November 2006 saw some rarities in the county that brought in birders from all over the state. A Yellow-billed Loon on Erie Reservoir delighted many birders with excellent views. Unfortunately, it was slowly realized that the bird was badly injured and would subsequently die. A second Yellow-billed Loon was reported at Union Reservoir. These were only the second and third reports of this species for the wildlife inventory; the previous sighting was on Union Reservoir in 1991. A Brown Pelican was first seen at Union Reservoir in October, then was seen a month later at McIntosh Lake near Longmont. This is thought to be the same bird that had spent the summer in Larimer County. This was only the second report of this species for the inventory; the last sighting being at Union Reservoir in June 1991. The mild weather through most of November may have contributed to lingering birds as American White Pelicans were also in the county until nearly the end of November.  The third really unusual species was a possible Slaty-backed Gull at McIntosh Reservoir. If verified this would be a first record for Boulder County. However, the verdict was still undecided as to the identity of this unusual first-year gull.

Shorebird migration was still going strong through October and well into November. Lingering shorebirds included Black-bellied Plover, American Avocet and Greater Yellowlegs seen both months. Solitary Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper and Long-billed Dowitcher were seen in October while a Spotted Sandpiper was seen in November. With so many birders observing the lakes and ponds of Boulder County, gulls were well reported with less usual species being Mew Gull, Thayer’s Gull and Lesser Black-backed Gull. Forster’s Tern was a late sighting for October. Fall is traditionally the best time to see Bonaparte’s Gull and in November there were at least 28 of these gulls present. Migrating Sandhill Cranes were seen and heard both months.

Other unusual species included a Short-eared Owl, a species last seen in 2002. Red-necked Grebe and Long-tailed Duck were reported both months. Black Scoter and Surf Scoter were both new birds for the year and are both birds that are not necessarily seen every year. In November both Trumpeter and Tundra Swans were reported; Tundra Swan was new for the year. Ross’ Goose and Snow Goose were reported both months with Greater White-fronted Goose being reported in November. Eastern Bluebird was another new species for the year and a Chestnut-sided Warbler was seen after a gap of over a year. A single Chestnut-collared Longspur was reported at Boulder Reservoir; this is only the third record of this species for the wildlife inventory. Two Harris Sparrows were found in November having failed to be seen for over a year.

October saw a paucity of reports that left many common species unreported. However, November was very well covered, especially in the plains. Altogether 126 bird species were seen in October and 125 bird species in November. This makes November a record month beating the previous high of 118 species in 2001. Although most observers did not bother to count numbers of all the birds present, enough did to show some interesting trends. Little is known about the numbers of Cackling Geese that winter in the state. Several observers commented that they were seeing Cackling Geese in greater numbers than Canada Geese in November, and one observer at Union Reservoir estimated that there were 2275 Cackling Geese as opposed to just 5 Canada Geese. Also from the many reports on birds at Union Reservoir it was clear that the most abundant grebe was Eared Grebe (346), followed by Western Grebe (33), Horned Grebe (4), Pied-billed Grebe(2) and a single Clark’s Grebe. On Valmont Reservoir Eared Grebe was far less common with far greater numbers of Pied-billed Grebe. Hooded Mergansers were the least common merganser with 21 birds being the most seen at a single location. Valmont Reservoir seemed to have more Red-breasted Mergansers than Common Mergansers with the number of Red-breasted Mergansers going up nearly daily through November to a peak of 305 birds. In contrast Union Reservoir reported 58 Red-breasted Mergansers as opposed to 608 Common Mergansers, while McIntosh Lake reported just 2 Red-breasted Mergansers as opposed to 1300 Common Mergansers. TOP