Morning Birding Species List | August 18, 2015

Comments:

Fall is in the air, and birds are switching gears as they prepare for migration or over-wintering in the valley. We had an unusually quiet morning at Hallam Lake and on the Rio Grande Trail between ACES, Jenny Adair Park, and the Hunter Creek bridge. Leaf blights defoliating some cottonwoods, aspens, and serviceberries are reducing cover and foraging for some birds like warblers. Squirrels are harvesting conifer cones by cutting and dropping them from the tops of trees. And birdsong is almost absent. We had a great look at a belted kingfisher toward the back of the preserve, even getting to see the spray of water droplets back-lit by the sun as the bird shook water off its plumage. We also got great looks at crows and a few yellow warblers. We expect to see lots more bird activity at this time of year when fledglings are actively foraging on their own and as northern migratory birds pass through. As they say, sometimes the birds are there; sometimes they’re not! Either way, it’s always exciting to notice the on-going, subtle changes as the seasons progress!

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide