Eastern Larimer 8/25 and County Additions

[Andrew Bankert]

If you read this listserv for birds currently being seen, the Black-throated Gray Warbler and with numerous other regular migrants were at the Wellington SWA just north of Cobb Lake this afternoon.  The songbird diversity wasn't as high as yesterday, but the numbers were still pretty good.  Later in the evening I met up with Sean Walters and we walked to the north side of Timnath Reservoir finding 15 shorebird species including a calling Short-billed Dowitcher, 2 Black-bellied Plovers, 3 Red-necked Phalaropes, and hundreds of peeps.  I also counted 4 Black Terns, which have been scarce here this year.  The guy at the park told us we could walk around the reservoir as long as we stayed below the high water line.  The town has been very generous to let birders continue to visit this site, which is closed to everyone else who is not a Timnath resident.

For those interested in cumulative county lists, there may be a change in the highest county list now that the CBRC appears to be back from vacation.  Since 2014, around the time Team BrachyRAMphus formed (coincidence?), Larimer has had a several new, photographed additions.  September 2014 was a good month with White Ibis in Loveland, Parasitic Jaeger in Timnath, and Smith's Longspur in Rocky Mountain National Park.  In 2015, the additions of Canyon Towhee (above Fort Collins in May) and Baird's Sparrow (Buckeye in July) led Team BrachyRAMphus to look for more county additions.  We found a few species that had either been accepted by the CBRC (Arctic Tern, Curve-billed Thrasher) or did not require acceptance but still had photos (Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Red-throated Loon) that were not on the official list.  Talking to local birders, we were only able to dig up photos (which were published in the CFO Journal) of a Black Phoebe in Fort Collins by Dave Leatherman in May 1995.  We also learned of reports without known photos of Pomarine Jaeger (Douglas Reservoir, Nov 1996, possible photos), Prairie Warbler (Lake Estes, 2005?, possible photos), Yellow Rail (possible specimen), and Little Gull (Sep 2015, Loveland, no photos) which either have or have the potential to have written descriptions.  We also checked the literature and found that Whooping Crane was historically on the Larimer County list (reports from 1886 & 87 I think), but since they have become rare in the state some documentation would likely be required to add this species to the list again.  Our best find came after digging through online museum databases. During the process we learned many scientific names, that some specimens can't be found (Mottled Duck/hybrid) or skeletonized (Black Phoebe), and the Screech Owl split caused confusion with our local maxwelliae subspecies (Rocky Mountain Screech-Owl) put in the Western Screech-Owl group by some museums by accident.  When searching databases finally went right, we came upon an entry of Histrionicus histrionicus (I didn't have to Google that one!) from Estes Park in 1901.  After a few emails to the Royal Ontario Museum, we were looking at photos of a Harlequin Duck from Larimer.  Currently the official Larimer County list sits at 413 and if all 7 of the photographed additions are accepted, then the official list would get bumped up to at least 420 depending on whether some sight reports are accepted. 

Good Birding!

Andy Bankert

Fort Collins, CO

[Steve Stachowiak]

Cobirders,

I thoroughly enjoyed the post by Andy regarding the "official" Larimer County species list.  In this age of "if it isn't in eBird it does not exist" it is refreshing to see that there is still interest in the rich ornithological history in Colorado.  Hopefully, others will note the various sources that are mentioned and take time to explore the data as Andy and others have done.

While he may be counting some of his proverbial chickens before they hatch, it appears that the Larmier total may be moving upward.  Although, there is a bit of a black hole with the Committee when it comes to county records approvals and updates so Pueblo will continue to reign for the time being.

Good Birding,

Steve Stachowiak

Highlands Ranch, CO

On Friday, August 26, 2016 at 12:56:29 AM UTC-6, Andrew Bankert wrote:

[David Suddjian]

On the topic of county lists, I'm somewhat at a loss as to where to encounter definitive totals of species recorded in the various counties (understanding that for rarities some are awaiting review). There is the county birding resource offered on the CFO page, but I can't tell how up to date it is for the various counties (I see holes for the counties I am most familiar with), and the CBRC process of county level review is very confusing to me. Neither of these seem to be (closely) linked to eBird review status of records for a given species in a county for species that are not significant rarities. Are county species lists closely kept up? By who? Are local county birders of knowledge and experience in some places further ahead on this than other authorities? What about counties that more or less have no local county birders?

