Ran into Joe Roller at Red Rocks just before noon this morning at the
Red Rocks Trading Post feeders. The Slate-colored Fox Sparrow came
out under the lower apple tree and we had great looks at this large,
handsome sparrow as well as the Curve-billed Thrasher on the platform
feeder. The only two Zonotrichia sparrows we saw were both White-
crowned Sparrows - one Gambel's and the other the Mountain race that
breeds here in CO. Seeing the two WCSP sparrows side by side allowed
us to compare the two. Here are some things we noticed:
the Mountain subspecies was larger then the Gambel's.
the Mountain race was lighter and paler underneath; the Gambel's had
noticeable brown/beige flanks as well as appearing a shade darker
overall on the underside.
the black line on the Mountain runs from the eye to the forehead or
bill, while the black line on the Gambel's stops at the eye and the
supraloral area is light colored rather than dark.
Other birds of note at the feeders were 4-5 Lazuli Buntings, several
Spotted Towhees, a Song Sparrow, and a Black-headed Grosbeak (seen by
Cyndy Johnson). Birds we DID NOT see today included the Golden-
crowned, Harris's, and White-throated Sparrows and Indigo Bunting.
After leaving the feeders at Red Rocks, we drove to Bear Creek Lake
Park (BCLP) and made a quick tour. In Red Rocks and BCLP saw several
large mixed flocks of sparrows - Brewer's, Chipping, Lark, Vesper, and
White-crowned (Gambel's & Mountain) with at least one Lincoln's Sparrow.
At Pelican Point the highlights were 3 American Avocets, a spinning
Wilson's Phalarope, and a lone Least Sandpiper along with 4 Cinnamon
Teal and a few Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Definitely a day where the sparrows outnumbered the warblers.
Mike Henwood
Morrison
Jefferson County
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