In addition to the Parula sighting mentioned by Connie Kogler, and the birds listed by Gary Lefko at Latham, I wanted to tack on a couple additional birds of interest.
Lower Latham - Rd 48 ---------------------------- Dunlin - in alternate plumage. Still present from yesterday. A very handsome individual, mostly hanging out near Killdeer just off the south side of the road. Glossy Ibis - I managed to tease one out of the main flock that was mostly spending its time on the west portion of the 'birdy' section. Great-tailed Grackles - dozens. It's starting to sound like south Texas out there. Sora - many calling this morning. Wilson's Snipe - several making that wonderful winnowing 'song' Beebe Draw - Rd 42 -------------------------- 2 Baird's Sandpipers 7 Long-billed Dowitchers (I also saw the Long-billed Curlew mentioned by Gary) Crow Valley Campground --------------------------------- Mississippi Kite - This one is a little problematic. I encountered this bird about 3 minutes after I arrived, and was taken aback by its odd appearance. I didn't initially identify it as a MIKI partly because of this. The general plumage pattern fit a MIKI but all the gray parts appeared to have a very buffy cast to them, and I also thought I detected faint buffy barring on the chest, to the point that I was wondering if I was just seeing a very aberrant Accipiter. That is, an Accipiter with a light, buffy-cast head. Now, the dumbest part of all this is that I could have taken a pretty good photo of this bird, if I hadn't LEFT MY CAMERA IN THE CAR. After 4-5 minutes of careful observation (it was in the SE corner), I decided to make a run for my car and get it, thinking that because the bird seemed to be staying put nicely even in the increasing wind, it might work. (There was literally nobody else anywhere in the campground to help.) It was a calculated risk, and unfortunately I rolled the dice and lost. The bird was gone when I got back 2 minutes later. I spent much of the next 2 hours scouring Crow Valley CG looking for this funky raptor, but couldn't find it. After mulling it over for the next couple hours, I've concluded with perhaps 90-95% certainty that it was indeed a Mississippi Kite. I just can't think of any other North American raptor that ever could look quite like this, unless an Accipiter can have a light buffy head. (To be honest, my very first impression when I saw it was Yellow-headed Caracara, before I got serious.) Amusingly, I did see an immature Sharp-shinned Hawk during my search for the mystery bird, and I am 100% certain that this Sharpie was *not* the bird I saw first, in part (among other things) because the head looked normal for an accipiter of that age. Anyway, I regret not publicizing this a little earlier, but given my nagging uncertainty about the ID, embarrassment over not having my camera handy, and fear of sounding crazy, I delayed it until now. If you are interested in looking for it, good luck. -- Eric DeFonso Fort Collins, CO --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Join us at the 2009 Convention in Alamosa: http://cfo-link.org/convention/index.php You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.as/group/cobirds?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
