[cobirds] Migrant updates, owls, turkeys, hawks, etc.

All:

          Last two weeks in Broomfield, and Westminster areas have seen a slow uptick in migrants.  Here are some observations:

American White Pelicans have been coming in slowly over the last two weeks.  Plaster Reservoir is so-so, with up to 50 pelicans.   Teller Lake #5 in Boulder had about 100 pelicans two days ago. 

Great Tailed Grackles have returned to Teller Lake #5 in Boulder.  This is about the 4th year in a row.  Saw 4 of them.  Listen for loud raucous calls. 

Marsh wrens were at Plaster Res. and Alexx and Michael's Pond in Broomfield two weeks ago - but have fallen silent.  

Cowbird numbers increasing. 

Say's Phoebe's have come back in fair numbers several weeks ago and are now building nests under porch eves, and gutters in Broomfield. 

Snowy Egrets were at Buffalo Lake in Broomfield yesterday. 

First Swainson's Hawk seen yesterday in Broomfield. 

White Crowned Sparrows still being heard and seen in Broomfield, Westminster, and Thornton mostly along creeks and irrigation ditches.  

Spotted Towhees have arrived in good numbers in canyon bottoms and brush habitat.  Singing. 

Common Grackle numbers are increasing.  

Ospreys are back.  

Flocks of Yellow Rumped Warblers have been moving along Big Dry Creek over the last two weeks, in Westminster. 

Wild Turkeys are being seen near East Lake #2 in Westminster (quite tame) and in old town Louisville. 

Avocets and Yellowlegs have come through Broomfield that last few days.  

Nesting:  European Starlings are nesting in the hundreds.  American Robins have staked out territories and vicious fights have begun.  Bushtits are gathering nesting materials.  Flickers have ratcheted up drumming on rooftop pipes.   Great Blue Herons are on nests near McCall Lake, Metzger Farm, and Walden Pond area. 

 Notes from my annual Great Horned Owl Tour (yesterday - Sunday). 

We visited 5 owl nest sites in Thornton, Westminster, and Broomfield (of the six being monitored).  Owlets were at 4 of the 5 sites (maybe 5 to 6 weeks old) with adult females.   One owl nest site was abandoned - possible predation.  Other 4 sites had a total of 9 owls (adults and juveniles).  

Note on owl sites:  all owl nest sites are undisclosed, but ridiculously close to bike and hike paths.   All the locals know where they are, and they really love their owls.  Over the last 25 years of leading these tours, I've found that the easiest way to find great horned owl nest sites is to simply ask people along bike paths and in parks if they know where any owls are.  One out three times local people will say:  "Oh yes.  Would you like me to show you where the (baby) owls are?"   And, lo, they will bring you right to the nest sites. 

Also seen on the tour:  two Cooper's Hawks nest sites, and Bald Eagle nest site (feeding young).  

Herps are out:  Colorado Chorus Frogs, Western Painted Turtles, and snakes.  

The sad situation with lack of snow and water has drained out lots of ponds and creeks.  Alexx and Michael's Pond is 90% gone with rotting carps and algae blooms in the remaining water.  Walden \ Sawhills is beginning to look like a desert.   And Bouder Creek is so low you could step over it.  Alas I think this bodes badly for upcoming spring birding.  Hope I'm wrong. 

Best birding wishes, 

John T (Tumasonis)  Broomfield CO

"I'm not a real birder.  I only pretend to be one on CoBirds."  

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[cobirds] Eastern & Black"ish" Phoebes-Bear Ck Greenbelt

Stopped in for a quick walk on the Bear Creek Greenbelt at Wadsworth Blvd just south of Yale (Lakewood, Jeff.Co.) this afternoon (Sun, 12 Apr’26) to see what was around.  Really pretty quiet, but a continuing BLACK X EASTERN PHEOBE hybrid as well as a nice clean EASTERN PHEOBE were hanging out near the Wadsworth bridge over Bear Creek and easily viewed from the foot path bridge.  I think these guys have been there for a while, but hadn’t seen a note out here on COBirds, so hence this post.  As these guys are very easily accessible (short walk from the dirt trailhead parking lot just south of the creek), so worth a stop for good chance to study.  In addition, had a SAY’S PHEOBE at the parking lot for a fun 2½ phoebe walk.  Please let me know separately if you’d like more details.

