After the excitement of spring migration, most birders seem to be much less active in June and July. The plains were very badly covered for both months. Hardly any ducks or grebes were reported. Of course, these are the months that such birds are breeding, are therefore less conspicuous, as well as going into eclipse plumage. However, we would expect these birds to be present. On the other hand, both the foothills and the subalpine region of the county were well reported with a good representation of the birds present in these habitats. June’s reports were helped by both the Indian Peaks breeding bird count (IP), and the Grasslands Bioblitz in the south of the county.

Although we tend to think of June and July as summer months, there were signs of fall migration. Solitary Sandpiper and Willet were two of the shorebird species seen at the end of July as they migrated southwards. Huge kettles of Swainson’s Hawks were seen in June, one with over a hundred birds reported. By July it was becoming harder to find some of our more common breeding birds such as Dusky Flycatcher and Yellow-headed Blackbird, neither of which were reported that month.

A Cassin’s Sparrow found by Tony Leukering was a first record for the county. These birds are seen fairly regularly (and heard even more so) on the eastern plains of Colorado, and are known to be breeding in Weld County. Grasshopper Sparrows were widespread this year, and could reliably be seen in an assortment of locations. Wood Thrush, Dickcissel and Orchard Oriole were all birds that were reported after an absence of a year. A Blue-winged Warbler was seen in Gregory Canyon by many observers over a period of several weeks. This bird’s song led to some debate about whether it was pure-bred or a hybrid Brewster’s Warbler (Golden-winged X Blue-winged). Although all the visual indications were that it was Blue-winged, it is virtually impossible to confirm this in the field. An Ovenbird seen in June was also a new warbler for the year. Hooded Warblers were seen in both June and July, indicating that this species may have again successfully bred. Scarlet Tanagers were seen in three different locations in June.

Bald Eagles were seen in at least three different locations in June. Owls were well reported over the two months. Flammulated Owl and Common Barn Owl were both new species for the year. Burrowing Owls seem to be successfully breeding in at least one location, having been very marginal in the county for several years. Long-eared Owl is a bird that is more commonly reported in winter, although considered an all year resident.

We rarely give much mention to the mammals seen as these are very under-reported. However, a Big-horned Sheep seen in the Boulder foothills deserves a mention as it is the first report since 1993.

Altogether 168 bird species were reported in June which is the second highest total for this month since the wildlife inventory began. This is somewhat surprising as there are some notable absences of common plains birds. The 147 bird species reported for July is probably average, but depends more on the coverage by birders than on the number of bird species. It is certainly an improvement over last year’s abysmal 113 species. TOP