And this may explain my bad luck at the Wheat Ridge Greenbelt since I was usually looking in the late afternoon after working and while walking the dog. They were probably all headed to their evening roosts by the time I arrived.
Good Birding, Chip Clouse Lakewood On Wed, Feb 1, 2023, 7:42 AM Diana Beatty <[email protected]> wrote: > I thought folks might appreciate the observations of Charles Aiken as he > noted in The Birds of El Paso County, 1914: > > Bohemian Waxwing - > "Winter visitor; irregular; not seen at all many winters. > The first note we have of this species is January, 1872, when Aiken saw a > flock in Barnes's Canyon, near Turkey Creek [near Aiken Canyon today], and > a note that Carter killed on on Pike's Peak [note the old-style name of > America's mountain] the fall of 1871. > > "There are specimens in the Aiken collection taken on Cheyenne Mountain, > January and February, 1880. There were some around the winter of 1910-11, > and they were in Colorado Springs, February 26, 1911. > > "Aiken noted at Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1894, that in the late afternoon > the Waxwings, which had been about neglected orchards near the town feeding > on the apples still hanging to the trees, began to fly in flocks up the > canyons toward the mountains, evidently going to their roosting places in > the green timber." > > Cedar Waxwing > "Noticed only two or three times in the earlier part of the winter > [1872]. 5 or 6 seen on Beaver Creek by Aiken, October 17, 1872. This was > just over the line into Fremont County. Several were also seen by him just > south of Colorado Springs, August 8, 1897." > > In the 1991 Birds of Colorado by Robert Andrews and Robert Righter, they > noted two summer records of Bohemian Waxwing: August 5, 1917 in Denver > County and July 13, 1924 at Lost Park (12,000 ft), in Park County. They > claim in their notes that the species generally does not mix with Cedar > Waxwings, and state that movements of Cedar Waxwing do not appear to > coincide with those of the Bohemian Waxwing. > > > My own questions/comments - > 1. About Aiken's Salt Lake City note, I observed something extremely > similar while watching the waxwings between North and Cheyenne Canyon in > early January this year. In late afternoon, as soon as the sun dipped > behind the very near peaks (but still a few hours before sunset), the flock > en masse took off and appeared to head to the location in South Cheyenne > Canyon where they had been reported roosting in the early morning. > > 2. About the Birds of Colorado note that the two species do not appear to > mix and their movements do not appear to coincide - how sure are we about > that? This winter in El Paso County I have definitely seen much larger > numbers and wider spread incidences of Cedar Waxwing, not just Bohemian, > and I have often encountered groups of birds that contained both species. > This could be incidental, taking advantage of the same food sources, but > both seem to be in increased numbers this winter - could some have also > 'irrupted' concurrent with the Bohemians? > > Diana Beatty > El Paso County > > On Wed, Feb 1, 2023 at 3:01 AM SeEttaM <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I suspect the 2013 Bohemian Waxwings Brandon noted he saw in Fremont >> County were likely in the flock I posted about on my blog that were fly >> catching aerial insects at now closed Holcim Wetlands. >> >> My only other sighting in southern Colorado was of few Bohemian Waxwings >> I remember seeing in Salida around 2015 but I didn't post them anywhere. >> >> SeEtta Moss >> Canon City >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> On Tue, Jan 31, 2023, 4:21 PM Brandon <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> In Southern Colorado, the last eruption of Bohemian Waxwings was in >>> February 2005, there were 3,000+ around Lathrop State Park, Huerfano >>> County. Between 2005 and 2022, I only saw Bohemian Waxwings in Colorado in >>> 2013 in Fremont County, a small number. >>> >>> Colorado Christmas Bird Counts this winter, found some Bohemian >>> Waxwings, though the big numbers were mostly found after the Christmas Bird >>> Count season was over. Since not all the results are in yet, I don't know >>> how many counts found them, and how many. >>> >>> Though so far, six counts found them, with a total of 250 birds. >>> >>> Denver (urban) CBC - 1 >>> Douglas County CBC - 37 >>> Granby CBC - 60 >>> Gunnison CBC - 30 >>> Loveland CBC - 81 >>> Weldona-Fort Morgan CBC - 41 >>> >>> Brandon Percival >>> Colorado CBC Regional Editor >>> Pueblo West, CO >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >> -- >> 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/CAAUvckpoyNGzNfyAW7aUAU6e2NK78ps%3DrFZxOwqvEZ8vgHF54w%40mail.gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAAUvckpoyNGzNfyAW7aUAU6e2NK78ps%3DrFZxOwqvEZ8vgHF54w%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > > > -- > > ****** > > “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said > *Gandalf*, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for > them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is > given us.” > > > > -- > -- > 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/CAM-_j9vFForwRMDP6C7qS5H2Y-4mY5C_rQKf0uR1o9JTY7C3Tg%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAM-_j9vFForwRMDP6C7qS5H2Y-4mY5C_rQKf0uR1o9JTY7C3Tg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_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/CAPHVJejP9TnD8ArDoGbMWmU5eFBzt0WzwRQyCdzVkK4SxUhjsA%40mail.gmail.com.
