Colorado Rare Bird Alert, 23 April 2018

[Joyce Takamine]

Compiler:   Joyce Takamine

Date:        April 23, 2018

e-mail:      RBA AT cobirds.org  

This is the Rare Bird Alert for Monday, April 23 sponsored by Denver Field Ornithologists and the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies.

Highlight species include: (* indicates new information on this species)

NOTE:  The RBA is now using the new AOU checklist and the order of families has changed.

Snow Goose (Arapahoe)

Greater White-fronted Goose (Jefferson, Larimer, *Prowers, Rio Grande)

Tundra Swan (*Prowers)

Greater Scaup (Jackson, Jefferson, Montrose)

Red-breasted Mergaser (*Kiowa)

CALIFORNIA QUAIL (Moffat)

Dusky Grouse (Montrose)

Sharp-tailed Grouse (*Weld)

Horned Grebe (Ouray)

White-winged Dove (*El Paso)

Chimney Swift (El Paso)

VAUX’S SWIFT (Pueblo)

Greater Roadrunner (*Kiowa)

Common Poorwill (Denver)

White-throated Swift (Pueblo)

Virginia Rail (Chaffee, Garfield)

Sora (Delta)

Sandhill Crane (Chaffee, Delta)

Black-necked Stilt (*Chaffee, Montrose, *Weld)

Semipalmated Plover (Boulder, La Plata)

Piping Plover (Bent)

Mountain Plover (El Paso, Weld)

Whimbrel (*Kiowa, Weld)

Long-billed Curlew (*Archuleta, Denver, El Paso, *Kiowa, La Plata, *Weld)

Marbled Godwit (*Archuleta, Boulder, Delta, *El Paso, *Kiowa)

Sanderling (*Kiowa)

Baird’s Sandpiper (*El Paso, Prowers, *Weld)

Least Sandpiper (*El Paso, *Kit Carson, Prowers, Weld)

Pectoral Sandpiper (*Larimer)

Semipalmated Sandpiper (Boulder, *El Paso, *Kit Carson)

Western Sandpiper (*Archuleta, Boulder, Mesa, *Weld)

Long-billed Dowitcher (*El Paso)

Spotted Sandpiper (El Paso, Larimer, Weld)

Solitary Sandpiper (Adams, Boulder, Jefferson, *Mesa,  *Weld)

Willet (Denver, Garfield, *Larimer)

Wilson’s Phalarope (Boulder, *El Paso, Garfield, *Kit Carson, La Plata, *Pueblo, *Weld)

Iceland Gull (Kiowa)

Caspian Tern (Arapahoe, Jefferson, Pueblo, *Weld)

Red-throated Loon (*Kiowa)

Neotropic Cormorant (*Kiowa)

American White Pelican (Douglas)

Great Egret (Boulder, Denver, El Paso)

Snowy Egret (Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver, El Paso)

Little Blue Heron (*Kiowa)

Cattle Egret (Arapahoe)

White-faced Ibis (Arapahoe, El Paso, Lake, Montrose, Weld)

Turkey Vulture (Douglas)

Northern Goshawk  (Larimer)

Broad-winged Hawk (*El Paso, Montrose, *Washington)

Rough-legged Hawk (Denver, *Washington, *Weld)

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Denver)

Red-naped Sapsucker (Otero)

Ladder-backed Woodpecker (*El Paso)

Northern Flicker (*Denver)

Gray Flycatcher (*Boulder, *Jefferson, *Kit Carson)

Dusky Flycatcher (Montrose)

Eastern Phoebe (*Boulder, *Chaffee, *El Paso, Jefferson)

Western Kingbird (Jefferson)

Gray Jay (Jefferson)

Chihuahuan Raven (*Kiowa)

Common Raven (*Weld)

Violet-green Swallow (Jefferson, Weld)

Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Moffat)

Cliff Swallow (Moffat)

Mountain Chickadee (Larimer, *Weld)

