Black-crowned Night-Heron, Lake Estes, Larimer Co. 5/21

[Jim Nelson]

We got to Colorado late yesterday for a visit. I've been looking forward to some interesting birds after weeks reading the Colorado listservs about interesting sightings.

This afternoon I had a nice walk at Lake Estes in Estes Park, Larimer Co. After enjoying my first of year Lincoln's Sparrow and seeing Gray Catbird, Spotted Sandpiper, copulating Pine Siskins, nest building Osprey (on the steel structure at the power plant), and singing "Audubon's" Yellow-rumped Warblers, I was walking back and stopped to enjoy an elk frolicking in the lake. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a large brownish bird flying across the lake. My quick binocular view led me to a heron of some kind and a Night-Heron immediately came to mind. I walked toward where it had flown ashore and got a much longer look as it took flight again back across the lake. While is was generally brown like an immature Black-crowned Night-Heron, it had the black crown already formed, so I guess it is still transitioning into full adult plummage. When I last saw it, it had flown into some trees on the shore at the east end of the power plant, near where the road in the recreation area on the north side of the lake ends.

I checked eBird and found this species is generally only seen down on the plains along the foothills with only four sightings in Estes Park, 3 around Lake Estes, most recent in the summer of 2011.

A nice start to our visit.

Jim Nelson
Bethesda, Maryland