COLORADO RARE BIRD REPORT for SUNDAY, APRIL 12, 2020
Patrick O'Driscoll
Date: Sunday, April 12, 2020
Email: RBA AT cobirds.org
Compiler: Patrick O’Driscoll, patodrisk AT gmail.com
Phone: 303-885-6955
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The Colorado Rare Bird report is an informational service.
Because of statewide coronavirus “Stay at Home” orders, the purpose of this report is to keep homebound readers abreast of rare bird sightings across the state during spring migration.
It does NOT endorse or encourage illegal travel to see or "chase" rare birds beyond your own local area.
We urge readers to respect state and local restrictions on non-critical travel and limits on outdoor activities that include birding.
Please bird ONLY at or close to home and ONLY with universally promoted safety precautions, including physical “social distancing” and face coverings.
Or, as Dave Leatherman noted this week, “Be like a Cedar Waxwing . . . very compliant in their wearing of masks.”
Birders have been helpful by reporting updates to COBirds. Thanks!
CAPITAL LETTERS denote very rare species, as listed by the Colorado Bird Records Committee at the CFO website.
(*) indicates new information on a species.
For more information on birds seen today, go to cobirds.org and scroll to the bottom for “Recent eBird Sightings.”
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Easter Sunday migration notes:
Swallows, vultures, Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, phoebes and a few Swainson’s Hawks are returning.
Burrowing Owls, too.
Sparrow and longspur migrations are also upon us.
Shorebirds (sandpipers, phalaropes, Dunlins, curlews) are showing.
And did somebody say “warblers”?
What’s in your yard or near your home?
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Rare, out-of-place and some out-of-season species reports are listed below.
Long-tailed Duck (Arapahoe, Jefferson)
Red-breasted Merganser (Pueblo)
Black-necked Stilt (Ouray)
Long-billed Curlew (Adams, Archuleta)
Stilt Sandpiper (Kiowa)
Dunlin (Kiowa)
Pectoral Sandpiper (Kiowa)
Willet (Larimer)
Iceland Gull (Thayer’s) (Larimer)
Common Loon (Denver, *Kiowa)
Neotropic Cormorant (*El Paso)
Great Egret (*Delta)
Williamson’s Sapsucker (Clear Creek, Ouray)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (*Boulder)
Red-naped Sapsucker (Summit)
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) (Routt)
BLACK PHOEBE (*Denver, *Bent, Boulder, Larimer)
Vermilion Flycatcher (*El Paso, Jefferson)
Veery (Eagle)
Lark Bunting (Prowers)
Black-throated Sparrow (El Paso)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Mesa)
Fox Sparrow (slate-colored) (Clear Creek)
Sagebrush Sparrow (Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson)
Northern Parula (Larimer, *Prowers, *Pueblo, Washington)
Hooded Warbler (*Prowers)
Western Tanager (*Larimer)
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ADAMS COUNTY:
—On Apr 9 two Long-billed Curlews were reported at Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR by Liz Steiner.
ARAPAHOE COUNTY:
—On Apr 10 two Long-tailed Ducks were reported at South Platte Park by Phil Lyon. Likely the continuing pair previously seen in South Platte Reservoir.
—On Apr 8 a Long-tailed Duck was reported at Quincy Reservoir by G Stacks. First reported Apr 3 by Stacks.
ARCHULETA COUNTY:
—On Apr 10 three Long-billed Curlews were reported at Jack's Pasture and Piedra Road northwest of Pagosa Springs by Byron Greco.
BENT COUNTY:
—On Apr 11 a BLACK PHOEBE was reported in John Martin Reservoir SWA by Duane Nelson.
BOULDER COUNTY:
—On Apr 11 a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was reported in Lyons Cemetery by Eric DeFonso.
—On Apr 10 a BLACK PHOEBE was reported at 5523 La Plata Cir, Boulder by Jennifer Delaney.
CLEAR CREEK COUNTY:
—On Apr 10 eight Williamson’s Sapsuckers were reported at Bergen Peak SWA by Chuck Aid.
—On Apr 9 a Fox Sparrow (slate-colored) was reported at The Goshawk (private but open to public) by Cameron Carver.
DELTA COUNTY:
—On Apr 11 a Great Egret was reported at Fruitgrowers Reservoir - North Road Causeway. First reported Apr 8 by Bill Harris.
DENVER COUNTY:
—On Apr 11, a BLACK PHOEBE was reported at Grasmere Lake in Washington Park. First reported Apr 10 by Jeff Dawson and seen by numerous birders. First Denver County eBird record if/when accepted by Colorado Bird Record Committee.
—On Apr 9 a Common
Loon male in breeding plumage was reported at Marston Reservoir. First reported
Apr 7 by Mackenzie Goldthwait and Doug Kibbe.
DOUGLAS COUNTY:
—On Apr 6 a Sagebrush Sparrow was reported
along Wildlife Way and the Highline Canal near Chatfield SP by Ted Uhlemann.
