Horses in the Snow

Many young kids dream of owning a horse but I wasn't in that camp.  I preferred running through the woods and playing basketball with the boys than riding horses.  We had a horse named Strawberry and though she was kind, she didn't feel like mine.  My father would have us train her and it felt more like work than fun.  

Even though I never really liked horses I did come to learn to appreciate them for their intelligence, their sheer size, and their good looks.  Last week I waxed poetic about cows and even though horses don't quite create the same feelings in my heart, I still think they are beautiful.  

I was especially fond of these horses as they rolled in the snow and galloped around like it was summer.  This day was particularly cold but they didn't seem to mind it one bit.  These horses were big and well fed.  They seemed to like the company as I sat idling in my car snapping photos.  But I didn't come out in the freezing temperatures to look at horses so I said my goodbyes.

Though my trip was mostly to relocate a Snow Owl and Gryfalcon (which I dipped on both!) I was given the consolation prize of a field of turkeys.  These Wild Turkeys were a welcome sight and new for the year list!  Andy is only ahead of me by two for the year so I hope that means the tide is turning!

Winter Birding Around Cayuga Lake

The past week was a breakthrough with a few more year birds to add to the list.  After two weeks of temperatures hovering around zero and no new birds I was beginning to get a little itchy.  This is my first year living in a truly cold winter (who knew Colorado had mild winters!) and my cabin fever was setting in. Spring can't come fast enough for New York! 

To my surprise last Saturday was sunny, in the 20s and perfect for birding. My first stop was Myer's Park where I found Common Goldeneye by the skyfull.  Redhead and Common Mergansers were in large number as well. No new birds at Myer's but the sheer number of duck species was great as I reached double digits before leaving to the next stop.

After getting a brief look at a lifer White-winged Scoter in flight with the Goldeneyes I decided to try for another lifer - the Lapland Longspur.

I headed to County Line Road but there was some type of hunting activity going on with dogs and men in trucks at every stop.  I wasn't too surprised to find the usual birds to be gone but I did find a Horned Lark that gave me a discerning eye as I slowly drove by.  With the dip on the longspur I decided to just keep heading north and go to Long Point State Park.  There I found Tundra Swans, Bald Eagles, and a few land birds in the neighboring communities.

Feeling invigorated, I headed north to Union Springs where I found the pond teeming with Canada Geese, American Widgeon, Gadwall, and a new year bird - Horned Grebe.  You can see the little Horned Grebe in the photo above - just a wisp of a bird in all those geese.

At this point I had made the whole length of Cayuga Lake so instead of backtracking I merely decided to loop over the top and search for both the Gryfalcon and the recent Snowy Owls.  I scanned in the Gryfalcon territory but came up with only 2 Red-tailed Hawks, 1 Rough-legged Hawk, and a very spritely Sharp-shinned Hawk that attacked a large flock of European Starlings.  The Sharpie came up empty and then an American Crow pecked the top of its head as it flew by.  It was interesting to watch the whole scene unfold.  Hunger was setting in as I headed to the Snowy Owl fields and I got a little mixed up and only later realized I didn't go far enough East to see the Snowy that was sitting in a field all day. A lifer left for another day!

Overall, great birding on Saturday and though I dipped on both a Snowy and an Eastern Screech-owl on Sunday it was a pleasant birding weekend. I was finally able to emerge from the house and get outside (though in only brief moments). This weekend I plan to bird with the Cayuga Bird Club on Sunday and hopefully find a few target species.  Wish me luck!

Top Ten Lifers of 2014

Each year I like to look back at the best birds of the year.  Usually I rank the top 10 lifers and some years I cheat and put extra on the list but this year I have a fairly concise top ten.  I have always lived on the East Coast and even though I have visited Colorado on occasion, this was my first full year living in the West.  With that I present my Top Ten Lifers of 2014, all of which were found in Colorado.

