cobirds colorado rare bird

Sunday, 6 September 2026

[cobirds] The Dolores Dippers

Hi everyone,

We set out this year to win the Colorado Birding Challenge, and although we haven't seen every team's results yet, we are fairly confident we succeeded.

For those unaware, the Colorado Birding Challenge operates on a county-by-county par system. The number of bird species normally expected in each county this time of year is set as that county's "par," and the winning team is the one who finds the highest percentage of par.

Last year we ended the day in Clear Creek County with an incredible 162% of par, but it still wasn't enough to win. In certain counties, the par is... shall we say... a LITTLE low, and it makes the teams in those counties hard to beat. We saw the writing on the wall, and this year we went to the county that was, in our opinion, the most underrated in terms of par: beautiful Dolores County in southwest Colorado.

Dolores County contains almost every kind of landscape that western Colorado has to offer. It stretches from low hot desert with Lucy's Warblers and Gambel's Quail all the way up to alpine tundra with ptarmigan and rosy-finches. And it has long been my favorite county in the state, almost criminally neglected by birders and almost everyone else who isn't in the know, as evidenced by the shockingly low par of just 57 species (!!).

We devised a route that started near the county seat of Dove Creek and proceeded west to east, low to high. Our first bird, before dawn, was Common Poorwill, followed by a Great Horned Owl that flew alongside our car at point blank range for a hundred yards. It was a signal for how our day would go.

We found 50 species at the Dove Creek sewage ponds, including Nashville Warbler, Marsh Wren, and a surprising Type 1 Evening Grosbeak (a wandering individual from the Pacific Northwest). A Purple Martin was a great find at the 4 and M pond. Some species we thought we'd missed at low elevation popped up in the high country, including Western Kingbird and Black Phoebe. We had set an ambitious but very doable goal of 100 species, and when it became clear we would blow past that mark, we started aiming for 114 species, 200% of our par. When THAT milestone fell with two hours of daylight remaining, we decided to aim for 120, which came in the form of an amazing flock of about a dozen Pine Grosbeaks feeding on Green Gentians (an amazing plant that takes 40 years to flower and is experiencing a superbloom in the Rockies this year). After full dark, we continued on to see if we could replicate last year's feat of ending with a Boreal Owl. We succeeded.

121 species for the day.

Folks, that's 212% of par.

In the end, we didn't find any ridiculous rarities, but we also didn't miss too many expected birds except for our namesake dippers and, incredibly, Canada Goose. It was an astonishing day with perfect weather in one of the greatest places on Earth.

I owe a debt of gratitude to my excellent teammates (Luke Pheneger, Brian Genge, and Pablo Quezada) and especially to our many donors, all of whom will receive a personal thank-you in the next few days with a picture of the individual bird from our big day that we named in their honor. If you want a bird named after YOU, it's not too late to donate at https://charity.pledgeit.org/2026COBC/teams/dippers !

Our trip report can be found at https://ebird.org/tripreport/567599 .

Thanks to everyone at Colorado Field Ornithologists who organized this fun event for the benefit of birds and their habitats. Hope to see you again next year.

Nathan Pieplow

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Re: [cobirds] The Flock Finders 2026 COBC Report

Love it! Great report on the birds and the traveling

Sent from the all new Aol app for iOS

Buzz Schaumberg

On Sunday, September 6, 2026, 7:28 PM, Kristin Tallis <pkris0@gmail.com> wrote:

Flock Finders Report Out for COBC 2026 -

We absolutely had THE BEST DAY for birding and the adventure was so much fun! Our all women team has completed the COBC in Jackson County each of the last 3 years, progressively getting better each year. We've honed our route, improved our timing for specific stops and have found new hidden gems. This year we went all out in our bid to be the top team (2nd place the last two years) by renting a VRBO, scouting all day Friday and coming up with the best plan for Saturday. The execution was as flawless as the weather and the beauty that is our Colorado Rocky Mountains.

