ACES Midvalley Winter Waterfowl Study 12/11/24

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Wednesday, December 11, 2024, 7:45-10:00am
Weather: Clear & Cold
Location: Lake Christine, Basalt, CO

Winter is a great time to focus on waterfowl because they are in their most colorful plumages and many different species that breed elsewhere spend the winter season in places like the Roaring Fork Valley. Finding open water locally can be tricky when temperatures drop and ice covers many bodies of water. Lake Christine, being spring fed, stays open much longer, and is a haven for waterfowl and water birds. Today, following a clear, cold night, the lake was teeming with a variety of ducks. With the temperature in the single digits, our time at the lake was brief, but we were able to practice with the three keys to waterfowl ID: behavior (dabbling vs. diving), body structure (head shape, body proportions, bill shape and habit), and contrasting color patterns (“where’s the white?”). We also enjoyed a single heron, a bald eagle, a downy woodpecker, and a few other passerines in the icy cattails and surrounding scrub oak thickets. Upon reaching a point where the cold had crept through our gloves and boots, we retreated very thankfully to the nearby home of one of our participants for hot coffee and muffins (Thank you, Lisa!!). While warming up inside, we were able to cover more waterfowl topics and general questions about winter strategies used by a variety of birds, including the Steller’s jays and juncos that we watched on a wonderful platform feeder outside the window. Join us on Sunday for the Aspen Christmas Bird Count!

Species List:

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide