Boulder Mt Park and other

[JohnT]

CO-birders:

                 For May 11th, Sat. -  mostly shrub-land areas along riparian corridors in Boulder Mountain Park.   All sightings are within Boulder County. 

Birds of special interest in CAPS

Key:

G = Gregory Canyon and feeder trails + lower Flagstaff Mt. Trail

SK = Skunk Creek and feeder trails

BC = Bear Creek and Bear Canyon trails

SAW = Sawhills \ Walden Ponds

LOU = Louisville

Birds of note:

Cooper's hawk - 4 - G, SK

Turkey vulture - 6 - G

Red tailed hawk - 1 - SK

Great horned owl - 1 - BC - great horned owl nest site in Bear Canyon, previous site was a traditional prairie falcon nest site;  1 immature in nest site

Broad tailed hummingbird - 40+ -  G, SK, BC - all males, flight displays, chases

Say's phoebe - 1- BC

Plumbeous vireo - 1 - BC

Scrub jay - 1 - SK - lower skunk creek, traditional area to see scrub jays year round

Bushtit - 30+ - G, SK, BC - bushtits have become common throughout Boulder County year round

House wren - 15 - G, SK, BC - not in numbers as high as last year;  anyone else notice this?

Bluegray gnatcatcher - 16 - G, SK, BC - high concentrations at skunk creek

Gray catbird - 1 - SK

Orange crowned warbler - 6 - G, SK, BC - almost always associated with blooming wild plum.  Wild plum is already past peak bloom in most areas

Virginia's warbler - 4 - G, SK, BC

Audubon's warbler - 3 - SK, BC

MacGillivray's warbler - 7 - G, SK, BC - all males

Yellow warbler - 3 - SAW

OVENBIRD - 1 - BC - male singing;  traditional area up Bear Creek where the trail crosses over Bear Creek and heads uphill;  mixed evergreen and shrub habitat;  although not uncommon, its interesting to note

                       certain sections along the Mesa Trail have singing ovenbirds from mid-May through the 1st week in August.  

Yellow breasted chat - 8 - G, SK, BC

Spotted towhee - 55+ -  G, SK, BC - all males;  singing, chases, fights

Green tailed towhee - 1 - SK

Chipping sparrow - 100+  -  LOU - migratory flocks

Vesper sparrow - 10 - SK, LOU - mostly Louisville

Lazuli bunting - 6 - SK, BC

Bullock's oriole - 4 - G, SK - all males

Red crossbill - 15 - BC

Black headed grosbeak - 8 - G, SK, BC

Other notes:

Willet - 14 - in Louisville, flyover, Thursday evening

Snowy egret - 1 - Louisville - 1st time I've seen one in Louisville - Warembourg Pond

White faced ibis - 25 - Sawhills, flyover

Sora - 1 - Sawhills - calling

The funniest thing I saw today was a house wren attacking a MacGillivray's warbler.  Or maybe not so funny for the warbler. 

For Boulder data counts:  visuals on mule deer, raccoon, coyote, fox squirrel, pine squirrel, chipmunk ssp, black tailed prairie dog, eastern cottontail, bullsnake

Wildflower bloom seems slow and stunted this year, probably due to the weather, which is limiting the insects, which is limiting the birds (?).  A guess. I'm seeing less neo-tropicals this year compared to last year at the same time. 

Cheers,    John Tumasonis (aka:  John T),  Louisville CO

Wanna go for a hike?   Contact me through Cobirds.