Dave Wade and I just finished 12 hrs of birding in the highlands of northwest Larimer County. We started with predawn owling near Pennock Pass (central Larimer) which was a bust due to high winds. To escape the wind and threatening stormy weather, we headed northwest where skies appeared clear. We hurried west on Hwy 14 through Poudre Canyon in order to bird along the Laramie River Rd (CR103) early while birds were still singing.
The principal highlight was 15 different Sandhill Cranes, a species that is flagged as rare in Larimer by eBird. This included 3 family groups with 6 chicks (see photo below), plus three other solitary adults.
The secondary highlight was my first visit to Hohnholz Lakes SWA near the Wyoming border. This should be added to the Larimer County page on the county birding website and labeled a hotspot in eBird. Here we were serenaded by 3(!) singing Veeries (and lots of mosquitos too). Plus, lake no. 1 (aka East Lake) hosted a flock of 5 cooperative subadult female Barrow's Goldeneye! These will be the first June reports of this species in Larimer County in eBird, and only the second summer report [guess how we concluded they were subadult, i.e. First summer birds].
Finally, returning to Fort Collins, we stopped at the Narrows Campground where a Lewis' Woodpecker had been reported earlier this month. We parked in the picnic area at the west end and walked to the last table (furthest west, upstream). The Lewis's quickly appeared across the river in the burnt out trees.
I will post photos of the Barrow's goldeneyes to the CFO fb page and eBird.
Nick Komar
Fort Collins CO
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