I don't know Ted personally, so hesitate to presume....but I'm guessing "Eurasian collard-greens" was his attempt at a joke? It doesn't appear to be a likely autocorrect mistake! And it is funny..... :)
Anne Whitehurst On Sunday, February 21, 2021 at 2:54:50 PM UTC-7 [email protected] wrote: > OMG that gave me a laugh! Maybe Ted will tell the story of the rescued Owl > on Nat Swick's American Birding Podcast. (And maybe mention the funny typo > too!) > Rosanne Juergens > Centennial, CO > > On Sunday, February 21, 2021 at 10:14:52 AM UTC-7 [email protected] > wrote: > >> Wow -- I've never seen "*Eurasian collard-greens" *there before! >> >> On Saturday, February 20, 2021 at 9:16:28 PM UTC-7 [email protected] >> wrote: >> >>> Hey, all. >>> >>> It's spring. Sort of. At least, some of the winter birds are getting >>> into the swing of things. This Sat. morning, Feb. 20, on a jaunt around the >>> "Greater Greenlee ecosystem," encompassing Greenlee Preserve, Waneka Lake, >>> Hecla Pond, Thomas Open Space, and various greenways, I heard a fair bit of >>> birdsong, notably by *northern flickers.* It's the first time this >>> spring I've heard the species, and today I heard three widely singing >>> individuals. A friendly note that not all US287-corridor flickers are >>> "red-shafted." Like this guy, a hybrid ("intergrade"), an adult male, near >>> Waneka Lake today: >>> >>> [image: 01 flicker.jpg] >>> >>> Other songsters: *Eurasian collard-greens, black-capped chickadees, >>> bushtits, American robins, house sparrows, house finches, dark-eyed juncos, >>> white-crowned sparrows, song sparrows,* and *red-winged blackbirds.* A >>> bit more regarding some of the entries in the preceding enumeration: >>> >>> * The collared-doves sing all winter long of course. So they don't >>> really count as a vernal signification. But did you know that their >>> specific epithet, *viz*., *decaocto*, is the Greek word for "eighteen"? >>> The Turkish ornithologist who named the species to science thought the >>> collared-dove was singing *dec'octo...dec'octo...dec'octo...*, and the >>> rest, as they say, is history. >>> >>> * No full-on singing yet by the robins. But watch the males. They're >>> doing that lovely subsong thing right now. So was one of the song sparrows. >>> Yesterday I heard a magpie doing it at the Walmart Supercenter in >>> Lafayette. And a week ago, a spotted towhee at Waneka Lake was giving an >>> amazing and elaborate "whisper" song. >>> >>> * House sparrows? Yes, they absolutely sing. A most beautiful song. Our >>> human ears hear it just fine, but our human *brains* are inadequate for >>> perceiving the wonders and glories of house sparrow song. Here's an article >>> at the ABA website on what Boulder County house sparrows actually sound >>> like: >>> >>> >>> https://www.aba.org/how-to-know-the-birds-no-52-the-hidden-glories-of-the-house-sparrow/ >>> >>> * And bushtits? There's a bit of a story there. Here is the preliminary >>> version: >>> >>> https://earbirding.com/blog/archives/4885 >>> >>> That was six years ago, and we've updated our understanding of bushtit >>> singing somewhat since then. Anyhow, today I encountered two widely spaced >>> pairs of bushtits, one male and one female per pair. The way you tell them >>> apart is by eye color. The males have black eyes, the females yellow eyes. >>> Here is one of the males I saw today: >>> >>> [image: 02 bushtit.jpg] >>> >>> In both pairs, the black-eyed individual was giving the vocalization >>> that I conjecture to be the song of the species. And I heard no other sorts >>> of bushtit vocalizations, except when the male above went berserk in the >>> presence of a *northern saw-whet owl.* More on that owl in a bit. >>> >>> The Greenlee Preserve feeders continue to attract lots of cool sparrows. >>> Along with the song sparrows, white-crowned sparrows, and dark-eyed juncos, >>> there were 20+ *American tree sparrows,* 2 *spotted towhees,* and a >>> continuing *white-throated sparrow.* Here's a sampler (song sparrow, >>> lower left; spotted towhee, middle; white-throated sparrow; upper right): >>> >>> [image: 03 sparrows.jpg] >>> >>> Things were generally congested, but also pretty peaceable, at the >>> feeder--until the neighborhood *prairie falcon* ripped low across the >>> treetops, inducing instant dread and silence in the Passerellid horde. >>> Everybody came out again after a while. >>> >>> And an owl! Hannah Floyd and Andrew Floyd rescued a northern saw-whet >>> owl from the clutches of an outdoor cat--a huge orange thing with an >>> oversized bell and an elaborate green-and-pink collar. The bird landed in a >>> snow drift: >>> >>> [image: 04 owl.jpg] >>> >>> We tried to capture it, but the owl extricated itself from the snow >>> drift right before I made the final pounce. The bird flew to a nearby oak, >>> where it roosted for a while: >>> >>> [image: 05 owl.jpg] >>> >>> Then another cat, an elephantine gray tabby with the physique of Jabba >>> the Hut but the alacrity of Mikhail Baryshnikov, appeared on the scene, >>> prompting the owl to relocate to a nearby juniper that was quite dense. The >>> cat couldn't get at the owl, but the small birds sure could! One of the >>> bushtit pairs gave the owl grief, as did two *red-breasted nuthatches* >>> (of course), a *Townsend solitaire,* a great throng of hice finch, >>> several black-capped chickadees, a loudly *tsk*-*tsk*'ing robin, and a >>> furious dark-eyed junco. We even heard a *hairy woodpecker,* rare in >>> Lafayette at any time of the year, although the woodpecker was sufficiently >>> distant that I wouldn't necessarily say that it was part of the mob. >>> >>> Astonishingly, a third cat, a beautiful black-and-odd job, gargantuan >>> yet nimble, was drawn to the fuss. The owl was, like, I'm outta here, and >>> flew off, straight out of the neighborhood. I hope the bird's okay. It's >>> gratifying that it flew off, but I also worry that it was injured by the >>> first cat. >>> >>> How did Joaquin Andujar put it again?-- >>> >>> "There is one little word in English that says it all, and that one word >>> is, *You never know.*" >>> >>> Ted Floyd >>> Lafayette, Boulder County >>> >> -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate --- 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]. 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