Thought I would share CSU Ornithology Club's version of our Raptor Alley trip--quite poetic! Their bird tally follows, too.
"The eastern sky blazed golden and the rising sun warmed the gentle breeze as CSU Field Ornithologists gathered on campus yesterday morning for our first field trip of 2017. Twenty-four eager students and staff hurdled over the highways to Nunn, CO, a world very different from the gardens, wetlands, and suburban parks of Fort Collins. From the prairies, fallow fields, and ranchlands sprout a vast assortment of electric poles, fence posts, grain silos. Trees grow only around farmhouses and in creek bottoms. This is the brown and gold landscape that northern Colorado's raptor expert and prolific birder, Gary Lefko, has named "Raptor Alley."
Yesterday Gary treated our group to a full auto tour of this place, starting in Nunn and spiraling outward over the gravel county roads into the extensive farmlands and grasslands. We arrived in Nunn on schedule and were greeted promptly by a Prairie Falcon atop a silo. Before it darted away, there were a few moments to admire its patterning, like a marshmallow drizzled from the head down with milk chocolate. Our six-car caravan trailed Gary only one mile to a stand of cottonwoods concealing an inconspicuous Great Horned Owl. Just down the road, we watched through our car windshields a Red-tailed Hawk flash its fiery hind feathers as it soared out of sight. A turn to the south brought us upon a Ferruginous Hawk atop a telephone pole, crouched low into the west wind, eyeing us suspiciously for several minutes before taking flight low across the field and over the horizon. Rusty red flashed on its snowy underparts like cayenne pepper sprinkled heavily over fried egg whites. Dang these birds are making me hungry.
Soon after that, a Rough-legged Hawk maneuvered elegantly through the wind on a northward mission. It's black-banded white tail flashed conspicuously and its heavy sable wing patches simplified in my mind the infinite complexity of this bird's plumage. The black, white and silver animal teetering and dipping through the wind—it challenged me to see beyond only those characteristics necessary for identification. The allure of raptors, I find, is the infinite variation which can keep an observer staring intently at each bird even after he/she knows all the species identifications by heart.
By this time in the morning, the West Wind had accumulated force. The tall golden grass rippled wildly as if under some invisible stampede of antelope. From that point onward, our successes with raptors came less frequently. Even these fearsome masters of the skies saw reason to duck away from the malevolent gusts. A stunning female Northern Harrier hunted tenaciously at the edge of a corn field. As she fought to stay low, the wind knocked her around like a leaf. Soon she landed to rest, and through the thin stalks of dried grass I could see her hazel face, eyes painted sharply with white mascara.
Our morning ended at a small stand of cottonwoods in a draw northeast of Nunn, where a Great Horned Owl clung to its tree and leaned into the fierce wind, feathers flapping like a flag and ear tufts bent fully backwards. I have never seen the wind rip at an animal like that, and I thought it must be uncomfortable in this gale. After staring wearily into our cameras with deep yellow eyes, it flew off to a more distant tree, and our group said goodbye to Raptor Alley. -Francis"
| Species | Count |
| Northern Harrier | 2 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 3 |
| Rough-legged Hawk | 1 |
| Ferruginous Hawk | 2 |
| Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) | 10 |
| Eurasian Collared-Dove | 15 |
| Great Horned Owl | 2 |
| American Kestrel | 2 |
| Merlin | 1 |
| Prairie Falcon | 1 |
| Common Raven | 2 |
| Horned Lark | 75 |
| American Robin | 15 |
| European Starling | 35 |
Thanks Gary Lefko, Nunn
On Monday, January 30, 2017 at 8:56:10 AM UTC-7, The "Nunn Guy" wrote:
Hi all
I led an enthusiastic group of birds from CSU Ornithology Club (21 students)--always a fun group to be with. The day was "ominous" though for raptoring ... 30-35mph winds! Despite winds group got to see assorted species and some great views of raptors.
The morning started out great my Prairie Falcon "plant" was awaiting the group across from Nunn Cafe as well as my "second plant" bird our local Great Horned Owl in his usual location across from my house. Both excited the group greatly. They day ended with another Great Horned Owl bookend--even closer than one at beginning of trip.
Photos: http://coloradobirder.club/m/photos/browse/album/Raptor- Alley-January-29-2017/
Overall, it was "tough-sledding" with following results:
Total raptors: 12
- Great Horned Owl - 2
- Red-tailed Hawk - 3
- Rough-legged Hawk - 1
- Ferruginous Hawk - 2
- Prairie Falcon - 1
- Northern Harrier - 1
- American Kestrel - 2
Other:
- Common Raven - 3
- Pronghorn - 14+
- CSU Ornithology Club documented other bird species as well
Thanks Gary Lefko, Nunn
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