CO-birders:
For May 11th, Sat. - mostly shrub-land areas along riparian corridors in Boulder Mountain Park. All sightings are within Boulder County.
Birds of special interest in CAPS
Key:
G = Gregory Canyon and feeder trails + lower Flagstaff Mt. Trail
SK = Skunk Creek and feeder trails
BC = Bear Creek and Bear Canyon trails
SAW = Sawhills \ Walden Ponds
LOU = Louisville
Birds of note:
Cooper's hawk - 4 - G, SK
Turkey vulture - 6 - G
Red tailed hawk - 1 - SK
Great horned owl - 1 - BC - great horned owl nest site in Bear Canyon, previous site was a traditional prairie falcon nest site; 1 immature in nest site
Broad tailed hummingbird - 40+ - G, SK, BC - all males, flight displays, chases
Say's phoebe - 1- BC
Plumbeous vireo - 1 - BC
Scrub jay - 1 - SK - lower skunk creek, traditional area to see scrub jays year round
Bushtit - 30+ - G, SK, BC - bushtits have become common throughout Boulder County year round
House wren - 15 - G, SK, BC - not in numbers as high as last year; anyone else notice this?
Bluegray gnatcatcher - 16 - G, SK, BC - high concentrations at skunk creek
Gray catbird - 1 - SK
Orange crowned warbler - 6 - G, SK, BC - almost always associated with blooming wild plum. Wild plum is already past peak bloom in most areas
Virginia's warbler - 4 - G, SK, BC
Audubon's warbler - 3 - SK, BC
MacGillivray's warbler - 7 - G, SK, BC - all males
Yellow warbler - 3 - SAW
OVENBIRD - 1 - BC - male singing; traditional area up Bear Creek where the trail crosses over Bear Creek and heads uphill; mixed evergreen and shrub habitat; although not uncommon, its interesting to note
certain sections along the Mesa Trail have singing ovenbirds from mid-May through the 1st week in August.
Yellow breasted chat - 8 - G, SK, BC
Spotted towhee - 55+ - G, SK, BC - all males; singing, chases, fights
Green tailed towhee - 1 - SK
Chipping sparrow - 100+ - LOU - migratory flocks
Vesper sparrow - 10 - SK, LOU - mostly Louisville
Lazuli bunting - 6 - SK, BC
Bullock's oriole - 4 - G, SK - all males
Red crossbill - 15 - BC
Black headed grosbeak - 8 - G, SK, BC
Other notes:
Willet - 14 - in Louisville, flyover, Thursday evening
Snowy egret - 1 - Louisville - 1st time I've seen one in Louisville - Warembourg Pond
White faced ibis - 25 - Sawhills, flyover
Sora - 1 - Sawhills - calling
The funniest thing I saw today was a house wren attacking a MacGillivray's warbler. Or maybe not so funny for the warbler.
For Boulder data counts: visuals on mule deer, raccoon, coyote, fox squirrel, pine squirrel, chipmunk ssp, black tailed prairie dog, eastern cottontail, bullsnake
Wildflower bloom seems slow and stunted this year, probably due to the weather, which is limiting the insects, which is limiting the birds (?). A guess. I'm seeing less neo-tropicals this year compared to last year at the same time.
Cheers, John Tumasonis (aka: John T), Louisville CO
Wanna go for a hike? Contact me through Cobirds.