[cobirds] Royal Tern - YES

Hi all,

I saw the bird in question at Barr Lake this evening, around 8pm. It was in the same general location as had been mentioned in earlier postings by Christian Nunes and Norm Lewis (on the sandbars in the middle of the reservoir).

One thing I wanted to add - I got there a little after 7pm and could not find the bird. I ran into another birder who told me she was unable to spot it either, although she only had bins (I had my scope with me). She had found a Forster's Tern there (which I also refound), but no luck for her on the Royal. After nearly an hour of searching, I was getting worried that I wouldn't see it either. Visibility had been excellent, the light was actually nice and no heat waves anywhere....but also no bird. I knew the bird had been seen just a couple hours earlier, which made it all the more vexing.

Then at 8 the bird materialized seemingly out of nowhere. My guess is that it was on that same sandbar the whole time, but just below the rise on the other side away from view. I only mention this in case other birders go out there and have trouble finding it. The bird is actually quite good at hiding, especially amidst the California Gulls that it shares that sandbar with. If the bird is not hidden by the rise or it is in flight, it is very easy to spot and identify. Don't give up if you don't find it right away. I'm glad I didn't!

I also saw a few Black Terns, and had an overflight of about a dozen White-faced Ibis around 7:45pm as well.

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Eric DeFonso
Fort Collins, CO

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