Hi Folks- we ran the 84th Boulder CBC on a mercifully calm 14 December 2025. I now have all of the territory reports and can sum up the count as "WOW!"
Our count day total of 110 species ties our best tally in the last 10 years, with 5 more count-week species coming in to reach 115 total for our 2025 count window.
Our participation was outstanding, with 184 folks contributing their talents in the field and watching feeders. This is our top figure in the past 10 years (and probably ever, gonna have to dig back to check on this.) I know a big part of our success is covering most of our 33 territories so well, with a total of 54 parties in the field throughout the day as many of the larger groups split into smaller teams to cover their areas even better.
Our success is a direct reflection of the quality of our leaders and the effort they put into the count- thanks and kudos to you all! We only had one territory go uncounted this year- Lefthand Canyon. Maybe a new Chukar population is being missed up there, ha ha!!
Leading the bird news are 4(!!!!) new species for the count: Spotted Sandpiper, Tennessee Warbler, Nashville Warbler, and Northern Parula. The Spottie was in the White Rocks area and the choice warblers were holdouts from the fall's "Magic Tree" spectacle along the creek by Boulder HS. These bring our all-time species total on the count to 224 species.
Other rarities, seen 10 or fewer times previously on the count, were Lapland Longspur (4 prior counts), a count-week Great-tailed Grackle (which has been ticked on 5 prior counts but a CW bird won't add to that total), Say's Phoebe & N. Saw-whet Owl (6 prior), Hermit Thrush and a CW Eared Grebe (8 prior), and Ross's Goose (9 prior.) Somewhat astounding given their aforementioned paucity were counts of 5 Say's Phoebes and 3 Hermit Thrushes this year.
Surely giving its finder Matt H a jolt of adrenaline was a drake Eurasian X American Wigeon hybrid that looked a lot like the Euro version but had traits of both parental species visible upon close scrutiny.
Two non-bird standouts (and I think also new to the count) were a bat species seen over Harper Lake in the Teller Lakes S. territory and an Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer (snake) in the Boulder Reservoir territory. Probably not great news for either individual organism to be out in the unusual December warmth but for sure a sign of our very temperate fall and early winter.
Cheers- Bill Schmoker, Longmont Boulder CBC Compiler -- /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ Bill Schmoker <bill.schmoker...> <720/201-5749> \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
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