Spring migration is upon us in a big way!  Some birds that spent the winter here have largely packed up, i.e. put on a little fat, and headed north: Snow Goose, Ring-necked Duck, Common Goldeneye, Rough-legged Hawk, American Tree Sparrow, and the various wintering Juncos, OR, like the Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Pine Siskin, they may just be elevational migrants and have headed uphill.  Numerous species have arrived recently to breed here: Eared Grebe, Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teal, Turkey Vulture, Swainson’s Hawk, Sora, White-throated Swift, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, and a bucketload of flycatchers, swallows, vireos, warblers, tanagers, sparrows, and orioles.  And even more have been passing through briefly on their way to a summer home either farther north (many of the shorebirds and terns), OR to a higher elevation (American Pipit, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and White-crowned Sparrow).  The bottom line is that in April in Colorado it’s pretty much a guarantee that any birding outing is going to knock your socks off.

This is pretty much what happened to our group on Saturday, and lots of socks were flying around as we recorded fifty-five species.  To begin with we had over twenty Yellow-rumped Warblers, both Audubon’s and Myrtle.  These guys generally arrive in the Colorado lowlands from mid-April to late May, but by the beginning of May they are also already making their way uphill to their preferred breeding habitats of aspen, spruce-fir, mixed conifer, and ponderosa pine.  Clearly, all of Saturday‘s birds were on their way to somewhere else.

We also had good numbers of Brewer’s Sparrows on their way to breed in sagebrush shrublands and Vesper Sparrows which are more of a habitat generalist, preferring a variety of dry grassland and shrubland habitats.  However, on Saturday, these too were not likely to stay for long where we found them along Plum Creek.

Among the birds that appear to have arrived just this week was a pair of Burrowing Owls in the prairie dog town by the park’s Plum Creek Entrance Station.  They will soon be breeding there.  We also got to watch a pair of Osprey gathering sticks for their nest.

For me the real highlights of the day were our nine species of shorebirds.  To begin with we had a few of those species that are most readily seen this time of year – Killdeer, Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, and Wilson’s Snipe.  And, then we had a few of those species that are bit less common – Long-billed Dowitcher and Solitary Sandpiper; and, then we had a couple more that are even a bit less common – Semipalmated Plover and Willet. Semipalmated Plovers easily fall into the “cute” category with their diminutive size, orange legs, single black breastband, and short orange-and-black bill.  Conversely, Willets, being a bit larger than a Greater Yellowlegs and weighing five-times more than a Semipalmated Plover, definitely fall into the behemoth end of the shorebird spectrum.  Their genus name Catoptrophorus means “mirror bearing,” presumably in reference to their striking white and black wings.  

Finally, – drum roll, please – we had one shorebird species, a Whimbrel, that in the old A Birder’s Guide to Colorado by Holt and Lane is characterized as “lucky to find,” and in Colorado Birds by Andrews and Righter (Bob and Bob) is listed as “rare.” We saw this large, completely brown shorebird land on the shoreline at a distance where views through the intervening willows were tricky.  Eventually we were able to discern an almost-black and pale-gray striped head with a light median stripe, and we could see an extremely long decurved bill.  The genus name Numenius means “new moon” in reference to the Whimbrel’s crescent-shaped bill.  In compiling our bird list on eBird a Whimbrel is so uncommon that it was not even listed as a possibility for our area.

We were so lucky to see so many cool birds!!

Chatfield SP–Plum Creek Nature Area
Apr 26, 2025
55 species (+3 other taxa)
11 participants

Canada Goose  10
Blue-winged Teal  9
Cinnamon Teal  6
Northern Shoveler  28
Gadwall  38
American Wigeon  2
Mallard  33
Green-winged Teal  12
Hooded Merganser  3
Ruddy Duck  1
Eurasian Collared-Dove  3
Mourning Dove  7
Killdeer  7
Semipalmated Plover  2
Whimbrel  1
Long-billed Dowitcher  2
Wilson’s Snipe  5
Solitary Sandpiper  1
Lesser Yellowlegs  3
Willet  1
Greater Yellowlegs  3
Ring-billed Gull  2
Double-crested Cormorant  2
Great Blue Heron  7
American White Pelican  30
Turkey Vulture  2
Osprey  2
Bald Eagle  2
Swainson’s Hawk  2
Red-tailed Hawk  6
Burrowing Owl  2
Belted Kingfisher  2
Northern Flicker  9
American Kestrel  3
Say’s Phoebe  3
Blue Jay  1
Black-billed Magpie  5
American Crow  1
Black-capped Chickadee  2
Horned Lark  7
Tree Swallow  16
Violet-green Swallow  40
swallow sp.  50
European Starling  5
American Robin  8
House Finch  4
Brewer’s Sparrow  10
White-crowned Sparrow  6
Vesper Sparrow  15
Song Sparrow  12
Spotted Towhee  13
Western Meadowlark  14
Red-winged Blackbird  36
Brown-headed Cowbird  2
Common Grackle  16
Yellow-rumped Warbler  6
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle)  2
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s)  16