ACES Morning Birding at Hallam Lake 8/22/23

The two Osprey fledglings and parents were amazing to watch this morning as they came and left from the nest, flew and perched in various trees around Hallam Lake, and interacted with lots of chirping vocalizations. We even saw an aggressive food-begging maneuver that caused an adult to drop the tail end of its meal into the lake! We were able to clearly see all of the key field marks for differentiating the fledglings from the adults, and we were also able to observe the adults’ coordinated, smooth flights and landings in contrast to the fledglings’ more tentative, awkward moves. We also had an exciting episode of bird activity in the back part of the preserve where we watched from the far viewing platform. One clump of willows with some dead sticks around it was busy with birds: Cedar Waxwings, Western Tanagers, a Western Wood-pewee, Yellow-rumped Warblers, an Orange-crowned Warbler, Flickers, and Black-headed Grosbeaks. Other highlights included Red-naped Sapsuckers, a Downy Woodpecker, and many Mountain and Black-capped Chickadees. Join us next week for fall migration birding in the Gorge of the Roaring Fork River on Monday August 28th!