Number 10: Barrow's Goldeneye
Location: Timnath Reservoir 
Seen with Daisy on my day off of work right near the shoreline - 2 males and 2 females present.

Barrow's Goldeneye vs. Common Goldeneye

Number 9: Franklin's Gull
Location: Horseshoe Lake, Loveland

Seen with Emily and the dogs on the drive back from Boulder in April. 

Number 8: Sage Thrasher
Location: Pawnee National Grasslands
As Andy and I were chasing better weather we headed to the grasslands where we had killer looks at a Sage Thrasher.  The other bird highlight was a Sprague's Pipit within 10 feet away.

Number 7: Prairie Falcon
Location: Red Rocks Park
My brother came to Denver for a conference so I took him on a nice walk around Red Rocks where we were greeted with a flyover Prairie Falcon circling over the iconic rock.

Number 6: Magnificent Hummingbird
Location: Coal Creek Canyon, in the foothills above Boulder.
With reports of a Magnificent Hummingbird in the foothills I decided to give a chase since it was sticking around for a week or more.  I was able to drive up Coal Creek Canyon a few days before a major snowstorm.  The hummer came in for numerous visits during my morning and I even had some moment alone with it on the deck.  I hope this magnificent wayward bird made it safely south before the storm.  

Taken from Coal Creek Canyon

Number 5: Evening Grosbeak
Location: Fawn Brook Inn, Allenspark, Boulder County
After a mishap of missing a plane to Florida we took a drive up Allenspark to find winter birds.  We were in luck we found a flock of Cassin's Finch, Evening Grosbeak and even one Gray-crowned Rosy-finch.  It was a beautiful winter day with birds all around in the snowy gardens of the Fawn Brook Inn.  This spot is wonderful in all weather - perfect for hummingbirds in summer and winter specialists in the cold months.  

Taken at Fawn Brook Inn

Number 4: Rough-legged Hawk
Location: Colina Mariposa Natural Area outside Fort Collins
On New Year's Day, Emily and I went in search of birds and we were rewarded with a Rough-legged Hawk flying low over the open space south of Fort Collins.  We watched it until it disappeared over the housing communities.  Over the winter we saw numerous Rough-legged Hawks on our travels in Larimer County.  Each one was a delight.

Taken in North Larimer County near Douglas Reservoir

Number 3: American Dipper
Location: Poudre River near Mishawaka
After quitting my job at Larimer Humane Society and before heading to Ithaca, New Year I took a day to head up into the Foothills.  After coming down Rist Canyon I saw my lifer Northern Shrike in the top of a pine.  Feeling extremely lucky I decided to drive slowly down Poudre Canyon and scan for Dippers.  As I passed the Mishawaka I saw a bird dive off a rock and slammed on brakes. I maneuvered to a nearby parking spot at the Mish and had crippling looks at a nemesis bird.  It was a perfect birding moment and a little gift from Colorado before I move back to the East Coast.

Poudre River near the Mish

Number 2: Painted Redstart
Location: Crow Valley Campground, Pawnee National Grasslands
Warblers are my number one favorite bird and it's without surprise that my lifer Painted Redstart came in a the near-top of the list.  It was a close call and I would argue a tie with first place but I'm putting this colorful little warbler at number two since it's a vagrant.  The Painted Redstart was only a 30-minute drive away so after work I scooped Emily up from work and we headed east to the Pawnee National Grasslands.  Crow Valley Campground is a tree oasis in a grassland desert.  I'm always surprised by what shows up in this small tree-lined campground.  We were the only people in the campground for most of the time and had plenty of chances to watch this fast and lively migrant.  It was feeding in the treetops for most of the visit and a few days later I heard it had departed.  

