Hey, everybody. Okay, the tanager show has arrived at Greenlee Preserve, eastern Boulder County. On this Sunday morning's Broomfield Bird Club outing in the cold mist at the preserve and environs, we saw at least eight *western tanagers* at and in the general vicinity of the feeders by the entrance to the preserve. I went back later in the afternoon and saw more tanagers--and lots of townsfolk. It's wonderful to see how so many people have heard about these beautiful birds--and are going out to see the spectacle with their own eyes. (Remember: Never look directly at a tanager, for doing so can cause permanent retinal damage.)
Back to the bird club outing... It was cold out there, but the birding was good. We heard a *northern waterthrush* and saw a *gray flycatcher* and a *black-chinned hummingbird.* This afternoon, I had an errand in Boulder proper and stopped off at the Bobolink Trail, which was hopping. Highlights were a *Tennessee warbler,* 2 *least flycatchers,* and another *gray flycatcher.* At least 15 *western wood-pewees.* Regarding the many *yellow-rumped warblers *(*n*=20+) out there, I was surprised that all appeared to be either good Audubons or intergrades; I didn't see anything I would have called a Myrtle. Yuma County. Debbie Seiden and I spent much of yesterday, Sat., May 18, at the Fox Ranch, where migration was practically non-existent until about noon, when the weather changed and migrants started to appear. Heralded by a refulgent adult male *western tanager,* natch. The only semi-notable migrant was a *veery.* We saw the usual slug of *orchard orioles* (*n*=23), *brown thrashers,* and *Uncle Sam birds.* Also an *upland sandpiper, *a *Baltimore oriole, *and an* eastern phoebe.* The Fox Ranch dawn chorus--wait, the pre-dawn chorus, it was 4am--was unforgettable. Imagine hearing surround-sound *greater prairie-chickens* and *Cassin sparrows,* whilst *eastern screech-owls* and a *common poorwill* were singing steadily. An amazing combo. On the drive back from the ranch, Debbie and I stopped at Last Chance, Washington County, where we saw a frenetic *northern waterthrush.* Ted Floyd Lafayette, Boulder County -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/ef803829-faf4-4889-aec5-cd1d956d02cc%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
