Colorado Rare Bird Alert, 23 January 2017

[Joyce Takamine]

Compiler:  Joyce Takamine

e-mail:    RBA AT cobirds.org

Date:   January 23, 2017

This is the Rare Bird Alert for Monday, January 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 using the new AOU checklist, & the order of families has changed.

BRANT (*Arapahoe)

Trumpeter Swan (*Douglas, Moffat)

Tundra Swan (*Bent, *Boulder, Larimer, *Delta)

White-winged Scoter (Arapahoe)

Long-tailed Duck (Douglas,  Larimer)

Barrow's Goldeneye (*Adams, Delta)

Red-necked Grebe (Boulder)

Greater Roadrunner (*Otero)

Dunlin (*Pueblo)

American Woodcock (Larimer)

Spotted Sandpiper (Arapahoe)

Greater Yellowlegs (*Bent)

Bonaparte's Gull (Douglas)

Mew Gull (Arapahoe)

Thayer's Gull (*Arapahoe, *Bent)

ICELAND GULL (*Arapahoe)

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Adams, *Arapahoe, *Pueblo)

GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL ((Araphaoe)

Glaucous Gull (*Arapahoe)

Great Black-backed Gull (*Arapahoe, *Pueblo)

Double-crested Cormorant (*Adams, *Arapahoe, Douglas, *Pueblo)

American White Pelican (Larimer)

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Prowers)

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Prowers)

Ladder-backed Woodpecker (*Otero)

American Three-toed Woodpecker (Park)

Chihuahuan Raven (*Otero)

PACIFIC WREN (La Plata)

Winter Wren (Weld)

Bewick's Wren (*Otero)

Carolina Wren (Prowers)

Curve-billed Thrasher (*Pueblo, *Weld)

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Park,  Pitkin, Teller)

Black Rosy-Finch (Park, Pitkin, Teller)

Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Park, Pitkin, Teller)

Lapland Longspur (Elbert, Kit Carson, Logan)

Rufous-crowned Sparrow (*Otero)

Lincoln's Sparrow (Boulder, *Otero)

Northern Cardinal (*Otero, Prowers)

Yellow-headed Blackbird (Larimer)

Rusty Blackbird (Huerfano, Weld)

Great-tailed Grackle (Larimer)

Brown-headed Cowbird (*Bent, Larimer, *Otero)

*****For directions to unfamiliar locations (e.g. "Lower Latham"), please refer to CFO's Colorado County Birding site:  www.coloradocountybirding.org

ADAMS COUNTY:

---On January 11 on South Platte River, 88th Ave area, Rebecca Laroche reported 2 Barrow's Goldeneyes and 2 Double-crested Cormorants.  On January 14, Chuck Hundertmark reported Double-crested Cormorant at 88th Ave and South Platte River.  On January 17 on South Platte River, 88th Ave area, Matt Hofeditz reported 3 Barrow's Goldeneyes.

---On January 22 on South Platte River, 78th Ave area, Bill Kaempfer reported 3  Barrow's Goldeneyes and 6 Double-crested Cormorants.

ARAPAHOE COUNTY:

---On January 17 at Aurora Reservoir, Loch Kilpatrick and Chuck Hundertmark reported Black BRANT, White-winged Scoter, 3 Thayer's Gulls, 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Glaucous Gull and ad Great Black-backed Gull.   On January 18 at Aurora Reservoir, Sue Riffe, Karen Drozda and Rebecca Laroche reported BRANT, 2 White-winged Scoters, 3 Thayer's Gulls, 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and Glaucous Gull.  On January 19 at Aurora Reservoir, Norm Lewis and Mark Minner-Lee reported BRANT, White-winged Scoter, Mew Gull, 3 Thayer's Gulls, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, and Glaucous Gull.  On January 21 at Aurora Reservoir, Glenn Walbek reported 6 Thayer's Gulls (3 ad, 3 1-st cyc),  12 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (5 ad, 1 4th-cyc, 2 2nd-cyc, 4 1-st cyc), 1-st cyc GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, Glaucous Gull, and 1-st cyc Great Black-backed Gull.  On January 21 at Aurora Reservoir, Dale Adams, Glenn Walbek, and Dean Shoup reported BRANT, White-winged Scoter, Double-crested Cormorant, Mew Gull, 11 Thayer's Gulls, 2 ICELAND GULLS (1 ad, 1 1st-cyc), 14 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 2 GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS (2 1-st cyc), 1 Glaucous Gull, and 2 Great Black-backed Gulls (1 ad, 1 1-st cyc).   On January 22 at Aurora Reservoir, Matt Clark, Amy Davis, Frankie Toan, and Luke Pheneger reported BRANT, 7 Thayer's Gulls, 2 ICELAND GULLS, 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL, 2 Glaucous Gulls, and 2 Great Black-backed Gulls.

