I've seen them at our feeder in Avon (eagle county) the past few winters. Last winters, mostly Gray-crowned,;in winter 2019, mostly Brown-capped. I'd be happy to contribute to a citizen science project and survey them at our feeder once a week ( but we don't see them eery week).
On Thursday, February 4, 2021 at 8:45:23 PM UTC-7 Bob Shade wrote: > Down here in the "lowlands" (Golden) Black Rosy-Finches seem to be > numerous this year and Brown-capped Rosy-Finches scarce. On the other hand > Park County has plenty of Brown-caps and few Blacks. A quick rough check of > eBird Rosy-Finch records for 2021 shows the following: > > 55th Place in Golden (also labeled El Diente) 1/27 Gray-crowned 290, > Black 15, BCRF 1 > Mesa Meadows Golden 1/26 GCRF 61, Black *70*, BCRF 3 > > But in Park County (Middle Park) Brown Caps are predominant. > > Como 1/24 GCRF 8, Black 2, BCRF 32 > Al Gulch Road (Jefferson) 1/9 GCRF 18, Black 5, BCRF *400!* > The Lambs (Fairplay) 1/8 GCRF 1, Black 1, BCRF 75 > > I love these birds and am intrigued by the fact that at least this winter, > the Brown Caps, almost Colorado endemics, are staying closer to their > summer homes above timberline in the Colorado Rockies, whereas those that > have come from Idaho and Montana (Blacks) and the Gray Crowns from British > Colombia as far as Alaska seem to prefer lower altitudes in the Front > Range. Blacks seem to be unusually numerous this year. > > Is (has) anyone studied the distribution of these scarce birds? How about > a citizen science project to survey their numbers at certain feeder > locations once a week during the winter. (CFO?) Isn't Scott Rashid banding > them in Estes Park? Why do they come some years (like to Red Rocks and Ira > Sanders' place in Golden) and then show up at a different location the next > year? Where do they roost at night in the winter? Ira suggested that they > need rocky cliffs like North Table Mountain for night roosts. > > Bob Shade > Lakewood > > -- 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/fec027b7-04f9-4a56-a07b-65c12a0502fbn%40googlegroups.com.
