Sorry if you got a half-finished version of my story - I accidentally sent it before I was done writing. (dangers of communicating via Slack while writing emails!)
*Matthew M Webb* Avian Ecologist and Motus Wildlife Tracking System Coordinator *Bird Conservancy of the Rockies* Motus project #281 970.482.1707 x36 (office) 970.405.7155 (mobile - use this number!) www.birdconservancy.org *Connect with us on *Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/birdconservancy> * and *Twitter <https://twitter.com/BirdConservancy> On Tue, Jan 31, 2023 at 11:16 AM Matt Webb <[email protected]> wrote: > Hey all, > > I always enjoy hearing about people's experiences with specific birds or > species! Bohemian (and Cedar!) Waxwings have always been an important bird > to me, as they are the main reason that I got back into birding (and now > work with birds full time!). > As a kid I had been into birds and birding, even begging my mom to take me > on a Christmas Bird Count in the Salida area when I was 7 or so. (As my > mom tells it, the adults were annoyed with such a young kid being there > until I started pointing out birds they didn't see.) When I would look at > my birds books, I would spend hours looking at the waxwings just thinking > they were so lovely. I always thought it would be impossible to see them > because they seemed so magical and the tiny maps in the book didn't appear > to include southern Colorado. My interests shifted as I entered my teens > and picked up various instruments and garage bands. Fast forward to 2008 > (when I was in my early 30's), and I was reading an article in the Fort > Collins Coloradoan (local newspaper) about the dam project that was being > debated north of town. In that article they talked about the wildlife that > uses the Cache la Poudre River, and mentioned that Cedar Waxwings nest > along the river corridor through town. What!? I could see these birds > here? The next day I picked up a $20 pair of binoculars from Jax and began > searching for them. I was a student at Front Range Community College, and > my wife and I would go on walks through the nearby neighborhoods during our > breaks. One day in late January we found both species going crazy over a > tree full of withering crabapples in the front yard of a house just south > of campus. (Here's my eBird list of that day, my first viewing of both > species: https://ebird.org/checklist/S3460064). As we watched the birds, > one Bohemian waxwing ate a bunch of the crabapples, jumped into the air and > darted directly into the front window of the house, slamming into it hard. > It flew right back to the same branch, shook off the impact, then fell dead > to the ground. I was able to pick the bird up and look at it in my hand, > which was pretty intense but also very incredible. I set the dead bird > back down and we went back to school, writing about the experience on my > Myspace account that evening. haha, remember Myspace? > > Several years later, I found myself working with bird-window collisions > for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and > would often bring waxwing specimens from the museum collection out when > giving talks about the dangers of windows. After returning to Fort > Collins, I have wondered about seeing Bohemian Waxwings again, and have > been very excited to be able to see a few this winter. It's great to have > them back in the state, and fun to see everyone else enjoying them as > well! Thanks for letting me tell you my story about these amazing birds. > > Now back to work! > Matt > > > *Matthew M Webb* > > Avian Ecologist and Motus Wildlife Tracking System Coordinator > > *Bird Conservancy of the Rockies* > > Motus project #281 > > 970.482.1707 x36 (office) > > 970.405.7155 (mobile - use this number!) > www.birdconservancy.org > > *Connect with us on *Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/birdconservancy> > * and *Twitter <https://twitter.com/BirdConservancy> > > > On Mon, Jan 30, 2023 at 4:17 PM <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Hi Jared and COBirders >> I grew up in Boulder in the late 1950s and 1960s. Bohemian Waxwings were >> one of the big reasons I became interested in birds. My parent's house was >> on 43rd St. (my mom still lives there) and it had a large picture window >> with berry producing juniper bushes outside. I remember very large flocks >> of Bohemians on several occasions covering these bushes about four feet >> from my face as we stood at the window watching! At times there were >> probably 200-300 birds! This was probably 1963 or 64 before I started note >> taking. My notes show irruptions (using the more than four criteria) in >> 1968, 73, 74, 79 and 84. Most of my old records from the mid 60s to the >> late 80s are not in ebird. The current numbers of birds is definitely >> spectacular! >> Steve Larson >> >> Northglenn, CO >> >> On 01/29/2023 5:24 PM Jared Del Rosso <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> >> I'd love to hear from long-time birders about their experiences with >> Bohemian Waxwings prior to this year! While eBird tells part of the >> story, I'd love to hear more about these past encounters -- including but >> not limited to where, how many, when, what the birds were up to, and >> anything else that stood out. I think it would help those of us who are >> newer to the state and/or birding (like me) appreciate the encounters we're >> having this winter. >> >> Here's my contribution, which isn't my contribution. >> >> W. H. Bergtold, who I wrote about for the October 2022 issue >> <https://link.edgepilot.com/s/6c6faf92/KtP9oEW2XEyxUxoVoVraZw?u=https://dfobirds.org/News/Archives/2020-2029/2022/10_Oct_2022_LB.pdf> >> of DFO's *The Lark Bunting*, reported Bohemian Waxwings "all over >> [Denver] in great numbers, from February 22 to April 8, 1917, when the last >> two were seen in Cheesman Park." This brief account appears in *The >> Wilson Bulletin >> <https://link.edgepilot.com/s/85667773/2gCf2PFLZkC9qexTvcJRhQ?u=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4154774> >> *in Bergtold's 1917 list of Denver birds. >> >> Oddly, Bergtold has a single account of a Cedar Waxwing listed in the >> same essay: "Cedar Waxwing. Seen in Berkeley, February, 1906." Might >> Denver's birders have once chased that Cedar as we've been out looking for >> Bohemians? >> >> Finally, I'll note Joe Roller's eBird report of Bohemian Waxwings in >> his S. Yates home in 1991. Joe had told me that he'd had large flocks of >> Bohemian Waxwings in his yard, but I couldn't find it on the eBird map, >> thinking his home was closer to Wash Park and the encounter more recent. >> (Perhaps this is a previous home?) In any case, his brief note on the >> historical checklist tells us that 1991 was an invasion year for Bohemians: >> "Had large flocks throughout winter, lingering into spring. Larger than >> nearby Cedar Waxwings, rusty under tail coverts; 'mean' looking facies." I >> suspect "facies" is a typo, but with Joe I can't be sure. It's also >> apparently a medical term! I'll also admit to not realizing that Bohemians >> appear mean, though I indeed think that of Mountain Chickadees. >> >> I checked DFO's newsletter archives, and Bohemians were reported on DFO >> trips from November 1990 (Barr Lake, three in total) through mid-April of >> 1991 (150+ in Lakewood). >> >> Briefly -- occasional sightings of a female/immature type Cassin's Finch >> and a White-throated Sparrow in my Centennial yard. Yesterday encountered a >> flock of robins and a small number of Bohemian Waxwings as they descended >> on an errant Buckthorn in a neighborhood yard near University and Orchard. >> I stopped briefly and made everyone in my car ooh and aah. >> >> - Jared Del Rosso >> Centennial, CO >> lonesomewhippoorwill.com >> <https://link.edgepilot.com/s/7a28e47b/l9evU1KzQE2vPiVQbKxjNg?u=http://lonesomewhippoorwill.com/> >> >> >> -- >> -- >> 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 >> >> https://link.edgepilot.com/s/7ed85a50/8yeHKeDptEO_hiJYGN2HGw?u=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://link.edgepilot.com/s/90ff87eb/k_HWA3WpuUeAw1WElgwwTw?u=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]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://link.edgepilot.com/s/7052b1fe/KKlcyuvHAkuc_Ie9VBD1kQ?u=https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/8ba600e3-4311-4ef1-8a60-4bd6d796dae3n%2540googlegroups.com >> <https://link.edgepilot.com/s/83190626/pm4ZFb-q5EaHH2FEehgpeQ?u=https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/8ba600e3-4311-4ef1-8a60-4bd6d796dae3n%2540googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email%26utm_source=footer>. >> >> >> -- >> -- >> 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 >> >> https://link.edgepilot.com/s/7ed85a50/8yeHKeDptEO_hiJYGN2HGw?u=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://link.edgepilot.com/s/90ff87eb/k_HWA3WpuUeAw1WElgwwTw?u=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]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://link.edgepilot.com/s/f4c86793/y45s1EJETkiwTkV1mA2PCA?u=https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/1219223720.2049602.1675120635521%2540connect.xfinity.com >> <https://link.edgepilot.com/s/bb0365eb/MdpQ9wNGbEiX-nTniM143g?u=https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/1219223720.2049602.1675120635521%2540connect.xfinity.com?utm_medium=email%26utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- -- 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]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAOZHPtz2%3D0QLgbQP_HQK-%2B32Ww_iQ-cKX83QEkp6-cuLgXf-AQ%40mail.gmail.com.