 

Good Birding,

Doug

Currently Denver

 

[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (12 Apr 2026) 20 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 12, 2026
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	3	96	123
Osprey	1	16	22
Bald Eagle	1	6	19
Northern Harrier	1	13	25
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	54	75
Cooper's Hawk	2	94	146
American Goshawk	0	0	1
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	8	123	371
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Swainson's Hawk	0	2	2
Ferruginous Hawk	1	3	12
Golden Eagle	0	1	8
American Kestrel	3	192	331
Merlin	0	1	4
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	3
Prairie Falcon	0	2	4
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipitrine	0	5	11
Unknown Buteo	0	0	3
Unknown Falcon	0	2	3
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	2	3
Total:	20	613	1166

Observation start time:	09:00:00
Observation end time:	17:00:00
Total observation time:	8 hours
Official Counter	Emma Riley, Soren Zappia
Observers:	Marina Prado-Echeagaray

Visitors:
11 Visitors. We a good number of visitors to the hawkwatch today. It was great to have so many folks excited to watch the spring migration, and we are all looking forward to Raptorthon next weekend. Thank you to Cassandra Baird, Ric Olson, and Caroline Fegley for their help today - especially on days like these with high birds!

Weather:
It was beautiful at the ridge today with light and variable winds, often from the east but shifting west in the final hour. Cloud cover was light but comprehensive in the morning, with scattered denser clouds. Midday, the light cloud cover dissolved but the scattered clouds remained. In the final few hours of the count, the cloud cover became more extensive, similar to the morning. Temperatures were moderate to warm in the low 70s to low 80s F.

Raptor Observations:
We had a few birds migrate today, at a relatively steady pace throughout the day until the final 2 hours of the count. Turkey Vultures were abundant, but only a few went north, and many were content to wander up and down the west ridge. Red-tailed Hawks were our most numerous migrants of the day. Besides a few low American Kestrels, most birds were high overhead or high on the west. We had another Ferruginous Hawk today, for our third day in a row! After the long period without them, we are curious how many more we will see. Outside of raptors, we saw another Broad-tailed Hummingbird zoom past the ridge. Another notable sighting was a pair of Western Milksnakes in the grass nearby.

Non-raptor Observations:
White-throated Swift 4, Broad-tailed Hummingbird 1, Feral Pigeon 1, American White Pelican 7, Northern Flicker 1, Woodhouse's Scrub Jay 3, Black-billed Magpie 2, Common Raven 3, swalow sp. 4, American Bushtit 1, House Finch 1, Pine Siskin 1, Dark-eyed Junco 1, Spotted Towhee 1, Western Meadowlark 1

Predictions:
Tomorrow, mostly sunny skies are forecasted, with moderate winds from the west and southwest and temperatures in the 60s F. Note that a rattlesnake was seen today - be sure to watch for them when hiking on the trail.

---

Report submitted by Official Counter of the day shown above (dinoridgehw@gmail.com)
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at: www.dinosaurridgehawkwatch.org
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Trektellen.org - [Project Details]

---

Site Description
Dinosaur Ridge is the only regularly staffed hawk watch in Colorado and is the
best place in the world to see migrating Ferruginous Hawks. Hawk watchers may
see 17 species of migrating raptors; and it is an excellent site to see rare
dark morph buteos including Broad-winged hawk, Swainson's hawk, Ferruginous
hawk, Rough-legged hawk and Red-tailed Hawk. Other raptors we see include Golden
and Bald Eagles, Northern harrier, Osprey, Peregrine Falcons, Prairie Falcons,
Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels, Merlin, and Turkey
Vultures. American Goshawk is uncommon but also counted each season. Non-raptor
species include Rock Wren, Bushtit, Western Bluebird, Sandhill Crane,
White-throated Swift, and American White Pelican. Birders of any skill level are
always welcome. The hawk watch at Dinosaur Ridge is staffed by Hawk Counter(s)
and volunteers from March through early May.

Directions to site:
From exit 259 on I-70 towards Morrison, drive south under freeway and take left
into first parking lot, the Stegosaurus lot. Follow hawk watch signs from the
southwest end of the parking lot to the hawk watch site. The hike starts heading
east on an old two-track and quickly turns south onto a trail on the west side
of the ridge. When the trail nears the top of the ridge, turn left, and walk to
the flat area at the crest of the ridge. (Distance: 0.56 miles, Elevation gain:
259 feet)

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[cobirds] Barr Lake-Adams Co

Birders,

We were at Barr Lake today, leading our final birdwalk there. It was  pretty good there at least compared to our lists for about the last 12 mos. We had 36 species in 2 hrs. 

Birds of any note were:

15 Franklin Gulls

9 Cackling Geese. eBird did not have them on the list for today.

3 BW Teal

1 Ruddy Duck and some Lesser Scaup. 

I only mention the scaup because we have had very few diving ducks there this winter. 

We had our FOY Swainson's Hawk north of Lochbuie on the road out of town. 

--

Ira Sanders

Golden, CO

"My mind is a raging torrent flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." Blazing Saddles

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[cobirds] Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists (11 Apr 2026) 31 Raptors

Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists
Golden, Colorado, USA

Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 11, 2026
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	4	93	120
Osprey	1	15	21
Bald Eagle	0	5	18
Northern Harrier	1	12	24
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1	54	75
Cooper's Hawk	8	92	144
American Goshawk	0	0	1
Red-shouldered Hawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	4	115	363
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Swainson's Hawk	1	2	2
Ferruginous Hawk	1	2	11
Golden Eagle	0	1	8
American Kestrel	10	189	328
Merlin	0	1	4
Peregrine Falcon	0	1	3
Prairie Falcon	0	2	4
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipitrine	0	5	11
Unknown Buteo	0	0	3
Unknown Falcon	0	2	3
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	2	3
Total:	31	593	1146

Observation start time:	09:00:00
Observation end time:	16:30:00
Total observation time:	7.5 hours
Official Counter	Emma Riley, Soren Zappia
Observers:	Laura Farnsworth

Visitors:
Thank you to Ajit and Liza Antony for bringing a DFO field trip up today to the ridge. We had a busy morning full of visitors and the field trip, and had a total of 9 visitors plus the 11 people in the field trip. Thank you to everyone, including our volunteer Sara Painter, for their help on the ridge today! It was a fun and busy day.

Weather:
Today was a beautiful day up on the ridge with cloud cover present most of the day and temperatures around 22 C. Winds varied in direction throughout the day, sometimes switching directions a few times within an hour. Precipitation and heavy cloud cover was seen S and W of us in the late afternoon. Some rain was present for about 10 minutes at the end of the 1500 hour, and nearby lightning cut the count 30 minutes short

Raptor Observations:
We had a slower day today than yesterday but got some great birds! Migration in the morning was slow, but our visiting DFO group got to see a late season Ferruginous Hawk migrate along the W ridge. We also had some accipitrines move in the morning. A few more migrants came through in the afternoon, mostly moving along the ridge and west of us. The highlight of the day was a beautiful adult light-morph Swainson's Hawk that glided directly overhead in the early afternoon. Birds were generally high today, so getting a low SW was a treat!

Non-raptor Observations:
White-throated Swift 4, Broad-tailed Hummingbird 1, Feral Pigeon 1, American White Pelican 15, Northern Flicker 1, Say's Phoebe 1, Blue Jay 1, Black-billed Magpie 1, American Crow 2, Common Raven 2, Black-capped Chickadee 1, Violet-green Swallow 1, swalow sp. 40, American Bushtit 2, Rock Wren 1, American Robin 2, Pine Siskin 1, Spotted Towhee 1, Western Meadowlark 1

Predictions:
Tomorrow will bring less cloud cover and winds from the W. Any day we will begin to see Broad-winged Hawks!

---

Report submitted by Official Counter of the day shown above (dinoridgehw@gmail.com)
Dinosaur Ridge - Denver Field Ornithologists information may be found at: www.dinosaurridgehawkwatch.org
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]
Count data submitted via Trektellen.org - [Project Details]

---

Site Description
Dinosaur Ridge is the only regularly staffed hawk watch in Colorado and is the
best place in the world to see migrating Ferruginous Hawks. Hawk watchers may
see 17 species of migrating raptors; and it is an excellent site to see rare
dark morph buteos including Broad-winged hawk, Swainson's hawk, Ferruginous
hawk, Rough-legged hawk and Red-tailed Hawk. Other raptors we see include Golden
and Bald Eagles, Northern harrier, Osprey, Peregrine Falcons, Prairie Falcons,
Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels, Merlin, and Turkey
Vultures. American Goshawk is uncommon but also counted each season. Non-raptor
species include Rock Wren, Bushtit, Western Bluebird, Sandhill Crane,
White-throated Swift, and American White Pelican. Birders of any skill level are
always welcome. The hawk watch at Dinosaur Ridge is staffed by Hawk Counter(s)
and volunteers from March through early May.

