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U.S.A. - COLORADO:

Big Day (Bird Race)

22 May 2000

by Christopher L.Wood

Big Day Statistics:

Comments:

“So where’s this Osprey nest?” Tony asked.

“Somewhere around here, at least that’s what Brandon Percival had said.” I managed to reply.

Of course, if this were not five minutes before midnight, the official beginning of our BIG DAY, this would be fine. But the big day was five minutes from starting and fast approaching. Our easy Osprey was going to be anything but. Tony and I had discussed finding the nest the afternoon before, but figured that the full moon would let us find the bird without any trouble. The extra hour of much needed sleep, we had thought, was more important. Meanwhile, in the backseat, Larry Semo was certainly wondering with what kind of big day buffoons he had landed himself.

Ten minutes after midnight, Tony returned from waking some sleeping fisherman on the shore of Pueblo Reservoir. Well, maybe they weren’t sleeping but, “They don’t know where the Osprey nest is,” No kidding, Larry and I thought. “but they know where an “eagle” nest is!”

Bingo, all we had to do was find the “eagle” nest and we could leave with our Osprey. Thirty minutes later we were en route to our second stop, without so much as a whiff of an Osprey. Our three-second twitch was a complete failure. We missed the bird and wasted twenty minutes. Mallard and Canada Goose were not exactly the best conciliation prizes. And so began our Big Day.

Tony and I spent the rest of the day trying to redeem our midnight debacle. Our new Big Day teammate, Larry Semo – a recent immigrant to Colorado and big day veteran in several states -- couldn’t have been too impressed: We missed Black-capped Chickadee, Song Sparrow and, worst of all, Red-breasted Nuthatch! Not only is the latter one of the most common nesting birds in the Rockies, but also we had two stakeout pairs on the eastern plains (where very rare at this time of year). We couldn’t find a single one! But, perhaps worst of all, we did not find ONE species of passerine in eastern Colorado that does not nest in the state! Migrant landbirds were non-existent. Aside from local breeders, the only passerine migrant we added was a Swainson’s Thrush, a fairly common breeder in some parts of the state. Mention this scenario to any Colorado birder prior to our Big Day, and they would have forecast a terrible day. Yet we managed to break the previous big day record (192) by 14 species. This may seem even more remarkable when one considers the previous record coincided with what has been called “the best eastern migrant fallout ever in Colorado.” So how did we do it?

Simply put, breeders. Colorado is home to tremendous breeding diversity due to the variety of habitats in the state. This factor alone makes it a wonderful state in which to do a big day. There are not too many places where you can put together Red-throated Loon, Snow Goose, Black Rail, Greater Roadrunner, Eastern and Western Screech-Owls, Long-billed Curlew, Eastern and Black Phoebes, Gray Jay, Chihuahuan Raven, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Bobolink, Orchard Oriole, Cassin’s Finch, and Evening Grosbeak. We planned the route around nesting birds, and used the important morning hours for those birds. We missed goodies like Bay-breasted Warbler that were seen that morning because we arrived too late to the eastern migrant traps. Yet, we found that it is far better to miss a couple warblers on a big day, than to miss twenty mountain breeders because you arrive too late. And, of course, scouting also paid off well, giving us such goodies as Red-throated Loon, Snow Goose, Common Moorhen, Bonaparte’s Gull. Next year? We’ll be back. And this time, we’ll have a secret weapon from Wisconsin.”
 

Species seen on Big Day

 <>Big Day
Rarity
Code

Colorado Bird
Species Checklist

County
Where Recorded

Missed?

4

4

RED-THROATED LOON

Bent

 

 

5

 Pacific Loon

 

 

 

3

 Common Loon

 

 

1

1

 Pied-billed Grebe

Otero

 

 

4

 Horned Grebe

 

 

1

1

 Eared Grebe

Crowley

 

1

1

 Western Grebe

Crowley

 

1

1

 Clark's Grebe

Crowley

 

1

1

 American White Pelican

Crowley

 

 

5

 BROWN PELICAN

 

 

1

1

 Double-crested Cormorant

Crowley

 

3

3

 American Bittern

Bent

 

 

4

 LEAST BITTERN

 

 

1

1

 Great Blue Heron

Bent

 

4

4

 Great Egret

Otero

 

