Chihuahuan Ravens (CHRA) have been on my mind for a while this winter, and I
believe I have another sighting of one, but this time in Boulder proper. This
is the second time I have seen this bird, and can say with some 95% certainty
that this bird is a CHRA. The bird flew by my office window in far northeast
Boulder on Friday afternoon and I had a strong desire to call it a CHRA based
on
the uneasy flight, the different proportions (barrel-chested and front heavy,
larger than American Crow but smaller than Common Raven), the large bill size
in
the vertical with nasal bristles that extended about 3/4 of the way down the
beak, and the larger-than-crow tail. I heard no vocals on this bird.
This morning, what I believe to be the same bird (brash assumption?) perched on
the roof of the office building next to mine and gave me good looks. The nasal
bristles again 3/4 of the length of the beak were relatively clear to me at a
distance of about 50 feet. Again no vocals (yet). I have had no luck as of
yet
seeing the white bases to the neck feathers, but I will keep my eyes peeled
with
the CBC count week coming up for Boulder (starts Thursday right?). If anyone
wants to come look for the birds, let me know and I can give you directions. I
will see if there is any pattern to the timing of their daily arrival at my
office complex (floor to ceiling windows makes this easy).
I'm gonna head outside before my morning meeting to see if any of the ravens
are
calling this morning. Fingers crossed!
Bryan Guarente
Instructional Designer
The COMET Program
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Boulder, CO
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