Re: [cobirds] Chatfield Terns and Godwit, Douglas County

We saw that bird, too.  There was also an adult Forster's present, its black cap mostly intact, but fading.

Dave

On Sunday, August 22, 2021 at 9:47:51 PM UTC-6 rosanne....@gmail.com wrote:

Hi,

 Birders who were present this morning around 9am at the sand spit noticed this Tern (IMG_4089) with the dark eye line behind the eye. We tentatively thought it was a juvenile or nonbreeding adult Forster's Tern.

 Is this the one Forster's that Dave ID'd?

In the second photo are they all Common Terns then?

Best,

Rosanne

On Sun, Aug 22, 2021 at 3:45 PM Scott Somershoe <ssome...@gmail.com> wrote:

Sorry for being delinquent on posting birds here timely.

As a follow up to Dave's post, I rode down to Chatfield Saturday morning. I stopped on the dam on my way to the sand spit and counted 58 snowy egrets lined up hunting about 630am. 

I arrived at the sand spit (still Douglas county) and had 18 Avocets, a few peeps, and eventually saw 18 or so black terns way to the west. I rode over to a vantage just west of the fisherman's pier area and counted 22 black terns going back and forth from JeffCo to Douglas co. Nice to see them way into JeffCo waters. 

I birded S Platte delta and had one Forster's tern. I got caught off guard by what I assumed were teal but were actually 3 shovelers and 6 pintail. I checked out the 4 assumed western grebes and one was a clark's! 

I decided on a whim to go back to the sand spit and boy oh boy what a good call that was. About 19 black terns were loafing! They are one of my favorites. The avocets still were there. A Marbled Godwit dropped in. Both yellowlegs species made appearances, as did Bairds sand and a semipalmated plover called and dropped in for maybe 30 seconds and was gone. I eventually saw a flock of shorebirds flying around but didn't get a good enough look at them in flight but knew I wasn't sure what they were in poor lighting. There were 12 birds with one smaller than the rest. Then they landed on the water and I realized they were wilsons phalaropes. What was that smaller bird???  

No new birds for the green big year, but all round quality. It was a really great morning. Add to the Curlew I had there early last Saturday morning, pretty good green birding. I didn't find any of my targets but you know I'll try again :)

As I was packing up, a rock wren came up to the edge of the path and walked over to me. It hopped on my bike. I was 2' from it. I got photos of it on my bike. Ha! Cheeky little birds. Good big year blog material! 

It's going to be a busy bike riding couple months! I need a massage and nap 😂

I think a couple big sits at the sand spit may be warranted this fall. I can't wait!! 

Good green birding!

Cheers,

Scott Somershoe 

Littleton CO

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 22, 2021, at 2:59 PM, Dave Cameron <dave...@msn.com> wrote:

The sandspit at the South Marina at Chatfield today around 1pm had

11 Black Terns

6 Common Terns

1 Forster's Tern

1 Marbled Godwit

2 California Gulls

~150 Ring-billed Gulls

Many Pelicans, maybe a dozen DC Cormorants.

So our shorebird search yielded 1 shorebird, but it was a good one.  Earlier today at Cherry Creek in Aurora (Arapaho County), we got a total of 4-- 2 Solitary and 2 Spotted Sandpipers.  Also many Pelicans, many Snowy Egrets, Ring bills, and other obvious suspects.

Dave Cameron

Denver

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