February 2003 had above average snowfall and could be called the month that the drought ended. February is always a slow winter month for birds and this year was no exception. However, signs of spring were present. The first Cinnamon Teal of the year was observed at Walden Ponds on the 21st. Diving ducks were present in fair numbers. The White-winged Scoter continued to be seen in Lafayette. A female Barrow’s Goldeneye. was seen on Valmont Reservoir. Red-breasted Mergansers were seen in large numbers. The two Trumpeter Swans remained in the county. Six Greater White-fronted Geese were seen in at least four different locations. Three blue-phase Snow Geese were also observed.

Ring-billed Gulls were present in large numbers - we had 3079 of these gulls reported. Both Herring and California Gulls were present in smaller numbers. One Thayer’s Gull and one Lesser Black-backed Gull were seen at Valmont Reservoir. Eastern Bluebirds continued to be seen at Walden Ponds, and a Northern Mockingbird was seen in the Boulder foothills. A Hermit Thrush was an unseasonal sighting on campus; if this thrush had wintered it had managed to avoid being seen until now. A Palm Warbler was seen in Longmont, almost certainly one of the two birds seen on the Longmont Christmas Bird Count. At least one Swamp Sparrow on Boulder Creek at 75th Street continued to delight several observers. Rusty Blackbirds, presumably the same birds as those seen on the Boulder Christmas Bird Count, were seen at Walden Ponds. However, the rarest bird of the month was undoubtedly a Lapland Longspur seen among a flock of Horned Larks in the north eastern corner of the county. This bird was last reported in the county in December 1979.

Altogether 95 bird species were seen in February, a respectable but not record-breaking total. Again mammals continued to be very poorly reported. A few common bird species were missed from the foothills such as Red-breasted Nuthatch, Cassin’s Finch and Red Crossbill. TOP