I finally tried for the Mississippi Kite(s) in Denver

2 September 2021
A couple Mississippi Kites have been reported off and on in north Denver since late July. There have been a couple clusters of locations where the bird(s) have been seen with a report every 2 or 3 days, or less frequent. I contemplated chasing them because a kite would be a huge pick up for the year. This was one of those trips that I waffled on. It could be a huge time sink, I don't know where birds are really hanging around, plus the fun prospect of a lot of wandering and getting lost in urban Denver, etc. However, I see a report late on the 1st and decide to pull the trigger and go for it the next day.

I let Mark Obmascik know about my hair brained idea since he lives in town and likes to bird by bike as well. Plus he knows the city very well. Mark said he'd be happy to join me and it was set. However, Mark had work commitments in the morning. I got to his street pretty early. I waffled on whether to just go for the kites (he said just go!) or wait for him for 30+ minutes. We hadn't met before and floundering around trying to find one another while I aimlessly wandered north Denver seemed like a bad idea. I also didn't have a ton of time to try to find the birds and get home, but I decided it was wise to wait for him. What a good decision that was.

Mark finished up work and we hit the road. I had a plan for trying to find the kites, but Mark had a different idea. Good thing I didn't argue. We rolled up to the last known location and I spot a kite before we even stop and start looking!

The kite is in the dead snag above my head! Thanks to Mark for the photo!

Digibin Kite!

What a blast this morning was. It was so great to meet Mark and a real joy to ride around town with him while chatting with about birds, jobs, and life. It's a good thing I used Strava to map my ride as I had no idea where I was half of the time! Ha! So many more stories from this morning for another time.

Totals:
Green Big Year species list: 251 (as of Sept 2)
Miles ridden: 1850 miles (as of August 30)
Elevation gain in 2021: ~78,000 ft
# of rides with a frozen water bottle and broken shifter: 1
# of dropped water bottles at stop lights: 1
# of trips to Chatfield State Park: 27
# of Rock Wrens hopping around on my bike: 1
2021 Joe Roller Memorial Green Big Year Species List

Pledge or donate here. Thank you.
https://cobirds.org/CFO/Grants/

Thanks for reading!
Scott

Comments

Big ride for big time green year birds.

First and foremost, thank you for all the pledges and donations! The total pledges so far have been astonishing! Between donations and pledges per species (assuming I hit 250 species), we are about 70% of the way to our $20,000 target! I think Joe would probably roll his eyes and tell a joke about the time we chased what would be his first Arapahoe county Brown Thrasher at Cherry Creek State Park. We saw the thrasher fly away and vanish and then Joe gave me slack for not getting him better looks! Please consider a tax-deductible donation or pledge per species (pledges do not need to be paid until the 2021 green year ends). The pledges and donations are motivating me to get out and get birds. I'm truly humbled. Thank you. This is going to be such a fun year! Click the link (scroll to the bottom) to pledge or donate! https://cobirds.org/CFO/Grants/ January 2021 overview (and then the birds!). I thought I'd start off with a little overview of my general strategy for this ...

A sparrow, a sapsucker, and a shrike, oh my!

I've been able to take advantage of dry roads and nice weather lately. I had a couple very successful adventures in the last week and picked up some green avian targets for the year. January 20, 2021 A Harris's Sparrow was frequenting a private residence in Littleton (JeffCo) and despite arriving in the early afternoon, to find no birds anywhere, a flock of White-crowned Sparrows showed up a few minutes later and the Harris's popped up! Talk about luck! I also had taken my camera (a first for a bike ride) and lucked out with a couple decent photos for the blog! A sharp looking Harris's Sparrow! Harris's Sparrow (Green year bird #75) With the grand luck on the Harris's Sparrow, I decided to swing by the ball fields at Kipling and 285 (still in Litteton) to see if there were any Snow Geese around. Not a goose to be found, so I kept going north to Bear Creek Greenbelt to look for either of Winter Wrens that had recently been found between S Estes St and S. Kipling ...

Tis the end of the Green Year

27 January 2022 Well the Joe Roller Memorial Green Big Year is over. As the year was winding down, the reality of the end of this amazing year started to set in. I admit that I was a little bummed that it was coming to an end. Of course, one person said to just do it again 2022 and let's raise more funds for the Roller Grant. HAHA! I'd be sleeping on the couch if I had considered doing that again! I'm also pretty sure my bikes and body (and leave balance at work) wouldn't hold up either! Joking aside, it was a little bit of a downer as the last days of the year came fast like a Peregrine Falcon on a flock of unsuspecting shorebirds. Suddenly the year was over. I've done 98% of my birding on foot or bike from my house since the pandemic began, so I thought the shifting of gears was likely going to be a shock to the system. I think the end of the year snuck up on me because of the "winter" was unseasonably warm with 50 and 60+ degree temperatures, incredibl...

Joe Roller Memorial Green Big Year

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