In response to what Ted Floyd and Nick Komar have already posted about the 2013
CFO Convention and its birds, I feel compelled to add some things. These are
grouped by category.
CFO and its Convention
We are an amazingly balanced organization. To be sure, various types of
listing dominate our pursuit of birds, but the ugly type is all but completely
absent. Oh sure, there are nice folks on bad days in rare circumstances, but
the occasional comment I hear from birders who only observe CFO from afar that
we are law-breaking lusters who make the book version of Sandy Komito look like
a Boy Scout, are utterly unfounded. Besides tick, we also spend a very healthy
amount of our birding time photographing, documenting, surveying, watching,
researching, and marveling.
We are old, young, experienced, wide-eyed, low tech, high tech. And we are
growing in number. What would we do if all the members attended the same
Convention, and instead of 150 attendees, we had 450? To somewhat respond to
Gary Lefko's questions, convention locations are as much a matter of who can
handle our numbers and specific needs as anything, plus there is reason to give
each area of the state its "turn". Yes, we probably have an economic impact,
but I doubt there would be a big bidding war to host us. Maybe this is
incorrect. Others will comment, I hope.
Our leadership has been, is, and will be good. Like all social organizations,
a few people do most of the work. But we are better than most in that respect.
Thank you out-going Board members Jim Beatty and Maggie Boswell for all your
hard work.
Nathan Pipelow is an rich asset to us all. Our Journal is superior, and he is
the primary reason. Having a bird vocalization giant in our midst is something
from which we all benefit. His running of the Convention's Paper Session and
ID Challenge earn him more kudos. Anybody stop to think how much time he put
into just those last-mentioned assignments, on top of teaching classes at CU,
editing a journal, preparing to write a Peterson Field Guide, etc., etc.?
Yikes.
This year's name tags were an excellent addition.
The Paper Session this year felt like a solid part of the proceedings, not just
"something we've always done".
The team format now used for the Bird ID Challenge is excellent, and the
session as a whole is very educational. Minimal ego, much learning, wholesome
competition.
Steve Jones being chosen for the Ron Ryder Award was a brilliant choice.
Likewise, CFO and certain individual members are to be commended for supporting
the coolest research of the coolest bird, the Black Swift.
John Vanderpoel's recanting of his astounding Big Year was fascinating. Such
things usually make me jealous, but not this one. I felt privileged to be
along for the vicarious ride. I still say the first five seconds of Dick
Schottler laying eyes on a Red-faced Warbler in the Wheat Ridge Greenbelt has
to be the most exciting time in the history of Colorado birding, but Colorado
resident John's year has to be right up there.
The Birds
Southwest CO at this time of year (and this particular year) has lots of
big-billed Red Crossbills, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins, and Western
Bluebirds.
Eastern migrants, to be relished anywhere in CO, are exceptionally rare on the
West Slope and my sympathies go out to all who seek them. At times on the
Eastern Plains in the right places on the right dates, one "knows" an eastern
rarity is imminent. When an asterisk species doesn't show up on such days, one
goes home feeling disappointed and cheated (see Joey's post from NE CO the
other week). I never had the feeling in Cortez one was even possible, let
alone likely. Much easier on the heart, at the end of the day.
I thank Urling for finding the Red-naped Sapsucker in an apple tree at Boyle
Park in Mancos, because for the first time many of us got to witness what we've
heard about - that is, a hummingbird drinking (apple juice, anyone?) from
sapsucker sap wells.
The color of a displaying male Dusky Grouse's chest sacs is unique in Nature.
Seeing and hearing a bird on Madden Peak was a first, and unquestionably the
highlight of my week. I owe this experience to Mackenzie and Doug, for asking
me to eat with them at Burro Pancho's, and for sharing info about their field
trip that included this grouse.
The Habitat
Diverse, like most of CO. Dry, like most of CO. The trees are late, like most
of CO (more than once on field trips, I heard the location of a bird described
as "in the dead tree" - sometimes the tree actually was dead, but usually it
was just as yet "unleafed" Gambel Oak). The Pinyon Ips Beetle epidemic of the
early 2000's converted a lot of pinyon-juniper areas to juniper areas. But
young pinyons are everywhere and the epidemic was just an "adjustment" to the
species mix. An old ponderosa pine stand, thick needle carpet underneath,
usually-invisible Grace's Warblers singing overhead, is good for the soul.
Just like eastern CO, cottonwood catkins are the "preferred" foraging site for
Neotropicals this spring in southwestern CO, in lieu of other options. Elm
seeds are available much later this year than usual (Evening Grosbeaks and Pine
Siskins rejoice).
Lastly, the only things I thought were missing (my fault as much as anybody
else's) were tributes or moments of remembrance for both Mona Hill and John
Prather. A resident of Lewis for several years, Mona and her birding husband
Dean did a lot to put the Cortez area on the map. They hosted many of us
during our birding visits to Southwest CO and explored many of the routes and
locations we now take for granted. Likewise, the late John Prather, son of
birders Inez and Bill Prather of Longmont, was the predictor and prover of
Lucy's Warblers nesting in Yellowjacket Canyon. It will be interesting to see
if his other predictions about Hermit Warblers being regular on Sleeping Ute
Mountain in autumn, and Crissal Thrasher showing up someday (already?) near
Four Corners, come to fruition. He also pointed out that Red-faced Warbler is
regular at Flagstaff, only a few hundred miles to the west.
I could go on, but somebody new school is already mumbling something about "too
long", or "get a blog". Beak me.
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
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