2

2

 Snowy Egret

Crowley

 

 

5

 LITTLE BLUE HERON

 

 

2

2

 Cattle Egret

Kiowa

 

3

3

 Green Heron

Prowers

 

2

2

 Black-crowned Night-Heron

Crowley

 

 

5

 YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON

 

 

 

4

 GLOSSY IBIS

 

 

2

2

 White-faced Ibis

Crowley

 

2

2

 Turkey Vulture

Pueblo

 

 

5

 Greater White-fronted Goose

 

 

4

4

 Snow Goose

Otero

 

 

4

 Ross's Goose

 

 

1

1

 Canada Goose

Fremont

 

2

2

 Wood Duck

Bent

 

1

1

 Green-winged Teal

Otero

 

1

1

 Mallard

Pueblo

Pueblo Reservoir

1

1

 Northern Pintail

Crowley

 

1

1

 Blue-winged Teal

Crowley

 

1

1

 Cinnamon Teal

Crowley

 

1

1

 Northern Shoveler

Crowley

 

1

1

 Gadwall

Crowley

 

1

1

 American Wigeon

Otero

 

 

3

 Canvasback

 

 

2

2

 Redhead

Otero

 

3

3

 Ring-necked Duck

Otero

 

 

4

 Greater Scaup

 

 

3

3

 Lesser Scaup

Otero

 

 

4

 Surf Scoter

 

 

 

5

 White-winged Scoter

 

 

 

4

 Common Goldeneye

 

 

 

3

 Bufflehead

 

 

 

5

 Hooded Merganser

 

 

 

4

 Common Merganser

 

 

 

4

 Red-breasted Merganser

 

 

2

2

 Ruddy Duck

Otero

 

 

4

 Osprey

 

 

2

2

 Mississippi Kite

Otero

 

 

5

 Bald Eagle

 

 

 

2

 Northern Harrier

 

 

3

3

 Sharp-shinned Hawk

Custer

 

3

3

 Cooper's Hawk

Pueblo

 

 

4

 Northern Goshawk

 

 

 

4

 Broad-winged Hawk

 

 

1

1

 Swainson's Hawk

Pueblo

 

2

2

 Red-tailed Hawk

Fremont

 

3

3

 Ferruginous Hawk

Crowley

 

 

3

 Golden Eagle

 

 

1

1

 American Kestrel

Fremont

 

 

3

 Prairie Falcon

 

 

 

4

 Peregrine Falcon

 

 

1

1

 Ring-necked Pheasant

Crowley

 

 

4

 Blue Grouse

 

 

 

3

 Lesser Prairie-Chicken

 

 

2

2

 Wild Turkey

Bent

 

2

2

 Northern Bobwhite

Bent

LS

2

2

 Scaled Quail

Fremont

 

2

2

 BLACK RAIL

Bent

 

1

1

 Virginia Rail

Fremont

 

2

2

 Sora

Bent

bird number 200!!

4

4

 COMMON MOORHEN

Bent

LS

1

1

 American Coot

Crowley

 

 

5

 Sandhill Crane

 

 

 

3

 Black-bellied Plover

 

 

 

5

 American Golden Plover

 

 

3

3

 Snowy Plover

Kiowa

 

 

3

 Semipalmated Plover

 

 

3

3

 Piping Plover

Bent

 

1

1

 Killdeer

Fremont

 

 

3

 Mountain Plover

 

 

2

2

 Black-necked Stilt

Crowley

 

1

1

 American Avocet

Crowley

 

 

3

 Greater Yellowlegs

 

 

3

3

 Lesser Yellowlegs

Otero

 

 

3

 Solitary Sandpiper

 

 

 

3

 Willet

 

 

1

1

 Spotted Sandpiper

Crowley

 

 

4

 Upland Sandpiper

 

 

 

4

 Whimbrel

 

 

3

3

 Long-billed Curlew

Kiowa

 

 

5

 HUDSONIAN GODWIT

 

 

3

3

 Marbled Godwit

Crowley

 

 

4

 RUDDY TURNSTONE

 

 

 

5

 RED KNOT

 

 

2

2

 Sanderling

Bent

 

3

3

 Semipalmated Sandpiper

Otero

 

3

3

 Western Sandpiper

Otero

 

2

2

 Least Sandpiper

Kiowa

 

