Hello, Birders. I enjoyed a nice, albeit too-brief, visit to the Coalton Open Space, Boulder County, earlier this morning, Saturday, Sept. 24th. Highlights:
* During the 40 minutes before sunrise a good dawn flight of warbler/sparrows things. I believe most were Yellow-rumped Warblers, Vesper Sparrows, and White-crowned Sparrows. * At least 3 Chestnut-collared Longspurs, seen and heard. * 2 more longspurs, heard-only, and I'm not sure what they were. I would have said McCown's, but, then again, the well-seen Chestnut-collars sounded like McCown's to me, so I'm confused. Anybody got good tips for separating McCown's and Chestnut-collar by flight call? Which brings me to my next observation... * At least 20 Horned Larks. Of course, we all know what Horned Larks sound like--that lovely tinkling flight call. Or do we? Man, that species' vocalizations are variable! I heard them giving longspur-like notes, Sprague'sPipit-like notes, even something that sounded like a Vesper Sparrow's chip note. Like Barn Swallows, Bewick's Wrens, and a few others, Horned Larks can throw you for a loop. * At least 55 Western Meadowlarks. They were everywhere! And here's something to ponder. When a barely fledged Western Meadowlark flutters down into a wet swale, it can give the first impression of being a Yellow Rail... * One Lark Bunting still hanging on. * And a Sage Thrasher still hanging on. * And even a Burrowing Owl still hanging on. (Note: This bird was toward the northeast end of the Coalton Open Space, so I suspect it was not the bird Christian Nunes reported a week ago.) * A Prairie Falcon that took down a Western Meadowlark. Or maybe I should say, "took *up*" a meadowlark, for the falcon attacked the bird from below. Anyhow, it was a remarkable episode. * A coupla Lesser Goldfinches, uncommon in eastern Boulder County, out in the weeds. This is a marvelous place, well worth intensive exploration. One of these days... ------------------------------- Ted Floyd Editor, Birding Please check out the website of the ABA: http://tinyurl.com/6kmbfvx And please check out The ABA Blog: http://tinyurl.com/4n6qswt We're on twitter, too: http://tinyurl.com/2ejzlzv ------------------------------- -- 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.
