Birding By Habitat: North Star Nature Preserve 6/1/22

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Wednesday, June 1, 2022, 6:30am-9:30am
Weather: Partly cloudy
Location: North Star Nature Preserve

Birds were very vocal and active this morning, with breeding season activities in full swing! We started with a look at the large beaver dam across the Roaring Fork River at the South Gate parking lot where the outing began. We saw and/or heard Fox Sparrows, Yellow Warblers, and Song Sparrows in the riparian willows, and closer to the base of the hillside across the road, we heard Black-headed Grosbeaks in the mountain shrubland habitat. In the James Smith portion of the preserve, we watched spotted sandpipers displaying breeding behaviors, Violet-green and Tree Swallows feeding on airborne insects, and Great Blue Herons flying high over the river corridor. We focused on field marks for identifying the various sparrows, including the qualities of colors, streaks, and songs as well as behaviors. While enjoying the birds, we also had some mammalian highlights: a cow moose bedded down (safely across the river and far from us) with her days-old calf, a deer that waded into the river and swam across, beavers in the river, and elk on the flank of Richmond Ridge. Join us next week for birding outings at Hallam Lake, Rock Bottom Ranch (evening birding with focus on snipes and rails), and Basalt Mountain (focus on the burned area and its abundant birdlife)! View all upcoming birding outings!

Species List: 

Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Spotted Sandpiper
Great Blue Heron
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Warbling Vireo
Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
House Finch
Cassin’s Finch
Green-tailed Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Brown-headed Cowbird
MacGillivray’s Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Black-headed Grosbeak

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide

Featured photo: Yellow Warbler