---On January 15 on South Platte River between Belview and Union, Ted Uhlemann reported Spotted Sandpiper.

---On January 22 on South Platte River Northern Wildlife Area to W Bowles, Brian Johnson reported Double-crested Cormorant.

BENT COUNTY:

---On January 22 at John Martin Reservoir, Steve Mlodinow reported Tundra Swan, Thayer's Gull, and 4 Brown-headed Cowbirds.

---On January 22 at Lake Hasty, Steve Mlodinow reported 6 Greater Yellowlegs.

BOULDER COUNTY:

---On January 12 at Valmont Overlook, Sue Riffe reported Red-necked Grebe.  On January 13 at Valmont Overlook, Norm Lewis reported Red-necked Grebe.  On January 18 at Valmont Overlook, Jim Nachel reported Red-necked Grebe.

---On January 21, Minday Musick King reported 3 Tundra Swans at Cottonwood Marsh.  On January 22, Chuck Hundertmark reported 3 Tundra Swans at Cottonwood Marsh/Walden Ponds.

---On January 19 at Oligarchy Ditch Greenway, Bryan Guarente reported Lincoln's Sparrow.

DELTA COUNTY:

---On January 18 at Confluence Park in Delta, Jason Beason reported 1 m Barrow's Goldeneye.

---On January 21 at G50 Road, Jon Horn reported 6 Tundra Swans.  On January 22, at G50 Road, Carol Ortenzio reported 6 Tundra Swans.

DOUGLAS COUNTY:

---On December 27, Jeff Beavers reported Trumpeter Swan at Chatfield.  The Swan can be seen by going upstream from Kingfisher Bridge to Pond 5 or from High Line Canal Trail accessed from Titan Road.  On January 18, Matt Newport reported Trumpeter Swan and imm Bonaparte's Gull from High Line Canal Trail and Titan Road.  On January 19, Aaron Tucker reported Trumpeter Swan from High Line Canal Trail and Titan Road.  On January 22, Chuck Hundertmark reported Trumpeter Swan from Upstream from Kingfisher Bridge and Karen Drozda and Bea Weaver reported Trumpeter Swan from High Line Canal Trail and Titan Road.

---On January 15 at Rueter-Hess Reservoir (restricted access), Tim Ryan reported Long-tailed Duck.  On January 19 at Rueter-Hess Reservoir (restricted access), Tim Ryan and  Diane Roberts reported Long-tailed Duck.  On January 21 at Rueter-Hess Reservoir (restricted access), Tim Ryan reported Double-crested Cormorant.

ELBERT COUNTY:

---On January 17 in eastern Elbert County, south of Hwy 24, David Suddjian reported Lapland Longspurs.

KIT CARSON COUNTY:

---On January 17 on CR G between CR 9 and CR 7 (imaginary), Mark Peterson reported over a million Lapland Longspurs.

LA PLATA COUNTY:

---On January 19, Ryan Votta and Jason St Pierre reported PACIFIC WREN on Animas River Trail/ Huck Finn Pond and Hatchery Area.

LARIMER COUNTY:

---On January 8, David Wade and Cole Wild reported 2 American Woodcocks at Bobcat Ridge Natural Area in the creek between the parking lot and the road.   On January 16, Georgia Doyle reported American Woodcock at Bobcat Ridge Natural Area.  On January 18, David Blue reported American Woodcock at Bobcat Ridge Natural Area.

---On January 11 at a Feedlot at corner of CR 9 and CR 30, in Loveland, Georgia Doyle and David Wade reported 2 Yellow-headed Blackbird and 3 Brown-headed Cowbird.  On January 13 at Feedloot at corner of CR 9 and CR 30, Jim Nachel reported Yellow-headed Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, and 31 Great-tailed Grackles.  On January 14 at Boyd Lake Dairy, Gene Rutherford and Nick Komar reported Yellow-headed Blackbird, pair of Brown-headed Cowbirds and numerous Great-tailed Grackles.  On January 15 at Boyd Lake Dairy, Austin Hess reported Brown-headed Cowbird and 50 Great-tailed Grackles.

