Go birding with us!
Wild Bird Center Saturday Walks:
From 7:30 am (promptly) to 9:45 am (approximately)
Every Saturday year-round.
Every last Saturday of the month we travel further afield than normal and return a little later.
Bird Walk E-mails
Join our Bird Walk e-mail list!
In order to keep up with local sightings, we will send you a list of all the birds seen on our most recent birdwalks as well as where we saw them. We will also update you on upcoming walks and events at the Boulder Wild Bird Center.
If you wish to join, send e-mail to us at WBCBoulderCO@AOL.com
Wild Bird Center Saturday Morning Birders
September 6, 2008.
Partly cloudy and calm. 70 degrees. 10 participants.
Instead of chasing the brown pelican all over the county we decided to visit Walden and Sawhill Ponds. Several shorebirds have been spotted there this week because there is so much shore. The water situation is dire. We won’t be seeing a lot of waterfowl out there this fall. Just too little water.
Ecocycle Pond:
DUCKS, GEESE AND SWANS
Mallard, 20
HAWKS, EAGLES AND KITES
Bald Eagle, 1
Red-tailed Hawk, 1
PLOVERS AND LAPWINGS
Killdeer, 6
SANDPIPERS
Wilson's Snipe, 1
Lesser Yellowlegs, 10
Spotted Sandpiper, 1
SWALLOWS
Barn Swallow, 6
THRUSHES
American Robin, 1
CROWS AND JAYS
Black-billed Magpie, 1
Common Raven, 1
FINCHES, SISKINS, CROSSBILLS
House Finch, 10
WOOD WARBLERS
Common Yellowthroat, 1
BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, GRACKLES, ETC.
Red-winged Blackbird, 20
Yellow-headed Blackbird, 1
Species seen: 15
Walden/Sawhill Ponds:
CORMORANTS
Double-crested Cormorant, 3
HERONS, EGRETS AND BITTERNS
Great Blue Heron, 4
Great Egret, 1
Green Heron, 2
Black-crowned Night-Heron, 1
DUCKS, GEESE AND SWANS
Canada Goose, 20
Wood Duck, 10
American Wigeon, 6
Green-winged Teal, 20
Mallard, 30
Northern Pintail, 3
NEW WORLD VULTURES
Turkey Vulture, 2
HAWKS, EAGLES AND KITES
Swainson's Hawk, 1, dark morph
AVOCETS AND STILTS
American Avocet, 12
PLOVERS AND LAPWINGS
Killdeer, 20
SANDPIPERS
Lesser Yellowlegs, 12
Sanderling, 1
Semipalmated Sandpiper, 2
Least Sandpiper, 6
GULLS
Ring-billed Gull, 120
PIGEONS AND DOVES
Rock Pigeon, 4
Eurasian Collared-Dove, 1
Mourning Dove, 8
KINGFISHERS
Belted Kingfisher, 3
WOODPECKERS
Northern Flicker, 2
SWALLOWS
Violet-green Swallow, 6
Cliff Swallow, 1
Barn Swallow, 30
WRENS
House Wren, 1
CHICKADEES AND TITS
Black-capped Chickadee, 2
CROWS AND JAYS
Blue Jay, 2
Black-billed Magpie, 6
STARLINGS
European Starling, 4
FINCHES, SISKINS, CROSSBILLS
House Finch, 4
American Goldfinch, 6
WOOD WARBLERS
Yellow Warbler, 1
SPARROWS, TOWHEES, JUNCOS
Lark Sparrow, 1
Song Sparrow, 2
BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, GRACKLES, ETC.
Red-winged Blackbird, 1
Species seen: 39
Total species seen: 47
Other interesting sightings:
We still continue to see good hummingbird numbers on the plains. I had two broad-tailed hummingbirds in my yard in NW Longmont yesterday.
August 30, 2008.
Sunny and calm. 75 degrees. 20 Participants.
We had a wonderful morning in the Longmont Area. We were witness to lots of fascinating events. We saw both Clark's and western grebe families with young riding on the backs of their parents. We saw a hummingbird attacking a bald eagle and we got to see an active burrowing owl family. It seems to have been a good year for burrowing owls on the plains. Perhaps that success will help repopulate Boulder County.
Jim Hamm Nature Preserve:
GREBES
Pied-billed Grebe, 2
CORMORANTS
Double-crested Cormorant, 2
DUCKS, GEESE AND SWANS
Canada Goose, 6
Mallard, 24
Cinnamon Teal, 1
Ring-necked Duck, 6
HAWKS, EAGLES AND KITES
Swainson's Hawk, 2
Red-tailed Hawk, 2
RAILS, GALLINULES AND COOTS
American Coot, 60
PLOVERS AND LAPWINGS
Killdeer, 4
GULLS
Ring-billed Gull, 1
PIGEONS AND DOVES
Rock Pigeon, 6
Mourning Dove, 4
HUMMINGBIRDS
Broad-tailed Hummingbird, 1
SWALLOWS
Barn Swallow, 4
WRENS
Marsh Wren, 4, responding to my silly pishing
CHICKADEES AND TITS
Black-capped Chickadee, 2
CROWS AND JAYS
Blue Jay, 2
FINCHES, SISKINS, CROSSBILLS
House Finch, 4
WOOD WARBLERS
Yellow Warbler, 4
Common Yellowthroat, 1
BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, GRACKLES, ETC.
Red-winged Blackbird, 1
Yellow-headed Blackbird, 20
Common Grackle, 1
Species seen: 24
Union Reservoir:
GREBES
Western Grebe, 60, including 2 young. Many pairs rushing (i.e. running upright across the water surface)
Clark's Grebe, 10, including 2 young
PELICANS
American White Pelican, 30
CORMORANTS
Double-crested Cormorant, 1
HERONS, EGRETS AND BITTERNS
Great Blue Heron, 4
Great Egret, 4
Snowy Egret, 1
DUCKS, GEESE AND SWANS
Canada Goose, 6
Mallard, 4
NEW WORLD VULTURES
Turkey Vulture, 2
OSPREY
Osprey, 1
HAWKS, EAGLES AND KITES
Bald Eagle, 1, on the ground in the prairie dog colony that hosts the owls
Northern Harrier, 1
Swainson's Hawk, 4
Red-tailed Hawk, 3
FALCONS AND CARACARAS
American Kestrel, 12
RAILS, GALLINULES AND COOTS
American Coot, 2
PLOVERS AND LAPWINGS
Killdeer, 4
SANDPIPERS
Spotted Sandpiper, 1
GULLS
Ring-billed Gull, 20
Franklin's Gull, 1
PIGEONS AND DOVES
Eurasian Collared-Dove, 12
Mourning Dove, 6
OWLS
Burrowing Owl, 6
KINGFISHERS
Belted Kingfisher, 3
WOODPECKERS
Northern Flicker, 2
TYRANT FLYCATCHERS
Western Kingbird, 2
Eastern Kingbird, 1
SWALLOWS
Barn Swallow, 6
CROWS AND JAYS
Black-billed Magpie, 2
STARLINGS
European Starling, 4
FINCHES, SISKINS, CROSSBILLS
American Goldfinch, 4
BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, GRACKLES, ETC.
Yellow-headed Blackbird, 20
Species seen: 33
Sandstone Ranch:
DUCKS, GEESE AND SWANS
Canada Goose, 20
NEW WORLD VULTURES
Turkey Vulture, 1
HAWKS, EAGLES AND KITES
Bald Eagle, 1, 2nd year
Red-tailed Hawk, 2
FALCONS AND CARACARAS
American Kestrel, 1
PIGEONS AND DOVES
Rock Pigeon, 30
Mourning Dove, 2
HUMMINGBIRDS
Broad-tailed Hummingbird, 1, attacking the eagle
WOODPECKERS
Downy Woodpecker, 1
Northern Flicker, 1
SWALLOWS
Barn Swallow, 2
THRUSHES
American Robin, 1
CROWS AND JAYS
Blue Jay, 2
BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, GRACKLES, ETC.
Western Meadowlark, 1
Species seen: 13
Total species seen: 49
Other interesting sightings:
We are still seeing good numbers of both calliope and broad-tailed hummingbirds on the plains.
Click below to download our eNewsletters:
Aug 08: Avian Olympics
Jul 08: Attracting Hummingbirds / Finding Baby Birds
Jun 08: Pine Beetle Infestation / Meadowlarks
May 08: Hummingbird Feeding 101 / Grackles
Apr 08: Eurasian Collared-Doves / Boulder Birds Checklist
Mar 08: Woodpecker Problems?
Feb 08: Sand Hill Cranes
Jan 08: Coffee Trade
Dec 07: December Highlights
Nov 07: Wildlife Tree Day
Oct 07: Dealing With Squirrels
Sep 07: How Birds Find Food
Aug 07: Hummingbird Migration / West Nile Virus