Tag: Rare Birds

Spring Rarities

Every year as the days grow longer and the temperature increases a wide variety of birds migrate through Colorado. Although many migrating birds regularly travel through Colorado, the birds in this post are all rarely seen in the state. These rare birds, or rarities as birders call them, are often a cause for excitement for anyone attempting to grow their Colorado list.

As it turned out this spring an exceptional number of rare birds were reported in Colorado. Most of them were from the Eastern United States or birds from Southern States that overshot their breeding grounds. These birds are unpredictable, only showing up in Colorado a few times a year. Several of the birds were even more rare!

Thanks to the many Colorado birders who found and reported these rarities!

April Rarities

Neotropic Cormorant
Neotropic Cormorants like this one are identified by their equally proportioned neck and tail. The common cormorant in Colorado, the Double-crested Cormorant, has a much shorter tail.
Vermilion Flycatcher
Female Vermilion Flycatcher.
Glossy Ibis
Glossy Ibis can be differentiated from the much more common White-faced Ibis by their purple facial skin and red knees.
Yellow-throated Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo.
Louisiana Waterthrush
Easily the rarest bird I saw this spring was this Louisiana Waterthrush. It was just the seventh ever reported in the state and a lifer for me.
Caspian Tern
In this flock of Franklin’s Gulls is a Caspian Tern. It is slightly larger with a long orange bill.
American Golden-Plover
American Golden-Plover in non-breeding plumage.
Yellow-throated Warbler
This Yellow-throated Warbler sang loudly the entire time we observed it making him easy to locate.
White-eyed Vireo
White-eyed Vireo with its white eye clearly visible.
Dunlin
Three Dunlin in breeding plumage, part of a small flock of six. Their red backs, black bellies and long down-curved bill are key field marks.
Whimbrel
Whimbrel. These incredible shorebirds migrate mostly along the coast, although very small numbers move through Colorado every year. They spend summer in northern Alaska and winter along the coast of the southern United States and Central America.
Hooded Warber
Male Hooded Warbler hopping along the ground.
Black-and-white Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler is the only warbler in North America that behaves like a nuthatch, climbing up tree trunks in search of food.

May Rarities

Palm Warbler
Palm Warblers like this one can be identified by their tail pumping behavior.
Chestnut-sided Warbler
A Chestnut-sided Warbler showing its namesake chestnut side.
Black-throated Blue Warbler
A Black-throated Blue Warbler. This small eastern warbler is rare in Colorado and was a lifer for me this spring.
Broad-winged Hawk
A Broad-winged Hawk flying over. These raptors migrate though Colorado every spring and are almost always seen in flight.
Summer Tanager
Male Summer Tanager. They are one of the only all red birds in Colorado.
Gray-cheeked Thrush
A Gray-cheeked Thrush. Although this species is very similar to Swainson’s Thrush it lacks the clear eye ring and other subtle details of the face pattern. It was confirmed by its distinctive song. This bird was special because it is one of the best rarities I have found.
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Rose-breasted Grosbeak foraging in the top of some tall trees.
Northern Parula
A female Northern Parula. Although this warbler is normally a regular eastern migrant in Colorado, this was the only one I saw this spring.
Cape May Warbler
Female Cape May Warbler moving up the tree. They can be identified by the dense gray streaking on their sides and their gray cheek patch.
Golden-winged Warbler
A female Golden-winged Warbler foraging just feet away from me. Another lifer!
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
A roosting Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. This bird would hunt and roost on the shores of this small lake every morning but would disappear, presumably to nearby bushes during the day.

