Early June often sees the arrival of some unusual late migrants, and birders were well rewarded this year for their efforts. First a Little Blue Heron stayed at Walden Ponds for a few days; this species was last seen in the county in 2000. Then, while birders were looking for this bird, at least two Least Bitterns were heard and eventually sighted. The last report for Least Bittern was in 1997. Green Herons, a bird that is not seen at all in some years, were seen both months at Walden/Sawhill Ponds and appear to be breeding.

Other unusual migrants were a Bewick’s Wren and a Yellow-billed Cuckoo.Yellow-billed Cuckoos have been known to breed in the county but over the previous decade there have been reports of only five birds. However, this is the second sighting for 2005. A Scissor-tailed Flycatcher was seen in very nearly the same place that one was seen last year. A lot of birders tried unsuccessfully to re-find this bird. A Golden-winged Warbler (last seen in 2002) is always an exciting find. At least two territorial Ovenbirds were seen in the Boulder Mountain Parks through the first half of June. Another unusual find was a Wood Thrush. Late May and early June is the most likely time to see and hear Veery in the county; a single bird was found in Eldorado Canyon on June 21. An Eastern Wood-Pewee was seen and heard in the Boulder foothills at the end of July; possibly this bird was already migrating southwards. A Semi-palmated Sandpiper (last seen in 2003) was a very unusual sighting for July 10 as this seems too late for a spring migrant and too early for fall. A Black Swift seen in early June is a bird that is often missed; although this bird was seen on the plains, it is usually in the mountains that it is most reliably seen. A Baltimore Oriole is a bird that had not been seen since 2002.

Owls were well reported for both months. Barn Owls have successfully bred in at least three locations. The resulting nests led to more Barn Owls being reported than Great –horned Owls! This does not reflect the true state of owls in Boulder County. Flammulated Owl, Northern Saw-whet Owl and Eastern Screech-Owl were also reported. With breeding successfully taking place, the number of Bald Eagle sightings throughout the summer has increased. Ospreys are now known to be nesting in many locations and are typically well reported. A few Peregrine Falcons are successfully nesting in the foothills.

Altogether 161 bird species were reported in June and 137 in July. There was a definite lack of reporting of ducks, and some common birds were missed. However, these totals are pretty average for these summer months. TOP