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Adams, Arapahoe, *El Paso, *Kit Carson, Larimer, *Pueblo)

Eastern Bluebird (*El Paso)

Swainson’s Thrush (Adams)

Hermit Thrush (Denver)

Gray Catbird (Boulder)

Curve-billed Thrasher (El Paso)

Brown Thrasher (*Pueblo)

Sage Thrasher (*Boulder)

Northern Mockingbird (Broomfield, *El Paso, *Pueblo)

American Pipit (Gunnison, Kiowa)

Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Summit)

Chestnut-collared Longspur (*Weld)

McCown’s Longspur (*Weld)

Green-tailed Towhee (Teller)

Chipping Sparrow (Denver, El Paso, Logan, Montezuma)

Brewer’s Sparrow (Jefferson, Weld)

Vesper Sparrow (Weld)

Lark Sparrow (El Paso)

Sagebrush Sparrow (Boulder)

Lark Bunting (Weld)

Fox Sparrow (*Boulder)

Harris’s Sparrow (Arapahoe, *Denver, El Paso)

Yellow-breasted Chat (*Larimer)

Yellow-headed Blackbird (Garfield)

Brown-headed Cowbird (*El Paso, *Kit Carson, Yuma)

Orange-crowned Warbler (Arapahoe, El Paso, Jefferson, *Kit Carson, Pueblo, Summit)

LUCY’S WARBLER (*El Paso)

Nashville Warbler (*El Paso)

Common Yellowthroat (Pueblo)

Yellow Warbler (Adams, Boulder, Denver)

Wilson’s Warbler (*El Paso, *Pueblo)

Western Tanager (Denver, Jefferson)

ADAMS COUNTY:

---On April 21 at Barr Lake SP, Joe Roller reported Swainson’s Thrush; Walter Wehtje reported Solitary Sandpiper and 2 Yellow Warblers.

---On April 21 at East Lakje Shores Park, Adam Vesley reported Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.

ARAPAHOE COUNTY:                                                                  

---On April 20 at Exposition Park, G Stacks reported Cattle Egret.

---On April 19 at Cherry Creek SP, Diane Roberts reported 16 White-faced Ibis from Pelican Point; Bob Righter reported 25 White-faced Ibis on west side of wetlands preserve near observation kiosk.

---On April 21 at Sterne Park in Littleton, Roasanne J reported Snowy Egret.

---On April 21 at Holly Park, Jared Del Rosso reported Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and 2 Orange-crowned Warblers.

---On April 21  at Big Dry Creek Trail between Dry Creek Blvd and Arapahoe Blvd, Mary O’Connor reported 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.

---On April 21 at Centennial Park, Art Hudak and Tom Behnfield, reported Caspian Tern.

---On April 21 at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, Jared Del Rosso reported Harris’s Sparrow.

ARCULETA COUNTY:

---On April 22 at Navajo SP and Reservoir, Charles Matinez and Jean Zirnheld reported Long-billed Curlew, 5 Marbled Godwits, 4 Western Sandpipers

BENT COUNTY:

---On April 21 at John Martin Reservoir, Duane Nelson reported 2 Piping Plovers.  One is best ween at point between east and west boat ramps on N side near dam; the other is on Three-pole Island –visible from State Park Hqrts.

BOULDER COUNTY:

---On April 20 at Boulder Creek and 75th St, Alexander Brown reported Eastern Phoebe and Solitary Sandpiper; Jonathan Montgomery reported Gray Catbird.  On April 21 at Boulder Creek and 75th St, Luke Pheneger, Maikel and Susan Wise, and Steve Frye reported Eastern Phoebe.   On April 22 at Boulder Creek and 75th St, Matt Hofeditz, Mary O’Connor, Jonathan Montgomery, Dan Zmolek, and Leslie S reported Eastern Phoebe; Katie Lehman reported Fox Sparrow; Ernest Crvich reported 2 Eastern Phoebe.

---On April 20 at Golden Ponds Park and NA, David Dowell reported Eastern Phoebe.

