Laramie Bird Notes (8/24 - 9/4)

Migrant activity has been really good over the past week, especially in the songbird department. Although the Laramie Valley doesn't generally get a great diversity of warblers in migration, a respectable 11 species were recorded this past week. Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped Warblers seem to have made a decent push into town recently, while a few Yellow Warbler reports may be some of our last for this early migrating warbler. In addition to the expected migrant warblers, we also had reports of two unusual species for our area, Black-and-White Warbler and Magnolia Warbler. Good places to find migrating warblers include Greenhill Cemetery, UW campus, the Greenbelt, and generally anywhere with lots of trees. Rock Creek Canyon on the north tip of the Snowy Range can be quite good for warblers in fall migration.

Magnolia Warbler. Photo by Nate Behl.

In other songbird news, a decent selection of vireo species has been found around town lately, including Warbling, Red-eyed, Cassin's, and Plumbeous. Sparrows are also on the move, with a few juncos (both Gray-headed and Pink-sided) and Clay-colored Sparrows being seen around town, as well as gobs of Chipping Sparrows. Chipping Sparrows have actually been moving out of the mountains since mid-July, on their way to wetter and more productive regions to complete their molt.

Flycatchers have also put on a good show lately. In town, several Empidonax species have been moving through, including Dusky, Hammond's, Gray, and Willow, along with Olive-sided Flycatcher and lots of Western Wood-Pewees. Further out on the plains, Western and Eastern Kingbirds continue to move through. Be sure to check those yellow kingbirds closely for a Cassin's, or maybe even something more unusual!

In addition to a few miscellaneous songbirds such as Hermit Thrush, Gray Catbird, and Western Tanager around town, crossbills are still around in decent numbers, though the big push of types 3 and 4 has calmed down a bit lately. Most Red Crossbills around right now are type 2. Even more exciting, an immature White-winged Crossbill was seen at Greenhill Cemetery in a flock of Reds, so be sure to pick through those crossbill flocks carefully! Crossbills moving through are really struggling to find food, so now is a good time to make sure your feeders are filled -- you might get lucky and have a flock visit for a while!

Compared to last week we have several more waterbird species to report. Baird's Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Greater Yellowlegs, and Semipalmated Plover are some of the more notable shorebird species. Other waterbirds include good numbers of Franklin's Gulls and White-faced Ibis. Despite modest effort at searching Hutton Lake and Lake Hattie for jeagers and rare gulls, nothing has been found. Those intent on finding these and other rare waterbird species should continue to monitor these lakes, as several reports from Colorado and other nearby states have really picked up recently.

Baird's Sandpiper. Photo by Shawn Billerman.

 A couple noteworthy birds that didn't really fit well into the rest of the post include Rufous Hummingbirds (which will likely leave our area entirely in the next couple weeks) around the Berry Center on campus and a somewhat early Merlin on the Greenbelt.

Laramie Bird Notes -- 8/17 - 8/24

As fall migration starts to heat up, the Laramie Bird Notes will resume to bring you all the wonderful avian happenings in the Laramie Valley.

Fall migration this year is starting off with a somewhat strange phenomenon: Pygmy Nuthatches, White-breasted Nuthatches, and at least four different Red Crossbill call types are all over town! Over the past week or so, both nuthatches have been seen at the Greenhill Cemetery, the Greenbelt, and near UW campus, which is pretty strange. It even seems that Red-breasted Nuthatches are much more abundant in town than usual. Type 2 (or Ponderosa Pine crossbills) have been the most abundant crossbill call type around town (especially on campus and at the cemetery), though types 5 (Lodgepole Pine), 4 (Douglas-fir), and 3 (Western Hemlock) have also been found recently.

Pygmy Nuthatches and Red Crossbills are on the move this fall.
Photos by Nate Behl.

It seems likely that the influx of nuthatches and type 2 crossbills into town is due to the lack of a Ponderosa Pine cone crop in the surrounding mountain ranges, as these species depend heavily on the seeds from this tree in fall and winter. Similar reports from along the Front Range of Colorado, and the massive movement of type 2 crossbills into the Great Lakes and northeastern United States, suggest that these species are moving across much of the Rockies. Red Crossbill types 3 and 4 are also moving into the eastern United States, indicating that Douglas-fir and Western Hemlock cone crops are failing in the Pacific Northwest. For a nice primer on crossbill ecology and identifying crossbills to call type, check out this wonderful article from Cornell's Matt Young: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/news/recrtype/.

