Hello, Birders. No real rarities to report, but, rather, an inducement to consider a late-summer visit to the high country. Of course, we're in "migration mode" down in the lowlands; but it's my experience that September is just about the finest time of the year to find breeders in the mountains...despite seasonal indicators to the contrary! When I arrived, at Brainard Lake, Boulder County, at sunrise on Saturday, Sept. 8th, I beheld:
* temps below freezing, frost on all the low vegetation, smaller puddles frozen solid, and 2 beautiful SNOWSHOE HARES starting to turn white; alk (as they say in Utah) bugling, too. But the birds, as I said, were summery, with these highlights: * a WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN cackling to itself out on the tundra. * an unnervingly close juvenile NORTHERN GOSHAWK sitting on a snag near treeline; then it flew off, but not without first making an obligatory swipe at me--the goshawk way... * a fleeting WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER and three excellent up-close AMERICAN SIX-TOED WOODPECKERS. * a blur of an intriguing, large-seeming hummingbird that said "zip!" and then was no more to be seen. Hmm... * GRAY JAYS, CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS, GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS, and other birds of the spruce-fir zone. * at least 40 AMERICAN PIPITS still up on the tundra; also, a SAGE THRASHER. And several dozen AMERICAN PIKAS. * a single BROWN-CAPPED ROSY-FINCH flying over the tundra; both TYPE 2 and TYPE 5 RED CROSSBILLS; scattered CASSIN'S FINCHES; and 3 beautiful PINE GROSBEAKS. * On the drive back down toward Ward, I stopped by Red Rock Lake where two LESSER SCAUP (local breeders) still were present. Also, a PINE SQUIRREL was going berserk there, spazzing out in the top of a fir, clipping off cones at a rate of what seemed to be one per second. Down in the lowlands, at Six Mile Rez, great shorebird conditions, and even a few shorebirds, highlighted by a small flock of STILT SANDPIPERS. Boulder Rez is useless, with about the highest water I've ever seen there. Water allocation in Boulder County, I can now attest after 10+ years as a resident of the county, is senseless. Ted Floyd tedfloy...@hotmail.com Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado P.s. Hannah and I can report that the SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER was still at Teller Lake No. 5 as of 6pm this evening, Sunday, Sept. 9th. And it's been there at least since Friday morning, Sept. 7th; so it seems to be something of a long-stayer. Please note that the far (south) shore of the lake is closed to human entry. Great opportunity there, by the way, for the study of Tringa sandpipers, with Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Solitary Sandpiper all present. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. 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 https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
