Teen Naturalists Plot Bald Eagle Roosts and Set Christmas Count Record
On November 12th, nine teen naturalists and several of their parents and friends hiked the White Rocks Trail to map perching locations of bald eagles and other raptors within the Boulder Creek floodplain east of 75th St. Data from these hikes will help inform future trail development within this floodplain, much of which is designated as critical wildlife habitat in the Boulder County Comprehensive Plan.
The group mapped perching locations of five Bald Eagles, two Woodland ("Cooper's") Hawks, and three Red-tailed Hawks. A highlight was the appearance of a mink, who ambled up to within a foot or two of one of our teen participants as she sat on a log.
Six Teen Naturalists participated in the December 18 Boulder Christmas bird count. The Eldorado Mountain (Area 7) group set an informal record when they saw 444 individuals within Doudy Draw and on Flatirons Vista, alone. Flocks of chickadees, nuthatches, crossbills, and Crested Conifer ("Stellar's") Jays had gathered on Flatirons Vista to feast on a bountiful ponderosa pine cone crop. The group also witnessed a magpie riding on the back of one of six giant bull elks and 60 magpies perched together in a small, Christmas-tree-shaped ponderosa pine.
Upcoming trips will include wild duck photography in Clear Creek on Saturday, January 21, and another winter raptor survey along White Rocks Trail on Sunday, February 19.
To find out more, visit the Teen Naturalist webpage.
Teen Naturalists participating in Fall 2022: Ally DelPrete, Gavin Fisher, Lucian Gaddis, Arya Glover-Torab, Owen Robertson, Charli Robinson, Lou Schulte, Ella Stephens-Green, Raelen Schmidgall, Annelise Trampedach, Claire Van Tol, Calliope Westhoven, Miles Yeater, and Audrey Yeater.
Trip leaders in Fall 2022: Steve Jones, Dave Sutherland, Regner Trampedach, Elena Klaver, and Scott Severs