May Continued

Blackpoll Warbler
One of the most common eastern warblers in Colorado is the Blackpoll Warbler, one of many I saw this spring.
Worm-eating Warbler.
One of the rarest eastern warblers I have seen this year is the Worm-eating Warbler.
Painted Bunting
A female Painted Bunting, identified by its overall greenish color.
Pine Warbler
A male Pine Warbler. These birds often forage and sing from the tops of trees, but this one landed on the ground providing excellent views.
Kentucky Warbler
A male Kentucky Warbler, another lifer. This skulky warbler never got more then three feet off the ground. It was only visible for several seconds while hopping between bushes.
Blue-winged Warbler
A Blue-winged Warbler hopping around in some dense bushes.
Prothonotary Warbler
This bright golden warbler is a Prothonotary Warbler. It is identified by its long bill and blue gray back.
Blackburnian Warbler
Female Blackburnian Warbler sitting in a tree close to me. It was by far the most cooperative Blackburnian I have ever seen.
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
No, your eyes are not deceiving you, this bird’s tail is longer than its body! The clear pink sides and fully gray head confirm this bird is a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.
Magnolia Warbler
A Magnolia Warbler, probably a young male, hopping around in a distant tree.
Scarlet Tanager
My lifer Scarlet Tanager. This bird was still transitioning into breeding plumage. This is evident because of the green patch on the back.
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Eastern Wood-Pewee. Western and Eastern Wood-Pewees look so similar that they can only be confidently identified by hearing their song. Thankfully, this bird was singing continually from a tree right above us.

Camera: Nikon COOLPIX P1000

Optics: Celestron TrailSeeker Scope and Nikon Monarch 7 ATB 8×42 Binoculars

Pacific Wren

After three days of searching for the Pacific Wren we finally found him on Christmas morning! He was first seen on December 23rd at Bear Creek Lake Park. The Wren’s range is normally the Pacific Coast. This bird represents the first record ever for Jefferson County, Colorado.

I’ve only seen this bird once before in Rocky Mountain National Park. A nesting pair of Pacific Wrens had taken up residence within the park. We hiked six miles to find the birds.

December 23rd

I received eBird’s notification at 10:14 am on the 23rd that a Pacific Wren had been found by Chris Wood at Bear Creek Lake Park. I got there as quickly as possible after hearing the news, arriving around noon. My mom and I birded the area where the wren had been found for 3 ½ hours. No wren!

Belted Kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher having a bad hair day…
Northern Flicker Feather
Northern Flicker feather.
American Dipper
American Dipper.
American Dipper
Dipper blinking which shows white eyelid.
Black-billed Magpie
Magpie.
Pacific Wren location Bear Creek
Bear Creek.

December 24th

Not to be defeated by this bird, I brought my dad for an extra set of eyes. The three of us arrived at 10:45. The bird had been seen at 10:30 by many people. When we arrived it was nowhere to be found. We searched for an hour and a half before cutting our losses and heading to Chatfield Reservoir for some rare waterfowl.

Bear Creek

American Dipper foraging along the creek
American Dipper
American Dipper.

Chatfield State Park

Chatfield State Park
Mom and I scoping the rarities at Chatfield.
Common Goldeneye
Common Goldeneye.
Pacific Loon
Pacific Loon, one of the rarities.
Red-necked Grebe
The other rare bird: a Red-necked Grebe.
Western Grebe
Four Western Grebes.

December 25th

Birding on Christmas Day was nothing new to us, having spent the holidays last year in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. Because the bird was seen around sunrise the previous two days we arrived early to have the best chance of finding him. We got to the park at 7:30 and were the first birders to arrive. We searched high and low for 30 minutes and were joined by several other birders. The bird was finally located around 8:00 and gave us excellent views. As had been reported he was quite chatty and happy to sit still just feet away from us.

Pacific Wren
Finally a Pacific Wren!
Pacific Wren
Cute little fellow.
Pacific Wren
Wren showing buffy throat which is a key field mark.
Pacific Wren
Why are those people taking pictures of me?
Our little friend the Pacific Wren calling.
Canada Geese
Flyover Canada Geese.

Camera: Nikon COOLPIX P1000, SONY Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V

Optics: Celestron