Friday I took a visiting birder from Virginia around a number of birding locations, mostly in pinyon-juniper habitat, in the Canon City area. One of the most interesting things we saw was a White-breasted Nuthatch that was sallying repeatedly after flying insects, a food acquisition behavior I don't think I have ever seen used by any nuthatch. It wasn't mentioned in *Birds of North America *online and I couldn't find anything in an internet search. Has anyone else seen this behavior or know of it referenced in the birding literature?
We saw this nuthatch along with several others, including 1-2 begging young in the Florence Mtn Park area (referenced in Colo County Birds website). This is elevated above nearby Florence at about 6,000 feet, which provides cooler temps and there were more active birds in this area including well over a hundred Tree Swallows, lots of Chipping Sparrows, a family group of W. Scrub Jays, several Black-headed Grosbeaks, a few Pine Siskins and good numbers of Blue Grosbeaks (which we saw in a number of locations) in addition to the omnipresent Lesser Goldfinch. Along CR15 east of the Park we saw a probable (like most empids, not calling at this time of year) tail-wagging Gray Flycatcher. There was also an elk with a very large rack and a good sized harem followed by immature elk (including one with small antlers). The elk was calling and the male gave some buggling, the fall rut obviously not far off. Near Florence we found a probable Eastern-Black Phoebe hybrid (looked more like an Eastern but gave repetitive Black Phoebe calls) feeding a nestling with a second phoebe--hybrid or Eastern Phoebe (it didn't call)--in juvenal plumage a few hundred feet away (maybe a offspring of the adult but a old enough to be independent). This is first Eastern or Black or hybrid Phoebe that I have found nesting away from the Arkansas River and in a new location along a tributary to the Arkansas. Interestingly though I easily refound the adult that was foraging by itself yesterday, I could not find the parent and fledgling though I looked for it extensively. The parent and fledgling moved more than a quarter mile away from where they were foraging the day before, and likely further. We saw 40-50 Scaled Quail around the town of Williamsburg (several miles sw of Canon City) and heard or saw several Curved-billed Thrashers that were being quite vocal. I will get some photos up on my blog by tomorrow. 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
