From 10:30am until 12:30pm, I scanned Lake McIntosh in NW Longmont (Boulder County). I didn't find anything great on the lake, just high numbers of birds I haven't seen for a while and some that are lagging behind a little.
On the lake:
79 American White Pelicans
75 Bonaparte's Gulls (I tried really hard to make them into Little or Black-headed Gulls with no luck)
On the lake:
79 American White Pelicans
75 Bonaparte's Gulls (I tried really hard to make them into Little or Black-headed Gulls with no luck)
33 Eared Grebes
12 Horned Grebes
3 Buffleheads (my FOS)
7 Common Mergansers (my FOS)
10 Common Goldeneyes (my FOS)
and more of the regulars.
The BEST birds of the day though showed up as I was leaving. I heard a flock of birds that I expected to be Pine Siskins (American Goldfinch-like calls). After finally getting on them (they were crafty at hiding), I had a flock of 8 COMMON REDPOLLS (new county bird for me). They altered their calls a lot while I was watching them, from the Siskin/Goldfinch like calls to a rattle reminiscent of a lapland longspur rattle, but longer. They were located on the shore edge near the southeast boat ramp. Great looks including one with a really strong reddish hue to the breast. These were likely my best views of Common Redpolls since I was a young kid (probably 23-24 years ago) when my dad banded some Redpolls in our backyard outside of Philadelphia, PA.
Bryan Guarente
Instructional Designer
The COMET Program
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Boulder, CO
Instructional Designer
The COMET Program
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Boulder, CO
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