---On April 20 at Coors Event Center on CU campus, Nathan Pieplow reported Eastern Phoebe.

---On April 20 at Walden/Sawhill Ponds, Stephen Chang reported 4 Western Sandpipers and Solitary Sandpiper.  On April 21 at Walden Sawhill Ponds, Luke Pheneger, Peter Gent, Ted Floyd and others reported Semipalmated Plover, Marbled Godwit, 3 Semipalmated Sandpipers, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, and Yellow Warbler.

---On April 21 at Lagerman Reservoir, Mark Minner-Lee reported Wilson’s Phalaropes and Sage Thrasher.  On April 22 at Lagerman Reservoir, Luke Pheneger reported Sage Thrasher.

---On April 21 at Boulder Reservoir Complex Mark Minner-Lee reported 12 Marbled Godwits.

---On April 22 at Bear Creek Path, Ted Floyd reported Gray Flycatcher

CHAFFEE COUNTŸ:

---On April 21 on US 285 S of Nathop, Laura Aardwolfe reported Sandhill Crane.

---On April 22 at Mount Shavano Fish Hatchery, Christian Hagenlocher reported Eastern Phoebe.

---On April 22 at Sands Lae SWA, Christian Hagenlocher reported 2 Eastern Phoebe.

---On April 22 at Buena Vista Ice Pond (view from road), Christian Hagnelocher reported Black-necked Stilt.

DELTA COUNTY:

---On April 19 at Sweitzer Lake, Doug Gochfeld and Field Guides Grouse Tour reported Sora.

---On April 20 at Hart’s Basin, Connie Kogler reported Marbled Godwits and 13 Sandhill Cranes.

DENVER COUNTY:

---On April 20 at First Creek at DEN OS, John Breitsch reported Harris’s Sparrow, Hermit Thrush, and Chipping Sparrow.  On April 21 at First Creek at DEN OS, John Breitsch reported Harris’s Sparrow.  On April 22 at First Creek at DEN OS, Anna Troth, Gregg Goodrich, and Cole Sage reported Harris’s Sparrow.

---On April 19 at Denver Botanic Gardens and Cheeseman Park, Rebecca Laroch reported Common Poorwill.

---On April 19 at DIA northeast, Doug Kibbe reported Rough-legged Hawk.

---On April 19 at Marston Reservoir west end Doug Kibbe reported Long-billed Curlew.  On April 21 at Marston Reservoir Complex, Doug Kibbe, Elaine Wagner MacKenzie Goldthwait, and Art Hudak reported Willet.

---On April 21 at Fort Logan Cemetery, Doug Kibbe reported Northern (Yellow-shafter) Flicker.

---On April 21 at Rocky Mountain Lake Park, Matt Gray reported Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and Western Tanager.

---On April 21 at Westerly Creek Park, Jason Bidgood reported Yellow Warbler and 4 Snowy Egrets.

EL PASO COUNTY:

---On April 14 at Sinton Ponds OS, David Tonnessen and Jim Merritt reported  LUCY’S WARBLER.  On April 19 at Sinton Ponds OS, Steve Getty, John Drummond, and Alan Ketcham reported LUCY’S WARBLER.  On April 20 at Sinton Ponds OS, Diana Beatty and Cheri Phillips reported LUCY’S WARBLER; Beatty also reported Orange-crowned Warbler and 3 Chipping Sparrows.  On April 21 at Sinton Pond OS, David Tonnessen and others reported f Nashville Warbler in morning and in afternoon they refound LUCY’S WARBLER and a m Nashville Warbler.  On April 22 at Sinton Pond OS, Brandon Percival and several other birders reported LUCY’S WARBLER; Jim Merritt reported White-winged Dove, Renee Casias reported Nashville Warbler.

---On April 22 at Fountain Creek RP, Brandon Percival and Jim Merritt reported Broad-winged Hawk near Rice’s Pond.

