Sure hope you can post to Ebird. Great list and documentation is welcome since a formal BBS did not occur. Breakfast looks yummy!
On Wednesday, June 24, 2020 at 6:30:25 PM UTC-6, Charlie Chase wrote: > > Celebrating my friend Bryce's 72nd BDay started with an Arsenal run, then > sourdough blackberry pancakes for very late brunch. We birded many areas > along 64th, then the auto tour loop. Lots of traffic on road and trails, no > masks in evidence or any attempt at social distancing except our little > group. There about 4 hours. > > The morning started surprisingly with 8 territorial male Cassin's > Sparrow's singing on both sides of the road near the first porta-lets and > continuing to the entrance to the refuge. Horned Larks also presented in > numbers which is also surprising. There was a great mix of songbirds along > the 64th from the visitor center to where the road turns left (north) from > 64th. Highlights include Grasshopper Sparrows calling immediately by the > road at Mile Marker 4 and near MM5, Blue Grosbeaks at Lake Ladore and 64th > and near MM3, a rock wren making enough racket to wake the dead on the dike > at Lower Derby, lots of young of many species including Western Wood-Pewee, > Red-tailed and Swainson's Hawks, young and adult groups of Lark Sparrows, > grackle families mixed with starling gangs, It was pretty warm by the time > we got to the northern end of the Auto Loop and Burrowing Owl territory. > No hits but on the way out just past the exit from the Bison area > eagle-eyed Lisa spotted a young Great Horned Owl sitting in the shade under > a tree trying very hard to look like a cat. Great fun. 58 species. A few > documentary photos made but all on antique I-phones so not worth posting. > So you get a breakfast picture instead. > > We watched a Bullocks Oriole nest predation from start to finish. We were > attracted to a cacophony of Orioles in a cottonwood. As we got closer, I > could see the birds mobbing something. A little closer and I could see a > snake crawling along a branch about 10' up in a large Plains Cottonwood. > Despite repeated strikes to the body and head, it kept working its ways > along and around a variety of branches till it found the nest.. Without a > pause, it entered head first into the nest and about 6-8 inches of its body > went in with the orioles screaming and striking at it. Approx. 7 minutes > later it backed out of the nest and proceeded to find its way back up the > branch and away. The orioles keep up their cacophony throughout until it > completely left the area. In addition to 6-8 orioles, mostly males, a Downy > Woodpecker, Blue Jay and Warbling Vireo joined the fracas. Cowbirds were > also in the area but didn’t join in. The Colorado Bullsnake (Piuophis > catenifer sayi) was nearly 3 feet long, and moved very methodically as it > searched out the nest then sought a retreat route. When we returned about > 10 minutes later, all was quiet and no Orioles approached the nest for at > least the next 10 minutes. > > Charlie Chase > Denver > > [image: IMG_7400.JPG] > > -- 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 view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/2415798a-35c8-4248-85e1-63fa0a345003o%40googlegroups.com.
