[cobirds] Colorado Rare Bird Alert, 1 November 2015

[Joyce Takamine]

Compiler:   Joyce Takamine
e-mail: RBA AT cobirds.org
Date:  November 1, 2015
This is the Rare Bird Alert, Saturday, November 1 sponsored by Denver Field
Ornithologists and the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies.

Highlight species include: (* indicates new information on this species).

Greater White-fronted Goose (Kiowa)
Surf Scoter (Arapahoe, Larimer, Park, Weld)
White-winged Scoter (Arapahoe)
Black Scoter (El Paso)
Barrow's Goldeneye (*Routt)
Red-throated Loon (*Boulder)
Red-necked Grebe (Boulder, *Douglas, El Paso, *Jefferson)
Broad-Winged Hawk (Boulder)
Ruddy Turnstone (Douglas)
Dunlin (Larimer)
Red Phalarope (Boulder, Logan)
Pomarine Jaeger (Park)
Thayer's Gull (Adams)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Adams, Larimer, Morgan)
Caspian Tern (Pueblo)
RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD (Jefferson)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Bent, Lincoln, Prowers, Weld)
American Three-toed Woodpecker (Park)
Eastern Phoebe (Pueblo,  Weld)
Black Phoebe (Mesa)
BROWN CRESTED FLYCATCHER (Jefferson)
Blue-headed Vireo (Kit Carson, Prowers)
Winter Wren (Morgan)
SEDGE WREN (Weld)
Wood Thrush (Kit Carson)
Curve-billed Thrasher (Bent)
Chestnut-collared Longspur (Larimer, Montezuma, Prowers)
McCown's Longspur (Denver, Morgan)
Lapland Longspur (Weld)
Nashville Warbler (Prowers)
MOURNING WARBLER (Kit Carson)
Northern Parula (Weld)
Palm Warbler (Denver)
Rufous-crowned Sparrow (Fremont)
Canyon Towhee (Baca, Bent)
Field Sparrow (Prowers)
Harris's Sparrow (Bent)
Swamp Sparrow (Boulder)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (Boulder)
Rusty Blackbird (Larimer)
Common Redpoll (*Larimer)

ADAMS COUNTY:
--A Thayer's Gull was reported by David Dowell at Barr Lake SP on October
18.
--A Lesser Black-backed Gull was reported by Candice Johnson at Barr Lake
SP on October 20.

ARAPAHOE COUNTY:
--A White-winged Scoter was reported by Gene Rutherford at Cherry Creek SP
at the Smoky Hill Picnic Area on October 18.
--A Surf Scoter was reported by Hugh Kingery at S Platte Reservoir in South
Platte Park on October 24.  On October 25, Jim Schmoker, Scott Manwaring,
and Tom Behnfield reported Scurf Scoter at South Platte Reservoir.  On
October 27, Mindy Musick King reported Surf Scoter at South Platte
Reservoir.

BACA COUNTY:
--3 Canyon Towhees were reported by Mark L Hoffman at Cottonwood Canyon on
October 21.
--Mark L Hoffman reported Canyon Towhee at Carrizo Canyon on October 21.

BENT COUNTY:
--On October 18, Duane Nelson reports that he has visiting Red-bellied
Woodpecker, Canyon Towhee, Harris's Sparrow, and Curve-billed Thrasher at
his yard in Las Animas.  Birders are welcome if you notify Duane first.
Contact him at dnelson1 AT centurytel.net

BOULDER COUNTY:
--A Red-necked Grebe was reported by John Rutenbeck near Lagerman Reservoir
on October 19.
--A Red Phalarope was reported by Chris Rurik at Prince Lake #2 on October
22 and the bird was seen by many birders on October 22.
--A Broad-winged Hawk was reported by J. D. Birchmeier at Valmont
Presbyterian Church Pond on October 24.
--A Swamp Sparrow was reported by Ted Floyd in the SW corner of Stearns
Lake on October 24.
--On October 25, David Dowell found Golden-crowned Sparrow at Teller Farm
and Ted Floyd reported at Lesser Black-backed Gull flying overhead.  On
October 27, Eva Matthews reported Golden-crowned Sparrow at Teller Farm.
--On October 27, John Vanderpoel reported Red-throated Loon at Terry Lake.
The loon was seen by many birders on October 27.
On October 28, Red-throated Loon was reported by Steve Mlodinow, Boulder
Bird Club, Todd Deininter, Jesse Casias, and Bill Kaempfer.  On October 29,
Tom Behnfield reported Red-throated Loon at Terry Lake.  On October 31,
Carl Starace and m.ob. reported Red-throated Loon at Terry Laek.

