The 2011 annual conference was based out of Grand Junction, in the heart of Colorado's outrageously scenic West Slope country. Our base of operations was the Doubletree Hotel-Grand Junction. This location is perfect for birders, as it puts us within just a few miles of everything from great lowland riparian habitat to rugged mesa country. The keynote speaker at our evening banquet was Jeff Gordon, President of the American Birding Association. Jeff's keynote address, "Ten Birds that Changed Birding" introduced us to ten birds - from the Ross's Gull in Newburyport to the Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Arkansas - that left their mark on field ornithology as sport and science.
As usual, there was an evening bird identification panel. But it was a bit different this year. Instead of the old "Stump the Chumps" program, this year's offering was a group activity. Everybody in attendance will participate in the "2011 Bird ID Team Challenge". If you like pub night-style quizzes, you would have loved this one. Think of it as group therapy for birders. The event provided high hilarity and no small amount of learning.
At our banquet, there were awards, announcements, and a brief members' meeting. Throughout the meeting, vendors were present, birding organizations, optics companies, and so forth. The Saturday afternoon paper session, featured presentations by well-known Colorado field ornithologists. Best of all, there was constant opportunities for interaction with so many members of Colorado's vibrant birding community. And last, but certainly not least...Field Trips. These were the highlights for most attendees, and this year's field trips were brilliant!
2011 Convention Highlights
- Young Birders' Special. With ABA President Jeff Gordon.
- Slacker Trip: Bare-naked Birding with Ted Floyd. (Rated R.)
- Boreal Owls! This was a special opportunity.
- Shorter Owling Trips. Great owling in and around Grand Junction.
- Departure Trips. Birding on the way to Grand Junction. Several routes.
- All-day Trips. We looked for Scott's Oriole, Gray Vireo, and much more.
- Utah. Building up a Utah state list! Great birding and scenery, including Moab.
- Local birding in Mesa County. Easy birding, big species lists, migrants galore.
- Atlasing: Birding with a Purpose. Discussions on breeding bird biology.
Convention Paper Session Schedule - Saturday May 21
- 2:30 - Nathan Pieplow, "Tone Quality in Bird Sounds"
- 3:00 - Chuck Hundertmark and Jason Beason, "Population Dynamics of Colonial Waterbirds and Other Special Species of North Park, Colorado: 1998 - 2010"
- 3:30 - Christian Nunes, "An Overview of the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Avian Monitoring Projects"
- 4:00 - Christian Nunes, "Geographic Variation and Identification of the Dark-eyed Junco in Colorado"
- 4:30 - Lynn Wickersham, "Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas II - Update"
Convention Bird List
This is a list of species seen by participants in the 2011 Colorado Field Ornithologists (CFO) convention, held 20–23 May 2011 in Grand Junction. This list consists of three parts. The first part is the main list of expected species (n=180) recorded by CFO convention attendees in Mesa, Delta, and Garfield counties; the second part is the list of write-ins (n=20), the sundry "good birds" found by the great birders who attended the convention; and the third part is the list of species (n=9) found by folks on the "departure trips," those long birding road trips from Grand Junction back home to Denver or wherever.
CFO thanks all our wonderful field trip leaders and participants for a memorable convention!.
Main list of expected species (n=180) recorded by CFO convention attendees on regularly scheduled field trips in Mesa, Delta, and Garfield counties.
