Colorado Rare Bird Alert, 14 December 2016

[Joyce Takamine]

Compiler:  Joyce Takamine

e-mail:    RBA AT cobirds.org

Date:    December 14, 2016

This is the Rare Bird Alert for Wednesday, December 14, sponsored by Denver Field Ornithologists and the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies.

Highlight species include: (* indicates new information on this species)

NOTE:  The RBA is using the new AOU checklist, & the order of families has changed.

BRANT (*Adams)

Trumpeter Swan (Garfield)

Tundra Swan (Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver, El Paso, Jefferson, La Plata, Pueblo)

EURASIAN WIGEON (Fremont)

AMERICAN BLACK DUCK (Weld)

Mallard (Mexican intergrade) (Pueblo)

Surf Scoter (Adams, Arapahoe, Weld)

White-winged Scoter (Arapahoe, Pueblo)

Black Scoter (*Arapahoe, Bent)

Long-tailed Duck (*Arapahoe, Bent, Chaffee, Routt)

Barrow's Goldeneye (Arapahoe, Archuleta, Chaffee, Eagle/Pitkin, *Mesa, Routt, Weld)

Red-necked Grebe (Boulder, Pueblo)

White-winged Dove (Prowers)

Greater Roadrunner (Bent)

Sandhill Crane (*Adams, Fremont)

Dunlin (Arapahoe)

Greater Yellowlegs (Otero)

Mew Gull (Arapahoe, Weld)

Thayer's Gull (Arapahoe, Bent, Boulder, Douglas)

ICELAND GULL (Arapahoe)

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Arapahoe, Pueblo)

Glaucous Gull (Arapahoe)

Great Black-backed Gull (Pueblo)

Red-throated Loon (Boulder, Douglas, *Mesa, Pueblo)

Pacific Loon (Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver)

Great Egret (Delta)

Red-bellied Woodpecker (El Paso)

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Larimer, Prowers, Pueblo)

Black Phoebe (*Mesa)

Curve-billed Thrasher (El Paso, Pueblo)

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Boulder, San Miguel)

Black Rosy-Finch (Boulder, San Miguel)

Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Boulder, San Miguel)

Lapland Longspur (Arapahoe, Bent, Denver, 

Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson)

Palm Warbler (Denver)

Pine Warbler (Prowers)

Golden-crowned Sparrow (*Mesa)

Rusty Blackbird (Adams, Arapahoe, Pueblo)

EASTERN MEADOWLARK (Adams)

Yellow-headed Blackbird (Weld)

*****For directions to unfamiliar locations (e.g. "Lower Latham"), please refer to CFO's Colorado County Birding site:  www.coloradocountybirding.org

ADAMS COUNTY:

---On December 1 at Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR, Brian Berry reported EASTERN MEADOWLARK and 2 Rusty Blackbirds.

---On December 2 at Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR, Andrew McGann and Michael Lanzone reported Surf Scoter.

---On December 13 at Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR, George Ho reported 2 Sandhill Cranes.

---On December 13 at Hidden Lake, Chris Rurik reported a Black BRANDT.  Hidden Lake is almost entirely private.  You may scope the lake from Sheridan on the west end or park at the baseball field on the east end.  All other access points are open only to residents.

ARAPAHOE COUNTY:

---On November 29 at Cherry Creek SP, Cheryl Teuton reported 3 Rusty Blackbirds on beach in cove in SE corner.  On December 1, Dean Shoup reported 1 Rusty Blackbirds at Cherry Creek.  On December 2, Loch Kilpatrick, Mary Keithler, Cynthia Madsen and David Hill reported 5 Rusty Blackbirds at Cherry Creek SP.  On December 3, Bill Kaempfer, Bez Bezuidenhout, and Scott Somershoe reported Rusty Blackbirds at Cherry Creek SP.  On December 4, Mary Driscoll, Gene Rutherford, and Art Hudak  reported Rusty Blackbirds at Pelican Point at Cherry Creek SP.

---On December 2, Glenn Walbek, Cynthia Madsen, David Hill, and Brooke Miller reported ad Mew Gull at Cherry Creek SP.

---On December 3, Glenn Walbek and Bill Kaempfer reported ad Glaucous Gull at Cherry Creek SP.

---On December 3, Scott Someshoe reported ad Mew Gull at Marina, 1st-cyc Thayer's Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull at Cherry Creek SP.  On December 4, Gene Rutherford and Art Hudak reported the following at Cherry Creek SP:  2 Mew Gulls, 2 Long-tailed Ducks, Thayer's Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, and ad Glaucous Gull.   On December 7, Loch Kilpatrick reported Mew Gull, Thayer's Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, and Glaucous Gull at Cherry Creek SP.

---On December 5 at Cherry Creek SP, John Drummond reported ad ICELAND GULL, Glaucous Gull, 1st-cyc Thayer's Gull, and 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. On December 6, Chris Gilbert reported ICELAND GULL and Lesser Black-backed Gull at Cherry Creek SP.

---On December 7 at Cherry Creek SP, Mark Chavez, Art Hudak, Loch Kilpatrick, Scott Somershoe, and Jim Arnett reported Dunlin at Cherry Creek on Sandspit below Pelican Point parking lot.  On December 7 at Cherry Creek SP, Scott Somershoe, Jim Arnett, and Adam Vesely reported 5 Tundra Swans at Cherry Creek SP.  On December 7, Cheri Phillips reported 10 Tundra Swans and Lapland Longspur at Cherry Creek SP.  On December 8, Aaron Tucker reported 1 Tundra Swan from the Swim Beach at Cherry Creek SP.

---On December 9 at Aurora Reservoir, Glenn Walbek and Kathy Mihm Dunning reported 2 Mew Gulls (1 ad, 1 1-st cyc), 2 Thayer's Gulls, ICELAND GULL (probably Cherry Creek gull), 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (ad), and Glaucous Gull.  On December 10 at Aurora Reservoir, Glenn Walbek and David Dowell reported 1 f-type Surf Scoter, 2 f-type White-winged Scoters, 1 Long-tailed Ducks, 1 Barrow's Goldeneye, 1 1-st-cyc Mew Gull, 6 Thayer's Gulls, 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 1 Glaucous Gull.

---On December 11, Steve Stachowiak reported at 1-st winter f-type Black Scoter in the NE corner of South Platte Reservoir.  The scoter was seen by several birders.  On December 11, Bill Kaempfer reported that a Long-tailed Duck had joined the Black Scoter at South Platte Reservoir.  On December 12, David Suddjian, Charles Lawrence, and Thomas Holub reported Black Scoter at South Platte Reservoir and David Suddjian reported that the Long-tailed Duck had moved to Blackrock Lake in the park.  On December 13, David Suddjian and many other birders reported Black Scoter and Long-tailed Duck at South Platte Reservoir.  On December 13, David Suddjian reported a Long-tailed Duck on Blackrock Lake.

ARCHULETA COUNTY:

---On December 2, Byron Greco reported a pair of Barrow's Goldeneyes on San Juan River Walk in Pagosa Springs.

BENT COUNTY:

On November 23 Duane Nelson reported a Long-tailed Duck (f) at Lake Hasty.  On December 2, Duane Nelson reported f Long-tailed Duck at Lake Hasty.  On December 6, SeEtta Moss reported Long-tailed Duck and 2 Greater Roadrunners at Lake Hasty.

--On December 3 at Adobe Creek Reservoir, David Dowell reported f-type Black Scoter, 2 1-st cyc Thayer's Gulls, and 24 Lapland Longspurs.

