Adams/Denver Cty birding, Saturday 5/14

[Eric DeFonso]

Hi all,

Sorry for the delayed posting, but I don't have any huge rarities to report so if that's what you're looking for, feel free to move on to the next note in the listserv. :)

I headed over to the First Creek Trailhead this morning (5/14) after having learned of its existence from John Breitsch's posting a few days earlier. I was delighted to see how it's actually a pretty nice place to bird despite the significant traffic noise from vehicles on Peña Blvd heading to and from DIA. I refound the Eastern Phoebe as well as two Northern Mockingbirds, although I didn't turn up the Brown Thrasher he reported. Nevertheless, it was quite birdy and I found a number of species that I'd not yet seen in Denver County.

Yes, First Creek Trail - at least that portion of it between Rocky Mountain Arsenal WR and Tower Road - is actually in Denver County, as it is part of that corridor of the city and county property extending to the airport. As such it makes for a nice inclusion of habitat that is otherwise not so easy to find in Denver city proper. For example, I also had a flock of about 20 Lark Buntings fly over the fence from Arsenal through the open space near the creek and continuing eastward, allowing me to add LARB for two counties for the price of one! I suspect Lark Bunting is not easy to find in Denver County otherwise, but out there it's practically expected to be seen especially this time of year during migration as they search for more amenable habitat.

Other birds I had include Chipping, Brewer's and Lark Sparrows, Belted Kingfisher, Hermit Thrush, Dusky Flycatcher, and a handsome male Blue Grosbeak.

Afterwards I continued north to Barr Lake, where I had not been since a visit to see the Royal Tern that showed up there back in 2012. Now that I live closer by I may be coming here more often. Again, I didn't turn up any huge rarities but the birding was quite nice and lively. Probably my favorite find was a singing male Orchard Oriole, initially spotted with a group of chattering Bullock's Orioles. I later got a nice sound recording of him as he moved over from the lakefront to the small picnic area trees by the parking lot. With the gloomy and chilly May weather, I found many migrants and CO summer residents parked in the great lakeside habitat from the Niedrach boardwalk further south along the perimeter trail. Western Tanager, Dusky Flycatcher, Warbling Vireo, Eastern Kingbird, and a singing Brown Thrasher were among them. The swallow scene was spectacular as well, feasting on the numerous bugs (many caddisflies I presume?). It was definitely a buggy place despite the cold - after all, two and half thousand Cliff Swallows can't be wrong, no? Gliding, bounding, soaring in large ensembles over the fields and lake, gathering on fence lines, they were a hoot to watch and listen to all morning.

I also give special mention that here and at First Creek Trail, I had dozens upon dozens of Swainson's Thrushes. It sounds like yesterday was a huge Swainson's push through Colorado, which is about right - mid-May always seems like peak SWTH migration time for the Front Range. I did try to convert at least one of them into a Gray-cheeked, but was unsuccessful.

The last really cool Barr Lake find for me was a single, solitary if you will, Townsend's Solitaire.

Anyway, that's my report from yesterday. I so love this time of year, and look forward to heading back to Barr Lake more often in the days and weeks to come.

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Eric DeFonso
Westminster, CO