Walden Ponds in...Spring?

With all this crazy Colorado spring snow, I figured this would be a good time to look back on the nice day that two Sundays ago was and the great birding my dad and I had that day.
Getting out to bird for the first time in about a month was amazing. Spring migration is off to a slow start and the snowstorms are not helping it pick up any.  I decided to call my dad up and see if he wanted to go out birding.  No surprise when he replied with a yes, and off we were to Walden Ponds.
Turning on to the road to the parking lot, an Osprey was spotted off in the distance. It never flew over the ponds though but was still a good bird to start off with.  Pied-billed Grebe and Western Grebe were spotted right off the bat.  Numerous other waterfowl dotted the surface of Cottonwood Marsh, as well as a large flock of 39 American White Pelicans.  We chatted with some other birders and heard about a Clark's Grebe on Cottonwood Marsh as well as a Solitary Sandpiper and American Avocets on another lake in the park. Scanning the lake, we tracked down a Lesser Yellowlegs, my first shorebird of the season outside of the common Killdeer, which we saw many of.  The teal trifecta soon appeared, which is something I always enjoy.  Watching the pelicans, I soon discovered a Black-necked Stilt foraging around them.  A wonderful bird that I haven't really seen many of. As we took another look over Cottonwood Marsh before heading deeper into the park, I was overjoyed to find a pair of Bufflehead still sticking around.
Heading into the park, we went to find the avocet and sandpiper.  Pretty quickly we tracked down the Solitary Sandpiper, but we did not see any avocet.   Scanning the water, we discovered a pair of gorgeous, spring plumage White-faced Ibis foraging toward the back, as well as a Greater Yellowlegs. Trecking further back into the park, only a Great Blue Heron was new for the day.  We enjoyed watching the herons in their rookery at the northwest end of the park and having a laugh watching them fly in to land in the tops of trees.   It still blows me away when I see them in trees as that is not a place you would ever logically think a heron could perch.
Pushing on back toward the entrance of the park, we scanned the waters on both sides of the trail and teased out a Wood Duck.  One of the most beautiful birds in the state, we enjoyed watching it for a few minutes before continuing on. My dad thought he saw a Wood Duck flying through the trees shortly before, but we weren't able to get a positive I.D. on it.  Arriving back at the parking lot at Cottonwood Marsh, we chatted with a couple other birders and scanned the the horde of swallows to see which species we could fine.  After about five minutes of scanning, we had tallied Barn Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow and Bank Swallow.  Another birder came along and told us that the Clark's Grebe was hanging around the east end of the lake so off we went.  It didn't take too long to track it down. It wasn't a picture perfect Clark's but it was noticeably different than the Western Grebes hanging around there too.
After leaving Walden, we headed up the road to the South Boulder Creek trail head to walk the trail for a few minutes.  A Blue Jay showed up immediately, and a Song Sparrow made an appearance just down the trail too.  Not seeing much else, we started to walk back to the car and discovered another lbj(little brown job) skulking along the riverbank. I thought it was another Song Sparrow but the markings didn't add up and my dad didn't think it was one either.  Unfortunately, it disappeared into the bushes before we could get a better look at it. We spotted a Say's Phoebe, our first flycather of the year, further down the trail and a White-breasted Nuthatch made a fun appearance as well.  Just before we were about to leave, a Swainson's Hawk made a low fly over for us.  A first for the year for my dad and only the third I've seen so far.

Hopefully you all are having a great year of birding so far. I know I have been with the few times I have gotten out.
Next on the calendar: International Migratory Bird Day Bird Walk at Two Ponds! My dad and I are leading this walk at 7pm at Two Ponds NWR again. Hope to see you all there!
Then it's another Big Birding Weekend with my dad in a couple weekends.  Pawnee National Grasslands is our top choice right now, but we are also thinking about going up to chase down Ptarmigan as well.  Will keep you all up to date!

Happy birding!

Western Grebe

My first warblers of the year!

Pelicans. 

Red-winged Blackbird fly in. 

Lesser Yellowlegs

Blue-winged Teal

Monster flyover 

Find the Killdeer?

The rookery. 

Great Blue Heron

Swallow shots. 

