[cobirds] Colorado Rare Bird Alert, 1 April 2015
Compiler: Joyce Takamine Date: April 1, 2015 This is the Rare Bird Alert, Wednesday, April 1, sponsored by Denver Field Ornithologists and the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory. Highlight species include: (* indicates new information on this species). Tundra Swan (Pueblo) Long-tailed Duck (Mesa) Barrow's Goldeneye (Jefferson) Black Rail (Bent) Snowy Plover (Otero) Mountain Plover (*El Paso) Lesser Black-backed Gull (Crowley, El Paso) Greater Roadrunner (Bent, Kiowa) ACORN WOODPECKER (Pueblo) Williamson's Sapsucker (Pueblo, *Teller) Black Phoebe (Mesa) Eastern Phoebe (*Boulder, Douglas, *Larimer, Yuma) Winter Wren (Douglas) Lapland Longspur (Prowers) Sagebrush Sparrow (Mesa) Fox Sparrow (Montose) Swamp Sparrow (Montrose) Golden-crowned Sparrow (Boulder) Northern Cardinal (*El Paso) Rusty Blackbird (Douglas) Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Jackson, Jefferson) Black Rosy-Finch (Jefferson) Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Jefferson) BENT COUNTY: --A Greater Roadrunner was reported by Kaempfer on the west side of Adobe Creek Reservoir on March 22. --2 Black Rail were reported by Peterson at Fort Lyon Marsh Complex at CR HH and CR 16 on March 29. BOULDER COUNTY: --On March 29, Nunes reported Golden-crowned Sparrow at Teller Farm. --An Eastern Phoebe was reported by Klaver under the 75th St Bridge over Boulder Creek on March 29. On March 30, Starace reported Eastern Phoebe at 75th St Bridge over Boulder Creek. On March 31, Dowell and Waltman reported Eastern Phoebe at 75th St Bridge over Boulder Creek. CROWLEY COUNTY: --A Lesser Black-backed Gull was reported by Chris Wood at Lake Henry on March 26. DOUGLAS COUNTY: --4 Rusty Blackbirds (2m, 2f) were reported by Hopping at Plum Creek Delta at Chatfield SP on March 17. On March 23, Suddjian reported 3 Rusty Blackbirds at Plum Creek Delta. --A Winter Wren was reported by Kellner at Plum Creek Delta at Chatfield SP on March 22. On March 23, Suddjian reported Winter Wren at Plum Creek Delta. --An Eastern Phoebe was reported by Kellner at Plum Creek Picnic Area at Chatfield SP on March 28 and March 29. On March 30, Gen Moore reported Eastern Phoebe at Plum Creek Delta on March 30. EL PASO COUNTY: --A pair of Mountain Plovers was reported by Drummond in a field S of intersection of Ellicott Hwy and Squirrel Creek Road on March 28. On March 30, Driscoll reported 3 Mountain Plovers at the intersection of Ellicott Hwy and Squirred Creek Road. --3 Mountain Plovers were reported by Walbek in Ramah (15618 - 16498), Ramah Hwy on March 30. --2 Mountain Plovers were reported by Driscoll at Hanover Road and Milne Road on March 30. --On March 31, Goff reported 2 Mountain Plovers on Squirrel Creek Rd across from red brick ruins of a school. --A f Northern Cardinal was reported by Tyler Stuart in Sondermann Park about 1/4 m N of Cable roadblock on March 30. On March 321, Richard Taylor reported Northern Cardinal at Sondermann Park. JEFFERSON COUNTY: --Ira Sanders reports Gray-crowned, Brown-capped and Black Rosy-Finches coming to his front yard at 314 DeFrance Ct in Golden on December 29. Birders are welcome to watch from the street. On March 7, Sanders reported one Rosy-finch at his feeder. On March 12, Sanders reported 1 Rosy-Finch in his yard. On March 14, Sanders reported one Rosy-Finch in his yard. On March 25, Sanders reported 1 Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch in his yard. --A m Barrow's Goldeneye was reported by Sanders at Chatfield SP at a gravel pit pond W of Kingfisher bridge and S of the road on March 29. KIOWA COUNTY: --A Greater Roadrunner was reported by Kaempfer on the norside of Adobe Creek Reservoir2 at the intersection of CR C CR 14 on March 22. LARIMER COUNTY: --A pair of Eastern Phoebes was reported by Coley at the diversion dam on the Loveland Recreational Trail along the Big Thompson River, east of Wilson on March 31. MESA COUNTY: --On March 19, Henwood reported Black Phoebe on the Audubon Trail past the Redlands Power Entrance and another Black Phoebe at the S end of the lake at Audubon Nature Center. On March 21, Jackson Trappett reported Black Phoebe on the Audubon Nature Trail. On March 23 Henwood reported Black Phoebe on the Audubon section of Colorado River Trail. --On March 20, Henwood reported 2 Black Phoebes at Connected Lakes SP. On March 21, Ortenzio reported Black Phoebe at Connected Lakes SP. On March 27, Ortenzio reported 2 Black Phoebe at Connected Lakes SP. --On March 23, Henwood reported 10 singing Sagebrush Sparrows at the Colorado Utah State line N of old Hwy 6 and 50. --A Long-tailed Duck was reported by Ortenzion at Whitewater Ponds on March 26. MONTROSE COUNTY: --A Swamp Sparrow was reported by Dexter in a marsh West of Nucla on March 24. --A Fox Sparrow was reported by Parkin and McDonald at the South Rim of Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP on March 28. OTERO COUNTY: --A Snowy Plover was reported by Peterson at Lake Cheraw on March 29. PUEBLO COUNTY: --On March 25, Clark Jones reported a Tundra Swan in a field on the south side of
