 WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS and a SWAMP SPARROW. Some other birds at Walden Ponds included another WILSON'S SNIPE, 4 AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS, and a cooperative WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH that we conclusively assigned to the nelsoni subspecies.

5. Bobolink Trail. We found a nice mix of common fall migrants, including: 1 BROWN CREEPER, 2 RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, 15+ YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS (including 2 Myrtles), 1 COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, 3 LINCOLN'S SPARROWS, and 1 AMERICAN TREE SPARROW.

6. Baseline Reservoir. Here we saw 2 COMMON LOONS, 8 HORNED GREBES, 20+ WESTERN GREBES, 8 DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, 7 COMMON MERGANSERS, 1 adult BALD EAGLE, 1 FRANKLIN'S GULL, 97 RING-BILLED GULLS, and 10 CALIFORNIA GULLS.

7. Dowdy Draw. The only additions to our list here were SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, COMMON RAVEN, and WESTERN SCRUB-JAY.

8. Gregoroy Canyon. Here we added a GRAY CATBIRD. An interesting sight (and sound) was a BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE engaged in aggressive mimicry. This is a behavior that is sometimes seen by birds as they set up winter feeding territories. This particular magpie was imitating the calls of Steller's Jay and American Robin.

9. Boulder Creek. We had 15+ BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, 4 ROCK DOVES, 2 AMERICAN CROWS, 1 HOUSE FINCH, and that was it.

The day's species total was 68. Thanks to all the participants for a nice day, and thanks in particular to Chris Wood and Andrew Spencer for finding many of the birds for us.

Ted Floyd, tedfloyd@aba.org
Boulder, Colorado