40° F = SLUSH

This afternoon I ran down on Lyons’ slushy roads and trails. Starting at the Lyons Middle/High School with XC Coach Akers, alumni and former State Champion Andrew Roberts (he runs for CSU now), plus a couple other Lyons' runners, and Masai of course, I only noted European Starlings and House Finches. After the next mile or so I lagged back to an easier pace and started to see/hear new birds - Dark-eyed Juncos fluttering up from the bank of the road, Black-capped Chickadees around every corner, the raspy chick-a-dee-dee-deee of a Mountain Chickadee, and a flash of a Flicker’s orange wings.

We worked our way through town to Meadow Park and followed Old South Saint Vrain Road almost to the far end (that’s when I got behind) and cut back to the school on a dirt road. Birding hotspot Old South was the most productive area where I saw three new Sweaty Sanderling birds - a Downy Woodpecker, three American Crows flying by the towering sandstone cliffs, and a total count of three Brown Creepers heard here and there. My total count for my 44 minute, 5.4 mile run was a measly nine species!

Birds Seen/Heard While Running:

Downy Woodpecker (new) – 1

“Red-shafted” Flicker – 1

American Crow (new) – 3

Black-capped Chickadee – 9

Mountain Chickadee – 1

Brown Creeper (new) – 3

European Starling – 2

Dark-eyed Junco – 20

House Finch – 4

2011 SWSA Totals:

Species = 22

Miles Run = 11.7

Time Running = 101 minutes

Species/Mile = 1.88034188…

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Masai adds:

Concentrating on finding birds while at the same time trying to keep pace with Coach Akers and Andrew resulted in my missing all but four of the species Welch found, with only a single new SWSA species, a calling Brown Creeper. I ended the 5.5 mile run with, wait for it, four species!

2011 SWSA Totals:

Species = 19

Miles Run = 11.85

Time Running = 1:42 Hours

Species/Mile = 1.60337552742616...

A Dipper Day (plus more ice)

American Dipper - by Joel Such

In an effort to get away from our usual low species density haunts in the foothills, Welch and I ran down in town this afternoon. Starting out at the library, we ran along the Saint Vrain River through Bohn Park, a loop up through the cemetery and back, totaling a bit over three miles. Almost immediately we started getting new Sweaty Sanderling birds . . . a calling Black-capped Chickadee, a couple dozen cheruping House Sparrows, a Belted Kingfisher's startling rattle, and a flyover flock of Canada Geese. And everywhere we went, we could not avoid at least an inch of solid ice or packed snow, and the usual slipping and sliding that accompanies it.

We ended the run with a total of 14 species (11 of which were new!), a couple less than expected, but a good total nonetheless. By far the best bird was an American Dipper found in one of the few open stretches of water (Welch was practically jogging in place while I sprinted back over from the other side of the bridge to see it).

Also, as a side note, I’d like to state that it is not possible to do a morning run in Colorado at the moment. It’s generally about 5 or 10° below zero (Fahrenheit) in the morning, and accordingly no birds. “Warm” around here at the moment is 25 degrees, and the afternoons show the peak in bird activity.

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Canada Goose (new) – 12

Eurasian Collared-Dove (new) – 4

Belted Kingfisher (new) – 1

“Red-shafted” Northern Flicker (new) – 10

Black-billed Magpie – 3

Common Raven – 1

Black-capped Chickadee (new) – 7

American Dipper (new) – 1

Townsend’s Solitaire (new) – 2

American Robin (new) – 6

European Starling (new) – 10

Dark-eyed Junco – 20

House Finch (new) – 10

House Sparrow (new) – 20

--

Total SWSA Species (for year) = 18 (19 for Welch)

Total Miles Run = 6.3

Species/Mile = 2.857142857142857… (3.015873015873016… for Welch)

Snow and Ice . . .

"Harlan's" Red-tailed Hawk - by Joel Such

Being unable to hit the road on January 1^st due to residual symptoms from an end-of-the-year virus, Welch and I were finally able start up our 2011 SWSA lists on January 2nd. Almost as soon as we turned out of the driveway – slipping and sliding on ice, and only miraculously keeping our feet on the road – a flock of Pygmy Nuthatches, the near omnipresent denizen of the Ponderosa Pine foothills of Colorado, started up their rambunctious piping calls. First bird of the run.

On the other side of the half-mile long icy-slope-of-doom, we were relieved to finally start hearing/seeing birds (other than the Munchkin Nuthatches) . . . a few Dark-eyed Juncos and a couple Mountain Chickadees. We managed to tally an incredible nine species (eight for myself, having missed a calling American Goldfinch that Welch heard). Note: I only had three species for my last run of 2010. We know, a bit of a let down from Pippin’s 10, the Bunny’s 20, and Skinky's 69, but we do our best. The highlight of the 3.2 miles of slipping and sliding was a “Harlan’s” Hawk accompanied by a typical Red-tail.

First Injury of the Year!

