I am glad to see the ferruginous hawk on your list, Ted. I saw one perched on a beam at the Kaiser Rock Creek building yesterday, head tucked in as it was harassed by a pair of ravens. I doubted my eyes a bit - it seemed early in the season - but had a good view of bright white underparts and belly, pale head, rusty-streaked flanks, brown streaky back. It seemed like an odd spot to me, but it's a fine high perch and Lafayette's Rock Creek open space is just across the road, with plenty of prey for a morning nosh (and not far south of where you saw yours).
Rather a crowd gathered to look, so that was fun. Moral, take your binocs to the docs! Sandra Laursen On Saturday, October 28, 2023 at 11:45:06 PM UTC-6 Ted Floyd wrote: > Hey, all. > > Some odds and ends from these past few days in eastern Boulder Co. All > reports from within a proverbial stone's throw of US-287, which runs > north–south near the county's eastern border. > > Thurs., Oct. 26. Greenlee Wildlife Preserve & Waneka Lake. A flyover *evening > grosbeak* and several flyover *red crossbills.* The latter are uncommon > in eastern Boulder Co., the former rare. I didn't get audio of either, but > I believe the grosbeak was a Type 4 and the crossbills Type 2s. Also that > evening, overflying Waneka Lake, a late *Baird sandpiper,* and possibly > more than just the one. > > Fri., Oct. 27. Hecla Pond. 6 *long-billed dowitchers,* a *Wilson snipe *and > an* American White Pelican,* 4 *hooded mergansers,* and the last singing > orthopteran of the year: an Allard ground cricket, *Allonemobius allardi*. > Way up there: 3 *sandhill cranes,* barely visible, but delectably > audible. Also up there: *cackling geese* by the hundreds, many of which > had put down by mid-afternoon on nearby Waneka Lake. > > Sat., Oct. 28. McIntosh Lake. I arrived there just as the morning snow > squall was intensifying, and a nice little fallout was in progress. Strange > for the date were no fewer than 9 *barn swallows.* Shorebirds, apparently > disoriented, were flying around the lakeshore—definitely 2 *greater > yellowlegs* and 20+ *killdeer,* along with a *Pluvialis* plover that > sounded better for American golden-plover than for black-bellied plover; > and a *spuh,* heard-only, that I thought might have been a sanderling. > FOSes included 3 *horned grebes* and 8 *red-breasted mergansers.* And a > dark-morph eastern fox squirrel, *Sciurus niger*, and an > *Audubon warbler.* > Sat., Oct. 28. Prince Lake No. 2 and adjoining Schofield Open Space. 6 > *long-billed > dowitchers,* a late *Say phoebe,* a flyover *American pipit,* and gulls. > Among the 61 *ring-billed gulls* were an adult *herring gull,* a bit > early, and a *Franklin gull,* rather tardy. Or, at least, I think it was > a Franklin gull. Genus *Leucophaeus* for sure. If anybody wants to sneak > a peek at my eBird checklist and make sure it's just a Frankie, be my guest. > > Sat., Oct. 28. "Raptor Alley" area around 95th & Lookout. 500+ *cackling > geese;* 5 *bald eagles* (all adults) and 2 FOS *ferruginous hawks.* And > at a little pond south of 95th & Lookout, 3 drake *hooded mergansers* and > an unexpected garamond of 11 *double-crested cormorants,* mostly > hatch-years. > > Sat., Oct. 28. Stearns Lake. The *bald eagles* at their nest. Also a trio > of 3 frosty-tailed *American tree sparrows,* FOSes. And in the parking > lot cattails, a chatterbox *marsh wren* and 2 > *swamp sparrows.* > Ted Floyd > Lafayette, Boulder Co. > > -- -- 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. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- 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 view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/42cf869a-50c2-4aa4-9879-5c0e2f293ae8n%40googlegroups.com.
