Colorado Rare Bird Alert, 14 December 2017

[Joyce Takamine]

Compiler:   Joyce Takamine

e-mail:    RBA AT cobirds.org

Date:      December 14, 2017

This is the Rare Bird Alert for Thursday,  December 14 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.

Greater White-fronted Goose (Bent, Denver, *Montezuma, Weld)

BRANT (Douglas)

Trumpeter Swan (*Adams, *Boulder, Larimer, Montrose, Routt)

Tundra Swan (Adams, Boulder, Park, Weld)

Greater Scaup (Delta)

Surf Scoter (Ouray, Routt)

White-winged Scoter (Routt)

Long-tailed Duck (Weld)

Barrow’s Goldeneye (Larimer, Pueblo, Summit, Weld) 

Hooded Merganser (*Pitkin, Summit)

Sharp-tailed Grouse (Weld)

Red-necked Grebe (*Arapahoe)

Sora (Arapahoe)

Sandhill Crane (*Delta, *Montezuma, Ouray)

Spotted Sandpiper (*Douglas)

Black-legged Kittiwake (Sedgwick)

Mew Gull (Pueblo)

Iceland Gull (Kiowa, Weld) 

Glaucous Gull (Bent, Weld)

Great Black-backed Gull (Pueblo, Weld)

Pacific Loon (*Arapahoe, Boulder, Weld)

Double-crested Cormorant (Delta)

American White Pelican (*Arapahoe, Otero)

Great Egret (Delta)

HARRIS’S HAWK (*Larimer)

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Arapahoe)

Hammond’s Flycatcher (Boulder)

Steller’s Jay (Mesa)

Chichuahuan Raven (*El Paso)

Pygmy Nuthatch (*Arapahoe, Morgan, Phillips)

Carolina Wren (Pueblo)

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Arapahoe, Boulder, Mesa, *Pueblo)

Hermit Thrush (Mesa)

Gray Catbird (El Paso, Weld)

Curve-billed Thrasher (El Paso)

Brown Thrasher (Boulder)

Northern Mockingbird (Weld)

American Pipit (Archuleta, Mesa, Pueblo)

Gray-crowned Rosy- Finch (*Garfield, Weld)

Black Rosy-Finch (*Garfield)

Common Redpoll (Arapahoe, Weld)

Red Crossbill (El Paso, Weld)

European Goldfinch (Boulder)

Lapland Longspur (Weld)

Lincoln’s Sparrow (Jefferson, Otero, Pueblo)

Swamp Sparrow (Boulder, Weld)

White-throated Sparrow (Otero)

Harris’s Sparrow (Adams, *Arapahoe, Denver, Larimer)

Yellow-headed Blackbird (*Weld)

Rusty Blackbird (Weld)

Black-and-white Warbler (*Larimer)

Yellow Warbler (Mesa)

Chestnut-sided Warbler (*Pueblo)

Prairie Warbler (*Pueblo)

Northern Cardinal (Logan, Otero)

ADAMS COUNTY:

---On December 9 at Barr Lake North end, Ira Sanders reported 3 Tundra Swans (2 ad, 1 juv).

---On December 9 at Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR Lower Derby Lake, Bruce Snyder reported Trumpeter Swan.  On December 10 at Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR Lower Derby Lake, Eric DeFonso and many other birders reported Trumpeter Swan at Lower Derby Lake.  On December 11 at Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR Lower Derby Lake, John Breitsch, g Stacks, Frank Farrell, and Eric DeFonso reported Trumpeter Swan.  On December 12 at Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR Lower Derby Lake, Candice Johnson, Larry Versaw, and G Stacks reported Trumpeter Swan.  On December 13 at Rocky Mountain Arsenal Lower Derby Lake, G Stacks, Jill Holden, and Brian Johnson  reported Trumpeter Swan.   

---On December 11 at First Creek at Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR, Myron Gerhard reported juv Harris’s Sparrow.

ADAMS/DENVER COUNTIES:

---On December 9 at First Creek, the DFO Field trip led by John Breitsch reported Harris’s Sparrow which crossed the county line between

Denver and Adams county.  

ARAPAHOE COUNTY:

---On December 8 at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, Jared Del Rosso reported Harris’s Sparrow.  On December 13 at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, Jared Del Rosso reported Harris’s Sparrow.

---On December 8 at Cherry Creek SP 12 Mile Trail, Christy Payne reported 2 Sora and 2 Common Redpoll.

---On December 8 at  Big Dry Creek Trail between Dry Creek and Arapahoe Blvd, Mary O’Connor reported Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and 2 Pygmy Nuthatch.  On December 10 at Big Dry Creek trail from Dry between Dry Creek and Arapahoe Blvd, Jared Del Rosso reported Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and 4 Pygmy Nuthatch.  On December 11 at Big Dry Creek Trail from E Dry Creek Rd to E Arapahoe Rd, Cynthia Madsen reported 4 Pygmy Nuthatch.  On December 13 at Big Dry Creek Trail from E Dry Creek Rd to E Arapahoe Rd, Jared Del Rosso reported 4 Pygmy Nuthatch.

