Birding/ Bird watching in Colorado - Colorado birding with Quetzal Tours

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ORIGIN late 18th cent.: of unknown origin.

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E ni Svenskar och inte förstår Engelska så ska ni skämmas. J och Björn, med det menar jag inte att alla mina stavfel ska ältas varje gång vi träffas.

Well, the flag of Skåne, just a BONUS flag.

Colorado birding with Quetzal Tours - Day 1

Pawnee National Grassland/eastern plains/ Wray Prairie Chicken Lek (Bledsoe Cattle Farm). Lodging at Cobblestone Inn at Wray, Colorado

Thursday 6 ^th of April 2023 and the alarm went off at 4 and I was out of bed at 4 thirty. Tea and ham for breakfast and my Guide came to pick me up at 7. We put my luggage in the car and I left one bag at the hotel. I will stay here before leaving for San Francisco.

We visited one park in Fort Collins, Rolland Moore Park, Ross & Fischer Natural Areas. It was a quick visit as it was way too cold to get out of the car. Our second stop was at the Colorado State Univ. Environmental Learning Center.

Still to cold but we drove along the canal and we spotted Mallards and American Wigeons. There were also about 10 Cackling Gooses. These looks like Canada geese but much smaller, so I call it the Pygmy Canada Goose as they really looked like “mini” Canada Goose.

We had a Song Sparrow sitting in a bush just next to the road. Singing away from on top of the bush and I got both pictures and a sound recording.

American Wigeon

American Wigeon

Mallard

Mallard

American Wigeon

American Wigeon

American Wigeon

American Tree Sparrow

Cackling Goose

Song Sparrow

Listen to the Song Sparrow

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

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

Sitting next to the road singing from top of a bush

eBird Report

Colorado State Univ. Environmental Learning Center, Larimer, Colorado, US
Apr 6, 2023 07:55 - 08:27
Protocol: Traveling
1.36 kilometer(s)
9 species

Cackling Goose 10
Canada Goose 8
American Wigeon 11
Mallard 30 Many
Double-crested Cormorant 1
Say's Phoebe 2
American Robin 1
American Tree Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 2 Singing bird

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S132846253

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

We drove for a couple of minutes and we stopped at the eBird hotspot: Arapahoe Bend Natural Area--Rigden Reservoir (Strauss Cabin Lake) Now it was warm enough to get out of the car. We tried to look for rails in the reeds.

We had no luck with the rails, the only picture I got was of two Ring-billed Gulls. But it was a beautiful area with the Rocky Mountains in the horizon behind the lake.

Ring-billed Gull

eBird Report

Arapahoe Bend Natural Area--Rigden Reservoir (Strauss Cabin Lake), Larimer, Colorado, US
Apr 6, 2023 08:31 - 08:50
Protocol: Traveling
1.39 kilometer(s)
5 species

Ring-billed Gull 3
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Great Blue Heron 2
American Robin 3
Red-winged Blackbird 5

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S132848477

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

We continue towards Bledsoe Cattle Farm in Wray for the Prairie Chicken Lek. I missed the beautiful Western Meadowlark the first day, a beautiful yellow bird. We drive down South County Road 1; Windsor and we see one Western Meadowlark sitting on the wire next to the road.

I get both pictures and a sound recording before we left. OK, the pictures leaves more than a little to wish for.

Listen to the Western Meadowlark

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

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

Sitting on a wire next to the road so there were many cars passing

Western Meadowlark

Western Meadowlark

Western Meadowlark

We stop at the Windsor Lake to see if we can find the American White Pelican and I could count to 34 pelicans. We decided to continue our road trip and we walked back to the car.

I spotted one Red-winged Blackbird, too far away for any pictures. I tried to make a sound recording even though there were cars passing on the road.

American White Pelican

American White Pelican

American White Pelican

American White Pelican

Listen to the Red-winged Blackbird

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

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

Sitting in a bush across the road. The third call is a flight call, just after the car have passed

We continued towards Bledsoe Cattle Farm in Wray for the Prairie Chicken Lek and we will do some stops on the way. We stopped at Drake Lake and a little later we passed a Merlin sitting on the field and we put the car in to reverse.

The Merlin was a little too far away for any good pictures. But we could see that the bird had a fresh kill as it is sitting among a lot of feathers so the Merlin had killed a bird.