I promise, it's nowhere near as exciting as what you're probably imagining at the moment.

So, I was sitting in my bedroom reading about polyphony on earbirding.com (win) when I received a frantic phone call from my mom.

"NEEIL!! COME PICK ME UP RIGHT NOW, THERE ARE FOUR DOGS ATTACKING ME AND CHESTNUT!!"

As you can imagine, I jumped up and started descending the staircase at a frightening velocity. Only problem: my right foot was dreadfully asleep, and I fell down a stair or two and twisted my foot.

SHHHII---OOOOOOT! I howled, and grabbed the keys and flew out the door.

Turns out the dog attack was understandably exaggerated--my mom's assailants turned tail and fled when she started yelling at them.

It didn't occur to me that running 6.5 miles later in the afternoon would be a bad idea. I just did it, finding fourteen new SWSA birds, including some goodies like Ring-necked Duck, White-tailed Kite, and American Kestrel. Total = 83

Now my foot feels like someone dropped a sledgehammer (or perhaps a very fat Applesauce) on it. Ouuuch.

Afternoon Run

Having stayed up until four am on New Years Eve/New Years night, I slept in far too much to make my first run of the year yesterday. On top of that, this morning I completely slept through 2 and 1/2 hours of my alarm continually going off. (needless to say, that woke everybody else up) That left only one option - run in the afternoon. The birds of course are better in the morning and that is when I always run, so I was dreading every part of having to go out in the afternoon.

When I finally get running, it was clear I'd made some mistakes. One was having brand new, not broken in running shoes. I should have just run in my old ones. Another mistake was having relied on this morning's temperature for how to dress and disregarding the fact that a major cold front came in this afternoon. And finally forgetting to put on my sunglasses when the sun was at the same level of my eyes was and major goof. So five minutes into my first run of the year I was mentally cussing out the idea.

Without my camera I felt totally useless and the few birds I saw where far more in the open and cooperative than they ever are when I carry my camera. Eh well. Overall, the birding wasn't too great - only ten species total and none worth mentioning besides the cooper's hawk that was perched right above the path I was running on. But it was a good start and the home-made oatmeal rasin cookies I'm eating right now while I right this make it totally worth it.

Wind and a Warbler

I glanced at my temperature gauge, 40 degrees. I put on shorts and shirt, and walked outside and was met with a fearsome gale that didn't think it was a good idea for me to go running. I ran inside, put on some wind pants and a windbreaker, and went back outside, defiantly.

I decided it was a good idea to straight into the wind. I don't know how I come up with these brilliant ideas. The first mile went by without a single bird. After the second mile I had seen a grand total of two species. The birds were definitely smarter than me and weren't out in wild weather. Finally I saw a flock of mallards, and a bit later, a Kestrel and a Cooper's Hawk, and a few common birds. As I neared my house I decided to run one loop around my property. Running by my feeders I spotted the incontrovertible best species of the run (unless maybe compared to that House Sparrow...) a Yellow-throated Warbler that's been hanging around our feeder for the last 2 days. I have know idea why it's not way down south right now. Maybe it's decision to stay puts its intelligence on par with mine?

I ended my 7 mile run with a grand total of...wait for it, 20 species! I'll hope for better weather tomorrow.

And, Ecuador is completely legal!

Sore Sanderlings

A few discoveries I made today:

1) Beach running is awesome
2) Changing pants in a crowded parking lot is...awkward
3) Running makes sore calves even more sore

When my obnoxious phone alarm went off at six this morning, I didn't feel like getting up. So I didn't. I slept for an extra hour. Not an auspacious start to the year.

By the time I was finally trotting down the street to start my usual four-mile loop through the nearby flood control basin, I was thoroughly ticked off. It was cold, my calves felt as if they'd been methodically beaten with a baseball bat (or perhaps a crowbar), and I was hungry. Breakfast is one of the main reasons I wake up in the morning, and depriving myself of the pleasure of a bowl of granola is a sure way to put myself in a bad mood.

It was a good enough run. I wallowed through plenty of mud, saw a couple California Gnatcatchers, and chuckled at my fossilized FiveFingers tracks from a few days ago. It looks like someone went barefoot...with the bottoms of their feet covered in warts. Gross.

I wasn't satisfied with the thirty-three species I found on this first run...I wanted to stage a blitzkrieg that none could resist. So, I went for another run--at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, a coastal estuary that just happens to be an awesome birding spot. I put in another 3.5 miles here and destroyed Dunlin, among other birds. The last stint followed the beach for a mile or so, where I ran in the company of a band of legitamate Sanderlings for a ways. After making the obligatory pilgrimmage to the Portable Toilet of Horrors, I cruised home while listening to Stevie Nicks and munching on a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich (yes, the peanut butter was chunky, but unfortunately the jelly had to be strawberry. Yuck.)

I was almost home when I realized I was still wearing my FiveFingers. They're starting to feel like part of my body; I can't decide whether that's good or bad.

Oh, totals! Sixty-nine.