ACES Morning Birding at Rock Bottom Ranch 10/15/2024

Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 8:00-11:00 am
Weather: Sunny
Location: Rock Bottom Ranch, Basalt, CO

One of our first sightings this morning was the delicate, woven nest of a Bullock’s oriole, revealed by the shedding of leaves in the cottonwoods by RBR’s parking lot. This is a fun time of year to start spotting nests as they become visible. Sparrows were concentrated in garden beds with plenty of flowers and other plants that had gone to seed. We practiced with the steps a birder goes through when trying to identify sparrows. Moving on through the ranch, red-winged blackbirds and starlings were in fresh plumage with their buffy or white highlights that will wear off over the course of the winter. At the far pond, we enjoyed seeing three species of ducks together for excellent comparisons, and we finally identified the mystery duck that has been at the pond for many weeks. It was a female blue-winged teal, as we were suspecting! Confirmed by its pale blue wing patches that we were finally able to see as the duck preened and stretched its wings. Another beautiful fall day with great birds! Join us next Tuesday for Morning Birding at Hallam Lake!

Mallard

Blue-winged Teal

Green-winged Teal

Wild Turkey

Red-tailed Hawk

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Belted Kingfisher

Northern Flicker

Black-billed Magpie

American Crow

Black-capped Chickadee

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Mountain Bluebird

American Robin

European Starling

Song Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Red-winged Blackbird