This is a late report because I didn't want to make the errors that I am prone to do when I stay up late to put photos on my blog and post about birds. Recently I pushed to get photos up on my blog and made a glaring error of calling a obvious Black-necked Stilt on a nest a American Avocet (I know, I know, they look very different especially in breeding plumage but I had Am Avocets on my mind as I was going to post that I was surprised to not find any of them breeding in the Lower Ark Valley and I edited the pics after midnight, my goofy error time). I needed to get the photos on my blog and check identification info.
So, yesterday I got out of a meeting I had in the Salida area at 3:30 and did some late afternoon birding. I will post about the rest of the birding later but I heard a meadowlark giving an Eastern Meadowlark song in an agricultural field on the west side of Salida (Feather Lane and CR156 in Pinyon Hills subdivision). I was able to get some good photos of this bird and it shows distinct white malars and dark streaks on it's sides as noted by Sibley. It looks darker and browner on it's upperparts from Western Meadowlarks, and with less "discrete barring on wings" as noted in "Birds of North America" online but those are real subtle and relative. In 2006 Van Truan found a meadowlark singing an Eastern Meadowlark song just west of Salida. I was able to refind that bird then and heard it's song but it was too distint for determing field marks. But I think this bird with it's eastern song , white malars and dark streaks on side has good field marks for Eastern Meadowlark. I am certainly open to correction. I also got a photo a sparrow that I believe is a probable Baird's, a species I do not have experience with. It song stopped me as I drove by--distinctive, tinkling and with trills. The photo is from the back, which is also what my view of the bird was before it dropped into the tall grasses. You can see that pic with a discussion of field marks and the Eastern Meadowlark pics on my blog at http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com I also saw a very large flock of Pinyon Jays in that Pinyon Hills subdivision--more later. SeEtta Moss Canon City http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