Nesting Cooper's Hawks at my Parents

A couple years ago, a pair of Cooper's Hawks nested in my parents town home complex. Well, they are back this year.

Some American Goldfinches making use of the thistle seed socks. Hopefully they don't become lunch themselves.

It is not that easy taking pictures of these magnificent hawks, but thanks to the location they've decided to nest at, maybe I will be able to get some good pictures of these birds. Will keep you all up to date on how the nesting goes!

Upcoming Birding Adventures

Hello readers!

I apologize for not having posted lately, I have not been out to bird since Walden Ponds and life has been busy.  But that is not to say I wont be getting back out there soon or that I haven't seen any good birds lately!  Saw my first Swainson's Hawk of the season on Tuesday morning up in Superior, a happy sight for me.  Snowy Egret two days ago and Double-crested Cormorant have also been highlights of my month so far.  Hopefully soon I will be able to get back out into the field.  I am looking forward to next month, as I have a possible Pawnee National Grasslands Big Birding Weekend with my dad planned.  I have been desiring to bird the Grasslands for many a year now and can't wait to get out there. There will also be more bird walks we will lead at Two Ponds NWR, and I will post times and info here as I get it.  Even though it is in September, I am very excited for this years Barr Lake Bird Fest, as it is always a highlight of my year and very, very fun day of birding.
Hope you all are having great birding trips and seeing good birds as well! Spring is here and migration under way so keep your eyes peeled for vagrants as well as our common birds!

-Daniel-

Backyard Bird Photography Basics

Hello BirdSpyBlog readers!
Today I decided that since I love both birds and photography, I would share some tips with you all concerning backyard bird photography.  I will say from the get go that these tips are meant to help improve your photography skills, but will by no means produce National Geographic cover results from shot 1.  So without further ado...here we go!

Tip 1- Know Your Camera
I know this sounds like a very basic, why-do-I-need-to-read-this type tip, but it is something that many people overlook.  Do you know how to set a quick shutter speed? Do you know if your flash is going to fire or not?  Take some time to sit down with your camera.  Whether you have a basic point and shoot digital camera, your phones camera, or a $3,000 DSLR, taking time to figure out what settings are where, what buttons do what, and how to manipulate your camera will save you many a flustered moment and missed shot.   For simple shots of the birds that visit your feeder, setting your camera to Auto mode will be more than fine.  Digital cameras these days are advanced enough to choose the best settings for the picture and you will get good shots this way.  In trickier lighting situations(dusk, dawn, overcast or stormy), you will need to know how to turn off your flash if you are shooting through glass, otherwise you will get a glare in your picture and miss the shot.  A fast shutter speed is also needed to be able to freeze the birds in motion. Auto mode in good lighting will usually be enough to do this, but knowing how to dig into your cameras settings(usually in Manual Mode or Shutter Speed Priority Mode) will allow you to set a speed of at least 1/400th of a second or faster so that you know you will capture the birds in motion with any shot.

Tip 2- Know Your Birds
Again, most of you who are reading this are probably very experienced birders and will scoff at this tip. But for those who are new to birding and bird photography, this is important.  Some birds feed on the ground and will never come to hanging feeders, so if you want a picture of a dove, junco or certain types of sparrows, be sure to set up a platform feeder or spread seed on the ground to improve your chances of attracting these birds to your yard.  If you want chickadees, goldfinches or woodpeckers, put up hanging and suet feeders will bring these birds in.  Some birds are more docile and don't move as much while others are quick in and quick out, so knowing what birds fall into these categories can help you time and choose your shots.

Tip 3- Choose a Point to Pre Focus On
Spraying and praying(photographers term for taking a bunch of shots fairly randomly) will not net you many good photos.  Instead of firing off shots randomly and hoping you get something good, choose a point(aka feeder perch, tree branch, feeder, etc) and focus your camera there, and wait.  That way, when a bird lands at the spot, your camera is already focused and all you have to do is fully press the shutter button. This will greatly increase your chances of getting a clear, sharp photo.