DENVER COUNTY:
--A McCown's Longspur was reported by Jeff Dawson near DIA on W Cargo Road
on October 18.
--A western Palm Warbler was reported by Art Hudak at Bear Creek Park on
October 25.  The park of off Kenyon adjacent to Fort Logan National
Cemetery.

DOUGLAS COUNTY:
--A Red-necked Grebe was reported by Joey Kellner at the original Heron
Overlook at Chatfield SP on October 18.
--Red necked Grebe was reported by David Suddjian near marina sandspit on
October 20.
--A Red-necked Grebe was reported by Joey Kellner near marina sandspit on
October 24.
--A Red-necked Grebe was reported by Joey Kellner and m.ob. near marina
sandspit on October 31

EL PASO COUNTY:
--A Red-necked Grebe was reported by Mark Peterson at Big Johnson in the
Northeast corner on October 17.  On October 19, Mark Peterson refound
Red-necked Grebe at Big Johnson.  On October 24, Steve Getty reported
Red-necked Grebe at Big Johnson.
--On October 29, John Drummond reported f-type Black Scoter at Big Johnson

FREMONT COUNTY:
--On October 21, Setta Moss reported 2 Rufous-crowned Sparrow at Tunnel
Drive in Canon City.

JEFFERSON COUNTY:
--A Red-necked Grebe was reported by Phil Lyon at the Swim Beach at
Chatfield SP on October 20.
--A RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD was reported by Bill Kaempfer at Curt
Campbell's residence on October 

[cobirds] Redpolls at Estes Park 10/31 (correction)

[Mark Miller]

Hi everyone,

 

Dave Leatherman informs me that the trees the redpolls were feeding in
yesterday 10/31 are Water Birches, not willows. Water Birches have dark to
reddish bark. Thanks for your passion for getting it right, as always.

 

Mark Miller

Longmont, CO

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[cobirds] Common Red poll Matthews Reese Park (Larimer Cty)

[Tom Behnfield]

Mark Chavez David Starbuck and I located the common red Paul at Matthews 
Research Park in Estes Park.

Mark Chavez insisted that I am mediately report this find to CoBird!

Thanks also to Jesse Casias for the phone call too! 

Good birding, 

Tom Behnfield 
Chaser and proud of it.
Lakewood, CO
behnfi...@q.com 

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[cobirds] Juvenile Solitary Sandpiper - Mesa County

[Mike Henwood]

The juvenile western version of the Solitary Sandpiper (*cinnammomea)* is
still present at the Grand Junction Wildlife Area in Mesa County as of this
evening.

Very late date for this species!

Mike Henwood
Grand Junction
Mesa county

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[cobirds] San Luis Valley birding- Rio Grande and Alamosa Counties

[Gloria Nikolai]

Hello all,


Mark Szabo and I spent a lovely weekend birding in the San Luis Valley, 
spending most of our time at Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge (about 14 
hours total) and then had a relatively short 2 hours at Alamosa NWR. Someone on 
Cobirds recently asked if the Sandhill Cranes were still in the valley. I can 
answer with an unequivocal 'Yes!' Monte Vista NWR is filled with stereo 
surround sound of Sandhill Cranes - flying, kettling, foraging, dancing, and 
even napping on occasion. We counted about 4000 Cranes on Saturday and a 
slightly smaller 3000 today (ebird flagged both of those numbers). The Marsh 
Wrens put on amazingly vocal shows- every stop in either refuge was filled with 
Marsh Wren chittering away. In spite of the chattering, they were remarkably 
tolerant and visible while we watched.


At Monte Vista NWR, almost all of the expected ducks were seen along with well 
over 400 Canada Geese: Mallards, Northern Shovelers, Green-winged Teal, 
Northern Pintails, American Wigeons, Redheads, Canvasback (just 1!), Gadwall, 
Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck. We also had one each of Eared, Pied-billed and 
Western Grebes, hundreds of American Coots and 27 Killdeer. Amongst the many 
Red-winged Blackbirds was one lingering Yellow-headed Blackbird. Raptors were 
well-represented with Red-tailed Hawks leading the numbers race, followed by 
Northern Harriers, American Kestrels and a Prairie Falcon.


