Tag: Lagerman Reservoir

Saturday October 14, 2023 Bird Walk to Lagerman Reservoir with Jamie Simo

Posted on October 18, 2023 by - Bird Walks, Blog

On a perfect Saturday morning (we even had an eclipse to enjoy!) we set out on a leisurely walk around Lagerman Reservoir to see what birds we could see. Lagerman is usually busy all year, but particularly shines in fall and winter when waterfowl and raptors are the highlights. Right away we spotted a juvenile light-morph Ferruginous Hawk that had staked a claim on a power pole overlooking the nearby prairie dog colony.

Ferruginous Hawks, named for the rusty or “ferrous” (iron) color of the feathers on their legs and backs, are our largest hawk and primarily feed on prairie dogs. Juvenile light-morphs are less rusty than their adult counterparts with more spotting on their underparts.

We were also treated to several other raptors out hunting, including a couple of adult Bald Eagles, an American Kestrel, and a Northern Harrier. The Northern Harrier is the only bird of its genus, Circus, in North America. They breed and hunt in grasslands and marshes where they use their disc-shaped faces to locate rodents. The disc shape helps funnel sound to their ears, a characteristic they share with owls, though they aren’t closely-related.

Male Northern Harrier. Photo by Jamie Simo

In addition to raptors, we had an abundance of waterfowl on Saturday. Of particular note were several Eared Grebes, the only grebe species we encountered. In winter, Eared Grebes are mostly varying shades of grey, retaining only the red eyes from their spectacular breeding plumage. They often are easily confused with Horned Grebes, with several minor differences. While Horned Grebes have bright white cheeks, Eared Grebes’ cheeks are a dusky color that doesn’t stand out from the color of their faces or necks. A good mnemonic to remember this characteristic is Eared=smeared. Also, while Horned Grebes’ heads are squarish, Eared Grebes have somewhat lumpy heads with a peak toward the front of the head.

Non-breeding Eared Grebe. Photo by Jamie Simo

We were also treated to great looks at many ducks including, but not limited to, Northern Pintail, Redhead, Canvasback, and American Wigeon. A very successful walk!

Lagerman Agricultural Preserve–Lagerman Reservoir, Boulder, Colorado, US
36 species

Canada Goose  26
Northern Shoveler  7
Gadwall  2
American Wigeon  15
Mallard  12
Northern Pintail  6
Green-winged Teal  8
Canvasback  5     
Redhead  20
Ring-necked Duck  4
Bufflehead  5
Ruddy Duck  50
Eared Grebe  6
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  13
American Coot  80
Killdeer  10
Least Sandpiper  1
Wilson’s Snipe  2
Ring-billed Gull  6
American White Pelican  2
Northern Harrier  1
Bald Eagle  2
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Ferruginous Hawk  1
Northern Flicker  2
American Kestrel  2
Say’s Phoebe  1
Black-billed Magpie  1
American Crow  2
European Starling  50
American Robin  1
American Pipit  12
White-crowned Sparrow  1
Western Meadowlark  12
Red-winged Blackbird  10
Brewer’s Blackbird  8

August 12, 2023 Bird Walk to Lagerman Reservoir Open Sky Loop with Jamie Simo

Posted on August 18, 2023 by - Bird Walks, Blog

As it says on the tin, the Lagerman Reservoir Open Sky Loop is almost completely open and without shade so it was a blessing that the morning of our walk was cloudy and relatively cool for August. It’s still a long walk though, and my hat’s off to those doughty birders who stuck it out with me.

August is a challenging time to bird as birds are generally no longer singing and migration hasn’t really hit its peak yet. Still, we had some great birds, including a female Lark Bunting almost as soon as we started our walk. Colorado’s state bird, the Lark Bunting is a large, grassland sparrow. While the male in breeding plumage is unmistakable, being mostly black with a prominent white wing patch, the female and juvenile are more subtle with brown streaking. They do have a particularly chunky bill for a sparrow, almost more like a finch, but the creamy wing patch is a dead giveaway and was what clued us in to the bird’s identity.

Female Lark Bunting. Photo by Jamie Simo

Buoyed by our first big find, we continued on and had some fantastic views of Say’s Phoebes, which appeared to be everywhere. Say’s Phoebes are a kind of flycatcher and, as is typical of phoebes, are known for bobbing their tails. A trip highlight was watching an adult Say’s Phoebe feed a juvenile. One way to tell a juvenile from an adult bird is the very visible fleshy “gape” around the base of the bill. When altricial birds are nestlings, a prominent gape allows their parents to locate where to put the food. On Say’s Phoebes this gape is an orangey-yellow color, which stands out against the dark beak and grey head feathers.

