A Birder's Life for Me

With family birthday parties completed in Daytona Beach and Cincinnati and a flawless visit to the dentist completed in Charlotte, we sprinted from Cincinnati across Indiana and Illinois toward our next destination... Boulder, CO to babysit the man cubs for a few days.  Our first birding stop was near St. Louis where we picked up the Eurasian Tree Sparrow.  This bird is found throughout Europe and Asia but has very limited range in North America, primarily around St. Louis of all places.  The black spot on its cheek and its burnt orange red cap separate it from the very common House Sparrow found throughout North America.

In Kansas, I spotted an Upland Sandpiper in a recently plowed field while rolling along at 60 mph.  They blend with the dirt very well, so, I was fortunate to spot it. The sandpiper was nice enough to hang around while we did a couple of U-turns and switched drivers so I could take pictures from the road.

In all, we added on 5 new birds to the 2024 tally across Missouri and Kansas. This was well short of our target list of 21 species.  

We made it to Boulder last Thursday after leaving Cincinnati on Monday.  The birding here has been tough as well.  But, I did pick up the unassuming American Pipit.  It isn't a sparrow.  It isn't a warbler or a thrush.  So, I guess that means it's a pipit.

Life bird #532, the Sage Thrasher, came this morning on an outing with Henry.  We were ready to call it quits when a young lady from Oklahoma asked us if we knew our thrashers.  She was observing three birds in a small tree directly in front of our parked car.  We confirmed for her that she had indeed found the sage thrashers.  I got a couple of quick pictures before they took off but, as is so often the case, there was a branch positioned perfectly in front of the bird.  So, I'll have to try for a better shot of this species on another day.  Yet again, we were lucky she was there or we probably would not have noticed them.

Henry enjoyed the prairie dogs during our outing.  I couldn't tell if Henry was trying to decide how to catch one or what he would do with one if he did catch it.  If my good buddy Judson is still reading along, the prairie dog is not a bird.

Meanwhile another lady all geared up with hiking poles to walk the flat gravel road asked if the trail around the lake was open.  She indicated the gate is usually closed.  I indicated it was open and she said she did not think it was.  I advised I had walked the trail yesterday myself and that the gate which was 10 feet in front of us was wide open.  She still wasn't sure.  So, I read the sign on the gate which said closed between April 30 and August 31.   I said it's after August 31 so she should be good.  By now I was trying to refrain from just laughing at her.  She finally said, why yes it is after August 31 so I should be good.  I tend to think it's just further evidence that there are too many cannabis dispensaries in the Denver area.

The YTD bird count stands at 439.  Tomorrow, we head into the heart of the Colorado rockies in search of mountain birds with an ascent of 14,000 foot Mount Blue Sky.  Yes, by car.  I'm not walking up that one.