Hey all, On a beautiful bicycle ride this morning, I saw or heard many FOY "summer" birds. Many Say's Phoebes were present along most fence lines along Glade Rd., all the way to the southern end of Carter Lake. Spotted Towhees were out in force throughout the ride, as were Vesper Sparrows, Cowbirds, Western Meadowlarks, and House Wrens.
I stopped along W. Co Rd. 12 to wait for my riding comrades and noticed a few Turkey Vultures begin to circle above me, so I decided to continue riding to show them I had not died. I heard one Savannah Sparrow as I passed a small low-lying field along N. Co Rd. 23 just south of W. Co. Rd. 12. As I turned onto W. Co. Rd 8E I heard many Horned Larks and a McCown's Longspur in the shortgrass on the south side of the road. I also saw many Western and Eastern Kingbirds along fences and power lines along this road. Along this road I also heard a Grasshopper Sparrow in a nice section of land along the south of the road. As I approached the switchbacks up Carter lake on W Co. Rd. 8E, I heard a Yellow-breasted Chat. Along the switchbacks up Carter lake I saw a Rock Wren perched singing on the barrier at the second corner as CR31 splits north and south. I also had Rock Wrens at pretty even intervals along the dams at Carter Lake. At the top of Carter Lake, my climb was rewarded with 3 Broad-tailed hummingbirds sitting together along a branch of a Juniper jutting above the surrounding shrubs. Along the dams I also saw 3 Great-tailed Grackles that were calling from the tops of a few Ponderosas. I thought this was quite a strange place for them to be. On the lake were quite a few gull species, but had decided against riding with a scope, so I could not determine their species. Also seen were several unidentifiable (at bicycle speed) small ducks on the reservoir. On the way down the north side of Carter Lake I forgot to look for birds. There might have been an emperor penguin standing alongside the road, but I was too focused on not dying on the descent. Along Glade Road a little bit east of CR 27, I was surprised by a male and female Bullocks Oriole flying and calling along the road between cottonwood trees. All in all, it was a productive day of birding from the saddle! Much better than riding with an iPod! Matt Webb Fort Collins -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/cobirds/-/5uzwgZY1yJkJ. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