BOULDER COUNTY:

---On November 29 at Red-necked Grebe was reported by David Dowell, David Waltman, and Aaron Yappet at Boulder Reservoir.  On December 2, David Dowell reported Red-necked Grebe at Boulder Reservoir.  On December 3, Peter Gent and Matt Hofeditz reported Red-necked Grebe at Boulder Reservoir.  On December 4, Bob Spencer reported Red-necked Grebe at Boulder Reservoir.  On December 6, David Dowell reported Red-necked Grebe and ad Thayer's Gull at Boulder Reservoir.

---On December 2, Chuck Hundertmark reported a family of 6 Tundra Swans on Dodd Reservoir.  On December 3, Chuck Hundertmark reported family of 5 Tundra Swans on Dodd Reservoir in the afternoon.  Others reported no swans in the morning.

---On December 4, Jeff Parks reported Pacific Loon and Red-necked Grebe at Valmont Reservoir Complex.

---On December 6, David Dowell and Christain Nunes reported Red-throated Loon and Red-necked Grebe at Valmont Reservoir and 4 Tundra Swans on Hillcrest Reservoir (which is the southern most of the 3 reservoirs in the Valmont Complex).  On December 9, David Dowell reported 5 Tundra Swans (4 ad, 1 juv), Pacific Loon, and Red-necked  Grebe at the Valmont Reservoir Complex.   On December 10, Bill Kaempfer reported 3 Tundra Swans at Valmont Reservoir Complex.

---On December 11, Mark Miller reported that all 3 species of Rosy-Finches were visiting the feeders at Fawn Brook Inn in Allenspark.

CHAFFEE COUNTY:

---On December 11 at Sands Lake SWA, Jack Harlaln reported 1 m Long-tailed Duck and Barrow's Goldeneye.  On December 12, Jeff Guy reported Long-tailed Duck and Barrow's Goldeneyes at Sands Lake SWA.

DELTA COUNTY:

---On December 8 and 9, Rick Harner reported Great Egret at Confluence Park in Delta.

DENVER COUNTY:

---On November 25, Ira Sanders reported a Pacific Loon at Marston Reservoir.  On November 29, David Suddjian reported Pacific Loon at Marston Reservoir.  On November 30, Scott Somershoe and Tina Jones reported Pacific Loon at Marston Reservoir.  On December 2, Tina Jones reported Pacific Loon at Marston Reservoir.  On December 3, Todd Deininger and Jeff Dawson reported Pacific Loon at Marston Reservoir.  On December 4, Art Hudak, Tom Behnfield, and Mark Chavez reported Pacific Loon at Marston Reservoir.  On December 8, Doug Kibbe reported Pacific Loon at Marston Reservoir, West End.

---On December 2, Loch Kilpatrick reported 2 Lapland Longspurs at Box Elder Creek at E 104th Ave (near DIA).  

---On December 4, Todd Deininger reported Palm Warbler at First Creek at DEN open space; 1.2 miles on Buckley Rd in Cottonwoods after the pines.

---On December 4, Dick Schotter reported 9 Tundra Swans at Marston Reservoir and the swans were also seen by Tom Behnfield, Doug Kibbe, Mackenzie Goldthwait, Phil Lyon, Art Hudak., and Mark Chavez .  On December 9, Doug Kibbe and Dale Pate reported 2 Tundra Swans at Marston Reservoir.

DOUGLAS/JEFFERSON COUNTIES:

---On November 26 Joey Kellner reported 5 Long-tailed Ducks (4f, 1m) at Chatfield SP. 

---On November 27, Bob Spencer reported Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Chatfield Sp in the marina area.

EAGLE/PITKIN COUNTIES:

---On November 27 Louise Glasser reported 4 Barrow's Goldeneyes on the Frying Pan River in pond by log cabin near Reudi Reservoir.

EL PASO COUNTY:

---On November 19 Aaron Driscoll reported a Red-bellied Woodpecker in the wooded area near the banding station at Chico Basin Ranch (fee).  On November 29 Chris Brobin reported Red-bellied Woodpecker and Curve-billed thrasher at Chico Basin Ranch (fee).  On December 1, Bill Maynard reported Red-bellied Woodpecker and Lapland Longspur at Chico Basin Ranch (fee).  On December 4, Aaron Yappert reported Red-bellied Woodpecker at Chico Basin Ranch (fee area).

---On December 1, Alan Versaw reported Tundra Swan at Big Johnson.

FREMONT COUNTY:

---On December 7, Mark Peterson reported an EURASIAN WIGEON at Valco Pond.  Valco Pond is N of Arkansas River on MacKenzie in Canon City.  Bird only from the parking lot since it is private property.    On December 8, Dale and Joel Adams reported EURASIAN WIGEON at Valco Pond.  On December 9, Loch Kilpatrick reported EURASIAN WIGEON at Valco Pond. On December 9, Rich Miller reported EURASIAN WIGEON and Sandhill Crane at Valco Pond.  On December 12, Mark Minner-Lee reported EURASIAN WIGEON at Valco Pond.

GARFIELD COUNTY:

---On November 29, Jo Ann Riggle reported 7 Trumpeter Swans (4 ad, 3 juv) at east end of Silt Island Park.

JEFFERSON COUNTY:

---On November 29 at Hine Lake in Robert A Easton Regional Park, David Suddjian heard a fly over Lapland Longspur.

---On December 4 at Arvada Blunn Reservoir, Lorraine Lanning reported 4 (2 ad, 2 juv) Tundra Swans.  On December 11,  Bill Kaempfer reported 2 Tundra Swans at Arvada Blunn Reservoir.

---On December 8, Michael Kiessig reported 7 Tundra Swans (4 ad, 3 juv) at Swim Beach at Chatfield SP.  On December 9,

2 - 4 Tundra Swans were reported by Dan String, Aaron Shipe, Gwen Moore, Matt Clark, Frank Farrell, and Phil Lyon.

---On December 10, Renee Casias reported Tundra Swan flying over near Wadsworth and Florida.

LA PLATA COUNTY:

---On December 2 at Zink's Pond, Steve Smith, Ryan Volta, and Jason St Pierre reported Tundra Swan.

LARIMER COUNTY:

---On December 8, David Wade reported Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Loveland on Hilltop Dr by N Tyler Ave.  On December 10, Gwen Moor and Irene Fortune reported Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Loveland on Hilltop Dr.

MESA COUNTY:

---On December 2, Mike Henwood reported m Barrow's Goldeneye at Grand Junction WA.  

---On December 3, Mike Henwood reported 7 Barrow's Goldeneyes at Jerry Creek Reservoir; 3 m 1 juv on Reservoir #1 and 2f and 1 juv at Reservoir #2.

---On December 6 and 7, Carol Ortenzio reported a Golden-crowned Sparrow coming to her feeders at 306 Dakota Dr in the Grand Junction area.  On December 8, Carol Ortenzio, Vic Zerbi, Diane and Jackson Trappett and Mike Henwood reported Golden-crowned Sparrow at 306 Dakota Dr in Grand Junction.  On December 9, Carol Ortenzio reported that the Golden-crowned Sparrow continues to visit her feeders.  On December 11, Carol Ortenzio reported that the Golden-crowned Sparrow made a brief appearance.  It was not seen on December 10.  On December 13, Caral Ortenzio reported that the Golden-crowned Sparrow made a brief appear in the morning.

    Carol welcomes birders who want to see the bird.  She asks that you  NOT block access to the garage when you park.  You can walk to the backyard along the right side of the house.  The bird has been seen at the feeders to the right as you enter the yard.  She has provided seating.  If you have questions please call or text Carol at 970-216-8762.  

---On December 13 at Highline Lake SP, Mike Henwood reported juv Red-throated Loon.

---On December 13 at Colorado River SP, Fruita Section, Mike Henwood reported 1 Barrow's Goldeneyes and Black Phoebe.

OTERO COUNTY:

---On December 6, Stan Oswald reported 3 Greater Yellowlegs at Holbrook Reservoir.

