[cobirds] Barrow's Goldeneye family @ Echo Lake, Clear Creek CO

Folks- I ran my Mt. Evans BBS route today with my dad Jim along for the ride.  The early start time on a holiday gave us a pretty peaceful first 35 or so stops but the last portion, which heads up the Mt. Evans road to Summit Lake, had plenty of bikers & cars.  Didn't seem to affect bird detection, though, just extra company and a chance for outreach as many curious tourists asked what we were doing.  The nearly complete lack of snow up there and smoky haze permeating every vista is unsettling, though I suspect that isn't much news to anyone.  Toppers for us on the route were a Northern Goshawk and Brown-capped Rosy Finch.  Biggest miss this year was any woodpecker species other than Northern Flicker- the route is usually good for at least a couple more (usually Three-Toed among them) & maybe a sapsucker.

But on to the biggest treat.  There is a female Barrow's Goldeneye with 6 chicks on Echo Lake.  The chicks were actively surface feeding amongst the emergent vegetation with momma looking on and occasionally going for her own dive.  Outside of this, I believe the only known current Barrow's breeding population in the state are found in the Flat Tops.  The birds were hanging out on the SE quadrant of the lake, farthest from the throngs of holiday revelers.   

I got a few crummy digiscoped documentation pics:  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9047968@N02/7504473072/in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9047968@N02/7504472962/in/photostream

I can't claim finding these, though.  The indefatigable Tom Bunker found & photographed the family on 30 June & I heard about it through the grapevine.   Nicely done, Tom!!

Enjoy- Bill Schmoker, Longmont

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|           Bill Schmoker              |
|  bill.schmoker@gmail.com  |
|       http://schmoker.org         |
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