We started at the Walden Reservoir at 6am sharp and ticked almost all our expected duck species along with the other familiar residents like Sandhill Cranes, White-faced Ibis and American White Pelicans. As we were leaving we noticed a tree just between the water and the edge of the road that was full of warblers, among them was 1 of the three Townsand's Warblers we would see on the day. As we left, the raptors were starting to make their appearance, including a hunting Prairie Falcon who made a very close flyby! Those birds are so fast!

By 9:00am we were riding high as we hit 77 species, breaking par for the county! As we made our way down the Ditch Road on the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, we encountered not one, but two, covies of Greater Sage Grouse! This species has eluded us the previous two years as well as on the prior day's scouting trip. We stayed and savored the time we had with these beautiful birds, taking video and photos and allowing them to enjoy the road for as long as they wished. Our next stop brought us to Moose-Goose Nature Trail which was exceptionally dry save for the main channel which had some water. We tallied a Sora who was gracious enough to show himself, much to our delight.

Next we "bombed" it down to Rand where we stopped in the store and stocked up on sweet treats to keep us going. County Rd 27 never misses as the climb to the junction with HWY 14 brings habitat change and new species for the day. Mountain Bluebirds on every wire, flocks of sparrows and surprise Great Blue Heron in a cattle pond. In order to add to our already impressive total, we needed to get to the mountain birds, so we headed for the State Forest State Park Moose Visitor Center. They had their feeders out and we quickly added Cassin's Finch, Steller's Jay, Green Tailed Towhee and a Fox Sparrow to the list. We enjoyed a break and some lunch at Ranger Lakes adding a few more birds. Several Canada Jays were spotted with Cheetos, allegedly stolen from nearby guests enjoying the holiday weekend.

By noon we were at 93 species and speculating on which species would have the honor of being 100. Our next stop is the pinnacle of our route each year, Lake Agnes. We found many warblers fueling up for their journey, including the other two Townsand's of the day. We also found our 100th species, appropriately, the Golden Crowned Kinglet! We also heard and spotted the elusive American Three-Toed Woodpecker. I think we can all appreciate that birding is as much, if not more, about appreciating the behavior of birds. Irene and I had the most amazing experience while photographing two very hungry hatch year Juncos. Just above our head and below the tree line came a rush of air and the sound of strong wing beats. Irene looked up just in time to see the silhouette of the wing and tail of a predator which was quickly confirmed by the alarm calls from Clark's Nutcrackers in every part of the forest. We watched as at least twenty CLNUs flew to the scree field above the American Lakes Trail, calling and gathering in the trees for safety. As more arrived, they flocked up and took to the sky, clearing the ridge line and flying out of sight. After much conversation and review of the events and eyewitness statements, an American Goshawk was added to the list! Could this day get any better?

Our stop at North Michigan Creek Reservoir found us battling the noise of four-wheelers and side-by-sides, but we were able to tally some new birds for the day, including a scolding McGillivary's Warbler and a Cassin's Vireo, a lifer for both Adriana and myself! As we realized that time was ticking and we had hopes of getting to the Loop at Arapaho NWR, we opted to beat feet to our next stop. A quick look at Meadow Creek Reservoir did not yield the Willson's Phalarope that had been there the day before, but instead held a different surprise. We knew that CONI was on our list for later in the evening, but had we not stopped here, we may have missed them entirely! There was a kettle of at least 40 Common Nighthawks coursing through the sky, rounding up their kin and presumably preparing for a trip south that evening! It was magical and we did take time to wonder at their aerial choreography, but not too long as the sun would soon be setting!

We found the Wildlife Loop Road to be in better shape than last year, although the drought has certainly left its mark here, as it has with our whole State. Our next big find was on one of the two bodies of water that held a massive number of waterfowl. The sharp eye, and keen avian knowledge that is Carly Crow, picked a hybrid American Wigeon X Eurasian Wigeon out of all those birds! She carefully documented with digiscope photos and quickly reached out for others to weigh in on the find. By the next morning, she felt we had the supporting evidence we needed to add this to our list! Just after she photographed the bird and we all had our looks at the rare duck, the first BAEA of the day swooped in looking for a quick meal and flushed all those birds! Nature in action once again. As a side note, we determined by this point that North Park in general must have had a mass exodus of shorebirds just days before our event as we found a pitiful few shorebird species.

