New arrivals at Waneka Lake, Boulder County

[Ted Floyd]

Hello, Birders.

I checked out the gulls at Waneka Lake, Boulder County, around 9am this brisk morning, Wednesday, February, 12th. The adult Lesser Black-backed and Thayer's gulls, first detected two weeks ago and seen as recently as a few days ago, were nowhere to be seen. But there were some new ones in the flock, including a beautiful adult California and a grody second-year California. Also of interest were two hot-pink Ring-billed Gulls. The story of these pink Ringers is quite interesting; read the article in Birding, October 2003, pp. 498-504. A small, dainty, small-billed, low-contrast, somewhat dusky, first-year thing seemed to me a good candidate for Mew Gull, but I wasn't sure. And some handsome adult Lesser Scaup, FOS for me, have found their way to the Waneka Lake polynya. Oh, and the flickers are singing up a storm.

Yesterday morning, Tuesday, February 11th, I saw a beautiful adult male "Prairie" Merlin flying back and forth across the Boulder-Broomfield county line near Stearns Lake. Visible from Boulder County were two Bald Eagles at a nest just over the line in Broomfield; I hadn't realized they're nesting there. My Broomfield County 2014 year list has three species: Prairie Falcon (on New Year's Day), and now Merlin and Bald Eagle. Low total, high ratio of quality to dross.

Ted Floyd

Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado