Birding/ Bird watching in Colorado - Day 1 - Colorado bird watching trip report

Wednesday 5^th of April 2023 and I was out of bed at 4 and I had tea while checking the bird pictures from yesterday. My guide will pick me up at 7. My original plan was to go birding by myself to explore some of the eBird hotspots near my hotel, Best Western University Inn

  - eBird hotspot: Ft. Collins City Park and Sheldon Lake

  - eBird hotspot: Grandview Cemetery

  - eBird hotspot: Colorado State University campus

My Guide came to pick me up quarter past 7 and we were soon on our way towards the Rocky Mountains. We will look for the endangered Brown-capped Rosy-Finch in Estes Park. It was a very beautiful morning with sunshine and the prairie was white covered in snow.

Prairies covered with snow

parries covered with snow

We make a stop to buy some refreshments before continuing towards the mountains. We were soon reaching the step mountains and we followed a road with a beautiful scenery. We have a river on the left-hand side of the road and we have a rocky step on the right-hand side.

And there is another rocky step on the other side of the river and pine trees growing on the mountain sides. The river is known to have plenty American Dippers so we are keeping an eye out for the bird.

I tried to take pictures, but I had to use my mobile phone as I had forgotten my Canon X7 returning my rental car at AVIS in Miami.

We drive through a very beautiful landscape

We drive through a very beautiful landscape

We drive through a very beautiful landscape

We drive through a very beautiful landscape

We drive through a very beautiful landscape

We stop to take pictures of a Bighorn sheep

Bighorn sheep

Bighorn sheep

Bighorn sheep

I spot a Bighorn sheep on the rocks next to the road and we are very lucky, we could stop on the road side and I went to take a few pictures of the sheep. I got a few pictures before the sheep jumped away between the rocks, seems to be an excellent climber.

Bighorn sheep

The bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) is a species of sheep native to North America. It is named for its large horns. A pair of horns might weigh up to 14 kg; the sheep typically weigh up to 143 kg.

Recent genetic testing indicates three distinct subspecies of Ovis canadensis, one of which is endangered: O. c. sierrae.

Sheep originally crossed to North America over the Bering Land Bridge from Siberia; the population in North America peaked in the millions, and the bighorn sheep entered into the mythology of Native Americans.

By 1900, the population had crashed to several thousand, due to diseases introduced through European livestock and overhunting.

It was a very beautiful stretch between the mountains and I am very surprised that there is no place to stop. We were extremely lucky that we could stop to take pictures of the Giant Horned Sheep. Would be nice with a couple of “viewpoints” along the road.

Leaving the Bighorn sheep behind

We are bound to a friend to my Guide, he has a bird feeder behind the house and they have sighted the endangered Rosy-finches and we were going there to see if we could see any of the Rose-finches. When it is snowing, they use to come to the feeder, otherwise they like to stay in the mountains.

And there was quite a lot of snow so we might be lucky with the Rosy-finches. My Guide and his friend stayed at the kitchen window but I went out to see if I could get any pictures. There was a lot of birds and they took off when I came out, but they were soon coming back to eat.

Mountain Chickadee

Evening Grosbeak

Evening Grosbeak

Pygmy Nuthatch

Dark-eyed Junco (Pink-sided)

Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)

Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)

Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)

Mountain Chickadee

Mountain Chickadee

Brown-capped Rosy-Finch

Female Cassin's Finch

Male Cassin's Finch

Listen to the Steller's Jay

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder. High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

I had started my recorder to record the calling bird in the tree. Just when I was about to start the recording the bird came out in the light. Chose, pictures or recording and I chose recording.

eBird Report

Private Feeder - Sanborn Drive, Estes Park, Larimer, Colorado, US
Apr 5, 2023 8:36 AM - 9:34 AM
Protocol: Stationary
10 species (+1 other taxa)

Feral Pigeon 12 Flyover
Steller's Jay 1
Black-billed Magpie 3
Mountain Chickadee 3
Pygmy Nuthatch 1
Evening Grosbeak 2
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch 3
Cassin's Finch 5
American Tree Sparrow 2
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon) 8
Dark-eyed Junco (Pink-sided) 8

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S132770508

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

We leave the bird feeder and we continue towards the gate to Rocky Mountain National Park. We stop at a motel and I see the very beautiful Steller's Jay and I get a chance to take some pictures. I would like to have a picture as I only got a sound recording from the bird feeder.

The pictures, well, I am not happy but I hope we get more chances to see the bird.

Steller's Jay

Steller's Jay

We leave to drive back to the feeder to give the Rosy-finch a second chance but no sign of the birds and we decided to go have lunch in the town and we found a typical American dinner. I like those restaurant as I can order what I want and not necessary something they have on the menu.

We parked the car and we entered the restaurant and it was almost empty, perfect!

It is really a gorgeous landscape

Going for lunch

Lunch time

I have one omelette and a couple of avocados with tea and it was very good. We felt very good when we left and we will start to drive back towards Fort Collins. We stopped at the base of the Olympus Dam to have a look for Dippers.

