Western Field Ornithologists fundraiser, Oct. 12, 2025: Pictorial recap

[Ted Floyd]

Hey, everybody, and Happy Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Western Field Ornithologists (WFO), a partner organization with Colorado Field Ornithologists (CFO), is in the midst of a fall fundraiser. The WFO fundraiser, called Wings Across The West, is not unlike CFO's recently completed Colorado Birding Challenge, although the WFO Big Days can be held anywhere in the West (duh)—and they're not limited to a single county.

I was a member of the Colorado Team captained by WFO BOD member Isabelle Busch. We were officially The Colorado Critter Chasers & Birding Avengers—da Bomb! We did our (somewhat) Big(ish) Day Fun(d)raiser yesterday, Sun., Oct. 12, 2025, restricting our efforts to Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, Adams County. Team members were: Claire Wayner, Hannah Floyd, Tykee James, Sean Huntley, Archer Silverman, Isaac Boardman, Christian Nunes, Emmet Nunes, Cassidy Nunes, Isabelle, & Yours Truly.

Our effort was highly civilized. We came and went as we pleased; we stopped for libations & comestibles seemingly continuously; the kombucha flowed freely and chocolate cookies were dispensed with abandon; and we iNatted everything. Our unofficial motto: "If it has protoplasm, we count it."

Here are some pictorial highlights from our fun day at The Arsenal:

Duetting great horned owls at the refuge entrance.

The endless line of cars waiting to get into the refuge a bit before sunrise.

The nocturnal migration crew—Hannah, Isabelle, and me. We heard many spectrogram-supported white-crowned sparrows flying over before sunrise. Curious was a rock wren singing while it was still nautical dawn. Go figure.

Here's our team! Back: Isaac, Claire. Middle: Isabelle, Archer, me, Tykee. Front: Christian with Emmet & Cassidy. Point-5 virtuosa: Hannah. Not pictured: Sean, who had bailed for a rarity reported elsewhere + an assignment due the next morning. We respect that. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.



Sunrise at The Arsenal.

The group birding at the always-productive canal crossing in the New Mexico locusts on the walk out to Big Havana Pond. We found orange-crowned and yellow-rumped warblers, American bushtits, and a hermit thrush in there, plus flyover American pipits, pine siskins, and evening grosbeaks.

We watched birds, yes, but, honestly, we spent as much time iNatting non-avian biota. Here's Isaac photo'ing a lupine blue, Icaricia lupini.

Emmet photo'ing the larva ("caterpillar") of a sphinx moth, family Sphingidae.

Hannah and Archer photo'ing a great crested grasshopper, Tropidolophus formusus. Isabelle watches on.

We saw migrating mountain bluebirds at several junctures. This male was wrangling the larva of a tiger moth, subfamily Arctiinae. We talked about Dave Leatherman, yes.

Pincer! Tykee and Hannah are completely boxed in by law enforcement. It's all good. The cops weren't after Tykee and Hannah, although the vehicle was quite stuck for a while. I hasten to add: The officers were courteous and professional. Total respect and gratitude for our beleaguered federal civil servants, including those in law enforcement.

Some birds we saw yesterday at The Arsenal. Clockwise from upper left: mountain bluebird, Gambel white-crowned sparrow, American white pelicans, Great blue heron.

A sampler of insects that we iNatted yesterday at The Arsenal. Clockwise from upper left: great crested grasshopper, Tropidolophus formosus; red-femured milkweed borer, Tetraopes femoratus; harlequin bug, Murgantia histrionica; locust borer, Megacyllene robiniae.

More insects yesterday at The Arsenal. Clockwise from upper left: lupine bug, Megalotomus quinquespinosus; yellow-bearded hammertail, Efferia pogonias; salt marsh moth, Estigmene acrea; desert stink beetle, Eleodes carbonaria.

We celebrated Hannah's birthday at the end! Belatedly, but hey.

Here's our bare-bones eBird trip report for the day:

ebird.org/tripreport/422423

And if you'd like to contribute to the WFO fundraiser, go here:

2025-bird-a-thon.raiselysite.com/t/colorado-critter-chasers

Thanks to all the Chasers/Avengers/Bombers for a fun day afield!

Ted Floyd
Lafayette, Boulder Co.