Our final planned stop was back to where it all started, Walden Reservoir, where we finally found our Wilson's Phalarope. With just a bit of light left, we found ourselves unable to "stop" birding (if there is such a thing) and we searched the town of Walden for anything new we could find. We spent a good 10 minutes tracking a warbler that was a great candidate for Nashville, but we couldn't get a good enough look to confirm, so he will migrate without having been added to our list. Safe travels little one!

The last bird of the day was the unassuming and oddly rare Rock Pigeon. We truly did look for this bird all day and couldn't believe we hadn't seen one till the very end. Thanks for keeping us humble.

Our team was beaming as we sat down to a chili dinner and celebratory beverages and recounted the day. We had so much fun and so many amazing moments that will stay with us always. Birding competition and fundraising aside, being able to spend the day with smart and amazing humans and appreciate the beauty in our natural world made this an extraordinary and memorable day.

Happy Birding,

Irene, Kristin, Carly and Adriana...... aka The Flock Finders

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[cobirds] Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park (06 Sep 2026) 21 Raptors

Mount Zion Hawk Watch at Windy Saddle Park
Golden, Greater Denver, Colorado, USA

To see hourly weather data and details of migrant raptors, look up this watch at hawkcount.org. This is a new raptor migration site identified and designated in mid-September 2024. This is Colorado's 1st fall hawk watch site, and the second hawk watch in Colorado. To get to the site which is along Lookout Mountain Rd. in Golden, enter either Windy Saddle Park or Mount Zion into Google Maps on your favorite navigation app, or enter the coordinates 39.7368,-105.2454. From the parking lot ascend the stone steps to the watch site. EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO THE HAWK WATCH TO ENJOY THE SPECTACLE OF RAPTOR MIGRATION, EVEN IF YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IDENTIFYING RAPTORS IN FLIGHT. We will help you to learn Raptor ID if you are interested. See https://groups.google.com/g/cobirds/c/Oznn4uc6MBk

Daily Raptor Counts: Sep 06, 2026
Species	Day's Count	Month Total	Season Total
Black Vulture	0	0	0
Turkey Vulture	3	22	127
Osprey	0	6	8
Bald Eagle	0	0	1
Northern Harrier	0	0	1
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0	1	4
Cooper's Hawk	6	12	26
American Goshawk	0	0	0
Broad-winged Hawk	0	0	0
Red-tailed Hawk	12	50	207
Rough-legged Hawk	0	0	0
Swainson's Hawk	0	4	19
Ferruginous Hawk	0	0	0
Golden Eagle	0	0	1
American Kestrel	0	1	21
Merlin	0	0	0
Peregrine Falcon	0	0	1
Prairie Falcon	0	0	1
Mississippi Kite	0	0	0
Unknown Accipitrine	0	0	0
Unknown Buteo	0	0	1
Unknown Falcon	0	0	0
Unknown Eagle	0	0	0
Unknown Raptor	0	0	1
Total:	21	96	419

Observation start time:	08:15:00
Observation end time:	13:00:00
Total observation time:	4.75 hours
Official Counter	Ajit Antony
Observers:	Liza Antony, Robert Hill

Visitors:
Robert Hill a geologist from Westminster read our reports on COBirds and had wanted to come up for the past few weeks, and finally our mention of Kirstin Chapman who's kestrels he has gone to and visited, made his decision to come up this morning to the watch. He was able to find us some hawks to the north which turned out to be non-migrants, but continuing to look in that area we were able to find 3 CH migrants. We were able to show him how to make out a juvenile RT even at a great distance from the translucent rectangular windows just inside the wing tips, and he began identifying them with his binoculars and scope. Being an extrovert Robert was very comfortable interacting with the many hikers who asked us numerous questions about hawk watching, hawk watches, Hawkcount, HMA, the flocking behavior of BW and SW on migration, our binoculars and scopes, thermal formation and thermal used by raptors, that there is an even larger migration at night of passerines. We showed a few hikers TVs perched on the antennas on Lookout Mountain, including once allowing a couple to look through his binoculars. A woman wanted to know when we see cranes, and I suggested using the Merlin app with the bar graphs. The comments we got from hikers were Cool and Super cool at what we were doing.

Weather:
There was much more Wildfire smoke over and around Denver compared to this past week which Limited clear visibility initially to 6 km going to 19 km in the 10:00 MST hour and 20 km only by the last hour. There were cirrus and cumulus clouds to the East and a huge high cirrus cloud to the South, light winds from the East.

Raptor Observations:
The first migrant was an RT over the middle of Lookout Mountain going south at 9:39 a.m. DST. Today's highlight was 2 juvenile Cooper's Hawks which came low from the north, dove on each other repeatedly, circled the watch 40 ft away, and then a scant 15 ft from us. Beautiful. Likely from the same nest. Non-migrant raptors: CH 1, RT 3, TV 5.

Non-raptor Observations:
WBNU Eastern subspecies heard! WTSW 5, STJA 2, MOCH 1, BTHU 1, CORA 2. 19 paragliders, the initial ones at 10:00 a.m. DST had no lift and stayed well below us over golden while the ones an hour later had moderate left doing a little above our level while the ones who went up at noon had tremendous lift going really high and soaring far to the North as well as the South where they couldn't be even seen with the naked eye. The Soaring Forecast of the NWS predicted lift at 18 ft per second with a maximum thermal height of 12,081 ft AGL, a mile above the watch. That's how high raptors could fly at!

Predictions:
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 87. West-southwest wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable.

Report submitted by Ajit Antony (aiantony@earthlink.net)
More information at hawkcount.org: [Site Profile] [Day Summary] [Month Summary]

This is an automated email report from hawkcount.org.
If you do not wish to receive these reports, please send email to unsubscribe@hawkcount.org to unsubscribe.

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[cobirds] The Flock Finders 2026 COBC Report

Flock Finders Report Out for COBC 2026 -

We absolutely had THE BEST DAY for birding and the adventure was so much fun! Our all women team has completed the COBC in Jackson County each of the last 3 years, progressively getting better each year. We've honed our route, improved our timing for specific stops and have found new hidden gems. This year we went all out in our bid to be the top team (2nd place the last two years) by renting a VRBO, scouting all day Friday and coming up with the best plan for Saturday. The execution was as flawless as the weather and the beauty that is our Colorado Rocky Mountains.

We started at the Walden Reservoir at 6am sharp and ticked almost all our expected duck species along with the other familiar residents like Sandhill Cranes, White-faced Ibis and American White Pelicans. As we were leaving we noticed a tree just between the water and the edge of the road that was full of warblers, among them was 1 of the three Townsand's Warblers we would see on the day. As we left, the raptors were starting to make their appearance, including a hunting Prairie Falcon who made a very close flyby! Those birds are so fast!

By 9:00am we were riding high as we hit 77 species, breaking par for the county! As we made our way down the Ditch Road on the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, we encountered not one, but two, covies of Greater Sage Grouse! This species has eluded us the previous two years as well as on the prior day's scouting trip. We stayed and savored the time we had with these beautiful birds, taking video and photos and allowing them to enjoy the road for as long as they wished. Our next stop brought us to Moose-Goose Nature Trail which was exceptionally dry save for the main channel which had some water. We tallied a Sora who was gracious enough to show himself, much to our delight.

Next we "bombed" it down to Rand where we stopped in the store and stocked up on sweet treats to keep us going. County Rd 27 never misses as the climb to the junction with HWY 14 brings habitat change and new species for the day. Mountain Bluebirds on every wire, flocks of sparrows and surprise Great Blue Heron in a cattle pond. In order to add to our already impressive total, we needed to get to the mountain birds, so we headed for the State Forest State Park Moose Visitor Center. They had their feeders out and we quickly added Cassin's Finch, Steller's Jay, Green Tailed Towhee and a Fox Sparrow to the list. We enjoyed a break and some lunch at Ranger Lakes adding a few more birds. Several Canada Jays were spotted with Cheetos, allegedly stolen from nearby guests enjoying the holiday weekend.

