The Great Boulder Caper, Take 3--Friday, Nov. 29th

[Ted Floyd]

Hello, Birders.

Please join the Boulder Bird Club and Yours Truly for the third annual Great Boulder Caper, a day of birding and frivolity around Boulder County. This outing will be held FRIDAY, Nov. 29th, that is to say, the day after Thanksgiving.

We'll meet at 7:00 a.m. at the Cottonwood Marsh parking area of Walden Ponds. This is just west of 75th Street, along the stretch of 75th Street that's south of Jay Road and north of Valmont Road. We'll bird the Sawhill ponds for a while (most of the Walden ponds are closed because of the September flood), then...Who knows! That's how it is with the Great Boulder Caper; we caper at whim.

That said, I have a vague idea that we'll head north-ish, toward Longmont and McIntosh Lake, Jim Hamm Nature Study Area, and Ish Reservoir. At that point, things get even vaguer. If the magic aphid tree still has warblers, maybe we'll go there. Maybe Boulder Rez and Lagerman. Or maybe something totally different; maybe we'll escape from Boulder County and check out the marshes of Weld and Broomfield counties. Maybe we'll indulge in some Black Friday retail therapy. We're capering, after all.

We'll caper until nightfall, but you're not obligated to stay for the whole day. We'll figure out the carpooling thing when we assemble at Cottonwood Marsh, and nobody will be left behind in the cattails.

What to expect? Beats me. That's the great thing about the Caper. But we'll be visiting habitat that should be great for Swamp Sparrows, Marsh Wrens, and perhaps a stray Rusty Blackbird or something. It's a fine time of year for Barrow's Goldeneyes, and maybe a scoter or Long-tailed Duck or two will put in an appearance. The great thing about November birding in the Front Range metro region is the possibility of both winter and summer avifaunas; you never know when a Mew Gull (winter) or Brown Thrasher (summer) will pop into view. Oh, and the way things are going on Center Green Drive, we may well be seeing multiple warbler species.

If the price is right, we'll sell intel to the next day's CFO outing: http://tinyurl.com/Kaempfer-CFO-trip. No, seriously, that's a great outing, too, and I hope you'll consider attending both outings.

The Great Boulder Caper is free and open to the public. Beginners, young people, non-birding companions, and general curiosity-seekers are most welcome. Wear warm clothes, bring water and leftover tofurkey, and please pay the driver for gas. 

To help me manage the carpooling and to give me a general feel for who will be capering, would you be so kind as to eRSVP with me? It's not required, but it does help. Thanks!

Ted Floyd

tedfl...@hotmail.com

Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado