Listing Through Life

This was a great day of birding. I began at Mueller State Park and hiked my usual four-mile trail loop. There was another car at the trail head when I finished hiking, and I saw a couple people out and about on my drive out of the park, but I didn’t see another soul the entire time I was hiking.

Pine Squirrel. The marking on its forehead looks like the Batman symbol. The squirrel’s not glued to the tree or hovering in mid-air. It’s standing on very thin branches sticking out of the evergreen.

I’d walked more than halfway around the loop and had only seen one of my target birds — a Williamson’s Sapsucker — and that only briefly. But the day was beautiful (if windy) and I was alone in the woods and enjoying myself. And then magic happened.

There’s a tiny man-made pond along a tiny creek, and as I approached I could hear the tapping of a woodpecker. I have always been able to find American Three-toed Woodpecker along this stretch of trail, so naturally, I followed the sound. A female was stripping bark on a dead pine. Off and on for the next hour, I tried to get a good photo of it, but this is the best I could manage.

While I was watching the woodpecker, a male Evening Grosbeak landed on the top of a nearby tree. I couldn’t get any decent photos at that angle, but I haven’t often seen them away from feeders, so it was fun to see it.

I wandered around to the other side of the pond, looking at Audubon’s Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and Chipping Sparrows. I spotted two Canada Jays hanging around the area.

I’d come prepared. I had a pocket full of trail mix, and for the next 15 minutes, I did this.

At first, they were skittish and did fly-by snags. Even when they began landing, they wouldn’t stay long. So I began wedging the peanuts between my fingers to make them work a bit. By the end, they were landing and eating and paying me no mind whatsoever. At least one of them was. The one with the streakier breast remained more nervous and may have only landed on my hand once.

After I ran out of food, they continued following me through the woods for another 15 minutes or so.

I returned to trying to get a good photo of the Three-toed Woodpecker, still without much luck. As I was doing that, I saw two Clark’s Nutcrackers fly high overhead. I’m not sure why, but I haven’t had a lot of luck with nutcrackers in Colorado. I’ve seen them here and there since I moved to the state, but always flying and usually at a distance. After a few flyovers, one of these landed on the top of a dead pine and began calling. It’s the first really good looks I’ve had at one since my lifers back in 2002.

I went back to the Three-toed Woodpecker again. She was hanging right around the pond and was easy to find by her tapping. I was waiting for her to reach a spot on a dead pine where I could take a photo when I noticed a male on an aspen maybe 15 feet away from me.

He climbed into a hole and began removing wood chips.

After leaving Mueller, I drove 20 minutes to Vindicator Valley outside Victor and walked the trail there. My objectives, besides enjoying the scenery and the history, were Green-tailed Towhee, Dusky Flycatcher, and Cassin’s Finch. I had no problem with the first two but never saw the third.

Green-tailed Towhee

Dusky Flycatcher

At Vindicator Valley, I also saw this Gray-headed Junco that looks like it can’t quite figure me out.

The clouds were rolling in by the time I left, but I decided to hike at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument anyway. The visitor center and main parking lot were closed because of the virus silliness, but I was allowed to park by the Hornbeck Homestead and walk the trails. There were a few other cars in the lot, and I saw a few people on the nearby trails, but once I got away from the lot, I was again alone. The weather looked dicey for a bit, but then the clouds cleared away and the day was beautiful again.

Wyoming Ground Squirrels have a colony by the Hornbeck Homestead.

I was hoping for a good photo of a Williamson’s Sapsucker. There were several around, of both sexes, but they were easily spooked, and this is the best I could do. It’s a stunningly beautiful bird, and more so in flight.

I happened upon a small section of creek with running water and stood maybe 15 feet away for about half an hour, watching a steady parade of birds come to drink. I saw a pair of Robins, all three Colorado nuthatches, Mountain Chickadees, a pair of Red Crossbills, a pair of Evening Grosbeaks, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, and even two Common Ravens (that didn’t come down to drink while I was there but came very close before they spotted me and landed in nearby trees). A Pine Squirrel also stopped by. It would have been a cool place to spend a day.

Evening Grosbeaks

Red Crossbill

I’ve now seen Red Crossbills 11 times in my life, 7 of which have been in the last six months. From being an unusual sighting, this bird has suddenly become so common that I only occasionally bother to take photos.

As I was hiking back to my car, I scared up a Northern Mockingbird, a rare bird for that location.

I got home around 5:30 after a long, beautiful, glorious, fun, exciting day. I only saw 39 species, but many of them were among my favorites. Feeding the Canada Jays was a highlight, but there was a lot of other stuff to see. It makes a big difference when other people aren’t around to scare things off. I finished with 9.9 miles walked, all above 8,000 feet.

After work on Monday, I wandered along Black Squirrel Creek for a couple hours. The highlight was a pair of Red Crossbills in the pines along one of the ponds. The male sat on an exposed branch for several minutes while I took photos from 40 feet away.

A Cinnamon Teal was preening by the steel bridge. As I was taking photos of it, a Muskrat swam by.

I also scared a couple Wood Ducks out of the trees.

On Wednesday, we took off on a road trip. We grabbed donuts in Canon City, then drove through Bighorn Sheep Canyon to Hayden Creek and back. We got a burger at Big Burger World and ate along the river walk. We took a short walk after eating and I managed to see a Blackpoll Warbler even though I didn’t have my binoculars or camera.

Saturday, March 14 was the last time I “went somewhere” to bird before the world shut down, and that somewhere was just down to Clear Spring Ranch on the south end of the county. The state officially went “stay-at-home” on March 26, but I’d already pretty much decided not to fight against the restrictions.

That meant that I could only bird nearby, which pretty much restricted me to the open space along Monument Branch (M) next to work, to Mary Kyer Park (K), the open space along Black Squirrel Creek (B), and whatever I happen to see while walking to those places (O).  I decided to bird the snot out of the area and see what I could see. Here’s my list, beginning on Sunday, March 15 and continuing until I’m allowed to expand my horizons. After each bird, I’ll list the first date I saw it and the places I saw it. When I’ve see a bird at all four locations, it will be in bold.

Update: I’ve decided to stop tracking for this list as of 4/30. The state is beginning to open up, and I’ve already begun expanding my birding range.

1. American Avocet 4/14 B
2. American Coot 3/15 B
3. American Crow 3/15 M, B, O, K
4. American Goldfinch 4/8 O, K, M, B
5. American Robin 3/15 M, B, K, O
6. American Tree Sparrow 3/21 M
7. American Wigeon 3/24 B
8. Barn Swallow 3/24 B
9. Belted Kingfisher 3/16 B
10. Black-billed Magpie 3/15 M, B, O
11. Black-capped Chickadee 3/15 M, K, B
12. Black-crowned Night-Heron 4/17 B
13. Black Phoebe 4/27 K
14. Blue Jay 4/13 K, O
15. Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher 4/29 M
16. Blue-winged Teal 4/17 B
17. Brewer’s Blackbird 4/27 K, M
18. Broad-tailed Hummingbird 4/23 O, M
19. Brown Creeper 3/15 M
20. Brown-headed Cowbird 4/28 B
21. Bufflehead 3/30 B
22. Bushtit 3/21 M, B
23. Canada Goose 3/15 B, K, M
24. Canvasback 3/21 B
25. Chipping Sparrow 4/28 B
26. Cinnamon Teal 3/30 B
27. Cliff Swallow 4/27 B
28. Common Grackle 3/31 B, O, K
29. Common Merganser 3/23 B
30. Common Raven 3/15 M, B
31. Common Yellowthroat 4/29 M
32. Cooper’s Hawk 4/7 B
33. Dark-eyed Junco 3/15 M, B
34. Double-crested Cormorant 3/30 B
35. Downy Woodpecker 3/15 M, K, B
36. Eastern Bluebird 4/17 M
37. European Starling 3/26 B, O
38. Eurasian Collared-Dove 3/16 B, M, O, K
39. Gadwall 3/16 B
40. Great Blue Heron 3/15 B, M
41. Great Horned Owl 3/29 M, B
42. Green-winged Teal 3/15 B
43. Horned Lark 4/5 B
44. Horned Grebe 4/14 B
45. House Finch 3/15 M, B, K, O
46. House Sparrow 4/7 B
47. Killdeer 3/27 B
48. Least Sandpiper 4/17 B
49. Lesser Scaup 3/15 B
50. Lincoln’s Sparrow 4/15 B
51. MacGillivray’s Warbler 4/29 M
52. Mallard 3/15 B, K, M
53. Merlin 4/14/ B
54. Mountain Chickadee 3/15 M, B, O
55. Mountain Bluebird 3/21 M, B, K
56. Mourning Dove 4/7 B, M
57. Northern Flicker 3/15 M, B, K
58. Northern Rough-winged Swallow 3/15 B, M
59. Northern Shoveler 3/15 B
60. Orange-crowned Warbler 4/22 B, M
61. Pied-billed Grebe 4/13 B
62. Pine Siskin 3/15 M, K
63. Prairie Falcon 4/4 M, B
64. Red-breasted Nuthatch 3/15 M, B
65. Redhead 3/15 B
66. Red-naped Sapsucker 3/28 B
67. Red-tailed Hawk 3/15 M, B, K
68. Red-winged Blackbird 3/15 B, M, K, O
69. Ring-billed Gull 4/4 B
70. Ring-necked Duck 3/15 B
71. Rock Dove 4/3 B
72. Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4/14 B
73. Savannah Sparrow 4/4 B
74. Say’s Phoebe 3/31 M, B, O, K
75. Sharp-shinned Hawk 4/15 B
76. Snowy Egret 4/11 B
77. Solitary Sandpiper 4/28 B
78. Song Sparrow 3/15 M, B, K
79. Spotted Towhee 3/15 M, K, B, O
80. Spotted Sandpiper 4/30 B
81. Tree Swallow 4/8 B, M
82. Turkey Vulture 3/28 B, M
83. Vesper Sparrow 4/28 B
84. Violet-green Swallow 4/30 B
85. Western Bluebird 3/15 M, B, K
86. Western Grebe 4/13 B
87. Western Meadowlark 4/5 B
88. White-breasted Nuthatch 3/15 M, B
89. White-crowned Sparrow 4/10 B, M
90. White-faced Ibis 4/30 B
91. Wilson’s Snipe 3/31 B, M
92. Wood Duck 4/5 B
93. Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay 3/15 M, B, K
94. Yellow-headed Blackbird 4/5 B
95. Yellow-rumped Warbler 4/7 B, K, M

As long as I’m tracking birds, I figured I may as well track animals too.

1. Beaver 4/5 B
2. Coyote 4/3 B
3. Desert Cottontail 4/5 O, B
4. Eastern Fox Squirrel 4/8 O
5. Muskrat 3/28 B
6. Pronghorn 3/27 O
7. Rock Squirrel 3/25 B

Here’s a compilation video of some of the animals and birds I saw during March and April (not all in my neighborhood, although many of them were).

My birding year got off to a great start back in January, helped by my trip to Florida. By the end of January, I’d already seen 133 species. I had trips to Arkansas in April and Ohio in May and figured this would be a banner year. Then the virus hit and the trips were cancelled and I couldn’t even go very far in Colorado. I went along with the restrictions until it became evident that the restrictions were excessive and probably weren’t helping anyway. But as the peak of spring migration approached, I decided to break out a bit. I’ve still been avoiding people and haven’t been stopping at stores or restaurants, but I’ve been driving further. Still, I identify as being at home, so that should be good enough.

