Terry Shores Homeowners Association

Enjoying the Birds Here (... Cheep Thrills )

Our resident birders par excellence, Bob and Dodi Adel, know a lot about the birds passing through the Terry Shores area. They graciously have given their time so we could compile this page for your education and enjoyment. If you would like to jump in with something, please contact the Webmaster.

Starting in the early Springtime White Pelicans begin arriving. Soon after, you'll see Canada Geese, Mallards, and Ring-Billed Gulls.

Also — one of our major treats — the Herons arrive in the rookeries on our island. You'll see both Blue Herons and Black-Crowned Night Herons (the smaller of the two types). The Night Herons take up residence on the north end of the western side of the island. The herons love it here because their nests are protected from foxes and racoons, who are pretty talented but just can't get all the way across from the lake shore to the island.

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Although rookeries were established a few years ago on the island, the Adels caution us that the rookeries won't be there for a long time. Insects are attracted to the fish and other waste around the nests and, at some time, become too much for the birds to handle — they move on. So we should enjoy them as much as possible while we have them. Although a closeup look at the island from a canoe is great, the Adels remind us not to land on the island between the months of April through July. The birds need to be left alone.

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As more birds gather, the Cormorants soon join them -- Turkey Vultures (big black birds with a red head), White Pelicans, and Ospreys, head for the two nesting poles on the west side of the lake. There is another Osprey nesting pole down at the west end of Wilox Lane where it makes a "T" with Shields. If you want to get real close to a nesting pole, try that one.

A while back, the whole area east of Terry Lake used to be available for goose hunting. At that time, geese flew into Long's Pond, Lindenmeir Lake, and Terry Lake. There were also many more Bald Eagles here than there is now. Normally, eagles can't take a wild goose that's still able to fly, so, according to the Adels, tne eagles would sit high in the trees on the west bank of Terry Lake and wait to pick off geese that had been wounded but had managed to get themselves out onto the ice.

Fortunately, we still have eagles coming through the area. Just not as many. You have to be more vigilant to spot them but every so often you can see one or two flying around the lake or regally checking things out from a high perch.

Terry Lake is located along the migration route for many birds. They are driven out of the colder areas up north and come here during the Winter. Examples are two types of Waxwings; Cedar and Bohemian. These birds are not normally seen here during the early Spring and Summer, but come down here from the north in the Fall and Winter. For food, they'll strip off the dry, dead berries from the Mountain Ash and Hawthorns.

Yellow Warblers and Western Tannengers come through on their way to the mountains — to Red Feather Lakes or higher — where they can find more insects and seeds.

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The Adels gave quite a few hints on how to make your property more attractive to many of the birds that come through here. But it looks like this topic should be approached with care. Some residents here are having problems with certain types of birds that take a liking to their house. More research will be done on this issue and hopefully some good advice could be published here that will help you balance your needs vis-a-vis the habits of the birds.

According to the Adels, there is a very fine Audubon Club in this area. The folks here are more than glad to take you birding. Also, in the past, Jax has held birding classes, taught by Kevin Cook, a naturalist writing for the Coloradoan.

There also a very informative organization called CoBirds, which is owned by the Colorado Field Ornithologists (www.cfo-link.org). They publish a list of bird sightings in this area. To subscribe to the CoBirds list or to find more information go to cfo-link.org/birding/COBirds.php.

For comprehensive Colorado birding site information and directions go to www.coloradocountybirding.com.

Check out CSU's Environmental Learning Center and the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory. North Entrance is on Prospect, about a mile west of I-25. Call Shelley at 482-1707 or e-mail her at shelley.morrell@rmbo.org for information on the latest happenings.

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