By noon we were at 93 species and speculating on which species would have the honor of being 100. Our next stop is the pinnacle of our route each year, Lake Agnes. We found many warblers fueling up for their journey, including the other two Townsand's of the day. We also found our 100th species, appropriately, the Golden Crowned Kinglet! We also heard and spotted the elusive American Three-Toed Woodpecker. I think we can all appreciate that birding is as much, if not more, about appreciating the behavior of birds. Irene and I had the most amazing experience while photographing two very hungry hatch year Juncos. Just above our head and below the tree line came a rush of air and the sound of strong wing beats. Irene looked up just in time to see the silhouette of the wing and tail of a predator which was quickly confirmed by the alarm calls from Clark's Nutcrackers in every part of the forest. We watched as at least twenty CLNUs flew to the scree field above the American Lakes Trail, calling and gathering in the trees for safety. As more arrived, they flocked up and took to the sky, clearing the ridge line and flying out of sight. After much conversation and review of the events and eyewitness statements, an American Goshawk was added to the list! Could this day get any better?

Our stop at North Michigan Creek Reservoir found us battling the noise of four-wheelers and side-by-sides, but we were able to tally some new birds for the day, including a scolding McGillivary's Warbler and a Cassin's Vireo, a lifer for both Adriana and myself! As we realized that time was ticking and we had hopes of getting to the Loop at Arapaho NWR, we opted to beat feet to our next stop. A quick look at Meadow Creek Reservoir did not yield the Willson's Phalarope that had been there the day before, but instead held a different surprise. We knew that CONI was on our list for later in the evening, but had we not stopped here, we may have missed them entirely! There was a kettle of at least 40 Common Nighthawks coursing through the sky, rounding up their kin and presumably preparing for a trip south that evening! It was magical and we did take time to wonder at their aerial choreography, but not too long as the sun would soon be setting!

We found the Wildlife Loop Road to be in better shape than last year, although the drought has certainly left its mark here, as it has with our whole State. Our next big find was on one of the two bodies of water that held a massive number of waterfowl. The sharp eye, and keen avian knowledge that is Carly Crow, picked a hybrid American Wigeon X Eurasian Wigeon out of all those birds! She carefully documented with digiscope photos and quickly reached out for others to weigh in on the find. By the next morning, she felt we had the supporting evidence we needed to add this to our list! Just after she photographed the bird and we all had our looks at the rare duck, the first BAEA of the day swooped in looking for a quick meal and flushed all those birds! Nature in action once again. As a side note, we determined by this point that North Park in general must have had a mass exodus of shorebirds just days before our event as we found a pitiful few shorebird species.

Our final planned stop was back to where it all started, Walden Reservoir, where we finally found our Wilson's Phalarope. With just a bit of light left, we found ourselves unable to "stop" birding (if there is such a thing) and we searched the town of Walden for anything new we could find. We spent a good 10 minutes tracking a warbler that was a great candidate for Nashville, but we couldn't get a good enough look to confirm, so he will migrate without having been added to our list. Safe travels little one!

The last bird of the day was the unassuming and oddly rare Rock Pigeon. We truly did look for this bird all day and couldn't believe we hadn't seen one till the very end. Thanks for keeping us humble.

Our team was beaming as we sat down to a chili dinner and celebratory beverages and recounted the day. We had so much fun and so many amazing moments that will stay with us always. Birding competition and fundraising aside, being able to spend the day with smart and amazing humans and appreciate the beauty in our natural world made this an extraordinary and memorable day.

Happy Birding,

Irene, Kristin, Carly and Adriana...... aka The Flock Finders

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[cobirds] Bird Conservancy of the Rockies - Barr Lake Banding Report, 9/6/26

We finished week 2 with the slowest day of the season, banding only 16 birds. Until the last couple of days, our total numbers have been close to 2020, our busiest year ever. Looking at the difference between the two years for these last few days, it appears that species other than WIWAs were starting to move through in greater numbers. Although temps on this day in 2020 were in the 90's, the first snowstorm of the season hit the next day! That's not in tomorrow's forecast, and it appears that the heat is going to continue for awhile.