Crow Valley Campground Painted Redstart

And at Number 1: Red Crossbill
Location: 1st seen in South Dakota Black Hills but later seen in Grandview Cemetery

That's a photo of Lark above in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  It's memorable because minutes after snapping this picture I saw a bird fly onto a nearby rock.  It was a Red Crossbill and then a juvenile joined it.  They only stayed a few minutes but this little family was a perfect addition to the lifer list.  A month later I saw a whole flock of them at Grandview Cemetery.

Look at that beak!

The Crossbill made the top bird of the year because of one simple thing - that beak!  The Red Crossbill is an amazing bird to behold and definitely is the Top Lifer of 2014.  It's one of those birds I have been salivating over since I flipped through my first field guide.  I feel blessed to have seen such an amazing bird and have such a special up-close encounter on my first time.  

The other eight lifers that I picked up in Colorado this year were: Cassin's Finch, Winter Wren, Clark's Grebe, White-faced Ibis, Cassin's Vireo, Brewer's Sparrow, Sprague's Pipit, and Northern Shrike.

Here's to 2015 being a bird year for all!  I'm expecting some seabirds to top my list in the coming year.

American Dipper

Finally the elusive American Dipper was bagged!  In celebration of completing my Master's I took the pups on a little drive down Poudre Canyon on Friday.  I've been searching for a dipper for over a year now but it finally all fell together.  I just took a chance at skimming the rocks as I slowly drove by the river and right after passing Mishawaka I saw the little dip jump off a rock.

The perfect place to see a dipper since a parking lot was literally 5 feet in reverse which I did despite the danger because of my overwhelming joy. A quick hop across the road and I was face to face with a nemesis bird.

You can see why the bird is easy to miss in the photo above due to it's uncanny ability to just turn into a rock.

This little fellow was perfect and gave me a show for about 15 minutes before flying downriver.  I watched it feed, swim, hop and bob.  The best part was I had it all to myself on a beautiful, sunny Colorado day.

Thanks little American Dipper with your rolly-polly body, your funny walk, and your feeding show on the Poudre River.  You made my day!

Up-close with a Clark's Nutcracker

Every now and then you get a special moment with a bird when you're not even looking.  On a recent trip to Rocky Mountain National Park we stopped at a pullover to see the view and as we stood there with the nippy wind swirling about a Clark's Nutcracker landed feet away.  I raced to the car and was able to get back in time to capture a few up-close-and-personal shots.

I've never seen such a friendly Clark's Nutcracker.  Mostly my interactions with the species have been a quick flyover while hiking or a brief feeder visit that turns short with any sudden movements.  

Rocky Mountain National Park is a beautiful park and it was made even more special with the appearance of such a cooperative bird.

Magnificent Hummingbird Morning

On Saturday I took a drive down to Boulder/Golden to see the lingering Magnificent Hummingbird that has been hanging out at a private residence.  Adam, the gracious hummingbird host, gave excellent directions and provided some wonderful insight to the bird before she showed up to the feeder.  

Luckily I was greeted on three separate occasions with her feeding on the deck in addition to watching her perch on nearby trees and performing some insect acrobatics.

I was struck by her size, her energy, and though it was great for me to see her, I do hope she gets the message that she should be heading south.  

The Magnificent Hummingbird shared feeder time with a group of Hairy Woodpeckers.  Though I was surprised to see her chase off one woodpecker and take back control of the nectar.  Of course when you're a hummingbird the size of a chickadee you can chase off larger birds.  I don't claim any amazing photographic efforts but I did love the photo below with her landing gear out as she goes in for a perch spot.

Adam's yard wasn't just hummers and woodpeckers.  I saw this friendly Mountain Chickadee, who graced the railing on multiple trips to and from the nearby seed feeder.

Overall it was a great morning on the Adam's deck soaking in a lovely lifer and observing all the other bird behavior.  The following birds were seen in my one hour visit: Magnificent Hummingbird, Mountain Chickadee, Townsend's Solitaire, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Common Raven, Dark-eyed Junco, Clark's Nutcracker, House Finch, Cassin's Finch, and Brown Creeper.