In more normal migrant news, migrant songbirds are really starting to move through town in decent numbers. In addition to the masses of Wilson's Warblers we get every fall, other migrants around town recently include Olive-sided Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Dusky Flycatcher, Gray Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Bullock's Oriole, Black-headed Grosbeak, Gray Catbird, Northern Waterthrush, Yellow Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, Brewer's Sparrow, and Lark Sparrow. Greenhill Cemetery and the Greenbelt have been pretty good for migrants lately and are worth checking.

It is happening again... Photo by Shawn Billerman.

Waterbird migration is also underway, though the coverage of this group hasn't been great in our area lately. Nonetheless, Common Loons, Long-billed Dowitchers, and Baird's Sandpipers have been seen recently. Those looking to find rarities would do well to check places like Hutton Lake, Lake Hattie, Blake's Pond, and the ponds north of Laramie at the intersection of Highway 287 and Highway 34 near Bosler. In addition to a good diversity of migrating shorebirds, you may be rewarded with unusual species like Sabine's Gull, Little Gull, or maybe even a jaeger or two!

Will you find a Little Gull this year? Photo by Shawn Billerman.

Laramie Bird Notes -- 4/20 - 5/5

Spring migration is definitely in full swing. The winter weather of late has slowed migration down a bit, but look for things to pick up in the near future.

A recent Broad-winged Hawk pretty much caps off the hawk migration season. Be on the lookout for this species high above town on sunny days, as a handful of these uncommonish migrants have been seen each spring over the past couple years.

Waterbirds continue to fill the marshes and lakes west of town. Recent arrivals include Sora, Lesser Yellowlegs, Spotted Sandpiper, Solitary Sandpiper, American Avocet, Willet, Long-billed Dowitcher, Marbled Godwit, Semipalmated Plover, Baird's Sandpiper, Wilson's Phalarope, and Common Loon.

In the mountains, Violet-green Swallows, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Pygmy Nuthatch have been seen lately. Recently, a few Northern Saw-whet Owls were heard singing in the Happy Jack area of the Laramie Range.

In town, lots of fun songbird migrants have showed up, including Green-tailed Towhee, Spotted Towhee, House Wren, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, Wilson's Warbler, and Wilson's Warbler. Another Harris's Sparrow was found in town by Laurel Armstrong and stuck around for a few days, offering great looks!

Harris's Sparrow. Photo by Laurel Armstrong.

A great way to keep track of migration is to keep track of NEXRAD radar each night. An excellent website to both look at radar and get some information on how to interpret it is in the link below.

http://www.pauljhurtado.com/US_Composite_Radar/

Laramie Bird Notes -- 4/12 - 4/19

WARBLERS HAVE RETURNED TO THE LARAMIE VALLEY!

Yellow-rumped Warblers (both subspecies and lots of intergrades) are all over right now. Additionally, several Orange-crowned Warblers and a snazzy American Redstart were seen around town today. The warblers seem to be preferentially foraging in deciduous trees and shrubs right now, especially ones that are flowering or budding. The tree area and the Greenbelt have been especially good lately, while Greenhill Cemetery has been relatively birdless.

Waterfowl migration is still underway and there are plenty of birds on the lakes, but new arrivals are likely done for the most part this year. Nonetheless, a Cackling Goose was seen this past week. Furthermore, other waterbirds are just starting to show up. Highlights on the plains lakes this past week include Black-necked Stilt, Semipalmated Plover, Marbled Godwit, American Avocet, White-faced Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Great Egret, Bonaparte's Gull, Western Grebe, and Common Loon.

While checking the plains lakes, be sure to keep an eye to the sky, as swallow diversity also picked up this week, with Barn, Bank, and Northern Rough-winged joining Tree Swallows this week. Violet-green and Cliff Swallows should be right around the corner! American Pipits were also seen on the plains this week.

Sparrows are just starting to make a push into the area, with Savannah Sparrow, Vesper Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, and Lincoln's Sparrow seen recently. An unusual find was a Harris's Sparrow along the Greenbelt. Over the next month or so, checking the Greenbelt and other areas with lots of low-lying vegetation around town could produce this species, which shows up regularly along the Front Range in migration. Why shouldn't they come through Laramie?