Juvenile Say’s Phoebe. Photo by Jamie Simo

Another highlight of the trip was seeing a Loggerhead Shrike. Although the bird never came close to us, we were able to scope it with the Swarovski ATS 65mm spotting scope, which allowed us to get great looks at it. Although shrikes are considered songbirds, they hunt and kill not only insects, but also rodents, lizards, and even other songbirds. To kill vertebrate prey, they use their hooked beaks to deliver a paralyzing bite to the back of the neck then shake their victim with enough force to break its neck. Because they lack talons like a raptor, they impale their kill on thorns or even barbed wire to help hold it steady to eat or even to cache it for later.

Some other cool sights we had were two Great Horned Owls in a barn, a Bald Eagle with prey, and a Sage Thrasher. In all, we had 41 species, which is incredible for August in the grassland. Hopefully you can join us on our next walk!

Lagerman Agricultural Preserve–Open Sky Loop, Boulder, Colorado, US
Aug 12, 2023 7:43 AM – 12:03 PM
7.07 mile(s)
41 species

Canada Goose  65
Mallard  11
Lesser Scaup  2
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  1
Eurasian Collared-Dove  9
Mourning Dove  1
Broad-tailed Hummingbird  1
Killdeer  2
Ring-billed Gull  1
Double-crested Cormorant  5
Great Blue Heron  3
Black-crowned Night-Heron  1
Turkey Vulture  1
Bald Eagle  2
Red-tailed Hawk  3
Great Horned Owl  3
Downy Woodpecker  1
American Kestrel  1
Western Wood-Pewee  2
Say’s Phoebe  11
Western Kingbird  1
Eastern Kingbird  3
Loggerhead Shrike  1
Blue Jay  1
Black-billed Magpie  4
Black-capped Chickadee  1
Tree Swallow  1
Barn Swallow  11
European Starling  38
Sage Thrasher  1
House Sparrow  3
House Finch  5
Lesser Goldfinch  3
American Goldfinch  3
Lark Bunting  1
Savannah Sparrow  2
Western Meadowlark  8
Red-winged Blackbird  32
Brewer’s Blackbird  1
Common Grackle  7
Blue Grosbeak  3

November 12, 2022 Bird Walk to Lagerman Reservoir with Patrick Morgan

Posted on November 26, 2022 by - Bird Walks, Blog

The Boulder Front Range Birding Company November walk was held at Lagerman Reservoir on November 12 at 8:00 am. The morning was a little frigid, with the temperature in the 20s and a frozen reservoir shoreline. 5 intrepid birders showed up to brave the cold, though we weren’t the only ones. Two other birding groups were there, along with a running group. We joked that there might be more observers than birds at the park this morning. 

Looking south across the reservoir with the sun right in your face can make viewing the birds on the water somewhat difficult, so we aimed to make it to the south shore of the reservoir to get a better view. Viewing backlit birds can be a good test of identification skills, however, and we used some of these skills to identify some Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, and the ubiquitous American Coots that frequent the reservoir in the winter months. 

Female Ruddy Duck. Photo by Jamie Simo

While we were on the western shore, we noticed multiple Killdeer flying around. These were the only shorebirds that we were seeing, but then we noticed one that was quite smaller in size. The sunlight was making a confirming id difficult, but we were able to narrow in on a Least Sandpiper. The small “peep” had a slightly down-turned bill and greenish yellow legs, good identifiers for this shorebird. They can be pretty rare this time of year, but this one seems to have been hanging out at the reservoir for a couple of weeks. 

Least Sandpiper. Photo by Jamie Simo

As we continued on to the south shore, we noticed multiple juvenile Bald Eagles flying around. There is a nest south of the reservoir, barely visible with the naked eye, so these ones could be offspring of that nested pair, but they could also be winter migrants that move into the area in the winter. We noticed them flying low to the ground west of the reservoir, along with multiple Black-billed Magpies and two Ferruginous Hawks. There must have been some type of carcass over there, as a couple of Bald Eagles stayed perched on the fence over there for the duration of our walk. 