Directions to site:
From exit 259 on I-70 towards Morrison, drive south under freeway and take left
into first parking lot, the Stegosaurus lot. Follow hawk watch signs from the
southwest end of the parking lot to the hawk watch site. The hike starts heading
east on an old two-track and quickly turns south onto a trail on the west side
of the ridge. When the trail nears the top of the ridge, turn left, and walk to
the flat area at the crest of the ridge. (Distance: 0.56 miles, Elevation gain:
259 feet)

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[cobirds] Barn Swallows & the City Park Bandstand Fire

Regarding the fire-destroyed Denver City Park bandstand: I've asked several organizations to please consider demolishing the structure as soon as possible—hopefully before the Barn Swallows return and build their nests under the structure. They usually start arriving in late April. They will likely build nests regardless of the conditions. It would be sad to demolish the building when it has active nests. Their numbers in City Park are in the hundreds. 

I wrote on April 8 to: 

- City Park Friends and Neighbors
- City Park Alliance
- Denver Parks & Rec
- Denver City Council Dist 9 Darrell Watson directly. Plus the two at-large members, also directly.  

And have not received a single acknowledgment, other than a ticket number autogenerated by denvergov. 

I will keep at it, but if you have any thoughts or suggestions about this concern, please reply. 

Thanks. 

== ==

mike fernandez

Denver
720-351-0887
Communications & Outreach
Denver Field Ornithologists 

[cobirds] Spring birding and nature field trips with Boulder County Audubon Society

Dear Co-Birders,

Boulder County Audubon Society is excited to announce our Spring 2026 field trip lineup! These free, local outings fill up fast, so be sure to check the links below for RSVP details. 

 

Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain with Carl Starace

Saturday, April 25, 2026

8:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Join local bird watcher Carl Starace to observe birds at the easternmost point of the foothills in Boulder County, Rabbit Mountain. Possible species include Say's Phoebe, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Tree Swallow, Rock Wren, and Vesper Sparrow.

Details: https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/rabbit-mountain-carl-starace-april-2026

 

Old St. Vrain Road with Carl Starace

Saturday, May 30, 2026

7:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

Join local bird watcher Carl Starace for birdwatching along the historic Old St Vrain Road. Possible species include Violet-green Swallow, Yellow-breasted Chat, Black-headed Grosbeak, Western Wood-Pewee, and Western Warbling Vireo.

Details: https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/old-st-vrain-road-carl-starace-may-2026

 

Jewels of the Night Sky: Solstice Telescope Party

Thursday, June 11, 12, or 13, 2026 depending on weather

9:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.

Join Naturalist Dave Sutherland and a large telescope for a trip through the universe! The program will be offered once, on the night with the best weather forecast.

Details: https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/solstice-telescope-party-june-2026

 

Destination: Ice Age

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Travel back with naturalist Dave Sutherland to a botanical time capsule, one of the last remnants of the Ice Age forest in Colorado, where natural marvels await. Registration required. Limit 15 participants due to sensitivity of the habitat.

Details: https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/destination-ice-age-june-2026

 

Sonata for Moon, Stars & Fireflies

Monday, June 29, 2026

8:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Naturalist Dave Sutherland will guide a gentle journey from sunset into the light of the rising full moon with a varied selection of classical music inspired by our silvery celestial neighbor, interspersed with modern-day science. This field trip is jointly sponsored by Boulder County Audubon Society and the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra as part of the Musical Hikes program.

Details: https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/sonata-for-moon-stars-fireflies-june-2026

 

And be sure to check out monthly field trips hosted by our friends at the City of Lafayette:

Lafayette Birds! First Sunday Bird Watching

May 3 and June 7, 2026

1:00 p.m. –  3:00  p.m.

Greenlee Wildlife Preserve 1600 Caria Drive Lafayette, CO

All, including beginning birders, are invited to experience the fun and discovery of bird watching on the first Sunday of each month year-round. Knowledgeable bird watchers will be on hand with binoculars, spotting scopes, and learning tools to assist in the fun activity of identifying birds in their natural habitats. Families are encouraged to attend.

Details: https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/lafayette-birds-may-2026

 

Happy birding!

Kit

 --

Kit Seeborg

Communication and Outreach Volunteer

Boulder County Audubon Society

Boulder, Colorado

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