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AERIE ADVENTURES

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AERIE ADVENTURES

We are a small family-owned birding tour outfit based out of Lakewood, Colorado
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We are a small birding tour company operating out of Lakewood, Colorado, and specializing in fun! We take our birding seriously but never lose track of the fact that birding should be, first and foremost, a good time.

01/27/2024

It's been a while since I put up a few bird photos, so I thought it was about time. The year started off with quite a bang; I joined Mike Serruto for a Christmas Bird Count in the morning of New Year's Day. Then I rushed over to Wheatridge, where there was all kinds of excitement going on along Clear Creek. There were several levels of rarities being seen, and some interesting, if not exactly rare, birds. The real surprise was a Cape may warbler, which in January should be somewhere in the West Indies. A somewhat off-range black phoebe joined the party, and a small flock of rusty blackbirds showed up. Some not uncommon but very interesting species were there, too, including American dipper and Wilson's snipe.

09/22/2019

Even with the enormous losses of birds that we have suffered over the past couple of decades, interesting things still show up from time to time. I have had opportunities to chase a couple of them.

09/22/2019

On our last full day on the Olympic Peninsula we visited another birding hotspot, John Wayne Marina. Apparently years ago the Duke thought the area would be great for a resort-type development. I'm not sure how it worked out overall, but there is a nice marina there and it's a great spot for birds. We picked up a sapsucker there as well as some waterfowl. We followed up with another stop further down the bay, and then headed for the hotel. It was a terrific trip, with a lot of great birds and some world-class scenery.
Stay tuned! We are scheming up a return trip to Southern California to work the Palm Springs area, a tour we did a number of years ago with great success. The area is rich with birding opportunities, including Anza-Borrego State Park, the Salton Sea, Joshua Tree National Park, Big Morongo Canyon, the San Jacinto Mountains and more!

09/20/2019

On the 1st we left the interior and headed for the coast, with our first stop being Cape Flattery. This super-scenic point is the northwestern-most point in the lower 48. A 3/4 mile walk takes you out to an overlook with views of the surrounding coves, sea caves and waters of the Pacific. It is a good place to pick up species like tufted puffin, pelagic cormorant and black oystercatcher. We stopped at Neah Bay, a village on the Makah Indian Reservation which is great for birding on the bay, followed by a visit to their cultural center.
The Olympic Peninsula adventure continued as we worked our way from Cape Flattery to the Strait of Juan de Fuca along the northwest border of Washington/Canada. Our first stop was Ediz Hook, a jetty-type projection out into the strait that allows auto traffic. The bay behind the hook is often good for alcids, loons, ducks and other assorted waterfowl as well as a few raptors and songbirds. From there we headed to the other side of town (Port Angeles) to the Olympic National Park visitor center. There is a nice short trail that begins at the center and passes through woodlands and some brushy prairie. There is almost always something interesting there and this day was no exception. We then made the short drive over to Sequim (pronounced "skwim") and stopped at the Audubon Center/Railroad Bridge Park and Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge. We got everyone their Anna's hummingbird at the Center and some great views at the refuge, which is another natural hook-type formation that allows walking but no vehicle access. We hiked out to the overlook point and down and along the spit. Wind depressed the birding a bit, but we added a few species and enjoyed the sights, sounds and ambience of the wind off the strait.

09/20/2019

Two weeks ago I and a pack of my birding cronies returned from a tour of Washington and the Olympic Peninsula. This was the most recent in our "Birds in Landscapes" tours which have taken us to the Sierras, Yellowstone in Winter, the Florida Keys and Tortugas, Crater Lake and more. On this trip we visited Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, Cape Flattery and several areas along the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Port Angeles and Sequim. We marveled at the scenery, admired the birds and just generally had a fine time. Here are a few pics of our first couple of days.

04/30/2019

The stretch run. On March 5th we visited an indigenous village. Here we connected with our guides for the day, and set off on a nine mile round trip hike to look for harpy eagle. Along the way we encountered four young women from the village. I think at least one of them was a student, home on spring break. Since we did not speak each other's language, we had to rely on whatever Luis had time to translate for us. After the harpy, we searched for the equally impressive crested eagle.
The following day we began our journey back to Panama City for flights home. Along the way we birded at Camino al el Salto and the Rio Torti. Several fine birds served as the cherry on our bird sundae!

04/29/2019

Day 9 found us heading east. Our first visit was to the San Francisco) Reserve, and then it was on into the Darien and the town of Meteti. We had time in late afternoon to visit Lajos Blancas, where we found a couple rarities (according to Luis, who was quite excited at their discovery!).

04/27/2019

In completing the last post, I realized that I had omitted a couple of very worthy candidates.....

04/27/2019

OK, back to the Panama excursion. March 3rd was a transitional day. We started the day in Cerro Azul, the Blue Mountains above Panama City. Here we drove the winding roads, stopping at various sites for specialty birds, and ending up at the house of some friends of Luis who have a nice array of hummingbird and fruit feeders. These feeders attract hummers, honeycreepers, tanagers and many other birds. You can sit on their porch and watch for hours, never tiring of the endless array of colorful species. After this delightful experience, we visited a few more sites and then began our drive to the east, and into the Darien Province. All in all, it was one of our most spectacular days, and that's saying something. And I hope you will pardon the volume of photos- this is one of those areas from which it's hard to decide what to share, and what to omit. Trust me, for every photo here there a several dozen still awaiting their debut!