---On January 14 at Rawhide Energy Station/Hamilton Reservoir, Gene Rutherford reported American White Pelican and 2 Tundra Swans.  On January 15 at Rawhide Energy Station/Hamilton Reservoir, Nick Komar, Georgia Doyle, and David Wade reported 2 Tundra Swans and American White Pelican.  On January 19 at Rawhide Energy Station, Bryan Morrow reported 2 Tundra Swans.

MOFFAT COUNTY:

---On January 17 at Brown's Park NWR on the Auto Tour Route to Swinging Bridge, Tresa Moulton reported 13 Trumpeter Swans on the Green River downstream of Swinging Bridge.

OTERO COUNTY:

---On January 22 at Rocky Ford SWA/Ryan's Pond, Steve Mlodinow reported Lincoln's Sparrow, 2 Northern Cardinals, Bewick's Wren.

---On January 22 at Higbee Valley Road, Steve Mlodinow reported 4 Greater Roadrunners, 4 Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, 11 Chihuahuan Ravens, and Rufous-crowned Sparrow.

---On January 22 at a Feedlot south of La Junta on CO 109, Kathy Mihm Dunning reported 2 Chihuahuan Ravens and 500 Brown-headed Cowbirds.

PARK COUNTY:

---On January 17, David Suddjian reported 

    In Jefferson Gray-crowned and Brown-capped Rosy-Finches;

    In Fairplay all three species of Rosy-Finches;

    On Elkhorn Road near Goshawk Road, Gray-crowned and Brown-capped Rosy-Finches;

    On Silverheels Road an American Three-toed Woodpecker.

PROWERS COUNTY:

---On January 18 at Lamar Community College Woods, Dave Leatherman reported Carolina Wren, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and 4 Northern Cardinals.

---On January 18 at Willow Valley Subdivision E of Willow Creek Park, Dave Leatherman reported 2 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.

PUEBLO COUNTY:

---On January 22 at South Marina of Pueblo Reservoir, Brandon Percival, Glenn Walbek, Loch Kilpatrick, Chery Teuton, and Dan Brooks reported 3 Double-crested Cormorants, Dunliun, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, and Curve-billed Thrasher.

TELLER COUNTY:

---On January 20 in Victor, David Chartier reported all 3 species of Rosy-Finches.

WELD COUNTY:

---On January 14, at CR 4 where it crosses Box Elder Creek, Kara Carragher reported 3 m Rusty Blackbirds.  On January 15, David Blue reported 3 Rusty Blackbirds on CR 4 where it crosses Box Elder Creek and Art Hudak reported 4 Rusty Blackbirds.  On January 21, Gene Rutherford reported Rusty Blackbird on CR 4 where it crosses Box Elder Creek.

---On January 10 at Frederick Reservoir and Recreation Area, Steve Mlodinow reported Winter Wren.  On January 12 at Frederick Reservoir and Recreation Area, Sue Riffe reported Winter Wren.  On January 14, at Frederick Reservoir and Recreation Area, Gene Rutherford reported Winter Wren.

---On January 22 at CR 116 and CR 133, Mike Stanley and Gene Rutherford reported 3 Curve-billed Thrashers.

Denver Field Ornithologists Field Trips: 

Sign up on line for field trips at DFO’s Website. 

The DFO Field Trip for Tuesday, January 24 will be to South Platte Park led by David Suddjian (dsuddjian AT gmail.com; 831-713-8659).  Meet at 0745 at the south end of South Platte Park near C-470.  From C-4700 take the Platte Canyon Rd/South Platte Park exit.  From Platte Canyon Rd at Depew St, turn southeast onto the entrance road for South Platte Park.  Continue past a 90 degree left turn and the first parking lot, and meet in the second parking lot.  

     Will begin scoping South Platte Reservoir with a chance for interesting waterbirds, then explore the river corridor of the southern area of South Platte Park, and pro balby walk south of C470 into the area of Chatfield below the dam, and visit other spots nearby.  Be ready to walk on snowy paths for 1+ mile.  Dress for the weather.  Bring snacks and drinks.  Register online or contact leader.

The DFO Field Trip for Saturday, January 28 will be Northeastern Raptor Tour led by Chuck Hundertmark (chundertmark8 AT gmail.com; 303-604-0531)  This trip is full.

The DFO Field Trip for Sunday, January 29 will be to Red Rocks Park led by George Mayfield and Karen Drozda (georgemayfield AT gmail.com; 720-289-9395).  This trip is full.

Good birding,

Joyce Takamine

Boulder