Big Day by Bike -- May 14

[Chris Rurik]

Hello all --

On Saturday I made my first attempt at a Big Day on Bike. My route was basically St. Vrain Mountain - Allenspark - Old St. Vrain Road - Lyons - Longmont - Union Res - Sandstone Ranch, with lots of additional stops thrown in. In the weeks leading up to it I had no time for scouting and very little time for e-scouting, so I just went for it.

No rare birds, but lots of highlights:

- Sunrise in the mountains. First bird Brown Creeper, second bird Townsend's Solitaire, then I heard an irregular tapping and found a Williamson's Sapsucker! The hot start continued with Cassin's Finch, all three nuthatches, singing Ruby-crowned Kinglets, etc. A calm gray morning.

- Just below Ferncliffe I hit another great batch of birds: Brewer's Blackbirds, Mountain Bluebirds, a Red-naped Sapsucker, Vesper Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, and more.

- Then the mist descended again and I feared for my day. Bombing down St. Vrain Canyon was wet and frigid. The few times I was able to detect a bird, it was near-impossible to see through my binoculars. I did manage a Dusky Flycatcher. Since I wasn't pedaling much in the downhill wind chill, my feet turned into blocks of ice.

- Hall Ranch and Old St. Vrain Road. I got warmed up again and the colorful birds came quickly: Western Tanager, Lazuli Bunting, Black-headed Grosbeak, American Dipper, Plumbeous Vireo, BG Gnatcatcher, Western Bluebird, Bullock's Oriole, etc. etc. With some additional care along the road I found Lincoln's, Clay-colored, Lark, Song, and Brewer's Sparrows, Swainson's Thrush, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwing. This was probably my favorite birding spot all day.

- Working the small reservoirs and agricultural areas west of Longmont I managed Eastern Kingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Wilson's Warbler, GBH, Barn Owl, Savannah Sparrow, Loggerhead Shrike, and a few other new birds.

- McIntosh Lake, which I had scheduled just for a quick scan, turned out to be clutch with Western Grebe, another Dusky Flycatcher, Redhead, all three teals, and a Least Sandpiper with an impressive number of Spotteds.

- Union Res. was largely a bust with significant heat waves, but some Bank Swallows were cruising around near the S entrance. At this point I had no idea how many birds I had seen nor if it was worth trying bird my last planned stop...

- At Sandstone Ranch I loaded my bike into the car and got to leisurely bird with Mimi. We found three species new for the day: Green-tailed Towhee, Wild Turkey, and Wood Duck.

- I had been sick as a dog on Wednesday night, so I was glad to be feeling great on my bike. The day left me energized, not exhausted!

A few lessons for future biking big days:

- This is awesome. I love being outside all day, no car to hide me from the elements and birdsong. I'll definitely be doing more big days on my bike. Hugely encourage others to try.

- Several factors limited my success: lack of scouting, lack of targets (i.e. I didn't really know if I should stay in a certain place and try to dig out more species), slowing down throughout the day to meet up / bird with Mimi, and often only having one set of eyes and ears.

I must hugely thank Mimi for driving me to the start point and accompanying me throughout much of the day. What a grand day it was.

Oh yeah! A species total: 101.

Chris Rurik

Denver CO

[John Shenot]

Way to go, Chris!

Doug Swartz and I did a Big Day by bike on the 14th as part of the Fort Collins Audubon Society Birdathon. We well understand the challenges you faced (we also had to deal with a tire puncture) and the rewards.

Doug and I purposefully limited ourselves to the Poudre River corridor in order to bring attention to local efforts to get it designated by National Audubon as an Important Bird Area. Our purpose-driven itinerary gave us a good hook for Birdathon fundraising but being in essentially the same habitat all day long limited our species count to 84. We also spent a long time watching a mixed flock of 500-1000 swallows because we decided that was more fun that trying to maximize our species count. But that meant we were there when a Peregrine Falcon came. Watching a Peregrine hunt swallows was just breathtaking!!! Aerial acrobatics at their best.

I echo your recommendation that people give Big Day by Bike a try!

John Shenot

Fort Collins, CO