---On April 19 at Hanover Fire Station, Joachim Bertrands reported 3 Curve-billed Thrasher.  On April 21 at Hanover Fire Station, Joy Lake reported Curve-billed Thrasher.

---On April 19 at Red Rock Canyon OS, David Tonnessen reported Chimney Swift.

---On April 20 at Rampart Park in Colorado Springs, John Drummond reported Great Egret and 5 White-faced Ibis.

---On April 20 at Fountain Creek RP, Tanja Britton and Kevin Ash reported Spotted Sandpiper; Britton also reported 2 Snowy Egret.

---On April 21 at Chico Basin Ranch, Joy and Leonard Lake reported Ladder-backed Woodpecker.  On April 22 at Chico  Basin Ranch, wooded areas, Colin Woolley reported pair of Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Northern Mockingbird, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 2 Wilson’s Warblers, 6 Brown-headed Cowbirds.

---On April 22 at Ramah Reservoir SWA, John Drummond and David Tonnessen reported Marbled Godwit, 2 Long-billed Dowitchers, 4 Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpiper, 5 Baird’s Sandpipers, 3 Wilson’s Phalarope, and m Eastern Bluebird.

---On April 22 on Santa Fe Trail, Christine Hubbell reported Eastern Phoebe.

GARFIELD COUNTY:

---On April 19 at Harvey Gap SP and Grass Valley Reservoir, Sondra Lee Walling reported 2 Willet.

---On April 20 at Fravert Reservoir, Doug Gochfeld and Field Guides Grouse Tour reported 3 Virginia Rail, 2 Wilson’s Phalarope, and 4 Yellow-headed Blackbirds.  On April 21 at Fravert Reservoir, Reid Greiner reported 2 Wilson’s Phalaropes.  

GUNNISON COUNTY:

---On April 21 at Blue Mesa Reservoir, Holly Annala reported American Pipit.

JACKSON COUNTY:

---On April 19 at Walden Reservoir, Chuck Hundertmark reported pair of Greater Scaup.

JEFFERSON COUNTY:

---On April 21 at wheat Ridge Greenbelt, Doug Faulkner, Lorraine Lanning, and Gabriel Wiltse reported Western Kingbird and Western Tanager.

---On April 19 at Main Reservoir in Lakewood, Myron Gerhard reported 3 Orange-crowned Warblers; Max Miller reported Orange-crowned Warbler.

---On April 19 at Belmar Park, Norm Lewis reported Greater White-fronted Goose.

---On April 19 at Bear Creek Lake Park, Matt Clark and Susan Bonfiglio reported Solitary Sandpiper.  On April 20 at Bear Creek Lake Park, Myron Gerhard reported Orange-crowned Warbler.

---On April 20 at Mt Evans Wilderness, Black Mountain Drive, Jeff Lemons and Nicole Kieltzow reported Gray Jay.

---On April 20 at Harriman Lake Park, Doug Kibbe and Elaine Wagner reported 4 Greater Scaup.

---On April 20 at Standley Lake Park – North Shore, David Chernack reported Brewer’s Sparrow.

---On April 21 at East Reservoir, Matt Clark reported Caspian Tern.

---On April 22 at Belmar Park, Jesse Casias and Renee Casias reported Gray Flycatcher at NW end of second pond on horse trail.

KIOWA COUNTY:

---On April 22 at Neenoshe Reservoir, Steve Mlodinow and David Ely reported Red-throated Loon, 4 Red-breasted Mergansers, 2 Little Blue Heron, and Greated Roadrunner.

---On April 22 at Upper Queens/Neeskah Reservoir, Steve Mlodinow and David Ely reported 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, Neotropic Cormorant, 5 Whimbrel, Long-billed Curlew, 3 Marbled Godwit, 2 Sanderling, 2 Chihuahuan Raven.

LAKE COUNTY:

---On April 19 at Forebay Reservoir above Twin Lakes, Sally Waterhouse reported 16 White-faced Ibis circling above but never landing.

