Cobirders,
The Ponderosa Pine forests around Boulder have a bumper cone crop this year,
and the forest is alive with activity. It's an amazing time to be in the woods,
and I suggest people get out and visit the Spring Brook Loop Trail in the
Eldorado Mountain Open Space to get a taste of it while it lasts. Some of this
property is an HCA, so in some areas an off-trail permit is required
(www.osmp.org).
Some of the most significant and obvious sightings are the large numbers of
CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS and STELLER'S JAYS who are all extremely busy collecting
and caching the Ponderosa Pine seeds. The most impressive change that has taken
place over the late summer and fall is an amazing infiltration of Pine
Squirrels. They have moved down from the mixed conifer zone a few hundred feet
up-slope and are now present throughout the forest all the way to the edge of
the grasslands. They are often seen aggressively chasing Abert's Squirrels (who
are also uber-abundant). Other birds associated with the bumper seed crop are
roaming flocks of EVENING GROSBEAKS and Type 2 RED CROSSBILLS. The tapping from
HAIRY WOODPECKERS and other cone foragers can be heard throughout the forest.
There are large mixed flocks of the normal Ponderosa forest birds.
One of the most exciting birds that I've seen lately popped up for close study
yesterday afternoon. It was a DARK-EYED JUNCO that was similar to a PINK-SIDED,
except it had thick wing-bars, symmetric on each wing. This bird was closely
associated with a typical male WHITE-WINGED JUNCO. In fact, the White-winged
was an individual who had moderate wing-bars that were less prominent than on
the Pink-sided type. This Pink-sided with white wing-bars really got me exited,
and you'd know why if you read my recent rant on juncos. This bird is either
the ~1% of Pink-sideds who have wing-bars, or it is a Pink-sided x
White-winged. This bird's wing bars were thick and obvious, not just little
edges, but 2-4mm thick. Dare I say that I wish I had a net? Juncos show strong
site fidelity, so maybe it will stick around for further study/photographs.
Last year about this time and only a 1/4 mile away, I had a fleeting glimpse at
a Junco that I could have sworn was a Pink-sided with bold wing bars, but it
departed before I could study it for very long.
Later in the evening I watched 20 WILD TURKEYS going into a traditional roost,
and on my hike out I spotted a NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL teed up on a snag. The Mule
Deer are starting to rut, too. All in all it's a fantastic time of year to be
in the forest.
Christian Nunes
Boulder, CO
[email protected]
http://www.flickr.com/photos/christian_nunes/
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