Hello, Birders. Here are some odds and ends from around Boulder County, yesterday, Sunday, December 5th.
Prince Lake No. 2. I didn't see the Greater White-fronted Geese (per Christian Nunes), but I did see 1 Ross's Goose and 2 Snow Geese (per James Lamoureux). I have to say, that Ross's is a thing of beauty...and those two Snows are ugly as a mug. Baseline Reservoir. As noted by Christian and others, the Kaempfer-discovered female Black Scoter was still present. Valmont Reservoir. As noted by Christian and others, the Gent-discovered Tundra Swan was still present. Question: What's up with this bird? It's so dinky...scarcely larger than the Canada Geese with which it associates. Also at Valmont was a dreaded Chihuahuan Raven. As many COBirders know, my take on Front Range Chihuahuan Ravens is a bit paradoxical. On the hand, I believe they're here (mainly or entirely in winter) in larger numbers than we realize. On the other hand, I have a healthy skepticism for most reports of the species. Speaking for myself, I have a lot of possible, probable, and/or potential Chihuahuan Ravens on my Boulder County checklists. But I thought this one was pretty safe. I heard it first, and thought it was good for Chihuahuan. Then I looked up and saw it flapping straight over: Relative to a nearby Common Raven, this bird was stockier overall, with a less-massive bill, and with a notably more more labored (crow-like) manner of flight, and I judged it to be relatively small. Y'know, it seems to me that Valmont Reservoir is the most reliable spot in Boulder County for Chihuahuan Raven, and I wonder if it has to do with the terrestrial habitat there: shrubby, rocky, lots of yuccas, generally gnarly...kinda reminds them of "home," perhaps. By the way, I have further thoughts on identifying Chihuahuan Ravens in a recent photo quiz in Birding magazine. It's Quiz Bird D, and it's here: http://aba.org/birding/v40n5p72.pdf Another dreaded bird was a Winter Wren where the St. Vrain River crosses 63rd Street a bit south of CO-66 between Lyons and Longmont. I barely saw this bird (although Hannah said it was "plain as day," or something to that effect), just flying across the "river" a fair ways upstream from the bridge. But I heard it calling quite a bit, and it sounded perfectly typical for (easter, non-Pacific) Winter Wren. As flummoxed Boulder County birders will recall, 1 or 2 winter wrens (lower-case) were present for some time at the same site early last winter. ------------------------------- Ted Floyd Editor, Birding Blog: http://tinyurl.com/2g2staq Twitter: http://tinyurl.com/2wj9djj Facebook: http://tinyurl.com/2wkvwxs ------------------------------- -- 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.