3

3

 White-rumped Sandpiper

Otero

 

3

3

 Baird's Sandpiper

Kiowa

 

4

4

 Pectoral Sandpiper

Kiowa

 

 

5

 Dunlin

 

 

2

2

 Stilt Sandpiper

Crowley

 

4

4

 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER

Otero

 

2

2

 Long-billed Dowitcher

Otero

 

2

2

 Common Snipe

Fremont

 

1

1

 Wilson's Phalarope

Crowley

 

 

3

 Red-necked Phalarope

 

 

 

4

 LAUGHING GULL

 

 

2

2

 Franklin's Gull

Crowley

 

4

4

 Bonaparte's Gull

Kiowa

 

1

1

 Ring-billed Gull

Crowley

 

2

2

 California Gull

Crowley

 

 

4

 Herring Gull

 

 

 

3

 Caspian Tern

 

 

 

4

 Common Tern

 

 

2

2

 Forster's Tern

Crowley

 

3

3

 Least Tern

Bent

 

2

2

 Black Tern

Bent

 

1

1

 Rock Dove

Fremont

 

3

3

 Band-tailed Pigeon

Custer

 

3

3

 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE

Otero

 

 

4

 WHITE-WINGED DOVE

 

 

1

1

 Mourning Dove

Fremont

 

 

4

 INCA DOVE

 

 

 

5

 BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO

 

 

3

3

 Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Baca

LS

3

3

 Greater Roadrunner

Baca

 

2

2

 Barn Owl

Pueblo

 

3

3

 Flammulated Owl

Pueblo

 

3

3

 Eastern Screech-Owl

Prowers

 

3

3

 Western Screech-Owl

Bent

 

2

2

 Great Horned Owl

Pueblo

Burnt Mill Road

 

4

 Northern Pygmy-Owl

 

 

1

1

 Burrowing Owl

Crowley

 

4

4

 SPOTTED OWL

Pueblo

 

 

3

 Long-eared Owl

 

 

 

5

 Short-eared Owl

 

 

3

3

 Northern Saw-whet Owl

Pueblo

 

 

5

 LESSER NIGHTHAWK

 

 

2

2

 Common Nighthawk

Pueblo

Burnt Mill Road

2

2

 Common Poorwill

Pueblo

Burnt Mill Road

1

1

 Chimney Swift

Crowley

 

3

3

 White-throated Swift

Fremont

 

 

4

 Black-chinned Hummingbird

 

 

1

1

 Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Fremont

 

 

2

 Belted Kingfisher

 

 

3

3

 Lewis's Woodpecker

Crowley

 

3

3

 Red-headed Woodpecker

Prowers

 

 

3

 Red-bellied Woodpecker

 

 

3

3

 Red-naped Sapsucker

Custer

 

 

3

 Williamson's Sapsucker

 

 

 

4

 Ladder-backed Woodpecker

 

 

2

2

 Downy Woodpecker

Pueblo

 

 

2

 Hairy Woodpecker

 

 

 

4

 Three-toed Woodpecker

 

 

1

1

 Northern Flicker

Fremont

 

3

3

 Olive-sided Flycatcher

Custer

 

2

2

 Western Wood-Pewee

Custer

 

 

5

 EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE

 

 

 

5

 ALDER FLYCATCHER

 

 

 

3

 Willow Flycatcher

 

 

 

2

 Least Flycatcher

 

 

 

3

 Hammond's Flycatcher

 

 

3

3

 Dusky Flycatcher

Custer

 

3

3

 Gray Flycatcher

Fremont

 

3

3

 Cordilleran Flycatcher

Pueblo

 

4

4

 Eastern Phoebe

Pueblo

 

3

3

 Say's Phoebe

Fremont

 

5

5

  Black Phoebe

Pueblo

 

 

5

 VERMILION FLYCATCHER

 

 

3

3

 Ash-throated Flycatcher

Fremont

 

3

3

 Great Crested Flycatcher

Prowers

 

3

3

 Cassin's Kingbird

Pueblo

 

1

1

 Western Kingbird

Fremont

 

1

1

 Eastern Kingbird

Fremont

 

 

5

 SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER

 

 

2

2

 Loggerhead Shrike

Crowley

 

 

5

 WHITE-EYED VIREO

 

 

 

