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SCHOLARSHIP REPORTS 2006

2006 Young Birders Conference, Fort Collins, CO

30 June - 5 July 2006

By Jesse Pakkala

Soon after arriving at Denver International Airport, I realized just how busy Colorado's main transportation hub can become. Making my way through the bustling and unfamiliar crowds, it wasn't long before the welcome sight of three beaming binocular toting birders caught my attention. After introductions and greetings were settled, the four of us continued our search for our trip leaders, while taking a tour around the airport to bird from any window we could find. Once we finally tracked down the leaders, more introductions were made and after a brief wait for more eager young birders to arrive, we were off; heading towards our new home for the next 5 days. Arriving at the hotel, we took a few minutes to explore our new rooms and settle in, but it was very short-lived as most of us, I mean, all of us, were way too excited to just sit around in our rooms. Instead, we explored a college campus across the street from the hotel, discovering a fledgling Great-horned Owl.

The first outing was underway shortly after dinner, in the pre-dusk haze of Colorado's foothills. Following a short drive, we arrived at a remote site along a quiet dirt road. By this time it was almost dark as Bill, Michael, and Steve began to imitate the eerie call of the Common Poorwill. Within minutes multiple birds were returning their calls, with one lucky poorwill allowing the group a quick glimpse in the open.

The next day, the conference allowed us to experience the numerous species of open grassland birds at Pawnee National Grasslands. The group discovered a family of Burrowing Owls in a field along the side of the road, hunting to keep their four young fledgling's fed. The next stop gave us the chance to bird a mix of shrubby habitat and open grassland, providing such species as: Brown Thrasher, Loggerhead Shrike, Western Kingbird, and Common Nighthawk, to name a few. Next, we were headed towards more open prairie to try and find longspurs. We stopped at an old windmill with a mind-boggling Golden Eagle perched above and an open pool of water below. It was a grassland bird's heaven; spotting two species of longspur and numerous bunting's kept us occupied for the next hour. Our group of satisfied birders piled into the vans then breaked for a delicious lunch, while listening to a presentation from Michael. Next stop: Pawnee Buttes, where in the sweltering midday heat, we managed to see Prairie Falcon and Rock Wrens singing from the crevices of the prehistoric outcrops. Phil and I decided to take a little break from birding to explore the rough terrain for rattlesnakes (without any luck). The group returned back to the hotel, tired and eager to cool off from an exciting day of birding.

Day three proved to be an amazing and unforgettable trip to Cameron Pass; located high up in the Rocky Mountains. We climbed out of the vans as the dawn chorus of singing boreal birds sounded off amongst the trees. There was a great variety, including Pine Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins, Cassin's Finch, and a lone Three-toed Woodpecker, that gave us an awesome look. Birds weren't the only excitement at this stop; a curious moose decided to award us with some amazing close up views and a great picture opportunity. After spending enough time snapping up pictures of a more than cooperative moose, we all piled into our vans and hit the road. On our way into a small town, our van spotted a Prairie Falcon perched on a fence post and pulled over to investigate. Unfortunately the falcon did not stay put for long, however, our stop still proved to be worthwhile as the group had great looks at Sage Thrashers, a Green-tailed Towhee, a Dusky Flycatcher, and a Mountain Bluebird; all lifers for most, including myself. After refueling the vans, it was off to Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge. On the way we stopped at a pond which yielded a variety of waterfowl, a flyby from a single Franklin's Gull, and an awesome look at a female Greater Sage-Grouse and her young (a very good find). The next pond gave us great looks at an Eared Grebe, a few Northern Shovelers, and the best look at a Sora and her two young that I've ever experienced. After exploring the refuge, we were headed for lunch when Steve decided to share his knowledge on the anatomy of gulls with a road-kill California Gull. It was very insightful, and gave us a close up look at a gull's plumage and structure. Besides seeing a total of seven sage-grouse, in my opinion the best moment of the day came from one very intent badger. This badger allowed the first van to come within ten feet! And, allowed all of us to see a very interesting, yet voracious predator of the prairies. After a terrific day of birding, the group began to head back to the hotel. On the way we made a pit-stop at a Rocky Mountain visitor center. Here we saw at least a dozen Broad-tailed Hummingbirds and one Rufous Hummingbird gorging on the feeders. A few of us had the chance to let a hummingbird land on their finger, as most of the Broad-tails were "human friendly". This was also the official naming of the two vans. With authentic mascots in tow, the vans were coined the badgers (Bill and Steve's van) and the ravens (Michael and Louise's van). These names would stick for the rest of the conference.

