I love these stories is why I still read Cobird! Thank you do much. Cassins male and female, Evening grosbeaks, and a flock of Bohemians in my yard this week!
Libby Edwards North Fort Collins > On 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 and Twitter > > >> 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 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 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 >>> >>> >>> -- >>> -- >>> 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. >>> >> >> -- >> -- >> 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. > > -- > -- > 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/CAOZHPtxDRxN1hz0NLAZxnaUUh91pNtdL%2Bft%2Bj4WBMZmT82ZRoA%40mail.gmail.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 http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. 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