[cobirds] Various Larimer and Weld today.

Harris's Hawk was cooperative today on the frontage road north of Prospect Rd in Fort Collins (Larimer) this morning, despite being pushed around quite a bit by photographers.  I saw the bird flushed three times today by people with bazooka cameras out of their cars walking straight at the bird.  This bird, for one, will not tolerate that.  For various reasons, mostly personal safety of birders but also consideration for the safety of non-birders, I would recommend paying close attention to traffic on that Frontage Road and staying in your car for photography. 

At Windsor Lake in the town of Windsor (Weld) there was a mass of birds.  Not much diversity but still impressive.  Mixed in with all the white-cheeked geese were 1 young Snow Goose, at least 4 white x white-cheeked geese (I would guess Ross's X Cackling for at least 3 of these), several Northern Pintails, all three mergansers and 2 geese with White-fronted Goose in them.  The white-fronts (one of which might be a hybrid with Snow Goose, comments welcome) came out of the water onto the grass near the prairie-dog town on the east side of the res, allowing good photo ops.  Gull numbers were not high and were all ringers and Herring that I could make out.  I'd say about 60% of the water was open.

                                                                                                                  Windsor Lake hybrid white X white-cheeked geese with Cackling Geese for size comparison (Ross's X Cackling?).

   
          Two different White-fronted Geese on east side of Windsor Lake (pure adult left, young bird right (which might be a white-front x snow))

A small body of water (Franklin Lake?) e of Severance s of Weld CR74 w of Bald Ridge Estates had another throng of geese that included more white x white-cheeked hybrids, at least 2 White-fronted Geese and a few Bald Eagles stirring the pot just to see if any of the waterfowl stew stuck to the ice (i.e. was dead or crippled).  No ducks except for Mallards.

Woods Lake (Weld CR74 se of CR27) was difficult to view, as always, had a zillion birds, as always, and left me wondering what was really out there (Brant, Black Duck, etc), as always.  I did see 4 White-fronted Geese, at least 32 white geese that were sleeping (mostly appeared to be Snows, but I think one was a Ross's).  Also saw a few hybrid white X white-cheeks.  One pair of pintails, lots of Common Mergansers, few Common Goldeneyes, many Mallards.  No special gulls that I could find but I will admit my heart is rarely in the "Where's Waldo?" gull game.  Lump 'em all if they have a white head (is the opposite of a "-phile" a "-phobe"?).  Don't get me wrong, my feet will leave the ground if and when that first Ivory shows up.

At Drake Lake on Weld CR23 just s of SR14 were 9 Bald Eagles, mostly ice, and waterfowlless water.

Dave Leatherman

Fort Collins