Yes, I'm sure "collard greens" was intentional. Ted started birding as a teen and KNOWs His Birds.
On Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at 8:41:35 AM UTC-7 [email protected] wrote: > 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 * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- 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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