Hello, Birders. No real rarities to report, but I do have an overall thought. Here goes:
1. A half-mile up Gregory Canyon this morning, Saturday, May 26th, I heard (and eventually saw) an after-second-year male Rose-breasted Grosbeak singing his head off. 2. Then I went to the Centennial Trail, where I saw a territorial male Black-chinned Hummingbird, and, nearby, a foraging female Black-chinned Hummingbird. (Well, presumed Black-chinned; didn't really rule out Ruby-throated.) 3. Then I went to South Teller Lake, where I saw at least give Great-tailed Grackles. And what do those birds all have in common? Well, there sure have been a lot of reports, it seems to me, of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks this spring from the northern Front Range region. And we're all talking about the recent dramatic increase in Black-chinned Hummingbirds in the northern Front Range region. And, just speaking for myself, I've noticed more Great-tailed Grackles in 2012 alone in Boulder County than in my previous 9+ years combined. Don't get me wrong. I'm as delighted as any Colorado birder to hear that there's a Henna-hooded Foliage-Gleaner coming to a feeder in Dolores County. That said, I'm actually more interested in the posts that help us to piece together the fascinating population trends that we birders inevitably notice and can help to document. For example, it seems as if just about everybody has found 1 or 2 (or even 9, if you've visited the Beatty Canyon Ranch) Summer Tanagers this spring. More than usual? And how can we know? Well, one great way is to join Colorado Field Ornithologists (CFO). As a CFO member, you'll receive Colorado Birds, just about the finest state ornithological journal in existence. For me, a highlight in each issue is Joel Such and Marcel Such's "News from the Field" column, with summaries of occurrence for Summer Tanagers and so forth. Please keep posting to COBirds, please file your checklists with eBird too, and join CFO & read Colorado Birds to put it all together! Learn more about Colorado Birds here: http://cfobirds.org/birding/journal.htm And join CFO here: http://cfobirds.org/business/contribute.php Ted Floyd [email protected] Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado -- 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.