It was day number four and it seemed like we'd just arrived yesterday, the conference was going by in a blur of birding excitement. Today the group was ready to bird Rocky Mountain National Park, located high up in the Rocky Mountains. On the way, we stopped and saw an American Dipper showing a young fledgling how to forage for food in a shallow creek, while waiting for Lori to pick up our lunch. After a good look, we left the dippers to themselves and were back on the road to a more elevated climate. Our target for this trip was to see White-tailed Ptarmigan, not an easy bird to pick out! First, we hiked up a small trail and saw a few unusual sightings for that elevation including a gorgeous male Yellow-headed Blackbird (weird!). After a short hike, and a quick detour to experience what snow in July felt like, the group returned to the vans and drove to the visitor center to rest and regroup. Bill said that he knew a spot where the ptarmigan had been sighted previously and we decided to check it out. Well, this decision was definitely one of the best made throughout the entire conference because not only did we see White-tailed Ptarmigan, we saw a male and female up close while they posed for a good 45 minutes of pictures. After everyone had the chance to get amazing pictures of the ptarmigan, we wandered back down to the vans and decide to find a place to stop for lunch. Along the way, we stopped at a lookout and got great views of Pine Grosbeaks, Clarke's Nutcrackers, and a Townsend's Solitaire. We finally made it to our lunch stop, but the birding was nonstop (not that I'm complaining) and we managed to rustle up a Western Tanager, Steller's Jay, Red-naped Sapsucker, Cordilleran Flycatcher, and Pygmy Nuthatch. As we were all enjoying the Cordilleran Flycatcher flitting about a group of pines, it started to drizzle. We ignored this sign and kept staring at the little empid forage for insects. Big mistake! It started to downpour and everyone was caught, some with raincoats, but most without. By the time we'd hoofed it back to the vans we were all drenched, but that one extra glimpse at that tiny flycatcher was definitely worth it. We drove to another area trail where we saw a couple of MacGillivary's Warblers and Mountain Chickadees. On the same trail, a couple of us stragglers at the back of the group spotted a female Blue Grouse and her three young not 10 feet from the side of the trail. They walked up even closer and huddled under the foliage of a near tree, awarding everyone with amazing views. After everyone experienced the grouse family up close, both the badgers and the ravens decided it was best to leave them alone and head back to the hotel.

Day 5 would take us to Boulder, Colorado where we met up with local birder Ted Floyd, who would show us around the local hotspots. The first stop turned out to be amazing birding with multiple lifers including: Lazuli Bunting, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lesser Goldfinch, White-throated Swift, Canyon Wren, and Virginia's Warbler. The morning was filled with awesome birding in a canyon-forest habitat. After our walk through the canyon, we headed to check out a few ponds and saw some White Pelicans, a Green Heron, and a lone Greater Yellowlegs. We ate a quick lunch and listened to Bill's talk on digital photography, then headed back to the hotel for an afternoon talk on molt by Steve. After Steve's presentation the entire group had an open panel discussion with a returning young birder: Jessie Barry. At dusk everyone opted for more birding instead of fireworks, so we went in search of screech-owls at a previously scouted location. Almost immediately, an Eastern Screech-Owl began returning Michael's amazingly realistic calls. The owl gave us an awesome view when it perched on a branch right in front of us. By now, everyone was really tired from a long day and definitely ready for a nice cozy bed.

It was Day 6, and the last day here in Colorado. We left the hotel in search of Cassin's Sparrows with the help of Rachel Hopper, a local birder. Our first stop gave us awesome looks at Cassin's, Grasshopper, and Brewer's Sparrows in the midst of a foggy Colorado morning. Once we finished up a few group photos, we headed towards a local reservoir. The group walked around the reservoir and discovered a Barn Owl nest amongst the cliff face, apparently a first for that county in a number of years. We also watched as a pair of Golden Eagles perched farther down the cliffs. Unfortunately, about half of the group had to catch early flights out of D.I.A and had to leave. We all shared farewells, and each van headed off in separate directions; one towards the airport, the other towards the hotel. The remaining young birders packed up our things and loaded up the van for one last time. We all reminisced about the incredible experiences we shared on our huge birding adventure, and wondered when we would see each other again. As the second van arrived at the airport, and once again, the bustling flow of Denver International kicked in, one at a time birders began to board their flights to head back home. One thing's for sure, it was definitely the best birding experience of my life, and one that I will never forget.

These young birders attended the camps/events they report on with the help of ABA scholarships.