Last report of first-of-season Estes Park birds, Larimer Co.

[Jim Nelson]

Just finished our nice spring (with wintry weather) trip to Colorado in the Estes Park area. I am sending this email from home in Maryland reporting a few final, first-of-season birds for the Estes Park area.


On Monday, May 1, we had our first Tree Swallows at Lake Estes (I think others may have seen them a couple of days earlier, but there are no reports in eBird yet for the Estes Park area) and American Wigeon (first in eBird this year, two other folks reported them to eBird the same day). On my Tuesday morning early walk on the west end of Estes Park, I had a Great Blue Heron flying west toward Rocky Mountain National Park (only one other report this year in eBird of a single bird at Lake Estes in mid March) and two pairs of Blue-winged Teal on the small pond by The Other Side restaurant (no reports in eBird for the Estes Park area this season).


It was a great visit with one new Colorado species for me and several new Larimer County species. It was a treat to meet some local birders as well.


Jim Nelson
Bethesda, Maryland