25 Balds at Union...and 1 Falling Fish Weld Co this morning

[jay...@gmail.com]

So here's a Public Service Announcement for everyone this morning.

On my daily lap around Union Res this morning I was treated to the "usual" count of approximately 10,000 Cackling geese  and a personal high count of 25 Balds. 

I finished up at the picnic area near the entrance and had stopped under one of the tall cotton woods watching 4 juvies chasing each other right above me. While watching through the (closed) sun roof, several small branches fell on my car roof as they were fussing with each other. I saw a bigger branch (or so I assumed it was) falling and was surprised when it landed next to my open window with a rather loud "ker-plop".  Linguists might argue it was a "ker-splat". 

Nope, NOT a twig but a rather mangled fish landed maybe a foot away.  Alright then, I will show myself out once it starts raining fish.   

So children, today's lesson is to keep your sunroof closed while observing raptors that are trying to have breakfast.  And with apologies to Leatherman and Floyd, I did not get an ID of the fish. It was wet, scaly and missing large chunks out of it. 

Jay Hutchins 

Longmont 

Sent from my iPhone

[Patricia Cullen]

Jay,

You are inspiring me to do the driving lap around Union! 

Union Reservoir in Weld County is a marvelous place to bird!     While the south side  park requires a city of Longmont

sticker, (and may have great warblers in the ditches near the blue city park building  and near the children's playground ) 

both WCR 28  on the north and WCR 26 on the south offer ample views with a scope, both unpaved roads, with a few fast trucks but

not too much traffic.  There is a little pond on the north side of WCR 28 that often has teal in the right season.    The WCR 28 side

has the mud flats most years, and good terns, gulls and shorebirds may be had.   Sandhill cranes land, and I have had 24 Marbled Godwits

land in the water along WCR 28 in April, as well as terns and  rare gulls at good photographing distances ! 

Over the years, Union has been birded by Boulder County  birding GREATS like John Vanderpoel, Steve Mlodinow, and Luke Pheneger 

so the list is very long indeed for this fabulous hot spot and wanna bees like me, with thousands of blackbirds, all three kinds, many raptors, ducks

and  loons being found over the years.   There has been a Harlan's Hawk  for several years too! 

Pat Cullen

Longmont 

[DAVID A LEATHERMAN]

I see where I just sent my reply to Pat only. I meant for this to go out to all the folks who still utilize COBIRDS.  And I reiterate, this is no disrespect to Pat, John, Steve or Luke.  I just don’t want the Prathers and their contributions to be forgotten.  As Ted is right about the “new”, I am right about the “old”.  The full richness of birding in CO is realized when we combine the two.

 

Dave

 

From: DAVID A LEATHERMAN
Sent: Tuesday, December 23, 2025 9:36 AM
To: Patricia Cullen <hathcock...@gmail.com>
Subject: RE: [cobirds] Re: 25 Balds at Union...and 1 Falling Fish Weld Co this morning

 

Pat et al,

Perhaps the persons who best put Union Reservoir on the map were the late Bill and Inez Prather.  They lived on the northwest side of Union and found many, many rarities well before, with all due respect, the three distinguished gentlemen mentioned ever visited the place.  This wonderful couple found Colorado’s first Ross’s Gull in northeastern CO and our state’s only Buff-bellied Flycatcher near Fountain.  Their now-deceased son John, while an ornithology student at Northern Arizona University, discovered Lucy’s Warblers nesting inside CO near Four Corners.  John suggested we might find Red-faced Warblers and Crissal Thrashers regularly visiting, maybe even nesting within CO, in the near future.  He was right.

 

I should also add the Prathers were perhaps the foremost authorities on Colorado odonates (dragonflies and damselflies).  They curated the collection at Colorado State University and Bill, right up until his recent passing, vetted CO odonate records to Odonata Central, an entomological equivalent to eBird.

 

Colorado has a rich bird and birder history that goes back well before eBird and I couldn’t resist giving my dear friends the Prathers their due. 

 

Dave Leatherman

Fort Collins

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