As I was getting my second bowl of cereal this morning at our vacation home on the west side of Estes Park, I glanced out the kitchen door at the back yard area where we have our bird feeders. I saw a bright bird feeding on the ground. Realizing it was something different, I grabbed my binoculars and focused on a very bright White-throated Sparrow. At home in Maryland in late fall, winter, and early spring, we have lots of them in our back yard. But I know it is very unusual in Colorado and especially up here. I managed one documentary photo before it flew off. It has not returned since.
I checked eBird and found only one other record in the Estes Park area, at the YMCA Camp in October 2010. There is also an eBird report a bit south in Allenspark, Boulder Co., in November 2012. It is always nice to get a new state bird in our own back yard. Another fun observation was a male Hairy Woodpecker that managed to hold on to a perch on our hummingbird feeder and extract sugar water using its long tongue. We also have been seeing a melanistic Mountain Chickadee which is fairly dark gray in the areas that would normally be white. Jim Nelson Bethesda, Maryland -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/29242260.3035998.1432658643720.JavaMail.root%40vznit170128.mailsrvcs.net. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
