Fantastic Day At Barr Lake

August 26, 2019

Richard Stevens:

High temperature today was a pleasant 81 degrees.  Winds were 7-8 mph.

It was 59 degrees when I arrived at Barr Lake State Park (Adams) at 6:30 am.  I enjoyed six hours of fantastic birding.  A Great Horned Owl was calling around the Visitor's Center when I got out of my car.  Target birds included the previously banded Red-eyed Vireo and Northern Waterthrushes.

Shortly after crossing the footbridge (mile 0.0/9.0) and heading east, the call of a Red-breasted Nuthatch filled the air.  The Red-eyed Vireo fluttered about the willows and cottonwoods at mile 8.8 (the banding station is at mile 8.7).  It took 20 minutes before it landed on a leafless branch for a photo op.  At least twenty Yellow Warblers, four Wilson's Warbler and a pair of House Wrens were in the same area.

At the banding station, I turned north to checkout the peninsula.  An Osprey screamed almost constantly from one of the taller cottonwoods in the distance.  Shorebirds included a Stilt Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, two Least Sandpipers, a Pectoral Sandpiper and two Baird's Sandpipers.

The woods were fairly quiet.  Highlights were a male MacGillivray's Warbler, an Orange-crowned Warbler, Warbling Vireo and Least Flycatcher.  It appeared that most birds were back along the main road where the trees were in sunlight.

I continued east and found eighty+ birds hawking insects along the Farmer's canal 10 yards east of the bench that faces the Osprey nesting platform.  This group included 40+ Yellow Warblers, 20+ Wilson's Warblers, another MacGillivray's Warbler, a pair of Blue Grosbeaks and a Northern Waterthrush (mile 8.6).

Farther east is the Pioneer Trail (mile 8.1).  As I walked north down the trail I looked up and was startled by a Barn Owl peeking around the trunk of a large cottonwood tree.  Cool, photos on Colorado Birding Society's website later.

A dozen House Wrens, a pair of Eastern Kingbirds, and 20+ Wilson's Warblers were observed along the trail.  From the bird blind, a second Osprey could be seen perched on the nesting platform.  The second Least Flycatcher of my day was also found along with half a dozen Western Wood-pewees.

Dozens of Barn Swallows would rest on a dead branch just outside the blind.  I hoped a Violet-green Swallow would come by for a photo op.  While none did, a Northern Rough-winged Swallow did stop several times.

Nothing uncommon was observed as I continued to the boat ramp.  Hundreds of American White Pelicans and dozens of Western Grebes swam off the boat ramp.

Returning west, a Gray Flycatcher flew from the south side of the canal to the cottonwoods along the main trail (mile 8.6).  It pumped it tail downward constantly confirming its id.

Once back at the Visitor's Center footbridge I continued west to mile 1.5.  Most of the gulls along the shore off the Niedrach Trail were Ring-billed.  One Herring Gull was picked out.

Dozens of shorebirds also walked the grassy shoreline.  The highlight was definitely a Black-bellied Plover in alternate plumage.  Except for a Pectoral Sandpiper, the mixed included similar shorebirds as the banding station peninsula. A sub-adult Bald Eagle perched overlooking the shorebirds.  

Additional birds observed during the hike included over a dozen Western Wood-pewees, one Gray Catbird, a third MacGillivray's Warbler, many Yellow Warblers, House Wrens and Western Kingbirds.

Two birds were left unidentified.  A small "empidonax" flycatcher had a very bright yellow breast and belly.  It had a complete, bold eye-ring, olive-green head and back, contrasting olive malar region with yellowish throat, quite bright, white wingbars.  I seldom have seen such a yellowish "empidonax" flycatcher.  The bird was between mile 8.5 and 8.4.

I have read that Cordilleran Flycatchers can be very yellow.  This bird lacked the ragged crest and oblong eye-ring I would expect on a Cordilleran Flycatcher.  Unfortunately, by the time my camera booted up, the bird had flown.

The other mystery bird was a Wood-pewee.  I was first attracted by the wide and white wingbars that stood out from the other Western Wood-pewees run across all morning.  The lower mandible was quite orange in color.  It did not make a sound.

I would be more likely to call this an Eastern Wood-Pewee than the "empidonax" flycatcher a Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.  They were recorded as undetermined.

After lunch at a nearby Wendy's, I returned to the west end of Barr Lake accessed from Buckley Road.  The usual suspects at the rookery included Snowy Egrets, Great Blue Herons, two Black-crowned Night-Herons and one Great Egret.  

Both a Virginia Rail and Sora were heard near the path to the bird blind at mile 2.5.  Highlights included a Tennessee Warbler and Ruby-crowned Kinglet.  Surprisingly, sparrows were scarce during my eight hour trek today.  A few Song Sparrows were the complete tally.  Chipping Sparrows appeared not have arrived yet.

One last bird found just before sunrise was a Long-eared Owl.  The species and location are sensitive and will remain unlisted.