5

 Bell's Vireo

 

 

 

5

 Cassin's Vireo

 

 

2

2

 Plumbeous Vireo

Fremont

 

 

5

 YELLOW-THROATED VIREO

 

 

1

1

 Warbling Vireo

Fremont

 

 

5

 PHILADELPHIA VIREO

 

 

4

4

 Red-eyed Vireo

Bent

 

3

3

 Gray Jay

Custer

 

2

2

 Steller's Jay

Custer

 

1

1

 Blue Jay

Bent

 

2

2

 Western Scrub-Jay

Fremont

TL

 

3

 Pinyon Jay

 

 

 

3

 Clark's Nutcracker

 

 

1

1

 Black-billed Magpie

Fremont

 

1

1

 American Crow

Custer

 

3

3

 Chihuahuan Raven

Fremont

 

2

2

 Common Raven

Fremont

 

1

1

 Horned Lark

Crowley

 

2

2

 Tree Swallow

Custer

 

2

2

 Violet-green Swallow

Fremont

 

2

2

 N. Rough-winged Swallow

Fremont

 

2

2

 Bank Swallow

Bent

 

1

1

 Cliff Swallow

Fremont

 

1

1

 Barn Swallow

Fremont

 

 

2

 Black-capped Chickadee

 

 

2

2

 Mountain Chickadee

Custer

 

3

3

 Juniper Titmouse

Fremont

 

3

3

 Bushtit

Fremont

 

 

2

 Red-breasted Nuthatch

 

 

2

2

 White-breasted Nuthatch

Custer

 

2

2

 Pygmy Nuthatch

Fremont

 

3

3

 Brown Creeper

Custer

TL

3

3

 Rock Wren

Fremont

 

3

3

 Canyon Wren

Baca

 

 

5

 CAROLINA WREN

 

 

2

2

 Bewick's Wren

Bent

 

1

1

 House Wren

Custer

 

 

5

 Winter Wren

 

 

 

5

 SEDGE WREN

 

 

3

3

 Marsh Wren

Bent

 

3

3

 American Dipper

Custer

 

3

3

 Golden-crowned Kinglet

Custer

 

2

2

 Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Custer

 

2

2

 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Fremont

 

 

3

 Eastern Bluebird

 

 

3

3

 Western Bluebird

Pueblo

 

2

2

 Mountain Bluebird

Custer

 

3

3

 Townsend's Solitaire

Custer

 

 

4

 Veery

 

 

 

4

 GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH

 

 

2

2

 Swainson's Thrush

Crowley

 

2

2

 Hermit Thrush

Custer

 

 

5

 WOOD THRUSH

 

 

1

1

 American Robin

Fremont

 

2

2

 Gray Catbird

Crowley

 

1

1

 Northern Mockingbird

Pueblo

Pueblo Reservoir

 

3

 Sage Thrasher

 

 

1

1

 Brown Thrasher

Custer

 

 

4

 Curve-billed Thrasher

 

 

1

1

 European Starling

Fremont

 

3

3

 American Pipit

Custer

CW, TL

 

3

 Cedar Waxwing

 

 

 

5

 BLUE-WINGED WARBLER

 

 

 

5

 GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER

 

 

 

4

 Tennessee Warbler

 

 

3

3

 Orange-crowned Warbler

Pueblo

TL, LS

 

4

 Nashville Warbler

 

 

3

3

 Virginia's Warbler

Custer

 

 

4

 Northern Parula

 

 

1

1

 Yellow Warbler

Fremont

 

 

4

 Chestnut-sided Warbler

 

 

 

4

 Magnolia Warbler

 

 

 

5

 Black-throated Blue Warbler

 

 

1

1

 Yellow-rumped Warbler

Fremont

 

3

3

 Black-throated Gray Warbler

Fremont

 

 

4

 Townsend's Warbler

 

 

 

5

 Black-throated Green Warbler

 

 

 

5

 BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER

 

 

 

4

 Grace's Warbler

 

 

 

5

 PRAIRIE WARBLER

 

 

 

5

 Palm Warbler

 

 

 

5

 BAY-BREASTED WARBLER

 

 

 

4

 Blackpoll Warbler

 

 

 

4

 Black-and-white Warbler

 

 

3

3

 American Redstart

Pueblo

 

 