Thanks Adam for sharing your beautiful deck and this lovely bird.  

Bird Murals in Fort Collins

Fort Collins is a fun and vibrant city full of life and art.  As I was walking down a seemingly boring alley near downtown I couldn't help but pause as these beautiful images jumped from the transformers and utility boxes.  I love all things birds but these works of art are more than that, they are just beautiful.  They take a hum-drum part of life and make it alive.

I recently read an article about murals and it even included a photo of one of Fort Collins bird utility boxes: http://heartfeltassociates.wordpress.com/2014/08/29/paintbrushes-ready-seven-reasons-to-make-a-mural/

I think murals are definitely used well in Larimer County, as you see them throughout Fort Collins and Loveland but I would love to see incorporated in other areas.  I definitely think its a nice way to bring the community together, create beautiful art, and make life a little more vibrant.

Painted Redstart & CO Birding

One of the things I miss the most about Florida is all the birds, just everywhere.  I could drive in downtown Miami and see half a dozen species from the car window.  A spin around a small trail could tally another 30-40.  That's one species every minute of the walk!  But Colorado birding seems to be a different beast.  Birds come in waves and they are harder to see but when they show up, they are pretty stunning.  Whether it's hummingbirds migrating through or winter finches coming off the mountains, you never know what you may see.  So in early May I got wind of a Painted Redstart only 30 minutes away.  I failed to share some of the photos with all of you so here were my best of the afternoon.  Mind you, I mostly watched through my bins but a few shots for memories sake was definitely in order.  Emily basically had to pull me back in the car so we could get home on the school night in decent time.

The Painted Redstart was very cooperative and the 2-4 birders in the area got great looks.  It was joined periodically by a few warblers but mostly kept to itself.  We watched it feed, preen, and flit about the tops of the trees in the Pawnee Grasslands campground.  It was not my first Colorado lifer but certainly one I will always remember.

To top it off, on the way home I spied some White-faced Ibis in the highway ditch area.  Another lifer and one that I was expecting at some point but not while chasing a rare bird.  All the same, we spun the car around, watched from the shoulder as this group feed in the shallow waters.  The Glossy Ibis that were a daily bird for me are long gone but it's good to know another species is there to take its place.  In 2015, Andy Lantz and I are going to attempt simultaneous Big County Years.  I will tackle Larimer County, in which I live and he will pick a county in Nashville, TN.  It won't be the same as birding along side my favorite dude but it will be a nice way to connect a country away from each other.  That's the nice thing about birding, even if it can be a solitary activity it's a community of people all together.

Summer Road-trip: South Dakota

With a long weekend ahead we packed up the car and hit to the road north to South Dakota. We traveled the winding hills of green prairie for 5 hours and then we were at camp.  At first light we drove the 5 minutes up to Mount Rushmore.  Surprisingly, we enjoyed the Presidents and the sculptor did a wonderful job of using the natural rock design in creating this one of a kind memorial.

After that we hit the road to explore the Black Hills.  Our only life bird of the trip came next after breakfast where we were given 2 beautiful Red Crossbills.  Then we kept on driving the scenic highways that flow in and out of Custer State Park.

Little Baba Ghanoush had her first experience swimming - the water was frightfully cold but she did well.

The Needles Highways proved to be everything it was hyped up to be.  We went through single lane tunnels, switchbacked by beautiful pinnacles, and enjoyed the scenery.

Some of the tunnels were exceptionally tight but that just added to the mystery.  After a fun day of hiking, driving, and sightseeing we went back to camp and enjoyed a relaxing evening by Grizzly Creek.

Notable birds of Grizzly Creek Campground: Black-headed Grosbeak, Pine Siskins, Violet-green Swallows, Western Tanager, Common Nighthawk, and an Empid flycatcher that gave me quite a show.  I believe it's a Western Wood-Pewee after inspection, please let me know in the comments if you think my little one may be of another variety.