Hello, Birders. This post is mainly about hybrids, domestics, "spuhs," and
uncountable exotics. If that's not your cup of tea, I'll briefly note that
recent unproblematic birds from Waneka Lake and Greenlee Preserve, Boulder
County, include Swamp Sparrow, Ross's Goose, and Greater White-fronted
Goose.
The rest of the story:
*1. *Of late many *Cackling Geese* have been staging overnight at Waneka
Lake. Nearly all appear to be of the expected *hutchinsii* ("Richardson's")
subspecies, but I saw 3 on Sat.-Sun., Dec. 6-7, that I think were
"Taverner's" Cackling geese (subspecies *taverneri*). Here's audio from
Sat. morning, Dec. 6, of a small portion of the main flock of Cacklers:
*http://tinyurl.com/CacG-12-06*
*2. *Here's a photo of a *Greater White-fronted Goose,* presumably of the
Western/Tundra subspecies (*frontalis*=*gambeli*), with "Lesser" Canada
Geese (subspecies *parvipes*), at Greenlee Preserve, Sun., Dec. 7:
*http://tinyurl.com/GWFG-12-07*
*3. *One of the geese at Waneka Lake appears to be an intergeneric *Chen x
Branta hybrid.* Figuring out its parentage is tricky, but I've been talked
into a provisional ID of Lesser Snow Goose x Richardson's Cackling Goose. I
entered it into eBird as "Snow/Ross's x Cackling/Canada Goose." Anyhow,
here's a photo of the bird from yesterday, Sun., Dec. 7:
*http://tinyurl.com/Chen-Branta-12-07*
*4. *How about ducks? On Sun., Dec. 7, I saw a bird, mainly or entirely a
*Gadwall,* that gave me pause. Could it be a "Brewer's Duck" backcross?
Beats me, and I'm sufficiently uncertain that I entered a "0" count for the
eBird taxon. Here's a link to photos and comments:
*http:/tinyurl.com/Gadw-12-07*
*5. *Ducks and geese definitely hybridize! The Waneka Lake population of
*frankenducks* is expanding, due in part to hybridization with "wild"
("Northern") Mallards. The colonizers are easy to recognize, but their
volant offspring are considerably harder to detect. Here's video from this
Mon. morning, Dec. 8, of part of the flock: *http://tinyurl.com/ducks-12-08*
*6. *I declare that *Streptopelia* doves are the next frontier for lovers
of bird ID challenges. Even the "pure" or "wild-type" individuals are
tricky. Vocalizations are distinctive--but what about hybrid
individuals...or even an introgressing Front Range population? Well, here's
a typical *Eurasian Collared-Dove* from the outskirts of Greenlee Preserve
this Mon. morning, Dec. 8:
*https://soundcloud.com/ted-floyd/eurasian-collared-dove-1*
*7. *And here's a typical *African Collared-Dove,* also from the outskirts
of Greenlee Preserve this Mon. morning, Dec. 8:
*https://soundcloud.com/ted-floyd/african-collared-dove-1*
*8. *How 'bout an audio quiz? See *how many bird species* can you hear and
identify in this short cut from Greenlee Preserve, Sun. morning, Dec. 7:
*https://soundcloud.com/ted-floyd/sound-quiz*
*9. *A comment about *my eBird checklist* for the Waneka/Greenlee complex,
Sun., Dec. 7. It's a bit contrived inasmuch as I was specifically looking
for "non-species taxa," but still: 39 species and 26 non-species taxa. I
wonder if I've established some sort of record! Here's the checklist:
*http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S20832159*
*10. *Okay, let's wrap up on an entirely unproblematic note. As others on
COBirds have noted, 'tis the most wonderful time of the year...for going
out at dusk and seeing and hearing Great Horned Owls. And tonight, Mon.,
12/8, was perhaps the grandest night of the year for an owl
encounter--because this is the night of the earliest sunset of the year
(yes, even though the solstice is still nearly 2 weeks off). At the stroke
of nautical twilight, at 5:05 p.m., this *Great Horned Owl* was in a tree
near Greenlee Preserve: *http://tinyurl.com/GHOw-12-08*
Ted Floyd
Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado
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