04/21/2019

Day 7 in Panama. Yesterday we had our afternoon at the Canal, and today we are hanging close to Panama City. We'll visit several habitats, including the jungle along the Pipeline Road and in Chagres National Park, upland dry forest at Old Gamboa Road, mudflats at Panama Viejo (Old Panama City), and Summit Ponds.

04/11/2019

Day 5, Feb. 28. We bid goodbye to February with a day split between the Plantation Road and the Canal. I was still trying to adjust my (limited) camera skills to shooting in heavy shade, often up into the canopy. On this day I got several very mediocre shots of really good birds. At least at the Canal we were in bright sunlight. It was a relief to have something easy to photograph! The Canal visitor center is really well done. If you ever happen to be in the area, don't miss it. They have extensive displays on the construction process, which was near-miraculous for the day. There are also presentations on the natural history of the area. And best of all, they have coffee!

04/07/2019

Day 5 (2/27) found us visiting Via Cerro Punta, Macho de Monte and the Parque Nacional La Amistad (International Peace Park), which straddles the Panama/Costa Rica border. All are great birding sites....

03/26/2019

Day 3 in Panama (Feb. 26) was memorable to say the least. We started our day in the mists at Bajo Grande, a large valley near the town of Volcan where we were staying. This area is somewhat mountainous, and the local Ngobe Bugle indigenous people farm on steep hillsides. The amount of effort it must take to maintain those fields must be enormous. The birding up at our destination site was fairly amazing, as you will see.....after Bajo, we returned to town for lunch, and then visited Lagunas de Volcan (Volcano Lakes).

03/23/2019

Day 2 (Feb. 25) continued at Paraiso, with a stroll around the property. Our first hour was spent in the immediate vicinity of the house. One big tree nearby had over fifteen species in it, and the feeders at the house yielded another dozen or so. It wasn't necessary to go far to find a lot of birds, but we embarked on a quarter mile walk to some nearby pastures, where impressive oropendola nests hung from large isolated trees. These nests look like an oriole nest on steroids, consisting of a suspended bag a couple of feet long. We watched in amazement as adult oropendulas (not a small bird) dived into the nests, presumably to feed young contained therein. In the pasture, I scratched a cow's head and received a sloppy smooch in return.....

03/19/2019

Day 2 in Panama, and it was time to catch a flight from Panama City over to David in Chiriqui Provence. Chiriqui abuts the border with Costa Rica and features savannahs and low mountains. Here the indigenous Ngobe Bugle people farm on unbelievably steep hillsides. We watched in awe of their industriousness as they hauled equipment up these slopes and worked their seemingly vertical croplands. Here also are found Bajo Grande, home of the quetzals, and Parque Internacional la Amistad, the International Park of Peace, shared with Costa Rica.
After our flight, we began our day at Paraiso, "Birding Paradise". This is a homestead owned by a friend of our guide Luis, and the name is not an overstatement. During our visit we recorded over eighty species, and there were more that we did not see.

03/16/2019

In late February ten of us headed down to Panama for two weeks of birding. Panama has over one thousand species of birds, about the same as all of North America in this small country. Our travels would take us along the Panama Canal at Gamboa, over to Parque Nacional La Amistad on the Costa Rica border, and into Darien in the east near Colombia. We would see over 340 species of birds and a lot of great country with our marvelous guide, Luis. Our first couple of days were spent exploring the area just east of the Canal, including the famous Pipeline Road (which follows an old oil pipeline across the country) and the Canopy Tower.

03/16/2019

The butt end of a truly strange bird, the great potoo. When we came back couple of days later, the bird was in exactly the same place.

03/16/2019

Three-toed sloth working the treetops.

03/16/2019

Another of the motmot.

03/16/2019

Another of the antpitta.

03/16/2019

There was also wildlife along the way, including several species of monkeys. This is a capuchin with its baby.

03/16/2019

Another view of the shrike-vireo.

03/16/2019

Another fascinating group is the antwrens. This is a moustached antwren. Most of them are found in thickets near the forest floor, but this little guy was way up in the canopy. There are antwrens, antshrikes, antpittas and ant-all-kinds-of-things, the result of the birds following ant swarms to either dine on the ants, or on the other insects they kick up along the way.

03/16/2019

By now you have figured out that many of the bird families in Panama have a LOT of members. The woodpeckers are no exception, and the size and color variation among the 'peckers is remarkable. This is a cinnamon woodpecker, one of my favorites.

03/16/2019

A blue dacnis, one of the myriad of birds in the tanager group that lights up the landscape.

03/16/2019

Scaled pigeon, one of many pigeon and dove species in Panama.

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Lakewood, CO
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Videos

Dipper at LeHardy

Here's a quick video of a sharp-tail doing his thing. I'll be headed up to NW CO this weekend with a museum group to see the sharpies and the greater-sage doing their dances. The weather is always a question, but it looks like it's going to be nice, unlike two years ago when I encountered the mother of all blizzards.....