There were no Dippers to be seen but I got to see two new birds that I had never seen before:
1) Killdeer
2) Song Sparrow

Killdeer

Killdeer

Killdeer

Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Listen to the Killdeer

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder and High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

Two calls can be heard from one of the 4 Killdeers through the wind noise and water sound.

eBird Report

Base Of Olympus Dam, Larimer, Colorado, US
Apr 5, 2023 12:22 - 12:42
Protocol: Traveling
0.39 kilometer(s)
8 species

Canada Goose 4
American Wigeon 1
Mallard 1  Female
Eurasian/Green-winged Teal 1
Killdeer 4
Great Blue Heron 1
Common Starling 1
Song Sparrow 2

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S132786736

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

We leave driving back down the mountains following the road we came on. We keep an eye out for the Dipper in the river and we make a couple of stops to go have a look where it is possible to park. We never had any luck finding any Dipper.

Dippers or not I enjoyed the ride as we were driving through a fantastic landscape and the view alone make it worth coming here.

We stop to look for the dipper

We stop to look for the dipper

We stop to look for the dipper

We stop to look for the dipper

We stop at Viestenz-Smith Park to look for the dipper

We stop at Viestenz-Smith Park to look for the dipper

We are coming down the mountain and we leave the road to use a different road to get back to Best Western University Inn. We will look for Mountain Bluebirds. We had spotted one wild turkey coming here this morning and I hope to see one of them.

I thought it was a Christmas turkey this morning and I never bothered with the bird. My Guide told me it was a wild. We drove along the road and we had a couple of bluebirds flying over us. We turned around to go have a look.

We discovered two Wood Ducks in the creek but it was private property so I did not bother to follow the birds, even though I really wanted to. Wood Ducks in breeding plumage is a very beautiful bird.

But not so beautiful it is worth risking to have an angry farmer to shot at me for trespassing. So, I was really hoping to run in to the Wood Duck again.

We crossing a river

Mountains as we are used to see them in the Wild West movies

Mountains as we are used to see them in the Wild West movies

Mountains as we are used to see them in the Wild West movies

We stop to look for a bluebird that was flying across the road. My Guide really wanted to see this bird, but I spotted a bird next to the road. Looked like a Robin. I soon discover a second Robin and my Guide tells me that it is an American Robin.

Looking like a European Robin but much much bigger

American Robin

American Robin

Listen to the American Robin

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

Recorded with my ZOOM H5 Handy Recorder and High Pass Filter applied with Audacity.

Bird sitting next to the road

eBird Report

Glade Reservoir, Larimer, Colorado, US
Apr 5, 2023 14:03 - 14:24
Protocol: Traveling
4.41 kilometer(s)
7 species

Gadwall 4
Great Blue Heron 1
Black-billed Magpie 8
American Crow 1
Mountain Bluebird 2
American Robin 18
Dark-eyed Junco (Grey-headed) 20

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S132797092

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (https://ebird.org/home)

Mountains as we are used to see them in the Wild West movies

Mountains as we are used to see them in the Wild West movies

Mountains as we are used to see them in the Wild West movies

Wild Turkey

Wild Turkey

Wild Turkey

My Guide spot a couple of wild turkeys next to the road and we put the car in reverse and we count the turkeys, and we count 23 birds. So, this is yet another new bird for me and I think it is 14 new birds for me today.

I am back in my room at 3 o'clock. I spend the rest of the day in my room, well, I had to go to the reception to get some tea bags as I had forgot to buy. Early to bed and we will leave tomorrow for the birding trip.

You just need to click HERE to find out more about my Colorado bird watching adventure.

eBird Trip Report

Since April 2023 eBird offer a new feature, to create Trip Reports. At least this is when I first heard of this feature and I have decided to make the eBird Trip Reports instead of my list of OBSERVED birds.

And of course, this also means that I will HAVE TO go back and do the same for my old birding adventures, WHEN I HAVE THE TIME!

Today's Trip Report: Bird watching in Colorado - Day 2 | Click HERE

Download | PDF

Lifers
Icons for lifers used in the eBird trip reports

Species lifer: First time that someone observes a species in their life

Photo lifer: First time that someone photographs a species in their life

Audio lifer: First time that someone audio records a species in their life

Exotic species
Exotic species flags differentiate locally introduced species from native species.

Naturalized: Exotic population is self-sustaining, breeding in the wild, persisting for many years, and not maintained through ongoing releases (including vagrants from Naturalized populations). These count in official eBird totals and, where applicable, have been accepted by regional bird records committee(s).

Provisional: Either: 1) member of exotic population that is breeding in the wild, self-propagating, and has persisted for multiple years, but not yet Naturalized; 2) rarity of uncertain provenance, with natural vagrancy or captive provenance both considered plausible.

When applicable, eBird generally defers to bird records committees for records formally considered to be of "uncertain provenance". Provisional species count in official eBird totals.

Escapee: Exotic species known or suspected to be escaped or released, including those that have
bred but don't yet fulfill the criteria for Provisional. Escapee exotics do not count in official eBird totals.


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