It was a beautiful morning at the Botanic Gardens at Chatfield! The birding never slowed down and seventeen of us came away with 45 species (see list below).
Highlights included numerous Great Blue Herons – somewhere between 2 and 12 of them. It seemed like every time we scanned the sky here came another Great Blue. A lone Swainson’s Hawk hung around just long enough to give us a good view and attract a whole slew of Red-winged Blackbirds who aggressively sent him on his way. Always a crowd pleaser, a Belted Kingfisher gave us a nice long look, and at the same time we got to watch a female Bullock’s Oriole working on her nest. A bit later we got to watch another female gathering weaving material for her nest – there was a distinct preference for the old hairy bark of dead cottonwood branches. Beautiful views were also had of Say’s Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Yellow Warbler, and Western Meadowlark; and five species of swallows provided a good opportunity for a nice impromptu seminar on the Hirundinidae family.
Song Sparrow (c) Bill Schmoker
Lark Sparrow (c) Bill Schmoker
A couple of birds of note were Song Sparrow and Lark Sparrow. On the Song Sparrow note the gray head with brown streaking, the coarse brown breast streaks converging in a central breast spot, the strong brown lateral throat stripes, and the fairly long tail (for a sparrow). Also, this particular photo shows a typical Song Sparrow behavior – the drooping wingtips. With regard to the Lark Sparrow, it is one of our largest sparrows, having a long, rounded tail. Note the boldly patterned head and clean, white underparts. In flight, the tail pattern is unique (take a look in your field guide). With regard to behavior these guys have a preference for open ground, or, as we saw on Saturday, they may even forage on an old asphalt walkway.
Migration is pretty much done, and the business of nest-building and laying eggs is high on the priority list.
Hope to see you soon on another Front Range Birding Company walk!
Good birding! Chuck
Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, Jun 3, 2017
45 species
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 8
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 6
Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) 2
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 6
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 1
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) 2
Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) 1
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 2
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) (Columba livia (Feral Pigeon)) 1
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) 1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 4
Black-chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri) 1
Broad-tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) 2
Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) 1
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 3
Western Wood-Pewee (Contopus sordidulus) 3
Say’s Phoebe (Sayornis saya) 2
Western Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis) 2
Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus) 1
Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 1
Black-billed Magpie (Pica hudsonia) 3
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 2
Common Raven (Corvus corax) 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx serripennis) 1
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 2
Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) 6
Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) 3
Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) 1
Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) 1
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon) 22
American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 17
European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) 9
Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus) 3
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 3
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) 2
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 22
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) 5
Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) 3
Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) 1
Bullock’s Oriole (Icterus bullockii) 6
House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) 5
Lesser Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria) 2
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) 3
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) 1
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