We began our expedition at a pond and wetland just outside of Barr Lake State Park.  We then visited Lochbuie Pond, Loloff Reservoir, Lower Latham Reservoir, a wetland off of CR 41, another off CR 46, Stewart’s Pond, Bebee Draw, and Ireland Reservoir #5.  With regard to ducks, it was of interest that we had no Common Goldeneyes or Red-breasted Mergansers.  These are species that generally move north by the end of April, but, by all rights, we should have still seen a few.  Nonetheless, we had thirteen duck species, which was pretty good, and we had excellent looks at Cinnamon and Blue-winged Teal which just started arriving back in Colorado about a month ago.

As for shorebirds we got to see five of the most commonly expected species for this time of year:  Killdeer, American Avocet, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Baird’s Sandpiper (our only peep).  But, then in addition we had several Black-necked Stilts which were notable not just for their uncommonness, but even more so for their beautiful attenuated, black-and-white bodies, and their extremely long, thin, pink legs.  Outstanding!

We saw two of our more common gulls – Ring-billed and California, but then we were also treated to two black-headed gull species – Franklin’s and Bonaparte’s.  We also saw three species of grebes – Pied-billed, Horned, and Western.

While we still need to wait a couple more weeks for the orioles to start showing up, the rest of the Icterid (Blackbird) family provided us with great entertainment, and we had six species – Yellow-headed Blackbird, Western Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer’s Blackbird, Common Grackle, and Great-tailed Grackle.  The prize among these tends to go to the Yellow-headed Blackbirds, and we had so many great looks at these bright yellow guys that sunglasses were necessary.

As for perhaps the real highlights of the day – we saw a pair of Sandhill Cranes in the cattails at Lower Latham, a single Burrowing Owl in a prairie dog colony, a newly arrived Loggerhead Shrike, and an active, singing Marsh Wren in one of the wetlands.

Fifty-nine species is a pretty successful outing, and we only missed a few expected species like Ring-necked Duck, Common Merganser, Wilson’s Snipe, Mountain Bluebird, and Brown-headed Cowbird.  There are so many species right on the cusp of showing up any day now that you’ll hopefully be able to get out and welcome them back.  By the way, folks are already reporting Broad-tailed Hummingbirds!

Weld County Expedition
Apr 12, 2025
10 participants
59 species

Canada Goose  62
Blue-winged Teal  12
Cinnamon Teal  13
Northern Shoveler  186
Gadwall  138
American Wigeon  20
Mallard  38
Northern Pintail  5
Green-winged Teal  79
Redhead  4
Lesser Scaup  28
Bufflehead  23
Ruddy Duck  17
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon)  17
Eurasian Collared-Dove  6
Mourning Dove  6
American Coot  30
Sandhill Crane  2
Black-necked Stilt  7
American Avocet  41
Killdeer  36
Lesser Yellowlegs  4
Greater Yellowlegs  5
Baird’s Sandpiper  4
Bonaparte’s Gull 5
Franklin’s Gull 26
Ring-billed Gull  768
California Gull 45
Pied-billed Grebe  5
Horned Grebe  2
Western Grebe  20
Double-crested Cormorant  9
Great Blue Heron  7
American White Pelican  32
Bald Eagle  10
Swainson’s Hawk  2
Red-tailed Hawk  11
Burrowing Owl  1
American Kestrel  6
Say’s Phoebe  4
Loggerhead Shrike  1
Black-billed Magpie  1
Horned Lark  2
Barn Swallow  1
Cliff Swallow  12
Marsh Wren  1
European Starling  6
American Robin  14
House Sparrow  11
House Finch  2
White-crowned Sparrow  16
Song Sparrow  4
Yellow-headed Blackbird  74
Western Meadowlark  38
Red-winged Blackbird  182
Brewer’s Blackbird  15
Common Grackle  7
Great-tailed Grackle  17