LA PLATA COUNTY:

---On April 19 at Pastorius Reservoir, Amy Dobbins reported 2 Long-billed Curlew.  On April 21 at Pastrius Reservoir, Jim Beatty and David Dowell reported Semipalmated Plover and 3 Wilson’s Phalaropes.

LARIMER COUNTY:

---On April 20 at Grandview Cemetery, Dave Leatherman reported 5 Mountain Chickadees.

---On April 21 at Dixon Reservoir, Brad Biggerstaff reported 2 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers.

---On April 21 at Timnath Reservoir, Nick Komar reported Greater White-fronted Geese and Spotted Sandpiper.

---On April 22 at Arapahoe Bend NA Rigden Reservoir (Strauss Cabin Lake), Lori Zabel land Jay Breidt reported Pectoral Sandpiper and 2 Willet.

---On April 22 at Horsetooth Mountain OS, Arvid Panjabi reported Yellow-breasted Chat.

MESA COUNTY:

---On April 20 at Ela Wildlife Sanctuary, Nic Korte reported Solitary Sandpiper.  On April 21 at Ela wildlife Sancutary, Katey Buster, Mike Henwood, and Bob Clarke reported Solitary Sandpiper.   On April 22 at Ela Wildlife Sanctuary, Mike Henwood reported 2 Solitary sandpipers.

MOFFAT COUNTY:

---On April 9 Dinosaur National Monument Canyon Area Visitor Center, Kenny Frisch photographed a CALIFORNIA QUAIL a first time in Colorado.  On April 20 at Dinosaur National Monument Canyon Area Visitor Center, Tom Litteral reported CALIFORNIA QUAIL.

MONTROSE COUNTY:

---On April 19 at Nucla Sewer Lagoons, Brenda Wright, Kathy Mihm Dunning, and Coen Dexter reported White-faced Ibis and Black-necked Stilt.

---On April 19 at Black Canyon of Gunnison NP –South Rim Campground, Dough Gochfeld and Field Guides Grouse Tour reported 3 Dusky Grouse, 2 Broad-winged Hawks, and Dusky Flycatcher.

OTERO COUNTY:

---On April 20 at Oxbow SWA, Allan Harris reported Red-naped Sapsucker.

OURAY COUNTY:

---On April 19 at Ridgway Reservoir and SP, Jon Horn and Susan Chandler-Reed reported Horned Grebe.

PROWERS COUNTY:

---On April 20 at Northgate, Jane Stulp reported 3 Greater White-fronted Geese, Tundra Swan, Baird’s Sandpiper, and 18 Least Sandpipers.  On April 22 at Northgate (Arkansas River and US 50), Steve Mlodinow reported 3 Greater White-fronted Geese and Tundra Swan.

PUEBLO COUNTY:

---On April 19 at Pueblo Reservoir over Arkansas River in west part of Osprey Picnic Area, Brandon Percival reported VAUX’S Swift, Caspian Tern, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Wilson’s Warbler.    On April 21 at Pueblo Reservoir Cottonwood and Snakeskin Picnic Areas, Brandon Percival reported Common Yellowthroat.

---On April 21 at Chico Basin Ranch, John Drummond, Jan Albright, and Bill Maynard reported Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Wilson’s Warbler.  On April 22 at Chico Basin Ranch, Brandon Percival reported Wilson’s Warbler, 12 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, 12 Wilson’s Phalarope, and Northern Mockingbird.

---On April 22 at Valco Ponds, Time Leppek reported Brown Thrasher.

SUMMIT COUNTY:

---On April 19 at Arapahoe NF on Montezuma Rd, Pat Lueders reported 3 Chipping Sparrow.

---On April 19 at Wildernest, Lyle Hamilton reported Orange-crowned Warbler.

---On April 19 at Wildernest, Sue Riffe reported 48 Brown-capped Rosy-Finch.

TELLER COUNTY:

---On April 20 at Manitou Lake, Kara Corn reported Green-tailed Towhee.