EAGLE COUNTY:
—On Apr 9, a Veery was reported at Brush Creek Confluence Open space by Rich McCain.
EL PASO COUNTY:
—On Apr 11 a Vermilion Flycatcher was reported at Palmer Park in Colorado Springs. First reported Apr 7.
—On Apr 11 a Neotropic Cormorant was reported at Memorial Park and Prospect Lake. First reported by Tyler Stewart.
—On Apr 10 a Black-throated Sparrow was reported in Woodmoor by Charlie Simmons.
—On Apr 6 a Sagebrush Sparrow was reported on Hemingway Road between Drennan and Brook by Tyler Stewart. Another was found Apr 6 off Brewer Lane 1/3 mile west of Milne Road by John Bruder.
NOTE: Chico Basin Ranch is closed until at least Apr 15 because of the Covid-19 outbreak.
JEFFERSON COUNTY:
—On Apr 9 a Sagebrush Sparrow was reported at Hildebrand Ranch Park by Michelle Desrosiers.
—On Apr 9 three Vermilion Flycatchers were reported at 57 Lookout Mountain Rd in Golden by Michael M. Bell.
—On Apr 7 two continuing Long-tailed Ducks were reported in the southwest bay of South Platte Reservoir by Frank Farrell.
KIOWA COUNTY:
—On Apr 11 a Common Loon was reported at Neegronda Reservoir by Steven Mlodinow, who first reported it Apr 7.
—On Apr 7 three Pectoral Sandpipers were reported at Neenoshe Reservoir by Steven Mlodinow.
—On Apr 7 a Stilt Sandpiper and 3 Dunlin were reported at Upper Queens/Neeskah Reservoir by Steven Mlodinow.
LARIMER COUNTY:
—On Apr 11 a Western Tanager was reported near 4016 Otter Road N of Masonville by Peter Weber. First reported Apr 8.
—On Apr 10 an Iceland Gull (Thayer’s) was reported at Horseshoe Reservoir by Nick Komar.
—On Apr 9 a Willet was reported at Running Deer & Cottonwood Hollow natural areas by Lori Zabel.
—On Apr 7 a Northern Parula was reported on the Power Trail in Fort Collins by Adrian Strong.
—On Apr 7 a BLACK PHOEBE was reported east of Lake Estes. First reported Apr 5 at Lake Estes by Mark Hemmes; first eBird report from this location, as the species is almost unheard of in the mountains.
—On Apr 6 a Sagebrush Sparrow was reported at Lake Estes by several birders. First found by Marc Hemmes.
MESA COUNTY:
—On Apr 7 a Golden-crowned Sparrow that overwintered at Grand Junction Wildlife Area was re-found by Mike Henwood, Brenda Sabo, and Kathleen McGinley. First reported by Henwood Dec 27, 2019.
OURAY COUNTY:
—On Apr 9 a Black-necked Stilt was reported at Ridgway SP Marina area by Don Marsh and Brenda Wright.
—On Apr 7 a Williamson’s Sapsucker was
reported at Ridgway SP - Visitor Center & campgrounds by Don Marsh.
PROWERS COUNTY:
—On Apr 9, a Northern Parula and a Hooded Warbler were reported in a farm yard south of Lamar by Jane Stulp.
—On Apr 6 a Lark Bunting was reported at Swenson Roundtop southeast of Lamar by Jane Stulp.
PUEBLO COUNTY:
—On Apr 11 a Northern Parula was reported in the Osprey picnic area of Rock Canyon below Pueblo Reservoir dam by Brandon Percival.
—On Apr 10, two
Red-breasted Mergansers were reported at Valco Ponds SWA by Chris Knight.
NOTE: Chico Basin Ranch is closed until
at least Apr 15 because of the Covid-19 outbreak.
ROUTT COUNTY:
—On Apr 9 a Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted)
was reported at 2752 Riverside Dr, Steamboat Springs by Aj Schrenk.
SUMMIT COUNTY:
—On Apr 9 a Red-naped Sapsucker was reported at Dillon
Reservoir’s Frisco Marina area by Misty Walters.
—On Apr 8 a Red-naped Sapsucker was reported in Summit Estates, Breckenridge by
Sally Palmer.
WASHINGTON COUNTY:
—On Apr 8, a Northern Parula was reported at Last Chance rest area by Art Reisman.
WELD COUNTY:
—On Apr 8 a Red-naped Sapsucker was reported at Linn Grove Cemetery in Greeley by Shawn Mason.
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PLEASE NOTE: Because of Covid-10 pandemic precautions, Denver Field Ornithologists has suspended all field trips scheduled for April, May and June. Other birding clubs have also canceled activities, and the annual Colorado Field Ornithologists convention, set for Pueblo in May, has been canceled.
Please share interesting and/or unusual birds and behavior observations on COBirds.
Good birding,
Patrick O’Driscoll
Denver, CO
patodrisk AT gmail.com