Friday, May 28, 2010

Rocky Mountain National Park and Boulder County

May 26, 2010

Richard Stevens:

Rebecca Kosten and I searched for the many uncommon birds reported this week in the Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park area. Unfortunately, we did not find any of them.

Gone, the White-eyed Vireo at the Cub Lake Trail. Gone, the Hooded Warbler, Magnolia Warbler and American Redstart up by Sprague's Lake area. Guess they may not have been gone; we just could not find them.

Matthew Reeser Bird Sanctuary was also slow. We did not find the Bobolink or American Redstart reported on 5/25.

Therefore, we dropped down out of the mountains and stopped at Walden and Sawhill Ponds. Here our fortune was better.

At the end of the Cottonwood Marsh boardwalk, I played a Connecticut Warbler recording. Within 20 seconds, the Connecticut Warbler popped out of the brush and looked around. Better yet, it sang for about 12 seconds!

The Little Blue Heron was at the northwest corner of Cottonwood Marsh. If there are two (some have reported so), we could not find a second one.

We next circled the whole property by heading south to Sawhill Ponds, then west, north and south back to Cottonwood Marsh.

A Red-eyed Vireo and Orange-crowned Warbler were in the tallest (and only) Cottonwood tree between Sawhill Ponds 1 & 2.

We thought we heard a Least Bittern, but could not be sure. It only called briefly and not a second time. It did not respond to a recording.

An American Bittern however did respond at the west end of Pond # 2.

Continuing around, an Olive-sided Flycatcher flew about the northwest corner of the Sawhill Ponds property.

Back in Walden Ponds, a Plumbeous Vireo was observed in the tallest cottonwoods at the west end. (The trees with blooming chokecherry bushes at their base). A Plumbeous Vireo was also in the same tree.

No Eastern Screech-Owls responded to our recordings (it was still rather hot and bright out).

As we went into town for dinner, we stopped at observed at least 2 male Bobolink at the Boulder Bobolink Meadow along Baseline Road (west of Baseline Reservoir).

At dusk, I tried playing a recording at the South Mesa Trailhead. No owls responded and we decided to not hike up the trail this night.

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