WASHINGTON COUNTY:

---On April 22 at Hwy 64 between CR 14 and CR 15, Dan Brooke et at reported Rough-legged Hawk.

---On April 22 at Prewitt Reservoir, Dan Brooke et al reported  Broad-winged Hawk.

---On April 22 at Akron Golf Course, Dan Brooke et al reported Broad-winged Hawk.

WELD COUNTY:

---On April 21 at Union Reservoir, Steve Mlodinow reported 3 Brewer’s Sparrows.

---On April 19 on CR 111 1.2 mile N of CR 128, Dan Stringer and Tom Whitten reported 2 Sharp-tailed Grouse.

---On April 19 on CR 100 1.5 miles W of Hwy 390, Dan Stringer and Tom Whitten reported Mountain Plover.

---On April 19 on dirt road heading to Briggsdale, Dan Stringer and Tom Whitten reported McCown’s Longspurs, Lark Sparrow, 3 Vesper Sparrows, and 5 Rough-legged Hawks

---On April 19 at Loloff, Dan Stringer and Tom Whitten reported White-faced Ibis, 4 Black-necked Stilts, 4 Baird’s Sandpipers, 5 Least Sandpipers, and Spotted Sandpiper.

---On April 19 at Lower Latham, Dan Stringer and Tom Whitten reported Black-necked Stilt.

---On April 19 on large pond on west side of road opposite Behrens Reservoir, Dan Stringer and Tom Whitten reported 2 Whimbrel, 10 Black-necked Stilt, and 4 White-faced Ibis.

---On April 20 on CR 114 between CR 45 and CR 47, Joe Mammoser reported 8+ Chestnut-collared Longspurs.

---On April 20 on CR 49 .5 mile S of CR 114, Joe Mammoser reported 3+ Chestnut-collared Longspurs.

---On April 20 in Pawnee NG, Ryan Graves reported Lark Bunting.

---On April 21 at Firestone Gravel Pits (view from road), Bill Kaempfer and Steve Mlodinow reported 2 Caspian Terns.  On April 22 at Firestone Gravel Pits (view from road), Gene Rutherford, Doug Kibbe et al, and Ginny Bergstrom reported 5 Caspian Terns.

---On April 21 at CR 100 W of CR 89, Doug Kibbe, Mackenzie Goldthwait, and Elaine Wagner reported Rough-legged Hawk.

---On April 22 on Hwy 392 SW of intersection of CR 69 and CR 74, Doug Kibbe et al reported Rough-legged Hawk.

---On April 22 on CR 134 E of CR 111, Doug Kibbe et al reported 18 Sharp-tailed Grouse and 2 Chestnut-collared Longspurs.

---On April 22 on CR 115, Doug Kibbe et al reported Sharp-tailed Grouse.

---On April 22 at Eaton Cemetery, Gene Rutherford reported 3 Mountain Chickadee.

---On April 22 on CR 100 east of CR 45, Bill Fink reported Chestnut-collared Longspurs.

---On April 22 3 miles west on Murphy’s Pasture Rd,  Bill Fink reported McCown’s Longspur.

---On April 22 at Loloff Reservoir, Bill Fink reported 4 Black-necked Stilts and Wilson’s Phalarope.

---On April 22 at Beebe Draw, Bill Fink reported Western Sandpiper.

---On April 22 3 miles S of Birggsdale, Bill Fink reported Rough-legged Hawk.

---On April 22 at Pawnee NG, Jacob Cuomo reported Long-billed Curlew, 9 Baird’s Sandpipers, Solitary Sandpiper, Common Raven, and m McCown’s Longspur.

DFO Field Trips: 

The DFO Field Trip for Monday, April 23 will be to Aurora Reservoir and Cherry Creek SP led by David Suddjian (dsuddjian AT gmail.com; 831-713-8659).  This trip is FULL.

Good Birding,

Joyce Takamine

Boulder