Morning Birding at Hallam Lake Species List

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Tuesday, July 27, 2021 7am-10am
Weather: Mostly Sunny
Location: Hallam Lake

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This morning’s mini lesson focused on how to clean binoculars to clear away pollen, dust, muffin crumbs… all of the debris that can land on our lenses and affect clear viewing of birds. Always consult your owner’s manual, and adjust this basic cleaning routine as appropriate:  sweep away dusty debris with a lens pen brush, then remove eye cups (if your model is designed to do this) and gently run lenses under a small stream of water from a sink faucet – keep this brief. Lastly, dry lenses with a clean lens cloth and put eye cups back on. Enjoy crisp, clean views with regular cleaning!  Today’s birding highlights included watching the large osprey chick and adults at the nest, excellent views of a red-naped sapsucker gleaning insects from a small cottonwood tree, observing the three large heron chicks that seem ready to fledge any minute (we’ve been thinking this for the past several weeks!), a preening yellow-rumped warbler, a preening lark sparrow, and an active kingfisher around the lake.  We discussed watching bird behavior as a fun secondary focus after identifying birds, and the importance of birding by ear in lush forests and thickets where birds can be difficult to see. As we wrapped up, we noticed a warbling vireo in the tree canopy above the nature center building. Join us tomorrow for Birding By Habitat: Castle Creek Valley, to observe and learn about subalpine forest and riparian birds!

Species List: 

Mallard
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Great Blue Heron
Osprey
Belted Kingfisher
Red-naped Sapsucker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Cordilleran Flycatcher
Warbling Vireo
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Swainson’s Thrush
American Robin
Pine Siskin
Song Sparrow
Lark Sparrow
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler

 

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide

Photo by Dale Armstrong