The first report of a Hermit Thrush in the area came from a residential area on the east side of town. This species should be picking up quite a bit soon, though perhaps they will skip town as some other songbirds have this year and head straight for the mountains!

Two interesting raptor sightings came this past week from the Greenbelt. The first Osprey of the season was seen flying over the river and a juvenile Northern Goshawk was perched in a cottonwood on the north end of the Greenbelt. Keep a look out for Broad-winged Hawks in the coming weeks!

In non-bird news, a massive movement of Painted Lady butterflies into the valley happened this past week, and they are now quite abundant around town. A few whites (Pieris spp.) have also been seen, though I haven't managed to get good enough looks to identify them to species. Wandering Garter Snakes have emerged from their winter hibernacula as well!

Laramie Bird Notes -- 4/1 - 4/11

Apologies for not posting last week. I was buried in reading/writing for my qualifying exams with little time for anything else!

Spring migration is really hopping right now -- it seems like new arrivals are a daily occurrence. Where to start...

Shorebird migration is just getting started, with Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Wilson's Snipe being reported recently. Other species should be showing up soon, including the fan favorite Mountain Plover, so keep your eyes peeled. The plains lakes and Old Laramie River Road north of town are great places to look for shorebirds. There is also a small pond right near the intersection of 287 N and Highway 34 that can be quite good.

In other waterbird news, Wood Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, Ruddy Duck, Franklin's Gull, White-faced Ibis, Eared Grebe, Horned Grebe, and Pied-billed Grebe have all moved into the area.

Passerine migration is really starting to pick up across all habitat types. Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Mountain Bluebirds have just started to move into the mountains. Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Say's Phoebes, Loggerhead Shrikes, and McCown's Longspurs are all making their way back to the plains. Mourning Doves have been seen around town and the first Yellow-rumped Warblers of the season should be here any day now!

Finally, just yesterday the first Swainson's Hawks of the spring were spotted in several locations around town!

Laramie Bird Notes -- Week of 3/20/2017

Bird activity continues to increase in the area as migrants keep trickling in!

On the plains, Says' Phoebe, Brewer's Blackbird, Sage Thrasher, Cinnamon and Blue-winged Teal are recent arrivals, and Western Meadowlarks showed up in huge numbers seemingly overnight this week. Indeed, during this past weekend's trip to the Greater Sage-Grouse lek north of town, several meadowlarks serenaded the group as we enjoyed the truly bizarre courtship ritual of 56 grouse.

New migrants in town include a somewhat early Ruby-crowned Kinglet for the Laramie Valley on UW campus. Another early migrant was a Red-naped Sapsucker found in a patch of aspens on the east end of town. Common Grackles joined the Red-winged Blackbird flocks around town as well. While Northern Goshawks can be found in the mountains year-round, a young bird soaring over UW campus this week was a nice surprise. Finally, Turkey Vultures are slowly but surely making their way back, with a few reports coming in this week from around town.

Black Rosy Finch. Photo by Nate Behl.

The mountain bird community continues to increase in diversity. American Robins, Townsend's Solitaire's, and Gray-headed Juncos have all returned to high elevations in the Snowy Range. Cassin's Finches continue to increase in number as well and can be heard singing relentlessly from tree tops. An American Goldfinch and a Mountain Bluebird at ~11,000 ft in the Snowies were somewhat odd sightings for the time of year. American Three-toed Woodpeckers have started drumming in spruce forests where they seem to be moderately common and taking advantage of the extensive bark beetle outbreak. Rosy-finches put in a good show this past week, with a handful of Brown-cappeds and Gray-crowneds seen at feeders around Centennial. A flock of 50 rosy finches on an exposed, south-facing slope higher up in the Snowies had all three species, including a gorgeous male Black Rosy Finch!

American Three-toed Woodpecker. Photo by Cody Porter.

In non-bird news, Tiger Salamander migration has picked up around La Bonte park. Be on the lookout for moving salamanders on rainy nights for the rest of the spring! Also, a pasque flower was found in bloom in the Snowies!

Blooming pasque flower. Photo by Cody Porter.

Tiger Salamander. Photo by Cody Porter.

Laramie Bird Notes -- Week of March 13

It's beginning to feel a lot like spring in the Laramie Valley, though we're not celebrating just yet. Nevertheless, the warm weather has really stirred up bird activity in the past week!