---On December 9 at Cherry Creek SP near marina, Chris Goulart reported Red-necked Grebe.  On December 10 at Cherry Creek SP, Rebecca Laroche and Diane Roberts reported Red-necked Grebe.  On December 11 at Cherry Creek SP Marina and nearby dam, Monday Birders and Candice Johnson reported Red-necked Grebe; Monday birders also reported 21 American White Pelicans.  On December 12 at Cherry Creek SP, Cheri Phillips reported Red-necked Grebe and 24 American White Pelicans.  On December 13 at Cherry Creek SP David Hill, Cynthia Madsen, and Pablo Quesada reported Red-necked Grebe and Bob Righter reported Pacific Loon in NW section.

---On December 10 at Cherry Creek SP, Kathy Mihm Dunning reported Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.

ARCHULETA COUNTY:

---On December 7 at Navajo SP, Jim Beatty reported 22 American Pipits on shore at Windsurf Beach.

BENT COUNTY:

---On December 11 at Verhoeff Reservoir (private), view from Hwy, Jane Stulp and Janeal Thompson reported Glaucous Gull and 3 Greater White-fronted Geese.

BOULDER COUNTY:

---On December 2 at Twin Lakes, Peter Gent reported Hammond’s Flycatcher.  On December 9 at Twin Lakes, Leslie S reported Hammond’s Flycatcher.

---On December 2 at Boulder Creek at 75th St, Steve Frye and his field trip reported Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Swamp Sparrow and European Goldfinch.  The

Goldfinch was just west of the parking lot;  later in the day Chris Gilbert was about to relocated the goldfinch across Boulder Creek.  On December 3 at Boulder Creek and 75th St. Willem van Vliet reported European Goldfinch.   On December 8 at Boulder Creek, John Vanderpoel reported Eurpean Goldfinch, it was at a feeder at a private residence, north of Boulder Creek and west of 75th St.

---On December 7 in Nederland, David Hyde reported Brown Thrasher.  If you want to see the thrasher, the address is 517 W 1st St. Knock on door.  On December 8 in Nederland on 1st St, John Vanderpoel and Peter Gent reported  Brown Thrasher.

---On December 10 at Valmont Reservoir Complex, Bill Kaempfer reported Tundra Swan and Pacific Loon.

---On December 12 at Boulder Reservoir Complex, David Waltman and Thomas Heinrich reported Trumpeter Swan.  On December 13 at Boulder Reservoir, Christian Nunes reported juv Trumpeter Swan.

DELTA COUNTY:

---On December 9 at Confluence Park, Richard Harner reported Great Egret and Double-crested Cormorant.  On December 10 at Confluence Park, Betty Fenton reported  Double-crested Cormorant.

---On December 12 at Seitzer Lake, Andrea Robinsong reported Greater Scaup.

---On December 12 along G50 Road west of Delta, Mike Henwood reported that the GVAS field trip saw about 2000 Sandhill Cranes.

DENVER COUNTY:

---On December 10 at Denver City Park, Patrick O’Driscoll reported 2 Greater White-fronted Geese on Duck Lake.

DOUGLAS COUNTY:

---On December 3 at Parker Regional Park (aka Salisbury Equestrian Park), Rebecca Laroche reported BRANT.  On December 7 at Parker Regional Park (aka Salisbury Equestrian Park), Chris Gilbert reported Dark-bellied BRANT.  On December 11 at Parker Regional Park (aka Salisbury Equestrian Park),  Monday Birders reported BRANT.

---On December 13 at Chatfield SP Marina Sandspit, Dale Pate reported 2 Spotted Sandpipers.

EL PASO COUNTY:

---On December 10 at Mountain Shadows Park in Colorado Springs, Chris Selvig reported 11 Red Crossbills.

---On December 11 at Fountain Creek RP Nature Center/Cattail Marsh area, Alan Versaw reported Gray Catbird.

---On December 11 at Birdsall Road, Alan Versaw reported 2 Curve-billed Thrashers.

---On December 11 at Midway Landfill, Alan Versaw reported 2 Chihuahuan Ravens.

GARFIELD COUNTY:

---On December 13 on road cut on Hwy 6 2.0 miles W of I-70 West Rifle Exit (87),  Art Dahl reported 40 – 50 Rosy-Finches.  About 10 were

Black and the rest interior Gray-crowned.

