North Star Birding Series Species List | June 22, 2018

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Friday, June 22, 2018, 6:30AM – 9:30AM
Weather: Light cloud cover
Location: North Star Nature Preserve

Species Identified

Gadwall Mallard Black-chinned Hummingbird Broad-tailed Hummingbird Great Blue Heron Red-tailed Hawk Hairy Woodpecker Red-naped Sapsucker Northern Flicker Western Wood-Pewee Cordilleran Flycatcher Warbling Vireo Black-billed Magpie American Crow Tree Swallow Violet-green Swallow Black-capped Chickadee House Wren Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet Swainson’s Thrush American Robin House Finch Pine Siskin Green-tailed Towhee Song Sparrow Lincoln’s Sparrow Red-winged Blackbird Orange-crowned Warbler MacGillivray’s Warbler Yellow Warbler Lazuli Bunting

Comments: 

This was a perfect morning for birding with sunshine early that helped bring up bird activity, followed by cloud cover that kept bird activity going as the day warmed. We had two great looks at a pair of Gadwalls in flight, showing their white wing patches and black rear ends. Nesting activity was in full swing.  Food-carrying to nestlings was observed in Red-naped Sapsuckers, House Wrens, and Violet-green and Tree Swallows. The shrubby hillsides at the base of Aspen Mountain were full of secretive warblers; we heard MacGillivray’s and Orange- crowned Warblers here as well as Green-tailed Towhees and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Golden-crowned Kinglets were singing in the tops of large Douglas firs. A Lazuli Bunting was seen on the far side of the alluvial fan/aspen grove where open, upland shrub habitat provides a patch of habitat. The ‘back side’ of North Star Nature Preserve was teeming with birdlife and provided an experience that underscores the importance of preserving expansive, high-quality habitat like this in a unique part of the valley where the presence of water supports high biodiversity. Join us for the next Pitkin County/ACES birding session on July 26th at North Star, focusing on summer fledglings!

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide 

Photo by Dale Armstrong