Waterbird migration continues to supply the bulk of new birds to the area, with American White Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorant, American Coot, Northern Shoveler, Greater Scaup, and Cinnamon Teal making appearances on the plains lakes recently. Ring-billed, Herring, and California Gulls have also moved back into the area in good numbers. Now would be a good time to pick through those gulls carefully, as there are several interesting species along the Front Range that could conceivably make their way through our area soon (Thayer's, Iceland, and Mew Gull among these species). Great Blue Herons, Sandhill Cranes, and Killdeer are also new additions this week.

In town, Northern Flickers, House Finches, Song Sparrows, Eurasian Collared-Doves, and Pine Siskins are all singing. Juncos are still around, though less common than a few weeks ago when we had colder weather. American Robins have also made a major push into the area and seem to be setting up territories.

Sandhill Cranes. Photo by Nate Behl.

On the plains, Mountain Bluebirds and Horned Larks continue to increase in numbers. Curiously, there are still no Western Meadowlark reports from the plains, though they are almost certainly out there. McCown's and Chestnut-collared Longspurs are making their way up the plains along the Front Range and should be arriving in the next week or so, as should Say's Phoebes. A Marsh Wren at Gelatt Lake marks the first of this species in the area this year.

Pine Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins, and Red Crossbills continue to impress in the Snowies. By contrast, passerine numbers are just starting to increase in the Laramie Range, most notably with the arrival of American Robins. Male Dark-eyed Juncos were heard countersinging in the Snowies, suggesting that Gray-headed Juncos may have arrived and are setting up territories, though no visuals were obtained. At least one Bohemian Waxwing was found along Sand Lake Rd. in the Snowies. As the snow continues to melt, south facing slopes with juniper and bearberry are being exposed, providing food for this and other frugivorous species. Hairy Woodpeckers were also heard singing and drumming in both the Laramie and Snowy Ranges this week and a couple Dusky Grouse were found in the Snowies.

Sadly, Saturday's owling trip to various places in the Laramie Range failed to yield a single owl, as did at least one trip to the Snowies. It's possible that we're just a bit early for owls to be easily detected. Nevertheless, several moths were found flying around at night in both locations, and butterflies should be emerging any day now -- Mourning Cloaks and Milbert's Tortoiseshells were seen in Cheyenne and Curt Gowdy State Park. In other non-avian news, Tiger Salamanders, Boreal Chorus Frogs, and possibly Wandering Garter Snakes should be emerging any day now.

The next few weeks should be quite exciting. This is the time of the year when spring migration combined with heavy, wet spring snowstorms can produce magical birding opportunities in the Rockies. At least some snow is forecast for this week, so get out there!

Laramie Bird Notes: Week of March 6, 2017

It was a week of moody weather in the Laramie Valley, with a couple of signs that bird life is returning to the high plains.

Overhead, you may have begun seeing several groups of birds common during early Spring migration: ducks, geese, and gulls. Due to open water on the plains lakes, many ducks have been reported. Some diving ducks like Lesser Scaup, Redhead, and Canvasback as well as dabbling ducks like Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, and Gadwall all appear to be spending time in our fair county. If you pay attention to the skies above you, even in town, you might have noticed several groups of Canada Goose as well as a dozen or so solitary gulls flying overhead. Yesterday, two birders found a Lesser Black-backed Gull at Meeboer Lake. Gull diversity has certainly grown leaps and bounds in the past week!

Bald Eagle, a bird seen pretty commonly in our area, seem to be migrating through in large numbers lately. Over 30 individuals were reported on the drive back to town from Lake Hattie yesterday.

Up in the Medicine Bow Range on the other side of the valley, our local crossbill experts are still finding birds pairing up to raise young. If you've ever wondered why crossbills breed at all times of the year or anything else about crossbills, check out Cody's lead article in our December 2015 newsletter which you can download here.

As far as songbirds, a quick look on the eBird data report for Albany County shows the only newly reported bird last week was a Cassin's Finch. Mountain Bluebirds continue to pour onto the plains; Cody saw 50 or so yesterday when out birding with a friend. Be heartened, early migrants typically begin showing up in our area beginning in mid- to late-March. Who among us will see the first Lincoln's Sparrow, or Say's Phoebe, or Hermit Thrush of the year? These are all birds that you might expect to show up early, especially if you look hard enough for them. I hope all of you have a chance to go out and look for birds as the weather becomes a bit more friendly.

