I'm Back!...Kountze Lake Birding Fun

It has been a long year plus since I had last updated my blog.   I apologize about that and plan to get this blog back on track to being active.
The primary reason behind my absence is due in part to life becoming very busy.  Between bouncing around jobs, raising two kids and going back to school,  I could't keep up with everything I once was pursuing, and unfortunately birding and blogging took a hit.
I have also picked up another hobby that I have been pursuing seriously for the last year and a half, and that is urban exploration.   That took the time I usually gave to birding.

But, I am back.  With a renewed passion!
Last year saw my dad and I enjoy our best Big Birding Weekend to date, and I will do a short update about that a little later on.  The Barr Lake Bird Fest was amazing as always and saw my dad and I have our best day of festival birding to date as well, as we saw 81 species. I have also upgraded all my camera gear, and that has given me renewed passion for photography, birding and making this blog active again.  When I left off, I was using a Canon Rebel t2i with a Canon 55-250mm lens, I have since upgraded to a Canon EOS 60D and just purchased the Sigma 150-500mm lens, which is an amazing bird photography set up.

KOUNTZE LAKE
After acquiring my new lens last Tuesday,  I decided that since I still had a couple hours to kill before school started that I would hit up Kountze Lake in Belmar and try out my new gear.  And talk about perfect.  The weather was beautiful, the birds were abundant and I was loving my lens.  The lake was FULL of Northern Shoveler. Mallard and Bufflehead. I was very happy to see the Bufflehead since they are one of my favorite birds.  Two pairs of Great Blue Heron had taken up residence in the trees on the island and are currently in the process of building their nests.  The cormorants have yet to show up, and I can't wait to shoot them on their nests as well.  Canada Geese had paired off and every 10 minutes or so a sudden outburst would be heard as two pairs would get to close to each other, thus initiating a who-can-be-the-most-obnoxious honking match.  I was pleasantly surprised to see a pair of Hooded Merganser working the lake.  At one point, the female surfaced with a crawfish and proceeded to smack it on the water and shake it violently.  Suddenly, she flung it through the air and snatched it up immediately after it landed.   My walk around the lake revealed a single Green-winged Teal who promptly took off after I managed a couple photos.  Amidst the mast throngs of shovelers, I found a couple Gadwall, a pair of Lesser Scaup a single Redhead and a single Common Goldeneye.  Black-capped Chickadees and a couple Blue Jays worked the trees, but there was little around in the way of non waterbirds.
The next day I returned to the lake as I again had a couple hours to kill before my classes started.  This time I settled down at the gazebo instead of walking the lake.  As before, the lake was dominated by shovelers.   The Bufflehead kept to the far water and were not being very cooperative with photos.   As I watched one Bufflehead preening, a shoveler accidentally bumped into him and the Bufflehead dove right on the top of the shocked shoveler.  I snapped off a photo but unfortunately it is too hard to tell what is in the photo.  The male Hooded Merganser made a surprise appearance much closer than he was the day before.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching him bathe and preen and was finally able to get some photos that I had only dreamed of getting before.  After the merganser finally tucked his bill under his wing, I got up and went to see what was at the smaller pond behind the gazebo.   That was one of the best decisions I have made in a while.  I was able to get some close up shots of a beautiful male Northern Shoveler and a gorgeous male Gadwall(yes, gorgeous, for even though they are very much a drab bird, they are handsome and the light was perfect.)  Suddenly,  a pair of Wood Ducks made an appearance.  Of all the ducks I had thought I'd see, they were not high on that list.  With gorgeous evening sunlight lighting them up,  I was able to shoot away and enjoy the Wood Ducks.  These were the best views and closest I have been to these beautiful ducks.  After a few minutes of showing off, they took flight and were on their way.  I decided to call it a day and head over to school.  The two days of birding at Kountze renewed a passion in me and left me with some amazing memories.

Female Hooded Merganser with her crawfish. 

Back view of a male Hooded Merganser. 

The Great Blue Herons of Kountze. 

The shy Green-winged Teal. 

Two is better! A pair of male Bufflehead sliding in for a landing. 

Playing with dinner. The Hooded Merganser tossing her prey. 

Back view of a Bufflehead. 

Canada Goose landing.

Buffleheads in a row. 

Regal Gadwall. 

The male Hooded Merganser showing off. 

Northern Shoveler. 

Wood Ducks. It is always a red letter day when these beautiful birds show up. 

