Birding: It was a very happy ‘Bird-Day’
Published 11:10 am Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Mountain bluebirds were busy with their nest. The challenge was to keep the tree swallows from ousting them from their abode. SUSAN STAUFFER PHOTO
Kalbach
Kalbach
Stauffer
Kalbach
Stauffer
It was my birthday! The best of my presents was a trip to the Rocky Mountains! After much discussion regarding what to take for the weather the truck was packed with cameras, binoculars, birding scope, winter wear etc.
I was ready for take-off! Traffic was heavy that morning, but it thinned when we turned off on the mainly gravel road toward the Rockies! Ponds and sloughs along the way were alive with waterfowl including canvasbacks (ducks), blue-winged teal, and ring-necked ducks. Waterfowl migration was still going strong that day.
Continuing to drive ever so slowly so as not to miss a single species or mammal we passed through a mountain bluebird route. There weren’t as many bluebirds as expected because they had been out-competed by tree swallows for many of the nesting boxes. However, the focus for me was the dapperness and industriousness of these beautiful birds. Watching one box revealed that one of the pair was constantly on the watch for take-over attempts by a tree swallow. As a swallow approached it got the boot from the ever watchful parent.
As we gradually passed through the foothills and came closer to the mountains it began to snow! Snow in May, how could that be? Fortunately, they were only ten or twenty minute squalls of beautiful white snowy flakes. They didn’t stick but the chill remained. The effect on the birds was clear. They were hunkered down and only ventured out when the sun made a brief appearance stirring the insects that the many species needed for nourishment. Pine grosbeaks were busy eating grit on the sides of the roads and in the parking areas at lakes and hiking trails. Yellow-rumped warblers were out in force the minute the sun appeared. Warbler migration was beginning to ramp up, after all mid-May was the time for them to be on the move. The most frequently spotted duck on the mountain lakes was the Barrow’s goldeneye. I watched several pairs that seemed to have thoughts of nesting as the males dutifully chased other species such as the ring-necked duck from their territory.
A visit to one of the mountain park’s visitor’s centers was worth the stop. A male American three-toed woodpecker was excavating what seemed like a nesting site to be. It had chosen one of the poles of the center’s building. There are several sub-species of this woodpecker. This was the Rocky Mountains version. In addition, because the sun was out, we were treated to a flurry of yellow-rumped warblers flitting off tree branches, as if they were flycatchers, into the sunshine to grasp an insect or two for lunch.
Mammals were also out and about on my bird-day. Elk, grizzly bears, Columbian ground squirrels, bighorn sheep, and a lynx were all seen on my bird-day trip. In total over 50 species of birds were seen. It was three days of sheer pleasure and excitement! It was, indeed, a happy bird-day for me!
Happy birding!
