Red Phalarope, North Park

[Nathan Pieplow]

Hello all,

Andrew Spencer was in town today, so he and I took a little jaunt to see what birds might be moving through North Park. We went by way of Wyoming, and stopped at Hutton Lake NWR south of Laramie where we were excited to find a Buff-breasted Sandpiper (https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59307532). I highly recommend Hutton Lake to anybody who hasn't birded it before. We ended up with 60 species there.

We then swung down into Jackson County, Colorado, where our first stop was Cowdrey Lake. Here we found a RED PHALAROPE in basic plumage (https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59310306). The other two species of phalaropes were also present for good comparative views.

We spent most of the day birding around North Park, with our other highlight being four Bobolinks in basic plumage at a stream crossing on County Road 12 (https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59315237). We are not sure if these were local breeders or migrants.

In general, water levels were high most places we went, and it was hard to find shorebirds. Hutton Lake had the best shorebird habitat. Sparrows and Sage Thrashers are moving through the open country in numbers, and a few warblers are on the move. Fall migration has definitely gotten interesting.

Nathan Pieplow

Boulder, Colorado