[cobirds] Fountain Creek Regional Park Birds

COBirders,

I led the second field trip for my Birding for Beginners class today in the south half of Fountain Creek Regional Park from 7-11 a..m. this morning  Birding was very, very slow for a May 5 date in this park.  We only saw one probable Yellow-rumped Warbler that did not give us a good look.  We did not see or hear any warbler calls or singing. If it wasn't for the Great-tailed Grackles entertaining us with their Flipper the dolphin-like calls, the first hour could be described as a bust.  Only Barn and Northern Rough-winged for swallows.  Our highlight midway through the walk was a nesting female Cooper's Hawk that everyone got a good look at showing us its contrasting head feathers, the different length tail feathers, and its large size (first impression led me to think it was a small Northern Goshawk).  There were only a couple birds at the small ponds in Area 7 on the west side of Fountain Creek, House Wren and House Finch, not even a Song Sparrow.  In fact we dipped on all sparrows this morning.  Then finally at 10:50 a.m. as everyone was warm and dehydrated we hit on a trifecta of sorts on Derby Day - one Eastern and one Western Kingbird and one Bullock's Oriole.  In my 20 years of birding FCRP, this seemed by far the slowest bird day of all for the first Saturday in May.  Even slower than last spring when nothing much came through until May 13 because of the cold spring.  Last year this time the cottonwoods had not even leaved out here.  Today the leaves are already 4 inches or more across and the green seed "pearls" are laying on the ground already.  In all we saw 36 species, I do better on a winter day here. 

Can't say good birding, but birding still beats many of the alternatives.

Ken Pals

Colorado Springs

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