Good birding,
Cody and Doug

Laramie Bird Notes: Week of February 27, 2017

Despite the windy weather over the last week, bird activity was pretty impressive for this time of the year!

In the migrant department, Dark-eyed Juncos continue to trickle into town and are abundant on UW campus and especially at Greenhill Cemetery. Pink-sided, Slate-colored, Oregon, and White-winged juncos have all been seen around town and in the Snowies recently. Many individuals have been singing, reminding us that spring is...still a couple months away in Laramie. The only missing subspecies is the locally breeding Gray-headed Junco, which should be showing up at some point this month. Mountain Bluebirds and Red-winged Blackbirds also continue to push into the Laramie Valley, so keep an eye out for them on the plains and in the wetlands around town. American Goldfinches, which are pretty uncommon this time of year, were detected at feeders on the east end of town. Thanks to the open water on some of the plains lakes, waterfowl are already making their way into our area in decent numbers. Mallard, Common Merganser, Canada Goose, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Common Goldeneye, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, Canvasback, and Ring-necked Duck have all been seen on either Blake's Pond or Lake Hattie. Nate Behl also had a Barrow's Goldeneye, an uncommon migrant in our area, on Lake Hattie.

Raptors, the staple of winter birding on the high plains, put in a good show this past week, with Golden Eagles, Bald Eagles, and Rough-legged Hawks being especially common. Red-tailed Hawk numbers seem to be slowly increasing. A pair of Ferruginous Hawks, a species that overwinters on the plains in low numbers, were seen between Laramie and Centennial hunting prairie dogs. The pair included one dark and one light morph individual.

The diversity of birds in the Snowy Range this winter continues to delight. Red Crossbills, Pine Siskins, Clark's Nutcrackers, and Pine Grosbeaks are all quite abundant and gearing up to breed. Black-capped Chickadees were heard singing in high elevation drainages this week and a few pairs of Mountain Chickadees were seen nest building. A few Golden-crowned Kinglets and American three-toed Woodpeckers were also found in the spruce forest along Sand Creek Road. With the warm weather this winter, the feeders in Centennial have been less active than usual, though two Gray-crowned Rosy Finches and several Evening Grosbeaks were highlights this week.

Pine Grosbeak feeding on aspen buds. Photo by Cody Porter.

The undisputed highlight of this past week was a flock of 50 Bohemian Waxwings found along the Laramie River west of town. Now would be a very good time to check trees and shrubs with fruit and to pick through those Cedar Waxwings carefully!

Good birding,
Cody and Doug

Laramie Bird Notes: Week of February 20, 2017

Hello readers of the Laramie Audubon Society blog! We (Cody and Doug) are going to begin a weekly report of the birds we see in and around town. You can let us know what birds are around your neck of the woods, too, by leaving a comment below our post!

Last week, we made a concerted effort to break the doldrums of winter and try to see what birds were hiding in Laramie. During daily bird walks on the University of Wyoming campus we were rewarded with a Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana), presumably the same one found earlier in the winter by Don Jones and still hanging around the Agriculture building. Other noteworthy birds on campus were a flock of Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) and singing Pine Siskin (Pinus spinus) and Townsend’s Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi). One of Doug's favorite birds, Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) also showed up this week. You can keep track of what birds are on campus by checking the eBird hotspot for the University of Wyoming.

Moving off campus, we lucked into a flock of Great-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) in West Laramie near the Laramie River. While picking through the flock, Cody noticed a smaller bird that turned out to be a vagrant Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)! We were pretty excited to see an unexpected bird, let alone a species that is almost never seen in southeast Wyoming.

Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) found by Cody Porter in West Laramie. Photo by Nate Behl.

Also in the fields west and north of town we found many wandering mixed flocks of Horned Lark (Eremophila alpestris) and Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus). We didn't manage to find any Snow Buntings in those flocks, but they have been heard flying over town. Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides) has returned to the Laramie Basin and you can also find plenty of predatory birds on the plains like Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus), Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), and Northern Shrike (Lanius excubitor).

Lastly, we wanted to report that some of the plains lakes have open water. Blake's Pond and Lake Hattie both had open water where we found Redhead (Aythya americana), Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris), and Mallard (Anas platyrynchos).

There's a lot of winter ahead, but if you look hard enough you just might find something on the wind-swept plains of Laramie!

Good birding,
Cody and Doug