Hello, Birders.
Hannah and Andrew and Christopher Gallagher and I visited the Valmont Reservoir complex, Boulder County, this afternoon, Wednesday, Dec. 26th. Despite the recent cold snap, all three of the reservoirs are completely ice-free. Leggett, the warmest of the three, is socked in with heavy steam. We weren't exactly surprised, but we were nevertheless delighted, by the tremendous number and variety of birds out there--including rarities.
We started off with 15 swans. The first 8, by the shore of Valmont proper, were the long-stayer group (based on band ID and imm./ad. ratio) reported most recently by Peter Gent. The other 7 were annoyingly far away, but then they put into flight and flew right overhead, making several passes in fact, calling beautifully the whole time. Tundras for sure. So 15 Tundra Swans out there, a nice tally.
There was an even bigger white bird out there, Pellybelly the Boulder Pelican, who disappeared during count week for the Boulder CBC, but is now, most assuredly, returned.
Gulls were plenitudinous. Alas, most of them overflew Valmont proper, and headed straight out to Leggett, impossible to view with the thick steam rising off the water. However, ~750 roosted just off the southeast shore of Valmont proper, and there were many goodies mixed in with the Herrings and Ringers, among them:
1 adult Mew Gull
2 adult California Gulls
3 first-cycle and 2 adult Thayer's Gulls
2 first-cycle Thiceland Gulls
2 first-cycle Lesser Black-backed Gulls
1 and probably 2 adult Glaucous Gulls
The goose fly-in, right around sundown, was staggering. Couldn't make out anything but Canadas, but it was awesome to see and hear them all.
Grebes were numerous. Along with the Aechmophorus grebes and Horned Grebes, we saw 1 Eared Grebe.
Right as we were arriving, the daily "croven" murder/unkindness was exiting the complex. Didn't pay much attention, but there were, well, crows and ravens out there.
Ducks and coots aplenty. And Bald Eagles. Oh, and merganser (including Red-breasted) numbers seem way up, which is nice.
We didn't have nearly enough time to check it all out, so I'll be going back tomorrow. Anybody's welcome to join me. I'll be at the east entry gate (off 75th Street) at 3pm, and I'll walk in from there. Dress extremely warmly, and be prepared for a brisk and quite steep walk. It's uphill both ways, and, yes, through snow, cactus, and prairie dog holes. Bring a scope, and, seriously, don't scrimp on the warm clothes. No need to RSVP with me; just be ready to hoof it at 3pm.
Oh, and please help me find Hannah's red hat. There's a bit of story there...
Ted Floyd
tedfloyd57@hotmail.com
Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado
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