[cobirds] Magnolia Warblers, Matthews-Reeser Bird Scantuary, Estes Park, Larimer Co. 5/21

Enjoying our first visit to Colorado in 18 months, it's been nice to get back to birding in the Estes Park area.

I was birding later in the afternon today, May 21, in the Matthews-Reeser Sanctuary at Lake Estes.  It was slow for a while, then, as often happens, a flurry of activity at the place where there is a break in the rail fence to allow access to the golf course.  I suddenly realized I was seeing two Magnolia Warblers, a male and a female moving around, both in the area behind the fence east of the cut-through and then across the paved trail into the area I think is referred to locally as "pine point."  I remember seeing a couple of sightings reported a few days ago on the eBird rare bird alert, and another birder told me yesterday, when I was also birding at this location, that they had been seen yesterday morning.  I tried checking eBird for the most recent sightings just now, but it is balky.

In any event, given their rarity, these may be continuing birds from the earlier reports.  Since at least one was still around about 4:15 as I walked back to my car, and this does not appear to be a good night for migrating, I think one or both may be around tomorrow as well.

Other highlights of our visit over the last two days including an amazing fallout of Yellow-rumped Warblers at Lily Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park this morning, literally dozens of birds in view a the same time as we walked around the lake, seeing the nesting Osprey pair at Lake Estes with the male aggressively attacking a Turkey Vulture yesterday, a tom Turkey standing on Bear Lake Raoad in RMNP last evening displaying to two hens feeding on the other side of the road, ignoring the stopping cars, and Great Horned Owls with nestlings in the same tree on the west side of Estes Park where I last saw them two years ago (pre-pandemic).  While birding this afternoon at Lake Estes, I met a visiting birder from Paraguay who was seeing many species for the first time.  Always fun to share that experience as I got to show him some local birds and help him with names.

Looking forward to more great birds in the coming days

Jim Nelson

Bethesda, Maryland

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