Snow Goose. Photo by Jamie Simo

We finally made it to the south shore after walking less than a mile in about an hour and a half (you tend to not make it very far when the birds are flying around!) and decided that we would view the birds from here and then turn around. We could spot Northern Pintails, Redheads, and Lesser Scaups, but we were most amazed by the flocks of geese flying overhead. This time of year is great to view geese, as thousands of them come down from the north and congregate on the various reservoirs in the area. Most of what we saw were Canada and Cackling Geese, which when flying overhead can be pretty difficult to distinguish. What really excited us was a group of about 12 Snow Geese that flew over the reservoir. After watching the birds flying around and on the water we decided to head back to the trailhead. 

Hope to see you next month for our December Bird Walk!

Taxa Reported 

13 Snow Geese

500 (est) Cackling/Canada

8 Mallard

7 Northern Pintail

5 Green-winged Teal

7 Lesser Scaup

8 Bufflehead

3 Common Goldeneye

6 Ruddy Duck

30 American Coot

4 Killdeer

1 Least Sandpiper

3 Ring-billed Gull

1 Northern Harrier

4 Bald Eagle

1 Red-tailed Hawk

2 Ferruginous Hawk

1 American Kestrel

4 Black-billed Magpie

2 Common Raven

3 American Tree Sparrow

2 Western Meadowlark

Lagerman Reservoir, May 8

Posted on May 15, 2021 by - Bird Walks, Blog

Until 2020, I only thought of Lagerman Reservoir in Boulder County as a good place to stop for a bathroom break when driving the Boulder County Raptor Loop for winter raptors. Boy, was I wrong! Last year, Lagerman was featured in multiple rare bird alerts during spring and fall migration sparking my curiosity (and that of many other birders in the area). When Front Range Birding Company asked me to lead a bird walk there on International Migratory Bird Day, I jumped at the opportunity!

American Avocet. Photo by Sheridan Samano.

Our group convened at Lagerman’s north shore near the parking lot. We were quickly treated with up close views of American Avocets in striking breeding plumage. Avocets have long bluish-gray legs, a long recurved bill, and a black-and-white chevron pattern on their back and wings. The name Avocet comes from the Italian avosetta, which means ‘graceful bird’. Scything the water’s surface in search of aquatic invertebrates is the hallmark foraging method of Avocets.

Foraging near the Avocets were several Wilson’s Phalaropes, the largest and most terrestrial of the world’s three phalarope species. Phalaropes may best be known for their reversed sex-role mating system. Females are the larger and showier sex. They compete for the attention of males and sometimes mate with multiple individuals, a process called polyandry. Males provide parental care. Exceptions in nature are always a crowd pleaser so the phalaropes sparked interesting dialogue among the group.

Wilson’s Phalaropes (male and female). Photo by Sheridan Samano.

With Lagerman’s seasonal closure, a spotting scope works best for distant viewing on the water and along the southern shoreline. With scopes, we identified a variety of species from ducks to grebes and gulls to terns.

After everyone had their fill of scope viewing, we walked to Lagerman’s east side. We listened to Western Meadowlarks singing in the fields, watched as a male American Kestrel precariously perched on a mullein stalk, and observed a Spotted Sandpiper with its bouncy-butt moving along the rocky shoreline.

In the agricultural field east of the reservoir, we found Vesper Sparrows and American Pipits. Sparrows are infamously tough to ID, but one Vesper perched in the open for several minutes affording everyone good looks at its diagnostic rufous wing patch. Vesper means evening. Vesper Sparrows are known to sing well into the twilight after most birds have stopped singing for the day.

For the morning’s grand finale, an adult Bald Eagle flew right over us with obvious prey in its talons. In real time, we weren’t sure what it was carrying but the consensus was that it was a duck. Upon closer examination of photos after our walk, a rabbit was revealed. 