5

 PROTHONOTARY WARBLER

 

 

 

5

 WORM-EATING WARBLER

 

 

3

3

 Ovenbird

Pueblo

 

 

3

 Northern Waterthrush

 

 

 

5

 KENTUCKY WARBLER

 

 

 

5

 MOURNING WARBLER

 

 

3

3

 MacGillivray's Warbler

Pueblo

  

1

1

 Common Yellowthroat

Fremont

 

 

4

 Hooded Warbler

 

 

2

2

 Wilson's Warbler

Custer

 

 

5

 CANADA WARBLER

 

 

3

3

 Yellow-breasted Chat

Pueblo

Burnt Mill Road

 

5

 HEPATIC TANAGER

 

 

 

4

 Summer Tanager

 

 

 

4

 SCARLET TANAGER

 

 

2

2

 Western Tanager

Fremont

 

2

2

 Green-tailed Towhee

Fremont

 

2

2

 Spotted Towhee

Fremont

 

 

5

 EASTERN TOWHEE

 

 

3

3

 Canyon Towhee

Fremont

 

2

2

 Cassin's Sparrow

Kiowa

 

5

5

 Rufous-crowned Sparrow

Fremont

 

1

1

 Chipping Sparrow

Pueblo

Burnt Mill Road

 

3

 Clay-colored Sparrow

 

 

 

3

 Brewer's Sparrow

 

 

 

3

 Field Sparrow

 

 

3

3

 Vesper Sparrow

Custer

 

1

1

 Lark Sparrow

Fremont

 

 

4

 Black-throated Sparrow

 

 

1

1

 Lark Bunting

Pueblo

 

3

3

 Savannah Sparrow

Fremont

 

2

2

 Grasshopper Sparrow

Kiowa

 

 

4

 Fox Sparrow

 

 

 

2

 Song Sparrow

 

 

2

2

 Lincoln's Sparrow

Custer

 

 

5

 Swamp Sparrow

 

 

 

4

 White-throated Sparrow

 

 

 

4

 Harris's Sparrow

 

 

2

2

 White-crowned Sparrow

Bent

 

1

1

 Dark-eyed Junco

Pueblo

 

 

5

 McCown's Longspur

 

 

 

5

 Chestnut-collared Longspur

 

 

 

5

 Northern Cardinal

 

 

 

4

 Rose-breasted Grosbeak

 

 

2

2

 Black-headed Grosbeak

Fremont

 

2

2

 Blue Grosbeak

Crowley

 

2

2

 Lazuli Bunting

Pueblo

 

 

3

 Indigo Bunting

 

 

 

5

 PAINTED BUNTING

 

 

 

3

 Dickcissel

 

 

5

5

 Bobolink

Fremont

 

1

1

 Red-winged Blackbird

Fremont

 

 

5

 EASTERN MEADOWLARK

 

 

1

1

 Western Meadowlark

Fremont

Burnt Mill Road

1

1

 Yellow-headed Blackbird

Crowley

 

3

3

 Brewer's Blackbird

Custer

 

1

1

 Common Grackle

Fremont

 

2

2

 Great-tailed Grackle

Crowley

 

1

1

 Brown-headed Cowbird

Fremont

 

1

1

 Orchard Oriole

Crowley

 

 

3

 Baltimore Oriole

 

 

1

1

 Bullock's Oriole

Fremont

 

 

5

 Brown-capped Rosy Finch

 

 

3

3

 Pine Grosbeak

Custer

 

3

3

 Cassin's Finch

Custer

 

1

1

 House Finch

Fremont

 

 

3

 Red Crossbill

 

 

 

5

 White-winged Crossbill

 

 

2

2

 Pine Siskin

Fremont

 

2

2

 Lesser Goldfinch

Pueblo

 

1

1

 American Goldfinch

Fremont

 

3

3

 Evening Grosbeak

Pueblo

TL, LS

1

1

 House Sparrow

Fremont

 

204


Totals

204

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

63

63

Code 1

 

CW = 203

64

71

Code 2

 

TL = 199

64

96

Code 3

 

LS = 199

10

56

Code 4

 

SHARED = 196

3

55

Code 5

 

TOTAL = 204

 

 

 

 

 

Brandon K. Percival
Pueblo West, CO
flammowl@juno.com
 
 

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