Curious,

David Suddjian

Ken Caryl Valley

Littleton, CO

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[Sean Walters]

I think there are a number of birders who have these same questions. Personally, I have always believed that the Colorado County Birding website presents the official county checklists based on the decisions of the CBRC. There will always be local birders who disagree with the "official" county numbers because of their exceptionally detailed knowledge of local records. With an intense effort to locate and submit adequate documentation of these unaccepted records to the CBRC, anyone can push the county totals higher as the CBRC does review and accept new county records. And with enough well documented submissions, a county could even officially surpass another county. 

Good Birding!

Sean Walters

Fort Collins, CO

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[Joe Roller]

Not sent to CObirds, just you guys.

I am not sure, but I think that the CBRC has a lot on its plate with reviewing submissions of mega-rarities

for inclusion on the State List, and probably lacks the bandwidth to get up to date on county records, then 

stay up to date.

I'll check with CBRC.

Joe Roller

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[Rachel]

Hi Andy & COBirders,

Not sure how the CBRC can be on “vacation” since it is a dedicated hard working group of volunteers who do not get paid for their time. All of our CBRC members have lives outside of birding which include family, children, and work, so anything they do for the CBRC, CFO, and as a result a large group of Colorado birders is due to their commitment to keeping records for the state of Colorado up to date and accurate. Many, many thanks are due to all of the current and past CBRC members.

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Rachel Hopper

Ft. Collins. CO

r-ho...@comcast.net

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[Steve Stachowiak]

As it states on the totally awesome Colorado County Birding (coloradocountybirding.org) website:

"The Colorado Bird Records Committee is charged with maintaining official county checklists. Not all county additions, however, are in need of formal review.  Submit your new county species to the CBRC Chair using this form. Species appearing as red in the list are state review species and must be documented through the CBRC site."

Reporting species from this page of the website is very utilitarian for birders to amend lists for common species or link over to the even more totally awesome CBRC website to document reviewable species.

Good Birding,

Steve Stachowiak

Highlands Ranch, CO

On Friday, August 26, 2016 at 8:17:12 AM UTC-6, David Suddjian wrote:

[David Suddjian]

I agree with the overloaded plate perspective. I think it is too much for a state review committee to manage county-level lists in a consistent or timely fashion, most especially because many county-level rarities are probably never submitted. 

David 

[Eric DeFonso]

For my part, I'd like to thank the CBRC and all the people who maintain CFO and its affiliated documentations. The past 12+ years of my birding life since I moved to Colorado have been so greatly enriched by the presence and easy availability of birding resources like the county birding webpages, the rare bird report submission systems, the archived review list additions and updates, books like Colorado Birds by the two Bobs, and more. I'm so impressed to learn that virtually all of this work is done on a volunteer basis - basically done just for the love of birds and birding. That is inspiring to me. What's more, my interactions with CBRC members have always been informative and timely, and I've always come away with appreciation for what goes into making the whole thing come alive. Personal thanks especially to Mark Petersen who has recently helped me understand the process of bird report submission, which I now know has undergone significant updates and improvements in recent years.

I know this all sounds overly ingratiating, but I don't care because I mean every word of it. Thanks again guys - we birders in Colorado are lucky to have what we do in CFO.

Eric D

Westminster, CO

On Friday, August 26, 2016, Rachel <r-ho...@comcast.net> wrote:

Hi Andy & COBirders,

Not sure how the CBRC can be on “vacation” since it is a dedicated hard working group of volunteers who do not get paid for their time. All of our CBRC members have lives outside of birding which include family, children, and work, so anything they do for the CBRC, CFO, and as a result a large group of Colorado birders is due to their commitment to keeping records for the state of Colorado up to date and accurate. Many, many thanks are due to all of the current and past CBRC members.

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Rachel Hopper

Ft. Collins. CO

r-ho...@comcast.net

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Eric DeFonso
Westminster, CO