Even with gusty sustained winds, everyone agreed Lagerman delivered on quality sightings. The final tally of 41 species wasn’t too shabby either.

eBird Checklist – 41 Species

Species     Count
Canada Goose 11
Blue-winged Teal 4
Northern Shoveler 1
Gadwall 7
Mallard 1
Lesser Scaup 2
Bufflehead 3
Ruddy Duck 2
Eared Grebe 4
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 1
American Avocet 8
Killdeer 3
Western Sandpiper 3
Long-billed Dowitcher 1
Wilson’s Phalarope 18
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Franklin’s Gull 20
Forster’s Tern 3
Double-crested Cormorant 4
American White Pelican 2
Great Blue Heron 1
White-faced Ibis 1
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 1
Bald Eagle 2
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 1
Western Kingbird 2
Black-billed Magpie 3
Common Raven 1
Tree Swallow 9
Violet-green Swallow 1
Barn Swallow 2
Cliff Swallow 11
American Pipit 3
Vesper Sparrow 2
Western Meadowlark 4
Red-winged Blackbird 7
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
Common Grackle 2

 

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Lagerman Agricultural Preserve, September 14, 2019–with Jamie Simo

Posted on September 16, 2019 by - Bird Walks, Blog

Least Sandpiper in breeding plumage. Photo by Jamie Simo.

September is a great month to look for migrants and this past Saturday at Lagerman Agricultural Preserve didn’t disappoint on that count. We also welcomed our newest employee, Stephen Chang, to the FRBC team on this bird walk. Welcome, Stephen!

Baird’s Sandpiper in foreground and Least Sandpiper in background. Photo by Jamie Simo.

Unlike spring migration where birds are in a rush to find nesting territories, fall migration is a more leisurely affair, so we saw stopover species that breed farther north, Colorado breeders, and species that winter along the Front Range. In the stopover species category, we saw both Least and Baird’s Sandpipers. Least Sandpipers are the smallest shorebird species in the world and are long-distance migrants breeding in the arctic and wintering in Mexico and Central America. In addition to size, Least Sandpipers can be distinguished from the other small sandpipers classified as “peeps” by their yellow legs (the other four “peeps,” Western, Semipalmated, Baird’s, and White-rumped Sandpipers, have dark legs). In September, Least Sandpipers are still in breeding plumage and appear rusty with a couple of paler stripes down the back.

Baird’s Sandpipers are also long-distance migrants that breed in the arctic, although they travel even farther in winter than Least Sandpipers and fly all the way down to Chile and Argentina. Perhaps because of this they have long wings that extend slightly past their tails. They tend to look somewhat “scaly-backed,” especially juveniles, with dark-centered feathers on their backs edged with a paler tan. Their breasts are also tan with pale striping that doesn’t extend onto the clean white of their bellies and flanks.

Male Brewer’s Blackbird. Photo by Jamie Simo.

For species breeding in Colorado, we saw a number of Brewer’s Blackbirds. Brewer’s Blackbirds are often found in agricultural areas. Males are an iridescent black with a pale eye. The pale eye, lack of red shoulder patches, and thinner bill, distinguish them from the similar male Red-winged Blackbird. Female Brewer’s Blackbirds are brown with a dark eye and can be distinguished from the similar female Brown-headed Cowbird by being darker, larger, and having a thinner bill.

Finally, we were fortunate to see the first vanguard of several species that winter in our area, including the Ring-necked Duck. Despite being named for the ring around their neck, which is usually only visible at close range, Ring-necked Ducks have grey bills tipped with black and ringed with a band of white. Both males and females have peaked heads. Females are brown with a darker brown “saddle” on their backs and a white patch near the base of the bill. In non-breeding plumage, males can be picked out from females by their dark breasts, darker heads, and yellow eyes.

Male and female non-breeding Ring-necked Ducks next to American Coot. Photo by Jamie Simo.

In all, we saw 28 species. Join us next month at our Boulder location when we check out Barr Lake State Park and visit Bird Conservancy of the Rockies’ banding station.

Lagerman Agricultural Preserve, Sep 14, 2019
28 species (+1 other taxa)

Canada Goose 16
Blue-winged Teal 4
Cinnamon Teal 1
American Wigeon 24
Mallard 6
Green-winged Teal 2
Redhead 3
Ring-necked Duck 3
Ruddy Duck 3
Pied-billed Grebe 5
American Coot 12
Killdeer 6
Baird’s Sandpiper 4
Least Sandpiper 2
Short-billed/Longbilled Dowitcher 7
Ring-billed Gull 57
Double-crested Cormorant 13
American White Pelican 2
Great Blue Heron 2
Turkey Vulture 2
Osprey 1
American Kestrel 2
Say’s Phoebe 2
Barn Swallow 11
Lesser Goldfinch 3
American Goldfinch 2
Vesper Sparrow 4
Western Meadowlark 4
Brewer’s Blackbird 6