Boulder County Wildlife's Boletim

When spring springs, thousands of water birds leave their southern homes for the breeding grounds of the north. Many stop over in Boulder County on our ponds, creeks and reservoirs. Although most of these birds are just taking a break from their long journey before continuing northwards, some will stay in the area to breed.

Late February and March are great times to go duck watching. Sawhill and Walden Ponds, Baseline and Lagerman Reservoirs, or the ponds at Pella Crossing offer some of our best spring birdwatching.

Expect to find gadwalls and wigeons, mallards and several kinds of teal, northern shovelers, and maybe a pintail or a wood duck! You may see these ducks in shallow water, tipping their bottoms up into the air while their feet kick furiously. This behavior, called dabbling, lets the ducks pick food off the shallow bottom of the pond.

Photo: A Cinnamon Teal takes flight. Photo by DP Lawrence, visit his profile here: 
https://www.inaturalist.org/people/dplawrance

Also watch out for diving ducks, which prefer deeper water: redheads, buffleheads, groups of mergansers and goldeneyes, and elegant canvasbacks. The divers will disappear underwater sometimes for up to a minute as they swim about using their strong feet for propulsion. Just when you think they have gone, one will pop up suddenly like a cork. By feeding in deep waters, these ducks avoid competition for food with their dabbling cousins.

Climate change may affect the timing of spring migration. By documenting ducks on the move with iNaturalist, you are helping to build a data set that supports scientists as they track changes to migration patterns over time. We look forward to seeing your observations!

Get ready: the 2020 City Nature Challenge is coming up in April, and we need YOU to help us show the world just how wild the Denver-Boulder region is!

From April 24 – May 3, 2020, Boulder County and the Denver Metro Area are teaming up to compete in this year’s City Nature Challenge (CNC)! Last year, our region came up with a whopping 6,211 total observations, 970 identified plant and wildlife species, and had 406 observers and 259 identifiers.

There is nature all around us, even in our cities. Knowing what species are here and where they are helps us study and protect them, but the ONLY way to effectively do that is by working together (scientists, land managers, community members, you name it) to find and document nature in our area. By participating in the CNC, not only do you learn more about local nature, but you can also make our urban areas a better place – for you and our wild neighbors!

The competition will take place in two phases: the first four days, April 24 – 27, are the bioblitz. We need you all to get out and document as many plant and wildlife observations via iNaturalist as possible. During the last six days, April 28 – May 3, participants can upload their observations taken during the bioblitz, and help identify and verify observations. The Boulder-Denver Metro Area City Nature Challenge encompasses Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson Counties.

To receive updates, join the iNaturalist project. Since the project is set up as a bioblitz, all you need to do is upload your observations taken during the April 24 – 27 timeframe by May 3rd at 11:59pm and they’ll automatically be counted. If you observe any species of wildlife throughout Boulder County, remember to continue adding to the Boulder County Wildlife Project, too!

We have some awesome prizes available to participants this year, ranging from REI’s Flash 18 Print Backpacks, nature photography coffee table books, trail guides, and more. Make sure you set aside some time to get outside! And bring a friend or family member along, will ya?!

For more information about the Denver-Boulder CNC and to learn about events in the area, check out this page and follow us on Facebook. Questions? Contact Melanie Hill at the WILD Foundation, melanie@wild.org.