Boulder County: Waneka bird festival tomorrow; Walker Ranch birds this morning

[Ted Floyd]

Hey, all.

Tomorrow, Sun., Sept. 22: Please join us for the 6th annual "Celebrating Migratory Birds Festival," hosted by the City of Lafayette. Start time is 1pm. Booths with info, free stuff, live birds, and more. Also, bird walks. All are welcome to attend; no experience necessary. Just show up anytime from 1pm onward.

This morning, Sat., Sept. 21, I had some time to kill in the Walker Burn area near Gross Reservoir, Boulder County. (Andrew. Mountain biking. Of course. This is starting to rival Hannah and soccer.)

Here's my eBird checklist:

https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S59982276

Some lessons learned or, in some instances, relearned:

1. The Chipping Sparrow has an agonistic vocalization I'd never before noticed. Almost like an Empidonax flycatcher!

2. The Sage Thrasher has a flight call (!) I'd never noticed--and that sounds eerily similar to that of the bluebirds (especially Western).

3. Townsend's Solitaires are setting up and defending winter feeding territories right now. Both males and females are singing.

4. Some Chipping Sparrows look freakily similar to, um, Brown Creepers. And others somewhat similar to Field Sparrows.

5. And some Mountain Bluebirds could sure pass as Western Bluebirds! (But look at their wings, and listen to them.)

6. Even if you dumbly leave your dedicated recording gear at home, you can still get great audio with your smartphone.

7. Type 2 Red Crossbill flight calls are nice--especially when the birds are sitting pretty atop a ponderosa pine.

There's always new stuff to learn!

Ted Floyd

Lafayette, Boulder County