The 2024 Great Boulder Caper Recap
Adapted with permission from Ted Floyd’s COBirds post (Nov. 29, 2024).
The 2024 Great Boulder Caper was great fun. Sixteen bundled-up birders got things going shortly after sunrise this chilly Friday morning, Nov. 29, and four intrepid birders were still Capering well past sundown. A few lone birders, who were just out for the day, joined us for portions of the trip.
The Great Boulder Caper is held annually on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The Caper was originated and led most years by Ted Floyd. This year’s trip was co-led by Elena Klaver and Megan Jones Patterson. You can review the full trip report on eBird.
A few highlights from each stop during the day:
McIntosh Lake, Longmont, CO—4 Snow Geese, 1 Greater White-fronted Goose, 3 Snow Goose x Cackling Goose hybrids, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Eared Grebe, 1 Northern Shrike, and the first of 10 Bald Eagles we would see on The Caper.
Golden Ponds, Longmont, CO—4 more Snow Geese, 1 Ross’s Goose, 1 Bonaparte’s Gull, the first of 5 Ferruginous Hawks on The Caper, 1 Marsh Wren, 1 American Dipper, and 1 Swamp Sparrow.
Lagerman Reservoir, Longmont, CO—85 Northern Pintails, 44 Ruddy Ducks, 1 tardy Least Sandpiper, and 1 light-morph rough-legged hawk.
Swede Lake No. 1, Longmont, CO—a Blue Goose (the dark variant of Snow Goose), 2 more Greater White-fronted Geese, 4 more Snow Goose x Cackling Goose hybrids, and the first of 6 Golden Eagles on The Caper.
In the vicinity of a residence along Old South St. Vrain Rd., Lyons, CO—45 Thanksgiving survivors (aka Wild Turkeys), 4 Steller’s Jays, 4 Woodhouse’s Jays, 1 White-throated Sparrow, and a diverse junco flock (with slate-colored, Cassiar, Oregon, pink-sided, and gray-headed juncos).
Bitterbrush trailhead, Hall Ranch, Lyons, CO—only eagles! 2 bald and 3 golden.
Legion Park overlooking Boulder Reservoir, Boulder, CO—a Horned Grebe and the merganser motherlode; one pod had 1,081 Common Mergansers (direct count by Ted, not an estimate!).
Sawhill Ponds, Boulder, CO—a singing Eastern Screech-owl.
A wonderful Caper! Thank you to everyone who led and participated in trip for the mirth & good cheer. Consider joining the trip in 2025 or starting your own caper tradition in your local area.
