[cobirds] CFO field trip announcement: Migrants & meteors, Tues., Aug. 12

Hello, Birders.

It's an annual tradition for (some of the zanier of) us in Colorado: We assemble early, extremely early, on the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 12, the peak morning for the Perseid meteor shower and the peak time of year for night migration by Colorado's birds. A full description of the trip, from the CFO's journal Colorado Birds, is appended below.

Here are the basics. We meet at 2:45 a.m. sharp at an undisclosed location in eastern Boulder County. Immediately we proceed on foot a short distance to another undisclosed location. There we listen for birds and watch for meteors. This outing is free and open to the public. Young people, non-birders, and general curiosity-seekers welcome. RSVP required. Please email me (tedfloyd57 #at# hotmail ^dot^ com), and let me know that you will be participating. I'll get right back in touch w/you about where to meet, and some other details.

See below for a fuller description of this outing.

Ted Floyd

Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado

CFO Birding Skills Workshop

With CFO Director Ted Floyd

 

Meteors, Molt Migration, and More

 

Join CFO director Ted Floyd for a zany and educational experience on the "morning" of Tuesday, August 12, 2014. We will assemble at 2:45 a.m. (that is not a typo) at an undisclosed location in eastern Boulder County, then walk a very short distance to a secret and magical spot for pondering astronomy, ornithology, and the meaning of life.

If skies are clear, we will watch the Perseid meteor shower, considered by many to be the greatest celestial event of the year. The best time to study the Perseids is right before dawn on the morning of August 12. (By the way, August 12, 2014 is the 30th anniversary of one the most famous brawls in the history of Major League Baseball.)

We will listen for and learn to recognize the flight calls of nocturnal migrants: Chipping Sparrows, Brewer's Sparrows, Yellow Warblers, Lark Buntings, and maybe even an Upland Sandpiper. Many of these birds are engaged in a fascinating nocturnal "molt migration," and we'll learn about that while we're out there.

More: We may see hoary bats and big brown bats (they're usually around) and the Galaxy in Andromeda (it ain't goin' anywhere), we should hear coyotes and night-singing Aechmophorus grebes, and encounters at that time of "day" with humans are always interesting.

Around sunrise, we'll grab a bite to eat. Bring your own biscuits and gravy, or get some on the go. Then we'll visit a local reservoir—wherever viewing conditions are good—and talk more about molt (which, by this time of day, we'll actually be able to see), migration, and flight calls.

We expect to wrap up around 9am.

 

All persons are welcome. This trip is suitable for persons of all interest levels and skill levels. We'll walk a short distance from the cars to the secret viewing and listening place; it's less than a mile round-trip.

 

RSVP REQUIRED. Please email Ted Floyd (tedfloyd57 #at# hotmail ^dot^ com) for further details. Please use a clear and direct subject line, like AUGUST 12 CFO FIELD WORKSHOP.

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