Broomfield Open Space Bird Walk

Had a great day of birding today! My dad and I went to the Broomfield Open Space event at the Broomfield Community Center.  We attended the morning bird walk and had a great time.  Best birds were some Bufflehead(doing mating displays), a pair of molting Canvasback, some Lesser Scaup(my 60th month bird) and a pair of American Avocet.  We also saw a Double-crested Cormorant before the walk and I saw a pair of Sharp-shinned Hawks.  After the walk we chatted with many of the vendors who were present at the event, and hopefully we will be able to lead some bird walks for those that were interested!
Here are some pics from the bird walk:

Looking out at the lake.

One of numerous Red-winged Blackbirds establishing their territories around the lake.

The bird walk group.

Part of the float that was on the lake.  Ring-necked Ducks dominated the lake.

A pair of Buffleheads.

One of a few American Coots hanging out on the lake.

A female Mallard that came over to check us out.

On a side note, I finished this month with 62 bird species and have 74 species on the year so far.

Great Day of Birding

Today was an absolutely beautiful day to go birding! With temps in the upper 60's and no wind, things were a perfect recipe for a great day.  I started off the day at Baseline Reservoir in Boulder, scoping the lake with my dad.  We picked up Hooded Mergansers for the month list, as well as I got Great Blue Heron and Eared Grebe for my year list, moving me up to 65 on the year and 50 on the month.  The lake was otherwise fairly quiet so I moved on to Walden Ponds(yes, again, can you tell this is my favorite place to bird??).  At Walden I immediately picked up Common Grackle and Killdeer for the year and added many waterfowl to my day.  A couple Canvasbacks were still hanging around, as well as a handful of Bufflehead.  American Coot and American Wigeon dominated the waterfowl scene though, as they have the last couple times I've been to Walden.  A Pied-billed Grebe and some Northern Shovelers added a little flavor to the waterfowl buffet.  With the boardwalk still under construction(though it appears to be about halfway finished), I headed down the back trail to see what the rest of Walden and the back ponds of Sawhill had to offer.
After a short scan of Duck Lake, I noticed a large raptor heading my way and was ecstatic to discover it to be an Osprey! It flew off over to the Sawhill side and I was in hot pursuit.  After a few yards, though, the calls of some American Goldfinches stopped me in my tracks and I paused to admire these beautiful birds.  After a  brief pause in my chase, I was back after the Osprey.  I soon spotted it and another flying over one of the Sawhill ponds.  About halfway to the pond I suddenly felt all the weight disappear from around my neck, and I looked down just in time to see my binocs hit the trail.  Somehow the strap came undone but no damage was done.  I picked them up and in no time flat came to the edge of the pond and was viewing two outstanding raptors.  I was able to get some decent pictures and some good video, and at one point one of the Osprey flew over me by only 20-ish feet, one of my all time favorite moments of birding.   They continued to circle about, though back on the Walden side, for about 5 minutes before heading off.  I then decided to head back to Cottonwood Marsh and see if I couldn't tease out some different waterfowl.  Along the trail back, a flock of American Goldfinches flew in affording great views.  I paused to watch some Red-winged Blackbirds in a tree and noticed one to be crawling headfirst down a branch(not kidding), which surprised me as I never thought they would be able to pull off such a feet.  A Song Sparrow soon came hopping through the reeds just a few feet in front of me, offering up the best views I've ever seen of this bird.  Scanning the marsh, my heart skipped a beat as I saw a wader standing with it's bill pointed to the sky.  A quick look revealed it to be a Great Blue Heron, and my hopes of it being a bittern were smashed.  Back at Cottonwood Marsh, I met up with a wonderful lady who was just getting into birding.  My dad stopped by about this time and the three of us had a blast discussing birding and looking at the birds on the lake.  I picked up Belted Kingfisher, Horned Grebe and Blue-winged Teal for my year list, bringing me up to 71 on the year.
But...the birding didn't stop there.  On break at work at about 9:15, I saw a Short-eared Owl fly by, bringing my month list up to 59 birds.  Only three days left to March...can I hit 60? Stay tuned!

A pair of Wigeons.

A pair of Bufflehead.

Northern Shoveler.

Canada Geese.

Pied-billed Grebe.

One of numerous Red-winged Blackbirds.

American Goldfinch! One of the most beautiful birds.

The Osprey.

A Robin checking me out while I'm checking him out.

See it?

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There he is.

A muskrat.