Tip 4- Use A Long Focal Length
Focal length is the amount of zoom/magnification that your lens/camera provides.  The big lenses that you see many professional and top notch bird and nature photographers use are lenses with long focal lengths, allowing them to get a large, close up shot of birds.  If you are looking into buying a camera for bird photography, look for a camera that has 10x zoom or greater.  If you have a DSLR, buy a lens of 200mm or longer. These zooms/focal lengths will allow you to get fairly close to the birds and get good photos.  The longer the zoom or higher the focal length the better though! I personally have a 55-250mm lens that I use, which is good and I can get some great photos with, but I can't wait to save up and get a 400mm or bigger lens.

Tip 5- Make Your Yard Bird Friendly
Birds won't come to your yard, and therefore, you won't be able to do backyard bird photography, if you don't have anything to attract them to your yard! This is another no brainer but can make a world of difference.  Instead of just setting up one feeder, set up two or three and put different kinds of seeds in them.  A variety of seeds will attract a wider variety of birds. Set up a bird bath. Next to a feeder, a bird bath will attract a larger variety of birds than anything else you put up in your yard.  Bird baths will also attract birds to your yard that wouldn't normally come visit your feeders. Bird baths also allow you to witness and photograph some exciting bird behavior as well.

And finally,
Tip 6- Practice, practice, practice
If you are serious about taking great pictures of birds in your backyard, then the more you shoot the better you'll get! You'll learn your camera, you'll learn the birds and you'll learn your eye as a photographer.  The digital age allows us photographers to take hundreds of images without having to shell out tons of money.  Learn from your mistakes when you make them and figure out what would have made the shot perfect.  The more you practice, the better pictures you'll get and soon you'll be taking breathtaking pictures of the birds that are visiting your yard.

Good luck photographing birds! If you read this and put these tips into practice, I would love to see the final results and even publish some of the photos here with the stories behind them!

Happy birding!
-Daniel-

Spring is in the Air

Ah...spring. The season where the weather gets warmer, days get longer, flowers start blooming, trees leaf out and, of course, spring migration occurs.  The time of year birders dream about, with the birds showing off in their brightest plumage, ear delighting songs and surprise appearances.  Though it isn't quite spring yet, the birding is picking up and March is probably my second favorite month to bird(second only to September).   I haven't been able to get out to bird much, but that looks to change in the coming months as due to a variety of changes in life, my schedule should be freeing up.  That means more birding adventures which in turn means more activity on my blog.   I was able to squeeze in two hours of birding yesterday at the wondrous Walden Ponds in Boulder.  I absolutely love that place and one of my earliest birding memories is of my dad taking me their to bird early in March many years back.  Well enough of the daydreaming about the coming spring and nostalgic talk of years past, let's get on to the birding trip wrap up.

Walden Ponds is a gem of a birding spot located in Boulder, Colorado. Walden has a diversity of habitats that attract birds ranging from swans to warblers, Sora to Osprey, and a trip at any time of the year(but especially during the months of March-June) will be productive and fun.  They have done some renovations to the trails and boardwalk, but nothing that changed any habitat.  My friend let me borrow his Canon Rebel t2i/550D, so I was very excited to put it through its paces and see what pictures I could take.  I got to Walden in the early afternoon.  To my surprise and delight(I haven't checked the rare bird alert lately, otherwise it wouldn't have been such a surprise to me), 12 Tundra Swans were gracing the lake with their presence.  A multitude of other waterfowl, including Canvasback, Redhead, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye and more dotted the surface Cottonwood Marsh.  I didn't have my binoculars with me but my car kept 8x21 monocular provided decent views as the light was good.  The t2i paired with a 55mm-250mm  lens took good pictures and provided a good viewing medium as well.  Outside of the waterfowl, there was not much bird activity.  I walked along the boardwalk and along the trails to Sawhill Ponds, but no birds showed themselves outside of a distant Red-tailed Hawk.  Some geese were setting up territories on one of the Sawhill lakes.  With the bird life being very quiet, I decided to head back to Cottonwood Marsh and see what other birds showed up, as well as to meet my dad and bird with him for a little bit.  I met up with my dad about 20 minutes later, and we had a nice conversation with another birder about bird life at Walden.  My dad and I spent about an hour birding, scanning the lake, walking the boardwalk and chatting with other birders and locals we met along the walk.  The bird life didn't change much, outside of a very distant Northern Harrier. A couple other birders had seen the Great Horned Owls by the South Boulder Creek, but we didn't have enough time to walk that far.  A wren made a flash appearance and disappeared into the weeds before we could get a look at it beyond a quick glimpse.  Red-winged Blackbirds started popping up and call-defending their territories.  There weren't many small birds at all, but the waterfowl made up for it.  I was very impressed with the t2i and had a very enjoyable day of birding overall, and can't wait to go back in the coming months to see what surprises Walden has in store later in the year.