[cobirds] Re: Mtn Plovers NOW El Paso Cty
I plotted this on Google Earth for those who might be interested. The School Ruins are at 38° 37.319'N, 104° 20.952'W. Paste those coordinates into any mapping software. Rick Taylor On Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at 1:33:40 PM UTC-6, purplegallinule wrote: We just saw 2 mountain plovers on Squirrel Creek Rd in eastern El Paso country. They were directly across the road from the red brick ruins of a school. There were 2 walking in a prairie dog field Directions : take Myers Road east of Peyton highway to squirrel Creek Road. go north so you are about 1 quarter mile north of Deering road. the birds were in the field across the road from the school ruins. Mel Goff Colorado Springs Sent from XFINITY Connect Mobile App -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/bfa7bd86-e3bc-4576-8257-0900ffb785e9%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Re: Mtn Plovers NOW El Paso Cty
Or just paste into your browser window, and hit RETURN. It's that simple. Thanks to Rick Taylor and others who post coordinates. I need to get better at this. A few notes for Boulder County birders: Sunday morning, Mar. 29, at Panama Rez: *American White Pelican* and *Ring-necked Pheasant*, and *Franklin's Gull* nearby; Monday morning, Mar. 30, in Gregory Canyon: *Western Bluebird* and *Turkey Vulture*, *Canyon Wren* singing, several *Brown Creepers* singing, and *Mountain Chickadees* and *Red-breasted Nuthatches* nest-building. By the way: Panama Reservoir: 40.099014, -105.077416 Gregory Canyon: 39.997536, -105.292759 Ted Floyd Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado On Wednesday, April 1, 2015 at 7:19:15 AM UTC-6, vorticity (Rick Taylor) wrote: I plotted this on Google Earth for those who might be interested. The School Ruins are at 38° 37.319'N, 104° 20.952'W. Paste those coordinates into any mapping software. Rick Taylor On Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at 1:33:40 PM UTC-6, purplegallinule wrote: We just saw 2 mountain plovers on Squirrel Creek Rd in eastern El Paso country. They were directly across the road from the red brick ruins of a school. There were 2 walking in a prairie dog field Directions : take Myers Road east of Peyton highway to squirrel Creek Road. go north so you are about 1 quarter mile north of Deering road. the birds were in the field across the road from the school ruins. Mel Goff Colorado Springs Sent from XFINITY Connect Mobile App On Tuesday, March 31, 2015 at 1:33:40 PM UTC-6, purplegallinule wrote: We just saw 2 mountain plovers on Squirrel Creek Rd in eastern El Paso country. They were directly across the road from the red brick ruins of a school. There were 2 walking in a prairie dog field Directions : take Myers Road east of Peyton highway to squirrel Creek Road. go north so you are about 1 quarter mile north of Deering road. the birds were in the field across the road from the school ruins. Mel Goff Colorado Springs Sent from XFINITY Connect Mobile App -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/4666ef2f-f825-43ef-bd9f-0f164c597fe3%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Google acquires eBird from Cornell Labs - breaking news; mixed reaction from Colorado birding community
I received this from notable birder, Matt Bartels, of Washington State: Surprised and a little apprehensive about the news that Google acquired eBird today. On the one hand, I bet we’ll see all sorts of cool new improvements – the user experience side of eBird is about to get a big boost. (GoogleAnalytics aside, if google can turn its maps into Pac Man games, think what they can do with bird lists!). But on the other hand…. Google being able to essentially track exactly where every eBirder is travelling [in real time for bird-log users] and who they are travelling with is a bit creepy. And Google has purchased and ‘retired’ so many companies in the past that there’s an online graveyard for them [http://tinyurl.com/cdc3h3b] – what will happen if birders suddenly lose all their data on eBird?? From the news report on TechCrunch: “Mixed Reaction from Birders on news of Google Acquisition of eBird” [link] It looks like Cornell Labs is the latest company to earn a paycheck from Google – word leaked via various bird enthusiast email lists today that Google has acquired eBird – a hugely popular product largely unknown, outside the world of obsessive bird watchers. “eBird”, an online database of bird observation powered by the data input of over 100,000 users has grown rapidly in the past five years – enough to draw the interest (and investment) of Google. Google’s interest is presumably less the birds and citizen science than the data provided on the movements of so many affluent users. A note on eBird's main page gushed about the 'synergies' of the buy-out, the 'potential to better predict and serve the needs of its customers, not just the birds' and the belief that integration with future editions of GoogleGlass may revolutionize the way birds are observed and reported. Google confirmed the acquisition but nothing more. “I can confirm the news and that they’re joining the Google+ team. We aren’t sharing more beyond that at this point,” a spokesperson wrote in an email. We'll see how this plays out , I guess, as the eCommerce side of Big Data comes to our neighborhood Matt Bartels Seattle, WA Joe Roller. Denver Please forward this before Thursday, April 2. -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAJpZcUCsUvo45osq9Cd2fY5veVj2HAqc6LOkfEXCv23b%3Da7y-A%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Burrowing Owl
I spotted 6 Burrowing Owls west of Roxborough Rd between 9-10:30am. 5 were on mounds just over the rise of road as mentioned in an earlier post. 2 were sharing a site near orange road signs further south. I took photos and will post on Facebook through Front Range Birding. Jennifer Hyypio Douglas County, CO -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/DD3989C1-B39C-45C6-9D50-444D7F0F761C%40earthlink.net. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Greater White-fronted Geese at MVNWR
A funny thing happened as I reviewed crane photos I had taken on 3/12/15 at the Monte Vista Refuge. As you recall, that was just on the leading edge of the Crane Festival Weekend with all its visitors. It was 2 weeks after the fact when I examined the photos, that I noticed a group of birds in the middle ground that proved to be 28 Greater White-fronted Geese (Rio Grande County)! This is the largest group of this species ever recorded in the San Luis Valley, smashing previous groups of 8 and 9 birds. Only two reports this spring showed single birds present. So how did we all miss such a large group? I think the Cranes have a tendency to steal the show and our attention. And many persons don’t have the optics to see distances so birds blended into the 5-10,000 birds present. Many persons enjoy the birds on a more fundamental level and are not there to identify different kinds. It is indeed easy to just feel the birds and all their magnificence. It also reminds me that one can do birding and one can do photography, but to do both, will cause compromises of one or the other. I was quite focused on catching the birds in the foreground in flight, and less concerned with the identification of background birds. This does not mean I won’t continue to combine both, but at least I know what I am up against. Anyway, yesterday cranes were barely visible, tiny specks cast against dark-based cumulus cloudsspiraling upward and onward. John Rawinski Monte Vista, CO -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/59DEAB0A9BE74535A7453BFC37952006%40blueroom. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Visiting Librarians Seek June Outing Near Denver
Hello Denver-area birders, I'm the organizer of the Birding Passion Group of the American Theological Library Association (ATLA). The ATLA will be holding its annual conference in Denver this June, and the Birding Passion Group would like to go birding from 5:00-10:00 a.m. on Thursday 18 June (preferred) or Friday 19 June. We will be staying at the Marriott Denver Tech Center. We would be interested in seeing birds characteristic of the Rockies, such as Western Scrub Jay, Prairie Falcon, Virginia's Warbler, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Canyon Wren,White-throated Swift, Lesser Goldfinch, and Bullock's Oriole. I'm citing from the list of species seen on 23 June 1996, when Denver birder Bob Brayden took the group out on its first-ever excursion--so this will be our 20th anniversary. There will likely be about 6 of us, and it's likely that none of us will have a vehicle. Would any of you be interested in taking us out for the morning (we will of course pay for gas and promise you our undying gratitude--and I will arrange to take you birding in the Rockies near Calgary if you're ever out this way)? Thanks, Denver birders, for considering this request. Sandy Ayer (Mr.) Calgary, Alberta -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/442b0c3d-c59f-48a7-9718-6e86ebbd8d78%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] HSR: Dinosaur Ridge (01 Apr 2015) 8 Raptors