LARIMER COUNTY:

---On December 3 at CSU Environmental Learning Center, John Shenot , Sara and Brandon Nooner reported Black-and-white Warbler.  On December 4 at CSU Environmental Learning Center, Lori Zabel reported Black-and-white Warbler.  On December 10 at CSU Environmental Learning Center, Austin Hess reported Black-and-white Warbler.  On December 13 at Environmental Learning Center, Lori Zabel reported Black-and-white Warbler.  

---On December 9 at Rawhide Reservoir, Walter Wehtje and Nick Komar reported 3 ad Trumpeter Swans.

---On December 10 at Running Deer NA in Fort Collins, David Wade and Nick Komar and many other birders reported HARRIS’S HAWK.  On December 11 at Running Deer parking lot on S side of E Prospect, Peter Gent and John Vanderpoel refound HARRIS’S HAWK around 1300.

---On December 10 at Box Elder Creek at SW Frontage Road, Fort Collins, Nick Komar reported HARRIS’S HAWK.

---On December 11 Lori Zabel reported HARRIS’S HAWK flying E to W along N side of Poudre River opposite Bike Path at CSU ELC about 1630.

---On December 11 at Arapahoe Bend NA Rigden Reservoir, Autin Hess reported ad m Barrow’s Goldeneye.

---On December 12 the HARRIS’S HAWK was first reported by Rebert Beauchamp at Riverbend Ponds off Prospect Road.  The HARRIS’S HAWK

was seen by many birders at Running Deer NA, rest stop at I-25 and Prospect, and various places between Riverbend Ponds and Running Deer.

MESA COUNTY:

---On December 9 at 21 Road and Canal Crossing, Ronda Woodward reported Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and 200 American Pipits.

---On December 9 at Colorado River Trail Audubon Section, Katey Buster reported Hermit Thrush.

MONTEZUMA COUNTY:

---On December 5 at Totten Reservoir, Erick Hendrickson reported 4 Sandhill Cranes.  On December 13 at Totten Reservoir, Jim Beatty reported Sandhill Crane.

---On December 13 at Centennial Park/Parque di Vida, Jim Beatty reported 4 Greater White-fronted Geese.

MONTROSE COUNTY:

---On December 9 at Chipeta Lake SWA, Bill Harris and Jon Horn reported Trumpeter Swan.

OTERO COUNTY:

---On November 30 at Rocky Ford SWA, David Dowell reported pair of Wood Ducks, Lapland Longspur, 4 Common Redpoll, and Northern Cardinal.

---On December 7 at Holbrook Reservoir, Van Truan reported 7 American White Pelican on North Portion of Reservoir.

OURAY COUNTY:

---On December 6 at Ridgway Reservoir Dallas Creek, Betty Fenton reported Surf Scoter.  On December 7 at Ridgway Reservoir Dallas Creek at inlet, Vic Zerbi reported Surf Scoter and 5 Sandhill Cranes.  On December 9 at Ridgway SP Dallas Creek Entrance, Bruce Ackerman reported Surf Scoter.

PARK COUNTY:

---On December 11 at Eleven-mile Reservoir, Aaron Driscoll reported 12 Tundra Swans.

PITKIN COUNTY:

---On December 11 and 12 at Aspen Center for Environmental Studies, Catherine Hagen reported f Hooded Merganser.

PUEBLO COUNTY:

---On December 3 at Pueblo Reservoir South Shore Marina, David Tonnessen, Alan, and Mary Lynne Ketcham reported Great Black-backed Gull.  On December 9 at Pueblo Reservoir, David Tonnessen reported Great Black-backed Gull.  On December 10 at Pueblo Reservoir, Roger Massey, Joel and Dale Adams reported Great Black-backed Gull.  On December 11 at Pueblo Reservoir South Shore Marina, Jim Merrit and Alan Ketcham reported Great Black-backed Gull.

---On November 25 at Arkansas River Trail Reservoir Road to train bridge, Paul Hurtado reported 2 Barrow’s Goldeneyes and Chestnut-sided Warbler; Van Truan reported on trail east of Pueblo Blvd, 2 Barrow’s Goldeneyes, Carolina Wren, and Chestnut-sided Warbler; Steve Mlodinow reported Chestnut-sided Warbler.  On November 27 on Arkansas River Trail east of Pueblo Blvd, Monday Birders reported Carolina Wren.    On December 3 on Arkansas River Trail east of Pueblo Blvd, David Tonnessen reported Carolina Wren and Chestnut-sided Warbler.   On December 9 on Arkansas River Trail, John Drummond and Jane Stulp reported Chestnut-sided Warbler; Stulp also reported 2 Barrow’s Goldeneyes.  On December 10 on Arkansas River Trail east of Pueblo Blvd, Joel and dale Adams reported Carolina Wren and Chestnut-sided Warbler.  On December 13 on Arkansas River Trail east of Pueblo Blvd, Aaron Yappert reported Chestnut-sided Warbler.