 

PROWERS COUNTY:

---On November 11 An adult male Pine Warbler visited the various seed feeders in Janeal Thompson’s yard. The bird was also observed eating insects. The Pine Warbler was seen by David Leatherman on November 16 then on November 19 & 20, 29 & 30 by Janeal.  On December 2, Janeal Thompson, Dale, and Joel Adams reported Pine Warbler in Lamar.  On December 9, Janeal Thompson reported that the Pine Warbler continues in Lamar.  On December 11, Janeal Thompson, Art Hudak, and Mark Chavez reported Pine Warbler and 34 White-winged Doves in Lamar.

If you would like to try for the Pine Warbler, please contact Janeal at 719-336-9658(home) or 719-688-7912 (cell) to make

arrangements.

---On December 9, Janeal Thompson reported a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in her neighborhood in Lamar.

PUEBLO COUNTY:

---On November 29, Brandon Percival reported juv Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Pueblo City Park near the Frisbee Golf Course.

---On December 1, Brandon Percival reported 1 juv Tundra Swans flying along the Arkansas River near Pueblo Nature Center

but he has no idea where they landed.  

---On December 4 at Valco Ponds, Loch Kilpatrick and Glenn Walbek reported Mallard (Mexican intergrade, 2 Curve-billed Thrasher, and 2 Rusty Blackbirds.  

---On December 4 at South Marina of Pueblo Reservoir, Glenn Walbek, and Loch Kilpatrck reported 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 1 Great Black-backed Gull.  On December 10, Chris Gilbert reported 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 1 Great Black-backed Gull at South Marina of Pueblo Reservoir.  On December 11, Kara Carragher reported 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Great Black-backed Gull.

---On December 10 at Pueblo Reservoir, Rob Hinds reported Great Black-backed Gull, Red-throated Loon, Red-necked Grebe, and 5 Curve-billed Thrashers.

ROUTT COUNTY:

---On December 2, JoAnn Riggle reported Long-tailed Ducks at Stagecoach Reservoir.  On December 3, Vic Zerbi and Tresa Moulton reported Long-tailed Ducks and Barrow's Goldeneyes at Stagecoach Reservoir.  On December 4, Tom Litteral reported f-types Long-tailed Duck and 75 Barrow's Goldeneyes at Stagecoach Reservoir.

SAN MIGUEL COUNTY:

---On December 6, Eric Hynes reported all three species of Rosy-Finches coming to his feeders in Telluride.  If you would

like to try to see them, contact Eric at erichynes28 AT gmail.com.  On December 9, Eric Hynes reported Gray-crowned and Brown-capped Rosy-Finches at his feeders in Telluride.

WELD COUNTY:

---On December 3, Steve Mlodinow reported 2 Yellow-headed Blackbirds at Union Reservoir.

---On December 3, Chris Goulart reported 5 Yellow-headed Blackbirds at Firestone Gravel pits.

---On December 4, Steve Mlodinow reported AMERICAN BLACK DUCK at 34th St and Poudre Ponds in Greeley.

---On December 4, Steve Mlodinow reported 6 Yellow-headed Blackbirds at Lower Latham Reservoir.

---On December 4, Steve Mlodinow reported 1st-winter Mew Gull at Seeley Reservoir.

---On December 4, Steve Mlodinow and Nick Moore reported Surf Scoter at Windsor Lake.  On December 5, Steve Mlodinow reported Barrow's Goldeneye and Surf Scoter at Windsor Lake.

Denver Field Ornithologists Field Trips: 

Sign up on line for field trips at DFO’s Website. 

The DFO Field Trip for Tuesday, 13 December will be to Southwestern Metro Area Led by David Suddjian (dsuddjian AT gmail.com; 831-713-8659)  This trip is full.

The DFO Field Trip for Wednesday, December 28 will be to South Platte Park led by David Suddjian (dssudjian AT GMAIL.COM; 831-713-8659)   This trip is full.

Help with Christmas Bird Counts.

Good birding,

Joyce Takamine

Boulder