Dinosaur Ridge Colorado, USA Daily Raptor Counts: Apr 01, 2015 --- SpeciesDay's CountMonth Total Season Total -- --- -- -- Black Vulture0 0 0 Turkey Vulture 1 1 1 Osprey 0 0 0 Bald Eagle 0 0 1 Northern Harrier 0 0 1 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 1 7 Cooper's Hawk0 0 3 Northern Goshawk 0 0 0 Red-shouldered Hawk 0 0 0 Broad-winged Hawk0 0 0 Red-tailed Hawk 1 1 74 Rough-legged Hawk0 0 1 Swainson's Hawk 0 0 0 Ferruginous Hawk 0 0 2 Golden Eagle 0 0 3 American Kestrel 2 2 21 Merlin 0 0 0 Peregrine Falcon 0 0 3 Prairie Falcon 0 0 2 Mississippi Kite 0 0 0 Unknown Accipiter3 3 7 Unknown Buteo0 0 3 Unknown Falcon 0 0 1 Unknown Eagle0 0 0 Unknown Raptor 0 0 1 Total: 8 8131 -- Observation start time: 07:30:00 Observation end time: 14:00:00 Total observation time: 6.5 hours Official Counter:Bill Wuerthele, Roger Rouch Observers:Rob Reilly, Roger Rouch Visitors: There was little foot/bike traffic on the trail, and no one stopped by to inquire about HawkWatch. Observers Roger Rouch and Rob Reilly spent several hours on the Ridge helping to spot and identify raptors. Weather: The day was mild (temperatures in the high 60s throughout), with light winds in the morning (1 bft) becoming stronger in the afternoon (3 bft with gusts to 4 - 5 bft by the end of the observation period). Although somewhat variable, winds were generally from the northwest, especially the stronger winds in the afternoon. Scattered cumulus clouds at the beginning of the observation period continued to build throughout the morning, with 90% cover by 11:00 am. Visibility was good throughout the day. Raptor Observations: It was a quiet day on the Ridge, with a total of eight migrants - one Red-tailed Hawk, one Sharp-shinned Hawk, two American Kestrels, one Turkey Vulture (FOS) and three unidentified Accipiters. There was no noticeable pattern or grouping to today’s movement, with sightings scattered throughout the day. For example, the unidentified Accipiters came by west of the Ridge, all very high up and about an hour apart. Local Red-tailed Hawks were observed numerous times during the day, south of the Ridge, over West Ridge and over Cabrini. Local American Kestrels were seen several times during the afternoon, with a male in a territorial/pair bonding dive display on one occasion. In the morning, a Turkey Vulture was seen soaring well south of the Ridge, showing no sign of northward movement. The Turkey Vulture counted as a migrant, on the other hand, was spotted several hours later, high above West Ridge going strongly north. Non-raptor Observations: Common Ravens were a constant throughout the day. Also seen or heard were: American Crow, Black-billed Magpie, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Northern Flicker, Spotted Towhee, Mountain Chickadee, American Robin, Western Meadowlark, Western Scrub-Jay, and Townsend’s Solitaire. Report submitted by Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (jeff.bi...@rmbo.org) Dinosaur Ridge information may be found at: http://www.rmbo.org/ Site Description: Dinosaur Ridge is the only regularly staffed hawkwatch in Colorado and is the best place in the world to see migrating Ferruginous Hawks. Dinosaur Ridge may be the best place in the country to see the rare dark morph of the Broad-winged Hawk (a few are seen each spring). Hawkwatchers who linger long enough may see resident Golden Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks and Prairie Falcons, in addition to migrating Swainson's, Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, American Kestrels and Turkey Vultures. Peregrine Falcons and Ferruginous Hawks are uncommon; Northern Goshawk is rare but regular. Non-raptor species include Rock Wren, and sometimes Bushtit,
[cobirds] Bullock's Oriole, Denver County