---On December 5 at Pueblo Reservoir below the dam, Brandon Percival and Leon Bright reported Prairie Warbler.  On December 9 at Pueblo Reservoir below the dame, David Tonnesse and John Drummond reported Prairie Warbler; Tonnessen also reported 16 American Pipit, and 9 Lincoln’s Sparrows.

---On December 5 at Pueblo Reservoir below the dam, John Drummond reported ad Mew Gull.  On December 10 at Pueblo Reservoir, Chris Gilbert, Joel and Dale Adams reported Prairie Warbler.  On December 11 at Pueblo Reservoir, Alan Ketchum reported Prairie Warbler and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.  On December 13 at Pueblo Reservoir, Gwen Moore and Aaron Yappert reported Prairie Warbler and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.

---On December 9 at Pueblo City Park, Christy Payne reported Carolina Wren and Chestnut-sided Warbler.

ROUTT COUNTY:

---On December 7 at Stagecoach Reservoir, Coen Dexter and Brenda Wright reported Trumpeter Swan, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, and 30 Barrow’s Goldeneyes.

SEDGWICK COUNTY:

---On December 9 at Jumbo Reservoir, Bill Kaempfer reported juv Black-legged Kittiwake.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

SUMMIT COUNTY:

---On December 10 at Silverthorne WTP, Ryan and Jack Bushong reported 27 Barrow’s Goldeneyes and Hooded Merganser.

WELD COUNTY:

---On November 28 at Black Hollow Reservoir, Steve Mlodinow reported 2 Iceland (Thayer’s) Gulls, Iceland (Kumlieni) Gull, Greater Black-backed Gull.  On December 3 at Black Hollow Reservoir, Gene Rutherford reported Greater Black-backed Gull and Iceland (Thayer’s) Gull.

---On November 28 at Poudre Ponds on 35th Ave in Greeley, Aaron Yappert reported Red Fox Sparrow.  On December 2 at Poudre Ponds on 35th Ave in Greeley, Gene Rutherford reported Red Fox Sparrow.  On December 6 on Poudre River Trail approx. 80-90 yards east of 35th Ave bridge, Joe Mammoser reported Red Fox Sparrow.  It was foraging around base of some small trees in river bed below paved trail.

---On December 2 at Frank SWA, Steve Mlodinow reported 2 Rusty Blackbirds.

---On December 2 at Pawnee NG Glover, Tracy Pheneger reported Sharp-tailed Grouse, 85 Lapland Longspurs and Snow Bunting.

---On December 3 at CR 111 between CR 124 and CR 128 near Grover, Gene Rutherford reported 5 Sharp-tailed Grouse.

---On December 3 on CR 107 between CR 112 and CR 118 near Grover, Gene Rutherford reported 2 Sharp-tailed Grouse.

---On December 3 at Pawnee NG at CR 136 and CR 105, Joey Kellner and Kathy Mihm Dunning reported 16 Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches on power lines and 1 Gray-crowned (Helpburn’s) Rosy-Finch.

---On December 5 at Horse Creek Reservoir, Steve Mlodinow reported 6 ad Tundra Swans and 2 Lapland Longspur.

---On December 5 at Prospect Reservoir, Steve Mlodinow reported 2 Iceland (Thayer’s) Gulls, Glaucous Gull, and Gray Catbird.  On December 9 at Prospect Reservoir, Steve Mlodinow reported 7 Greater White-fronted Geese, 2 Iceland (Thayer’s) Gull,  Lapland Longspur, and Swamp Sparrow.

---On December 5 at Union Reservoir, Steve Mlodinow reported Pacific Loon.

---On December 9 at Linn Grove Cemetery, Steve Mlodinow reported 2 Red Crossbill.

---On December 9 at Drake Lake, Steve Mlodinow reported 4 Iceland (Thayer’s) Gulls all juv and 1 Iceland (Iceland) Gull.

---On December 10 at Crow Valley, Robert  Beauchamp reported Northern Mockingbird and 12 Common Redpolls.

---On December 10 at Union Reservoir, Steve Mlodinow reported Tundra Swan.

---On December 11 at Lower Lathan Reservoir, Norm Lewis reported Yellow-headed Blackbird.

---On December 11 at Windsor Lake, Gary Lefko and Josh Bruening reported Long-tailed Duck; Bruening also reported f Barrow’s Goldeneye.  On December 12 at Windsor Lake, Steve Mlodinow, Gene Rutherford, Ryan Graves, Gwen Moore and  Brandon Nooner reported Long-tailed Duck; Ryan Graves also reported 2 Barrow’s Goldeneyes.

---On December 12 at a private pond on Hwy 257 S of CR 78, Adam Johnson reported Yellow-headed Blackbird.

DFO Field Trip:

No Field Trips scheduled until Jan 1.  Help with a Christmas Count.

Good Birding,

Joyce Takamine

Boulder