- Canada Goose
- Duck
- Gadwall
- American Wigeon
- Mallard
- Blue-winged Teal
- Cinnamon Teal
- Northern Shoveler
- Green-winged Teal
- Redhead
- Ring-necked Duck
- Lesser Scaup
- Common Merganser
- Ruddy Duck
- Gambel's Quail
- Chukar
- Ring-necked Pheasant
- Wild Turkey
- Pied-billed Grebe
- Eared Grebe
- Western Grebe
- Clark's Grebe
- Double-crested Cormorant
- American White Pelican
- Great Blue Heron
- Great Egret
- Black-crowned Night-Heron
- White-faced Ibis
- Turkey Vulture
- Osprey
- Bald Eagle
- Northern Harrier
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Cooper's Hawk
- Swainson's Hawk
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Golden Eagle
- American Kestrel
- Peregrine Falcon
- Prairie Falcon
- Virginia Rail
- Sora
- American Coot
- Sandhill Crane
- Semipalmated Plover
- Great Northern Killdeer
- American Avocet
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Willet
- Semipalmated Sandpiper
- Western Sandpiper
- Least Sandpiper
- Long-billed Dowitcher
- Wilson's Snipe
- Wilson's Phalarope
- Red-necked Phalarope
- Bonaparte's Gull
- Franklin's Gull
- Ring-billed Gull
- California Gull
- Forster's Tern
- Rock Pigeon
- Eurasian Collared-Dove
- Morning Dove
- Flammulated Owl
- Western Screech-Owl
- Great Horned Owl
- Boreal Owl
- Northern Saw-whet Owl
- Common Nighthawk
- White-throated Swift
- Black-chinned Hummingbird
- Broad-tailed Hummingbird
- Belted Kingfisher
- Lewis's Woodpecker
- Red-naped Sapsucker
- Downy Woodpecker
- Hairy Woodpecker
- Red-shafted Flicker
- Olive-sided Flycatcher
- Western Wood-Pewee
- Willow Flycatcher
- Hammond's Flycatcher
- Gray Flycatcher
- Dusky Flycatcher
- Cordilleran Flycatcher
- Black Phoebe
- Say's Phoebe
- Ash-throated Flycatcher
- Western Kingbird
- Loggerhead Shrike
- Gray Vireo
- Plumbeous Vireo
- Warbling Vireo
- Gray Jay
- Pinyon Jay
- Steller's Jay
- Western Scrub-Jay
- Clark's Nutcracker
- Black-billed Magpie
- American Crow
- Common Raven
- Horned Lark
- Purple Martin
- Tree Swallow
- Violet-green Swallow
- Northern Rough-winged Swallow
- Bank Swallow
- Barn Swallow
- Cliff Swallow
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Mountain Chickadee
- Juniper Titmouse
- Bushtit
- Red-breasted Nuthatch
- White-breasted Nuthatch
- Rock Wren
- Canyon Wren
- Bewick's Wren
- House Wren
- Marsh Wren
- Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
- American Dipper
- Ruby-crowned Kinglet
- Western Bluebird
- Mountain Bluebird
- Townsend's Solitaire
- Swainson's Thrush
- Hermit Thrush
- American Robin
- Gray Catbird
- Northern Mockingbird
- Sage Thrasher
- European Starling
- American Pipit
- Cedar Waxwing
- Orange-crowned Warbler
- Virginia's Warbler
- Yellow Warbler
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
- Black-throated Gray Warbler
- Common Yellowthroat
- MacGillivray's Warbler
- Wilson's Warbler
- Yellow-breasted Chat
- Green-tailed Towhee
- Spotted Towhee
- Chipping Sparrow
- Brewer's Sparrow
- Vesper Sparrow
- Lark Sparrow
- Black-throated Sparrow
- Sage Sparrow
- Savannah Sparrow
- Slate-colored Fox Sparrow
- Song Sparrow
- Lincoln's Sparrow
- White-crowned Sparrow
- Gray-headed Junco
- Western Tanager
- Black-headed Grosbeak
- Blue Grosbeak
- Lazuli Bunting
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Western Meadowlark
- Yellow-headed Blackbird
- Brewer's Blackbird
- Common Grackle
- Great-tailed Grackle
- Brown-headed Cowbird
- Bullock's Oriole
- Scott's Oriole
- Pine Grosbeak
- Cassin's Finch
- House Finch
- Pine Siskin
- Lesser Goldfinch
- American Goldfinch
- Evening Grosbeak
- House Sparrow
Write-in species (n=20) recorded by CFO convention attendees during the convention proper
- Northern Pintail
- Dusky Grouse
- American Bittern
- Northern Goshawk
- Snowy Egret
- Black-necked Stilt
- Snowy Plover
- Caspian Tern
- Burrowing Owl
- Long-eared Owl
- Cassin's Kingbird
- Eastern Kingbird
- Indigo Bunting
- Townsend's Warbler
- Tennessee Warbler
- American Redstart
- Worm-eating Warbler
- Black-chinned Sparrow
- Lark Bunting
- Bobolink
Sundry species (n=9) recorded by CFO convention during the "Departure Trips" back to Denver or wherever
- Greater Sage-Grouse
- Band-tailed Pigeon
- Pygmy Nuthatch
- Rufous-collared Sparrow
- Summer Tanager
- Red Crossbill
- White-winged Crossbill
- Brown-capped Rosy-Finch
- Black Rosy-Finch