Hello, Birders.
I found several unusual sparrows north of Boulder Creek along the White Rocks
Trail, Boulder County, earlier this morning, Saturday, June 19th.
Near 40.056855N, 105.140448W there were at least 2 singing Cassin's Sparrows.
Also in this area was a singing Brewer's Sparrow. Another singing Brewer's
Sparrow was nearby at 40.056987N, 105.141177W.
A bit to the north, at 40.059122N, 105.141714W, there was a singing Grasshopper
Sparrow.
And the weirdest sparrow of all had to be a dark-lored White-crowned Sparrow
gathering nest material just north of Boulder Creek at 40.049850N, 105.144514W.
I don't necessarily think it was an -oriantha- ("Mountain") White-crowned
Sparrow. For one thing, why would an -oriantha- White-crowned Sparrow be
gathering nest material in the lowlands in late June? Also, the bird's bill
seemed (relatively) small and (relatively) bright pink. I think it may have
been a nominate -leucophrys- White-crowned Sparrow, whose status is unknown in
Colorado; it is rare at best, perhaps casual, perhaps accidental, or maybe
unrecorded in Colorado. (My guess is rare.)
Please note that all of these sparrows were in a region with strict
prohibitions against wandering off the trails. Also: The area is ecologically
sensitive (official designation), and it's the peak of the breeding season.
Don't use iPods or other playback. That would be ignorant, and an offense.
Vesper Sparrows were all over the place, by the way, but I could find Savannah
Sparrows only south of Valmont Road, near Teller Lake No. 5.
Insects. I was pleased to find a meadowful of fireflies in the general area of
40.0390658N, 105.142647W. I'd never before seen fireflies in Colorado. In fact,
just a week ago, I was telling folks on a night walk/workshop in upstate New
York that we don't get fireflies in Colorado's Front Range region. I was wrong,
and that's cool. Anyhow, judging by the flash-patterns, I would say the
fireflies were all one species: a long, steady flash, about 1.5 seconds in
duration.
Orioles. In contrast to the recent experience of Lonnie Frye and folks with the
Boulder Bird Club, I found just 1 Orchard Oriole, but 10 Bullock's Orioles.
Here's the deal. I think the Orchards have quieted down and are with young now.
But Bullock's is the earliest "fall" migrant in Colorado, and some adults are
already dispersing to their molting grounds. Most of the Bullock's Orioles I
saw were adults, well out in the grasslands.
Other stuff:
* 4 Wood Ducks.
* 1 Virginia Rail in a wet meadow saying "k'dick k'dick," over and over again,
like a Yellow Rail.
* 3 winnowing Wilson's Snipes.
* 4 Great Horned Owls, including 1 giving a call much like that of a Barn Owl.
* 10+ Western Wood-Pewees, 2 Say's Phoebes, 6 Western Kingbirds, and 3 Eastern
Kingbirds.
* 2 Western Warbling-Vireos.
* 3 Yellow-breasted Chats.
* 10+ Blue Grosbeaks.
* 3 Bobolinks.
Finally, it was interesting to see a loose but fairly steady stream of ~80
Common Grackles moving west along Boulder Creek a bit after sunrise. Along with
molt-migrant Bullock's Orioles, Common Grackles coming off evening roosts are,
for me, one of the first signs of "fall" in Colorado's Front Range.
-------------------------------
Ted Floyd
Editor, Birding
Follow Birding magazine on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BirdingMagazine
-------------------------------
_________________________________________________________________
The New Busy think 9 to 5 is a cute idea. Combine multiple calendars with
Hotmail.
http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?tile=multicalendar&ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_5
--
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.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