Merlin

Merlin

Merlin

We pass a Prairie Dog

Greater Yellowlegs

We stopped at Crom Lake 10 minutes later and I got another bird I never seen before, the Greater Yellowlegs. From there it is pretty much grass land for long as we can see. With a beautiful setting with the Rocky Mountains in the back.

We leave the highway every now and then to get out on the gravel roads to look for birds. We look for the Mountain Plover and we drive through a small village on the grassland, the Briggsdale. We did not see the Mountain Plover in the surrounding fields.

We met a few bird watchers from Fort Collins, friends of my Guide and they were also looking for the Mountain Plover.

I spotted a House Finch, the 6th or 7th new bird for me today. The House Finch is a beautiful red bird and I was happy to get a few pictures.

House Finch

House Finch

eBird Report

Briggsdale (town), Weld, Colorado, US
Apr 6, 2023 11:06 - 11:24
Protocol: Traveling
2.38 kilometer(s)
4 species

Collared Dove 2
American Robin 1
House Sparrow 3
House Finch 1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S132904998

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

Today's track at Briggsdale (town)

We drove back to the highway and we turned left the high way when we reached road #84 and we were soon having two Mountain Plover on our right-hand side. All over Colorado you have country roads with numbers so all the farmers etc. know what road they are talking about.

My Guide called his friends and they came in a couple of minutes to have a look at the Mountain Plover. They were already far away when we arrived and when the other bird watchers arrived, they had moved further away.

Mountain Plover

Mountain Plover

Grassland for long as I can see

We can still see the Rocky Mountains in the horizon

eBird Report

Briggsdale, Road #84, Colorado, US, Weld, Colorado, US
Apr 6, 2023 11:28 - 12:04
Protocol: Traveling
9.69 kilometer(s)
6 species

Mountain Plover 2
Shore Lark 2
Common Starling 6
House Sparrow 1
Western Meadowlark 5
Red-winged Blackbird 1

View this checklist online at https://ebird.org/checklist/S132905057

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

Today's track on Road # 84

American Kestrel

American Kestrel

American Kestrel

Lapland Bunting / Lapland longspur

We drive along the gravel road and we see an American Kestrel and we stop. The bird is still sitting on the wire and I can get a picture. There is also one Lapland Bunting and I get a NOT SO GOOD picture of the bunting.

We continued towards our hotel and we stopped so I could buy groceries, I needed tea and we were soon on our way again. We were doing 73 in a 65 zone and we were soon having red and blue light behind us. The police let us go with a warning

Afternoon police adventure

Afternoon police adventure

We reached the hotel 15 minutes before 4 and we would leave again 10 minutes before 5 to go see the owner of the Bledsoe Cattle Ranch. Our friend from the first day will come to join us, this is the guy from Etses Park where we looked at birds from his kitchen.

We reached his office and we were talking for about an hour before he was going to show us the lek site. He has a couple of lek sites on his land and he let bird watchers come to watch the lek. And there have been many famous people here to watch the Greater Prairie Chicken Lek.

He doesn’t need to do this; the birds are breeding on his ranch but he let people come to watch. And not only that, he takes the time to drive down and show the sited. And I think he is real enjoying the wildlife and he like to share with other people.

We follow the ranch owner out in the grass land

We follow the ranch owner out in the grass land

We reach the lek site

We reach the lek site

We reach the lek site

We reach the lek site

Waiting for the Greater Prairie-Chicken to return to the lek site

We flush the Greater Prairie-Chicken when we approach the lek site and we count to 34 birds. We stop the car so we have a good view over the site. The birds are returning after a few minutes and they start the lek.

But really no fighting as is seeming like the females are not present and the males are only half enthusiastic. Well, that how it is looking to me, but I am not sure.

Listen to the Greater Prairie Chicken

Sound from www.xeno-canto.org

Remarks from the Recordist

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

About 18 birds at a lek site

Greater Prairie-Chicken

Greater Prairie-Chicken

Greater Prairie-Chicken

Greater Prairie-Chicken

Greater Prairie-Chicken

Greater Prairie-Chicken

Greater Prairie-Chicken

Greater Prairie-Chicken

Greater Prairie-Chicken

Greater Prairie-Chicken

We drive back to the hotel and we are prepared to wake up early to get to the lek site early in the morning. Now we know the location and where to positioning the car for the sunrise to get good light on the birds.

If you want to know how the Greater Prairie-Chicken lek turns out tomorrow morning just have to click HERE !

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 3 | 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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