Boulder County mudfest birding

[JohnT]

All:

           Over the last few days of hiking and birding it's been a real challenge on some of the trails due to wet conditions.  Four days ago Boulder Mountain Parks trails turned into a morass of mud and rivulets.  Ditto Rocky Mountain National Park - in some areas the trails turned into creeks.   Check trail conditions below.

These notes are all for Boulder County (Rocky Mt National Park (RMNP) side and Boulder Mountain Parks (BMP) and Boulder County neighborhoods)

Great horned owl nest sites - 6 - owlets coming off the nests fast

Bald eagle - 4 nest sites being monitored - chicks being fed

Coopers hawks - lots - plus one (undisclosed) nest site

Sharp shinned hawks - several in Boulder Mountain park

Red Tailed hawks - dozens of nest sites throughout Boulder County

Swainson's hawks - dozens have arrived - nest building has begun

Osprey - at least a dozen - at nest platforms throughout Boulder County

Prairie falcon - active nest site in Bear Creek Canyon - traditional nest site that can be observed through a scope

Turkey Vulture - throughout Boulder County and BMP

Mountain bluebirds - investigating cavity nest sites - RMNP and BMP

Ruby crowned kinglets - lower and upper elevations up to 10,000 feet - dozens singing

Blue gray gnatcatchers - BMP

Mourning doves - numbers increasing

Rock wren - BMP

House wren - everywhere

Canyon wren - BMP defending territories

THREE TOED WOODPECKER - 3 locations in RMNP above and below Ouzel Falls \ Wild Basin trails

Red napped sapsucker - RNNP - two breeding plumage males in territorial dispute - Wild Basin - gorgeous!

Spotted towhees - large numbers in BMP

Broad tailed hummingbirds - BMP - dozens, males in display flights

Lazuli bunting - large numbers in the Bear Creek complex BMP

American white pelican - Walden \ Sawhills - up to 100 some days

White faced ibis - Sawhills

Virginia rail - Sawhills

American avocets - Sawhills

Pied billed grebe - Sawhills - staking out nesting areas

Great Blue Heron - 4 know rookeries observed including:  Boulder Valley Ranch \ Crane Hollow Road \ Sawhills Ponds \ Kenosha - Boulder Creek

Audubon's warblers - both low and high elevations.  High elevation birds (above 9,000') are already singing and staking out territories.  RMNP \ BMP

Empid. ssp:   - two seen in BMP.  Either Dusky's or Hammands.  No song.

EASTERN PHOEBE - nesting under bridge at 75th and Jay road

BLACK PHOEBE - still at 75th and Jay road bridge

Black billed magpie - of note: with the massacre of hundreds of cottontail rabbits on the roads the magpies and other corvids are coming down to the roads in droves.

Common raven - carrying food items - BMP

Chipping sparrows - at high and low elevations - singing

WHITE WINGED DOVE - song heard on Cottontail Trail last week;  there are two birds in Park Lane Road vicinity in Gunbarrel

Bushtit - three locations in Louisville CO

Trails: Boulder Mt Park:

Gregory Canyon Road is under construction and blocked off from both directions, including the restrooms for 6 weeks of repairs.

Gregory Canyon footbridge is still out.  Access from Chatauqua Park is possible, but you'll have to cross the creek without a bridge.

Bear Creek footbridge in upper Bear Creek is still gone and no signs of repair yet.  The creek can be crossed, with care and hiking poles.

Upper Bear Creek Canyon footbridge is still gone - it can be crossed on a small plank. 

South-East portion of Shannahan Ridge Trail is closed for repairs. 

Trails:  Rocky Mt national Park

The Calypso Cascades bridges are intact.

The Bridge at Ouzel Falls is gone - no signs of repairs.  North St. Vrain River is reaching spring runoff heights.  It would be fool-hardy to try and cross here.

Primitive Trail above Ouzel Falls (backcountry campsite side) is doable but you will need ski poles, spikes, and gators.   Tons of snow and water coming down the trail.

Blooms:  pasque flower; spring beauties; wild plum (past peak); hawthorn; chokecherry (starting);  mustard ssp;  vetch ssp;  Oregon grape;  wild iris;  bluebell;  bladderrpod;  death camas:  sand lilly;   townsendia ssp;  mouse-eared chickweed;  wallflower;  pussytoes (early);  goldenbanner;  and dozens more.

Happy wet-birding,   John T (Tumasonis) of Louisville CO