Boulder rainpipers, Apr. 26

[Ted Floyd]

Hello, Birders.

As we all know, rain=shorebirds, and so it was this soggy Sunday, Apr. 26 in Boulder County.

Boulder Reservoir was disappointing, with just a Wilson snipe and 2 unidentified peeps.

But Clover Basin Reservoir was good, with 58 marbled godwits, by far the most I've ever seen in one place in Colorado. Also 4 female Wilson phalaropes and a greater yellowlegs. Photos from Clover Basin Reservoir: http://tinyurl.com/MaGo-2015-04-26

Cottonwood Marsh had a comparatively modest 7 godwits, along with 11 willets, 2 lesser yellowlegs, 2 Wilson phalaropes, and 3 American avocets.

Boulder Creek at 109th St. ("Jasper Road playa") had 4 tightly bunched, highly sociable solitary sandpipers and a snipe.

And Prince Lake No. 2 had 3 avocets. And Killdeer of course at PL#2 and everywhere.

Non-shorebirds included 88 eared grebes, 2 horned grebes, 11 Franklin gulls, and 2 beach-combing vesper sparrows at Boulder Rez; a great-tailed grackle at Clover Basin; a white-faced ibis at Cottonwood Marsh; and a ring-necked pheasant and a loggerhead shrike at Prince Lake No. 2.

Ted Floyd

Lafayette, Boulder County

[David Dowell]

Ted, 

This seems to be the Year of the Marbled Godwit in Colorado.  To complement your 58 at Clover Basin Reservoir, here are some other recent reports from around the state:

14 at Pastorius Reservoir in La Plata Co.

15 at Antero Reservoir in Park Co.

17 at Marston Reservoir in Denver Co.

17 at Bonny SWA in Yuma Co.

18 at John Martin Reservoir in Bent Co.

24 at Holbrook Reservoir in Otero Co.

28 at Big Johnson Reservoir in El Paso Co.

31 at Jackson Lake in Morgan Co.

32 at Chatfield SP in Douglas Co.

68 at Sweitzer Lake in Delta Co.

113 at Fruitgrowers Reservoir in Delta Co.

And this is not a complete list.

David