Morning Birding Species List | March 7, 2017

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Tuesday, March 7, 2017, 7:30AM – 10:30AM
Weather: sunny
Location: Hallam Lake and Slaughterhouse area of Rio Grande Trail

Species Identified
Canada Goose American Wigeon Mallard Ring-necked Duck Lesser Scaup Red-tailed Hawk Belted Kingfisher Downy Woodpecker (pictured above) Hairy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay Black-billed Magpie American Crow		Black-capped Chickadee Mountain Chickadee White-breasted Nuthatch American Dipper Townsend’s Solitaire American Robin Song Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco Red-winged Blackbird House Finch Pine Siskin American Goldfinch

Comments:
Yesterday’s blustery, arctic weather, combined with the calm, sunny morning today, seemed to bring the birds out in droves to feed. Goldfinches were showing bits of bright yellow as they begin to molt into summer breeding plumage. Canada geese seem to be working on territorial claims, with some aggressive chasing observed. We had the excellent opportunity to study Lesser Scaup and Ring-necked Duck for a side-by-side comparison on the lake, along with close-up observations of a pair of Wigeons. A Dipper was particularly active on the lake shore. The morning chorus is beginning to build, and general activity among pairs of birds is happening. We were able to gain experience with the Townsend’s Solitaire’s call, and at the end of the session we observed a Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, and a Northern Flicker all in the same tree, providing another amazing side-by-side study. As a side note, we noticed anchor ice in the Roaring Fork River. Anchor ice forms when fast-flowing, shallow water is super-cooled by extended periods of sub 32F air temperatures.  Free-floating ice crystals form in the flowing water, and as they adhere to rocks, they start an ‘anchor’ point from which more ice builds. Spring is on the way- join us for more interesting behaviors and exciting species at Birding with ACES on Tuesday, April 4th, 7am – 10am.

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide 

 

Photo by Dale Armstrong