Hi all, While on my way to Boulder to scout my territory for the Sunday CBC, I stopped by the St. Vrain river crossing at 63rd St. in north Boulder County today to look for the Winter/Pacific Wren. After a half-hour of searching from the bridge, the west-side property owner Al pulled up to me and asked about the bird. I told him I hadn't seen it but had taken a number of photos of the great American Dippers in the river that were very cooperative. He then invited me to come onto the property and search the riverbanks up to the dam and beyond - how could I say no to that?
I spent another 20-30 minutes walking along that bank, enjoying the really terrific habitat that's there. The only downside is that the rushing water by the dam is very loud, making it hard to hear anything. Nevertheless, the Winter Wren finally popped out of nowhere and perched on a branch on the opposite bank, mostly around the really thick fallen snags a short ways down from the dam spillway. I lost and refound it a few times, and even got a few absolutely terrible pictures. I did get some good looks at it in the binos, and for what it's worth I am leaning toward calling this one an eastern bird (aka, Winter Wren). When I first saw it, I thought it looked quite rufous, but on subsequent looks that rufous impression didn't seem quite as strong, and instead I kept noticing how spotty it looked on the upperparts. Also, when the bird turned to face me the light throat seemed well-contrasted to the rest of the underparts. Frustratingly, I never heard a single call note, despite the ample preparation I had made before arriving at the site. I probably would never have seen the bird if Al hadn't invited me onto his property to search the river upstream from the bridge. This creature was VERY skulky and even when it popped into view it didn't stay that way for long periods. I'm jealous of all those (I'm looking at you Bill S) who've taken some really great photos of this bird/these birds for all our edification. And I always seem to forget how dinky Winter Wrens are - this is one small bird. So, thanks to Al for his kindness of spirit today! -- Eric DeFonso Fort Collins, CO -- Colorado Field Ornithologists: http://www.cfo-link.org/ 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
