Looks like you had a great anniversary day Doug. Good luck on the next 50.
On Sun, Apr 30, 2023 at 11:05 PM Doug Ward <dougw...@frontier.com> wrote: > Thought the group might like to see a comparative set of lists from the > Waterton area (Jefferson & Douglas Cos) recorded 50 years apart, to the > day, on Denver Field Ornithologists (DFO) field trips. We met early > Saturday morning (29 Apr.’23) to recreate my very first birding trip which > was led by Hugh Kingery on April 29th, 1973 – Hugh joined us for the > first part of our walk which made for a very special day. > > > > First things first, we found a few good birds including a nice male > BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER at the Audubon Nature Center and four (4) > EASTERN PHEOBEs in three different spots. We also had GREAT HORNED OWLs on > nest with a couple of very cute downy owlets, MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDs and TREE > SWALLOWs jockeying for position at nest boxes, and a very bright male > WILSON’S WARBLER. Here are our eBird lists for the day if interested: > > > > Waterton Upstream from Bridge: eBird Checklist - 29 Apr 2023 - Waterton > Canyon--from Waterton Rd to overhead pipes - 40 species (+2 other taxa) > <https://ebird.org/checklist/S135571343> > > Platte Canyon Reservoir/Highline Canal: eBird Checklist - 29 Apr 2023 - > Platte Canyon Reservoir - 36 species (+2 other taxa) > <https://ebird.org/checklist/S135571434> > > Waterton Downstream from Bridge: eBird Checklist - 29 Apr 2023 - > Chatfield SP--Audubon Center & Trails - 30 species (+1 other taxa) > <https://ebird.org/checklist/S135571590> > > > > Now the comparison. I kind of expected to see a dramatic shift in species > and numbers (don’t know why), but aside from the Eastern Pheobes graduating > from super rare to now being regular, most everything else was within > expected daily variability. We had a few species which have been doing > better since the early ‘70s thanks to conservation measures, namely Wood > Duck, Osprey, and Bald Eagle, but also the cormorants, pelicans, ravens, > and particularly “Rufous-sided” Towhees are now much more numerous. We had > several species with notably fewer individuals than 50 years ago including > Mourning Doves, both Downys and flickers, as well as magpies (we got > skunked!), starlings (yeah), and grackles, though in these cases don’t > think the two data points make a solid trend. To see the species and their > numbers for yourself, just scroll down. > > > > If you have any questions or comments about the days both current and past > trudging around Waterton, please let me know. Here’s to the next 50 years > (yeah right). > > > > Good Birding, > > Doug > > Denver > > > > PS – Remember when looking at the 1973 list, Chatfield didn’t exist yet, > so some of the stuff would be from range land and gravel pits that would > eventually be flooded by the lake – dam was almost finished though. > > > > *Waterton - DFO Trips 5 Decades Apart* > > Date: > > 4/29/2023 > > 4/29/1973 > > *Effort Data* > > Start Time: > > 6:30am > > 6:00am > > Total Hours: > > 8.0 > > 7.5 > > Observers: > > 9 > > 14 > > Miles Walked: > > 9.0 > > Weather: > > Clear, initially breezy, ~40-75˚F > > Cloudy. Cool. Windy. > > *Species (2023 taxonomy)* > > Canada Goose > > 6 > > > > 2 > > Wood Duck > > 4 > > > > > > Blue-winged Teal > > 1 > > > > > > Northern Shoveler > > 6 > > > > > > Gadwall > > 31 > > > > 4 > > American Wigeon > > 4 > > > > > > Mallard > > 15 > > > > 11 > > Ring-necked Duck > > > > > > 1 > > Lesser Scaup > > 2 > > > > 2 > > Bufflehead > > 4 > > > > 1 > > Common Merganser > > 6 > > > > > > Ruddy Duck > > 7 > > > > > > Ring-necked Pheasant > > > > > > 1 > > Horned Grebe > > 3 > > > > > > Eared Grebe > > 2 > > > > > > Western Grebe > > 5 > > > > > > Rock Pigeon > > > > > > 2 > > Mourning Dove > > 11 > > > > 59 > > White-throated Swift > > 6 > > > > > > Broad-tailed Hummingbird > > 4 > > > > 1 > > Killdeer > > 2 > > > > 2 > > Marbled Godwit > > > > > > 53 > > Solitary Sandpiper > > 1 > > > > > > Ring-billed Gull > > 1 > > > > > > Double-crested Cormorant > > 6 > > > > > > American White Pelican > > 8 > > > > > > Great Blue Heron > > 1 > > > > 19 > > Turkey Vulture > > 5 > > > > 2 > > Osprey > > 1 > > > > > > Golden Eagle > > > > > > 2 > > Northern Harrier (aka "Marsh Hawk") > > > > > > 2 > > Sharp-shinned Hawk > > > > > > 4 > > Cooper's Hawk > > 2 > > > > > > Bald Eagle > > 1 > > > > > > Broad-winged Hawk > > > > > > *1* > > Red-tailed Hawk > > 5 > > > > 2 > > Great Horned Owl > > 3 > > > > 3 > > Belted Kingfisher > > 2 > > > > 6 > > Downy Woodpecker > > 2 > > > > 11 > > Northern Flicker - "Red-shafted" > > 2 > > > > 10 > > American Kestrel (aka "Sparrow Hawk") > > 5 > > > > 9 > > Eastern Phoebe > > 4 > > > > *1* > > Say's Phoebe > > 7 > > > > 2 > > Stellar's Jay > > > > > > 1 > > Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay > > 7 > > > > 1 > > Black-billed Magpie > > > > > > 16 > > American Crow > > 3 > > > > 6 > > Common Raven > > 14 > > > > > > Black-capped Chickadee > > 12 > > > > 12 > > Horned Lark > > > > > > 1 > > Northern Rough-winged Swallow > > 1 > > > > > > Tree Swallow > > 7 > > > > 4 > > Violet-green Swallow > > 9 > > > > 19 > > Barn Swallow > > 6 > > > > 8 > > Cliff Swallow > > > > > > 4 > > Ruby-crowned Kinglet > > 6 > > > > 2 > > Red-breasted Nuthatch > > > > > > 3 > > White-breasted Nuthatch > > 1 > > > > > > House Wren > > 6 > > > > 2 > > European Starling > > 6 > > > > 45 > > Mountain Bluebird > > 4 > > > > > > Townsend's Solitaire > > 2 > > > > 5 > > American Robin > > 21 > > > > 190 > > House Finch > > 7 > > > > 2 > > Lesser Goldfinch > > 1 > > > > > > American Goldfinch > > 9 > > > > > > Chipping Sparrow > > 3 > > > > > > Dark-eyed Junco - "Oregon" > > 3 > > > > 7 > > - "Grey-headed" > > 2 > > > > 1 > > White-crowned Sparrow > > 27 > > > > 1 > > Song Sparrow > > 3 > > > > 10 > > Spotted Towhee (aka "Rufous-sided") > > 29 > > > > 8 > > Western Meadowlark > > 10 > > > > 42 > > Red-winged Blackbird > > 11 > > > > 14 > > Brown-headed Cowbird > > 3 > > > > 6 > > Common Grackle > > > > > > 14 > > Orange-crowned Warbler > > > > > > 2 > > Yellow-rumped Warbler - "Myrtle" > > 22 > > > > 6 > > - "Audubon's" > > 27 > > > > 62 > > - "Myrtle X Audubon's" > > 1 > > > > > > Black-throated Gray Warbler > > *1* > > > > > > Wilson's Warbler > > 1 > > > > > > TOTAL SPECIES > > 64 > > 53 > > TOTAL INDIVIDUALS > > 440 > > 707 > > > > -- > -- > 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 > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en > * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. 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