I birded Windsor Lake for 3 hours plus today, mostly hiding behind a pole near the swim beach to escape the wind watching and photographing gulls and terns and eventually did a lap. Once comfortably numb it wasn't too bad. Amazing disappearance of the big merganser flock. Still 150 or so western grebes plus one Clark's. 35 Bonaparte's gulls tripped the ebird filter for some reason. Two Caspian terns worked the shoreline but never landed that I could see. At least 4 Forster's terns tried to fish and then avoid the bully gulls. Did not see the diversity or numbers of shorebirds I sort of expected. A few Wilson's phalaropes, a couple willets, a couple avocets, one killdeer, that's it. Hundreds of swallows on the lake, almost all cliff and barn. Heard my FOY clay-colored sparrow amid the houses on the south side. No Yucatan vireo. Enjoyed watching a northern rough-winged swallow gather bits of dry grass for nest liner and make runs back and forth to its burrow in a ditch bank northeast of the reservoir. 52 species total plus an unidentified accipiter, probably a Cooper's. eBird checklist link below:
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
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