Joe Roller Memorial Green Big Year

30 December 2021 How this Green Big Year ended was bittersweet and completely unexpected. It was also a terrible day as entire neighborhoods burned to the ground in Boulder County in an almost unbelievable (but not an unsurprising) fire, fueled by 80-100+ mph winds. I was seeing reports of a couple fires in Boulder County, which were 25-30 miles to our north, but I didn't know the extent of what was going on. I had planned to work the rest of the afternoon since my morning/day birding plan was thwarted by the wind forecast, but I decided to go for a walk instead. I walked to my patch (Clement Park) to see what the smoke plume from the Boulder county fire(s) looked like. It felt a little wrong to go see what was happening, but I also assumed it was just a grass fire at this point because I didn't know where the fire was precisely. The winds, at times, were pretty strong on top of the hill at the park, but the 360 degree view from the top is pretty amazing. The dust being kicked ...

27 December 2021 On the 26th, some new to the area birders reported an immature Trumpeter Swan south of Chatfield State Park at Aurora Rampart Reservoir in Douglas County. This isn't the Aurora Reservoir I rode 72 miles round trip to last week. Thank goodness! The report sounded pretty good, but I couldn't go until the next day. I asked Joey Kellner if he could check out the bird Monday morning and let me know if the bird was there and what he thought about the ID. Swans are notoriously hard to ID. Joey doesn't live too far away and he was willing to help me out again. About 730, Joey sends me a completely back lit silhouette photo and it was clearly a Trumpeter! I was barely starting breakfast, totally just dragging around the house trying to get kids to eat, and now I want to go chase! About 745 am or so I decided it was time to load up and head out. I checked my weather apps, as I hadn't been outside yet. It was 14 degrees! WHAT!? I didn't think it was getting TH...

22 December 2021 One of the birds I was about to miss for the year was Red-necked Grebe. Usually there's a couple birds reported around and there were a couple this year, but they were either never relocated, photos showed a Pied-billed Grebe, I never found them or didn't get to try for them for whatever reason. On the 21st, Steve Mlodinow found/refound a Red-necked Grebe at Aurora Reservoir. One had been reported there off and on this "winter" but not seen with any frequency, or maybe people were't looking. Steve also had a Snow Bunting, so I decided to hydrate and carb load and just go for it the next morning.  I had scouted out the route to Aurora Reservoir via google maps a few times, but now it was time to actually ride it. The first 18 miles was to and through Cherry Creek State Park, which was no biggie. I know that route too well. The last 13 miles or so were all new roads and paths. The beauty of the Denver metro is I was able to ride from Cherry Creek al...

17 December 2021 On Tuesday, December 14th, Steve Barlow found a female Black-and-white Warbler at Wheat Ridge Greenbelt in well, Wheat Ridge. Of course I had three full days of meetings and calls and there was no way I could go for the bird until Friday the 17th. I saw regular reports of the bird in the same area, and a little to the west over those 3 days. It turns out there is a second Black-and-white, a boldly marked male, to the west of the female most of us were chasing. Anyway, I was hopeful it'd stick another day in spite of some chilly night time temperatures.  I got up on Friday and it was about 16 degrees. I decided to wait until it was in the mid-20's before I headed out. As I'm hoping to get word about the bird being present, I get a text from none other than Thomas Heinrich with a message about the bird being there and "where are YOU?!" Thomas knew I was going for it on Friday morning, but he didn't tell me he was going to leave at 4:15 am on his...

8 December 2021 A few days earlier, Cynthia Madsen reported a Wood Thrush in her yard in Centennial Colorado. What in the world is a Wood Thrush doing in Colorado in December!? The bird was coming to her water feature at semi-frequent intervals, so I was really interested in trying for the bird. The bird came in every couple hours on the first day that birders looked for it, which was a day I wasn't able to go for it. I decided to give it a go on the 8th and see if I could snag this goodie for the green big year. The bird had been more regular in afternoon, but it was seen about noon the day before so I left in the morning and was able to commit about 4 hours to wait for it.  Cynthia's house was only 13.5 miles away, so quick trip! Ha! I arrive, after navigating a lot of roads and paths that I was not familiar with and she said the bird is here! WHAT? NO WAY!? I leave my bike against her house and sneak in, but the bird was gone. It only perched on her back fence for a few seco...

30 November 2021 Short-billed Gull has been target this "winter". They have been photo'd at Cherry Creek State Park several times in the last month or so. I've ridden over there 3 times chasing other targets and looking intently for the gull to no avail.  Tuesday morning I get text from Glenn Walbek about a Barrow's Goldeneye when he mentioned having 1 or 2 Short-billed Gulls (SBIG, I think that's the abbreviation anyway). I was tired and had a planned rest day, but a SBIG was there now and my afternoon was free. I decided I had to go. I was out the door fairly quickly after a few minutes of contemplating whether I should go nor stay. In the end, I felt good riding considering I was tired and legs ached. Adrenaline :) I was only a couple miles from Cherry Creek when another cyclist caught up to me. He saw my tripod and asked if I was a photographer. He got the quick version of my big year as I huffed and puffed while trying to keep up with him. He said he'...