Tonight I was rewarded with a phoebe trifecta, an event that occurs only once or twice a year. When I started to get out of my car at friend's east of Canon City tonight, I was delighted to see that an Eastern Phoebe in juvenal plumage had perched on a fence less than 20 feet in front of me. After carefully extracting enough of me to take photos without disturbing the bird, I was able to get some really great photos that I will post on my blog by tomorrow. This cooperative bird stayed for several minutes while I took photos until a second Eastern Phoebe (I think it was in juvenal plumage also) flew in and they engaged in a lengthy interaction (didn't seem particularly hostile so possibly a litter mate). I checked a location nearby where I have been seeing a Black Phoebe and it was there though quite shy. Then when I walked with my dogs about 200 feet down my friend's road a Say's Phoebe flew in.
Of note, I saw 2 juvenile Black Phoebes yesterday at Pathfinder Park east of Florence. Both sallied in the wetland area within close proximity of each other with only one agonistic interaction. This is a full month that these juveniles have remained in this location. Tonight was the third night in a row that I have enjoyed a bat extravaganza in Pathfinder Park. These bats have been feeding just a few feet above the water over a small fishing pond. There are well over 50 bats and likely more than 100 bats--(hey, think of how hard it is to count swallows engaged in feeding flights then think of doing so in the dark). Other than at bat caves (Carlsbad and private bat caves in Texas), I have never seen more than a few bats foraging in one area so this was most interesting. These bats appear to have a wing span of about 8-10 inches and a short tail, possibly Little Brown Bats. I have tried for all 3 nights to get photos with very limited success. I got there early tonight in hopes that a few bats would start feeding before dark but only one or two came while it was light (maybe scouts?). I tried the "night portrait" and other settings on my Canon Xti digital camera but their zig-zagging movements in the dark has frustrated my efforts. If anyone has experience photographing bats and can offer any suggestions, I would appreciate it. I thought I might try using my spotlight on them but don't want to disturb their feeding--does anyone know if the light would be a problem? They definately have a lot of food available as I can attest from the large number of mosquitos that I fought with--they seemed to consider the deet I had just sprayed on my arms to be quite tasty. Interestingly, while I watched the bats feeding last night and the night before a Great Horned Owl called from across the Arkansas River. I thought I heard a second owl the first night so maybe this is a parent conversing with one of it's offspring (Johnsgard, in "North American Owls", says that young owls "remain dependent on their parents for a considerable period as they slowly acquire hunting skills" and that they stay in their parent's range until dispersing in the fall). 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
