Morning Birding Species List | March 4, 2014

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Tuesday, March 4, 2014, 7:30AM – 10:30AM
Weather: mostly sunny, temperatures in the mid- to upper twenties, snow coverage 100% with firm crust
Locations: Hallam Lake and Roaring Fork River at Rio Grande Trail

Species Identified
Canada Goose Mallard Ring-necked Duck Bald Eagle Wilson’s Snipe Northern Flicker Steller’s Jay Black-billed Magpie American Crow Black-capped Chickadee Mountain Chickadee		Red-breasted Nuthatch American Dipper American Robin Song Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Cassin’s Finch House Finch Pine Siskin American Goldfinch Evening Grosbeak (pictured above)

Comments:  Several weeks of spring-like weather has birders thinking of swallows and warblers… but winter is still upon us.  Certain species have ramped up the singing, notably Red-winged Blackbirds; but most vocalizing is still associated with non-breeding activities (such as flocks foraging together for efficiency).  A Bald Eagle has been at Hallam Lake regularly for the past several weeks, and we had an excellent chance to observe it perched in a tall spruce over the lake.  The snowpack’s firm crust allowed us to walk easily over cattail and sedge marshes in the back areas of the preserve, where we observed a Wilson’s Snipe and heavy beaver activity (willow cuttings and footprints).  We expect more great birding for the April Morning Birding session.  Come out and join us!

~Rebecca Weiss, ACES Naturalist