A friend, Terry Cookro, who lives in NW Denver near I-70 and Federal saw a bright male oriole in her back yard this morning! He was perched on last year's stalk of a Red Hot Poker plant. We were hoping he would return so Terry could take a photo. Certainly this is an early record! Paula Hansley Louisville Sent from my iPhone -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/33863509-D332-4A4C-9ECF-C39CA46AD864%40gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
Re: [cobirds] Avian influenza virus
For reporting sick/dead wild birds, Colorado Parks Wildlife may be contacted via their website: http://cpw.state.co.us. They have a wildlife disease laboratory in Fort Collins. Also, the Colorado Health Emergency Line for the Public (CoHELP) will receive reports of sick/dead birds (and chickens) and forward the reports to the appropriate agency within Colorado. That number is 1-877-462-2911. Nick Komar Fort Collins CO On Mar 31, 2015, at 4:50 PM, Nick Komar quetza...@comcast.net wrote: Folks, a highly pathogenic avian flu virus may be coming our way. It is strain H5N2, and in recent weeks/months has caused deaths in chicken flocks and/or wild birds in Utah, Wyoming and Kansas. The latest casualty was a Canada Goose near Cheyenne earlier this month. So far, no humans have been infected. What does this mean for Coloradoans? First, if you own birds and one or more appears sick, take care to be hygienic if you handle them. Second, consult your vet or local Ag office to get sick poultry or pet birds tested. Links may be found at www.colorado.gov. Third, take care to limit contact between domestic/pet birds with wild birds. For guidance to improve bio security for backyard chickens, consult http://healthybirds.aphis.usda.gov Fourth, take care to avoid direct unprotected contact with dead wild birds. As far as I can tell, there is no effective reporting system for dead wild birds currently in place in Colorado. If I find out differently, I will post. Nick Komar Fort Collins CO -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CFA3887D-E914-4AD4-B9CD-C1CCA5FF3255%40comcast.net. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/549421C7-009C-4EFD-8B36-490F9D70A65E%40comcast.net. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Washington County Plovers and Longspurs
Date: 1 April 2015 Time: 08:00 - 09:00 am After reading about the incredible number of Mountain Plover sightings in the past week or two, I decided that instead of sleeping for work tonight, I'd go out and get me one or two. So as not to be a total leach, I decided to make myself useful and check out Washington county, since I hadn't seen reports from there yet. I visited the known and well documented spot at KK Rd and CR 20. Along KK, between CR 20 and CR 19, I had the following: Mountain Plovers - 2 McCown's Longspurs - At least 3-5 Chestnut-collared Longspurs - At least 6 There were far many more longspurs than those I reported. I am using these numbers since these are the only once I can prove weren't the same birds over and over. The actual count seemed to be in the dozens. The only other bird that was somewhat out of the ordinary was a lingering Rough-legged Hawk just south of CR 20 on Rd EE. John Breitsch Denver, Colorado https://www.flickr.com/photos/breitschbirding/ -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/d3190ae1-f281-46e4-9a51-3fffb078f616%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Boulder and Weld County ticks
I made a loop through parts of Boulder and Weld County today to catch some of the interesting recent sightings. Here are the highlights. Boulder Creek bridge at 75th Eastern Phoebe - a second bird has joined the individual found previously by Elena Klaver and Topi Wood Ducks - 4 whistling in a cottonwood upstream from the bridge Red-tailed Hawk flew to nest Lagerman Reservoir Osprey on nest platform Bald Eagle - adult flying near nest Great-tailed Grackle Crane Hollow heronry 13 Great Blue Herons at or near nests McIntosh Reservoir 6 Western Grebes among the handful of distant dabbling ducks Union Reservoir Sue Riffe's Red-breasted Mergansers still present along with many Western Grebes and a couple of Clark's. 6 Bonaparte's Gulls 109th at Boulder Creek Greater Yellowlegs -- Chuck Hundertmark 2546 Lake Meadow Drive Lafayette, CO 80026 303-604-0531 Cell: 720-771-8659 chundertma...@gmail.com -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CACZCCxcxgyFqGz4Beprc7GuOWiReY0ONLhEdEQXGzEjVCDh4kw%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] western Larimer and eastern Jackson on 3/31
I went up to North Park yesterday to see if I could find (an old birding term, see glossary of any birding book published before eBird start-up) a Greater Sage-Grouse without aid of intel, gps coordinates, map flags, knowledge of leks, or setting my alarm for 3am. At about 1pm I was very lucky and finally flushed 3 after a couple hours of walking around in suitable habitat just southeast of Lake John (i.e. wnw of Walden). As precise as I'm going to get is east of milepost 5 on 7 Road north of where it splits off from 12W Road. I saw 300 piles of both normal and clocker droppings, but only the 3 birds. They flushed about 50 yards in front of me, flew over the road, and that was that. Briefly exhilarating, not satisfying. Re the droppings, normal ones are pale yellow, usually found in little piles of 5-20, and resemble cheese puffs. Don't eat them, however hungry you might be. A clocker dropping resembles a little pancake made of black tar. They are shiny, even when dry. I first heard the term decades ago from somebody in DOW (aka DPW) and it was explained as the aftermath of eating wet food vs normal droppings from eating drier food. But in searching on-line, as best I can determine, a better explanation for this substance, which looks like something you'd expect from a fracking tanker and not a bird, is that it comes from incubating females during the brief periods of time each day they are off the nest. Apparently they are somewhat constipated, which produces strange (but consistent) results. The presence of normal droppings near the clocker droppings is explained by the fact that after eliminating the byproduct of her daily big sit, the female then feeds on sage foliage and produces a normal dropping about every 10 minutes or so. If anyone reading this has more to add to the subject of clocker droppings, I'd appreciate hearing it. I have a photo of both kinds of droppings, if anyone is interested. About the only other birds found amid the sage were Horned Larks. I'm not saying Sage Thrashers haven't arrived in North Park, I just didn't see any. Also of interest, my walking thru the densest clumps of sage flushed three White-tailed Jackrabbits and produced a FOY dog tick (don't tell Rush but the Endtimes are near when we have hummingbirds, ticks and Black Rails in CO in March!). Lake John is still 90% frozen but in a small pond just east of the northeast corner I saw an elevational migrant getting close to their breeding habitat, a male and three female Barrow's Goldeneyes. I did not check Walden Reservoir except briefly in driving by. California Gulls were back in numbers, as were things like Cinnamon Teal. At the Moose Visitor Center feeders in Gould I had only 2-3 Brown-capped Rosy-Finches, the local breeding species. Gray-crowns (and Blacks) nowhere to be seen. The great majority of juncos were Gray-headed, indicating yet another elevational migrant already having made it to the High Country. A Common Grackle, probably the one that overwintered there, was near the feeders out back. A small throng of Red-winged Blackbirds discussed the upcoming breeding season among the willows. I saw neither Pine Grosbeaks nor Gray Jays. On the way home in late afternoon, I checked a few spots along the Laramie River Road (103Road) for American Three-toed Woodpecker but detected none. This was not particularly surprising since even though this area has thousands of dead lodgepole pine and Engelmann spruce, none of the infestations appeared active. That is, it seemed like the areas I could access were aftermath rather than ongoing action areas. Dave Leatherman Fort Collins -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/SNT148-W47E8B827F3690B21BFF86C1F30%40phx.gbl. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Barrow's Goldeneye, Chatfield State Park, Douglas Co., April 1
A male Barrow's Goldeneye was seen on Chatfield Reservoir at 10:00 am, April 1. It was swimming on the bay between the marina sandspit and Plum Creek Delta. Dick Schottler Golden Colorado -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/551C5768.1040003%40uswest.net. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Common Grackles, Boulder Co
Okay, not exactly chase-able, but yesterday the first Common Grackle arrived in our neighborhood and this evening there were 12 creaking like rusty gates in one tree. Things happen fast this time of year. -- Chuck Hundertmark 2546 Lake Meadow Drive Lafayette, CO 80026 303-604-0531 Cell: 720-771-8659 chundertma...@gmail.com -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CACZCCxdR7ZHjDXkiNV3q1i25Urf96HGPUogVVH9GERWRHCvgGg%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