Here's today's 16 new birds:

Rock Wren 1 (FOS)

Northern House Wren 2

Swainson's Thrush 1

Wilson's Warbler 9

Chipping Sparrow 1

Song Sparrow 1

Lincoln's Sparrow 1

We are open Tuesday through Saturday, weather permitting, through October 23. Most weekday mornings there is a visitor session from 7:30 to 8:30, and on the weekends there are sessions at 8, 9 and 10 a.m. Reservations are needed; here is the link. Please join us......It remains a great year to visit Barr!

Meredith McBurney

Bander, Barr Lake Station

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies

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[cobirds] COBC report from Winging It in Fremont

COBC report from Winging It in Fremont

One of the reasons I joined CFO is because I truly love birding in different habitats within this beautiful state of ours. Fremont county did not disappoint. I was a solo crew –choosing to do the Bird-Your-Own-Way category.

My morning started in the hills north of Cotopaxi pre-dawn with all of the western mountain jays and hummers and both Dusky (singing) and Gray (dipping) Flycatchers. I had a baker’s dozen of spots for the COBC, mostly along the Arkansas River, and two spots that I did twice. Just north of the Vallie Recreation site had a surprise of Evening Grosbeak finding shade with a Red-naped Sapsucker and my only Western Tanager of the day.

By midday, the heat made my favorite warbler stop from 2025 in Swissdale too hot for much of anything but the Rock Wrens representing Troglodytidae for the day, but all in all, there were lots of great surprises like Williamson’s Sapsucker and my final (and by then most wanted species)–Juniper Titmouse.

I didn’t think I would come close to the par of 75 because I was in Arkansas River valley (away from the hotspots near Canon City) –but I came in spitting distance with 74 species. Of course, it’s birding, so I wasn’t surprised to get 5 more species I couldn’t count early the next day, including a gorgeous Northern Goshawk telling me to come on back to Fremont before too long!

Thanks to all my donors and the anonymous donor for doubling the fun! You can review my eBird trip report here: https://ebird.org/tripreport/567894

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[cobirds] COBC Report from the Washington Wallopers

We came. We saw. We Walloped.

Well, maybe not a full-on, old-fashioned ass-walloping, but there were some challenges. Dove hunting season for one. Prewitt Reservoir was as busy as Times Square with camouflaged shotgunners stalking every field, fenceline and forest. The near-constant bang-bang-bangs kept birds and birders on edge.

Heat was another factor, though more for us birders than the birds I suspect. Water levels at the reservoir were quite low, necessitating a 1/2-mile slog on baked mud to reach the birds.

Once in place, we had a great time sorting through large shorebird flocks, with high numbers of Stilt and Pectoral Sandpipers, but surprisingly few peeps and no dowitchers. We managed to hear a single Greater Yellowlegs and one Black-bellied Plover thanks to Carl Bendorf's acute hearing.

We dipped on Red-winged Blackbird! Nearly missed Bald Eagle until a sharp-eyed Gary Witt noticed an all-brown first year bird pretending to be a Golden Eagle.

Later in the day it was heat shimmer that made identifying distant ducks a challenge.

Our penultimate species of the day was special. We drove home through the town of Akron, population 1,722, founded as a railroad camp in 1882 and today the Washington County seat. Our hope was to see a Mississippi Kite. We cruised past the small City Park that was full of kids playing in the godawful heat. But no birds.

A few blocks beyond the park we stopped when we heard what turned out to be a wailing juvenile kite perched in a snag. Soaring above, its parents were doing their best to feed their starving child. We stopped to take some photos and were fortunate to see one adult swoop in with a fresh dragonfly.

A woman emerged from the house next door and asked in an earnest whisper, "Are you birders?"

"Why, yes ma'am, we sure are!" No, I didn't say that, but I may have thought it. Anyway, I began to explain that we were looking at a Mississippi Kite, but she already knew that because she had downloaded the Merlin app and had been watching this family raise their chick all summer. She did appreciate the scope views though.

We ended our day with a solid, below-par 69 species. As we brainstormed a list of all the easy birds we had failed to see, a lone Turkey Vulture floated by, raising our final tally to an even 70. At least we didn't dip on Turkey Vulture!

Thanks to all our generous donors! Carl, Gary and I had a great time walloping in Washington County!

You can review our eBird Trip Report here: ebird.org/tripreport/566741

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