Tundra Swans at Standley Lake (#278)

26 November 2021

Two days earlier a pair of Tundra Swans were found at Standley Lake, in the north end of Jefferson Co. Any swan would be a great pick up for the big year. Of course I can't go the day they were found or on Thanksgiving, assuming they stuck around and swans often don't stick around long. I'd note to everyone that Thanksgiving (Nov 25) marked one year since we lost Joe Roller.

Early Friday morning a friend went to check on the swans for me (Thank you!) and he said they had been joined by SEVEN more! I thought he was pulling my leg, but alas he wasn't. I hit the road on the bike about 7:40 am and told my family I'd be home ASAP (meaning probably 4 hours, ha!).

I'd never even been to Standley Lake, let alone ridden my bike there. There were lots of new roads, paths, a delay at a railroad crossing (which is a first), and a couple wrong turns. It took just a little over an hour and half of riding to get there and upon coming over a rise where I could see the reservoir, I could see the group of swans out in the middle! Victory! Well, I needed to get closer and get better looks than swans at a mile, but mission accomplished! I'm glad I had some Joe luck and they stuck around for and a lot of happy birders this day.

Tundra Swans were Joe Roller Memorial Green Big Year bird #278 and my 299th green bird all time from my house in Littleton!

Pledge or donate here to the new Joe Roller Memorial Grant. Thank you.

https://cobirds.org/CFO/Grants/

Some great views!

A little wait at the light rail crossing.

Poor digiscope

Yes, I dragged all my gear up to Standley.

While I was at Standley Lake, I got word from Chris Wood that he had a White-winged Scoter at Chatfield. Of course I'm nowhere close to Chatfield for once. That bird would have to wait a day, but alas that bird didn't stick around. However, the next morning Joey Kellner found 2 White-winged Scoters at Chatfield. Fueled by only 3 chocolate chip pancakes, I took off and after a bit of searching the South Platte Delta area, I relocated them with my buddy Steve S. We got some better views from the Fox Run area. Good thing I went early and got them since the birds we bumped out of the area in the early afternoon and not seen again.

White-winged Scoters, Chatfield State Park.

Totals:
Green Big Year species list: 279 (as of Nov 30)
Miles ridden: 2815 (as of Nov 30)
Elevation gain in 2021: 115,000 ft
# of trips to Chatfield State Park: 45
2021 Joe Roller Memorial Green Big Year Species List

Pledge or donate here to the new Joe Roller Memorial Grant. 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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