Just a handful of the waterfowl on Cottonwood Marsh.

The Tundra Swans.

The new boardwalk.

Looking out over one of the Sawhill Ponds ponds.

A Red-tailed Hawk flying over the lake. 

Here comes the dad.

A Ring-billed Gull providing a nice photo op.

More pics of the swans.

Red-winged Blackbirds setting up their territories.

Great Backyard Bird Count at Two Ponds 2013

Today's GBBC bird walk at Two Ponds NWR was a great success today! Five local birders showed up to go on the walk with my dad and I.
The weather was very cooperative this year, with much less snow and much warmer temperatures that last years GBBC bird walk.  A balmy 33F temperature greeted us this at 7am this morning and by the time the walk ended two and a half hours later, the temperature was comfortably in the 40s.
The Count started with a Cooper's Hawk sitting in the trees above the entrance.  American Crows, Rock Pigeons and a few other common birds made appearances as well.  Once our group was together, we headed off into the Refuge to find and count birds.
We were more than excited to have two brand new birders with us, and help introduce them to the wonderful world of birds and the wonderful birding habitat of Two Ponds NWR.   Red-winged Blackbirds were busy setting up territories and singing.  Hordes of Canada Geese flew by throughout the walk, as did multiple Black-billed Magpies and Northern Flickers.  Walking through the wetland preserve side section of the habitat yielded another Cooper's Hawk and a few more of the birds we had already seen.  Crossing into the canal area, Mallards, a Dark-eyed Junco, Belted Kingfisher and a few Blue Jays were added to our list.  Three coyotes graced us with their presence, affording nice views of this wonderful mammal.  We followed the canal to the entrance of the prairie grass preserve section of Two Ponds.
Black-capped Chickadees called from some cotton wood trees, and a lone Herring Gull provided a quick glimpse as it traversed the sky above the refuge as it headed toward Standley Lake.  With time starting to eclipse 9am, we headed back toward the main part of the refuge to compile the list and head off.  Along the way back, a small flock of Common Mergansers flew by, a nice surprise.  A couple White-breasted Nuthatches called but did not show themselves.  We were finally able to track down a couple chickadees to view.  Shortly before reaching the parking lot, a Rough-legged Hawk  made a very brief appearance.
This was a wonderful bird walk and yielded a total of 23 species.   We had a great time introducing some new birders to Two Ponds and the birding fun.   We will be sending our list and count information in to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for their Great Backyard Bird Count records.  Hope you all are having a good time counting birds and happy birding!
-Daniel-

Morning at the Refuge. 

Looking at some Red-winged Blackbirds.

Spotting far away birds. 

Thank you Joyce for getting this all set up!

Male Mallard swimming along the canal.

Watching the Junco.

One of many geese flocks. 

Can you find the coyote?

A spotting scope helps. 

Out in the open.

Female Mallard and a muskrat.

Prints in the snow. 

List total for the count:

Cooper's Hawk: 2

Black-billed Magpie: 43

Ring-billed Gull: 4

Red-tailed Hawk: 1

European Starling: 12

Rock Pigeon: 20

Canada Goose: 200

Cackling Goose: 15

Red-winged Blackbird: 63

Northern Flicker(red-shafted race): 11

American Crow: 22

Mallard: 12

Blue Jay: 3

House Finch: 15

Belted Kingfisher: 1

Dark-eyed Junco: 6

Black-capped Chickadee: 10

White-breasted Nuthatch: 2

Rough-legged Hawk: 1

House Sparrow: 3

Herring Gull: 1

Common Merganser: 4

American Robin: 1