On Sunday, I drove two hours down to Rocky Ford to bird at Holbrook Reservoir. I had the place to myself for the three hours I was there and enjoyed myself tremendously. There were birds galore. I saw 50 species, including 13 new ones for the year. With the Cliff Swallows I spotted on my way home, I now have 200 species. It can still be a good year, but not like it was shaping up to be.

This Semipalmated Sandpiper hung around for a few minutes at the base of the boat ramp.

I later saw a flock of them on the far side of the reservoir. I tried to get good photos. When I got home, I checked out the photos and found a Western Sandpiper in the mix. It’s the rufous bird in the lower right. The rest of the birds in the photo are Semipalmated.

A Willet. Not long after I took this photo, it flew off, giving me great looks at the white flashes on its black wings. It’s a big shorebird, with a body about the size of a Rock Dove.

Near the Willet was this Baird’s Sandpiper. They’re usually up on the dryer parts of the shore, but this one was wading in shallow water by the foam. The key marks are the buffy wash, the black spots on its back, and the wing feathers that are longer than the tail.

I saw Black-necked Stilts in the distance and I was hoping I could get close enough for a reasonably-good photo. Then two of them walked by 30 feet away as I was sitting in my car. They’re one of the birds that are pretty much all field mark. This is by far the best look I’ve ever had at stilts.

An American Avocet wandered by and had a brief tiff with one of the stilts. My photo didn’t come out great but you get the idea. I like the way the stilt just leaned away.

The avocet continued in the area for a while.

There were a lot more in the neighborhood, including this clump.

Two Marbled Godwits were wading in deeper water. This was my 296th species for my Colorado state list. These things are huge, with a body the size of a Mallard’s.

Seven Long-billed (I think) Dowitchers were hidden in the weeds. I include the photo because it’s the best I’ve gotten of them in breeding plumage.

I parked on the far side of the reservoir and walked down near the shore. Even though the light was behind me, from that spot the birds were further off. There were maybe four American White Pelicans on the lake. This was the closest I got to one. The birds on the left are Western Grebes. American Coots are in the foreground.

Many more Western Grebes were out further in open water. I also spotted a pair of Clark’s Grebes doing a courtship dance, but they were so far out I couldn’t get a photo. This is the best I could do. You can see the paler sides and the hood that doesn’t extend down to surround the eye. The bill is also brighter yellow.

This Rock Wren flew up out of roadside brush and landed on a wire. There were no rocks around, but I have found them in somewhat similar habitats before. They don’t always hang out in canyons.

I got very close to this Bald Eagle that was perched in a dead tree along the road, but it was perfectly backlit, so I had to play with filters to get any details.

Days like this are why I bird. By myself, tons of birds, many of which I don’t see often. Time to take my time and enjoy and discover. It was four hours of driving for three hours of birding, but it was definitely worth it.

I couldn’t stand the thought of wandering locally to bird yet again, so I drove down to the south end of the county to Clear Spring Ranch. Nothing exciting had been reported from there, so other birders didn’t flock to the place like they did last weekend. In fact, except for a couple on horseback late in the day, I had the place entirely to myself for the four hours I was there. The birding, with one exception, was pretty mediocre — winds were gentle but from the north.

The exception was this Broad-winged Hawk, my first for Colorado and my 295th Colorado bird. It was harassed from this perch by an American Kestrel. I followed it as it flew to two other perches. The kestrel stayed on the job, and finally the Broad-wing gave up and circled up and out of sight.

But the highlight of the day came early. I had only been there for maybe 20 minutes. I was at the south end of the trail and noticed an odd-looking “squirrel nest” in a large cottonwood. A glance through my binoculars revealed a sleeping porcupine. I lightened this photo considerably because at the angle I took this photo, it was silhouetted against the morning sun.

I never did see it move, but by the time I’d worked my way around through the woods, it was in this position, so I know it was alive.

It was about 30 feet up in the tree and it paid me no attention whatsoever as I maneuvered for the best photo. In total on the day, I walked 8.2 miles and saw 34 species of birds.