When we moved on to Alamosa NWR, it was relatively quiet though we did add 2 
Greater Yellowlegs and a Northern Shrike to the weekend list.


In regards to the discussion about ebird vs Cobird posting, I would add the 
following: I bird regularly and often and nearly always put my lists on ebird 
and nearly never post here. I like to contribute to the citizen science efforts 
and don't see my wanderings as particularly exciting or fruitful for discussion 
(as Joey Kellner aptly said for some people, I bird for me and what I get from 
being in nature). I always think that anyone who wants to check out an area 
that I have been can check ebirds for what has been seen lately and they can 
find my specific reports there. However, the one area where Cobirds might serve 
the communication purpose better is with reports/numbers or species that get 
flagged. Those will not show up on the Hotspot list though they are still 
reflected on my personal list. For example, anyone looking at the Monte Vista 
NWR list for the weekend would not initially see any of the following from my 
report because they were all flagged (perhaps the filters are too low in this 
area?):


4000 (or 3000) Sandhill Cranes

400 Canada Geese from Saturday though 563 was okay today (the change to 
November I presume)

8 Song Sparrows

27 Killdeer

1 Yellow-headed Blackbird


Some have since been cleared and added to the list, others have not.


Happy birding to all and to all a good night,

Gloria Nikolai

usually in El Paso County










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[cobirds] Mountain Lakes

[Joey Kellner]

Kathy Mihm-Dunning, Dean Shoup and I did a mountain lakes loop today.  MANY
ducks are still absent from the lakes likely because we STILL haven't had a
MAJOR arctic cold front pass through Colorado.

Hightlights (and lowlights):

Eleven Mile Reservoir:
4 Common Loons
1 Surf Scoter
2 Common Goldeneye
LOTS of Bufflehead and American Coots

Spinney Mountain Reservoir:
1 Surf Scoter
1 Black Scoter
1 Hooded Merganser (only merganser of any species seen all day)
LOTS and LOTS of Bufflehead and American Coots

Antero Reservoir:
Denver Water draining for reservoir/dam work

Ice Pond (Buena Vista):
A few dabbling ducks

Clear Creek Lake:
Dead

Mount Elbert Forebay:
2 Common Goldeneye (otherwise NOTHING)

Turquoise Lake:
2 Western Grebes (otherwise NOTHING)

Lake Dillon:
A couple dabblers and some California Gulls (otherwise dead)

Things should pick up on the mountain lakes once we get a REAL GOOD cold
front that starts to freeze lakes well north of here.  We'll see.  :-)

Joey Kellner
Littleton, Colorado


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[cobirds] Some north-central birding and a few additional notes

[William H Kaempfer]

I made the choice of an overnight birding trip this weekend to the 
North-central part of the state (Routt, Summit, Grand and Jackson Counties), in 
part to complement the trip that I knew Joey Kellner would soon post on water 
birds in central Colorado (he just did).

John and Linda Vanderpoel joined me in setting out on Saturday morning with a 
first stop at Dillon Reservoir-the only spot in common with Joey's group, and 
the results were in common as well: basically a few dabblers and California 
Gulls, although we did have two Red-breasted Mergansers and assorted Horned, 
Western and Pied-billed Grebes.

We stopped next at the Silverthorne WTP which isn't hosting any Barrow's 
Goldeneyes, yet, but lots of Mallards. Green Mountain Reservoir had a 
Double-crested Cormorant, but not too much else.  All of these spots are in 
Summit County.

Things started getting better when we moved on to Grand County were Williams 
Fork Reservoir had our only loon of the trip (common) and a Greater Scaup.  
Windy Gap Reservoir between Hot Sulphur Springs and Granby was covered with 
birds including most common duck species and a pelican.  I wouldn't bother with 
Wolford Mountain Reservoir.

Then on to Steamboat Springs (Routt) where we spent the night.  Lake Catamount 
south of town was amazing.  There were at least 5,000 birds there including FOS 
Cackling Geese, the six common dabbling ducks-American Wigeon and Mallard in 
the quadruple digits, eight or so diving ducks including a count of 42 Barrow's 
Goldeneyes (but no Common!) and a pair of Hooded Mergansers, many Eared and a 
few Western Grebes, huge American Coot numbers, two Bald Eagles, 1 Franklin's, 
several Ring-billed and two California Gulls.

This morning we started at Stagecoach Reservoir, nearby to Catamount and it had 
6 Mallards and a Green-winged Teal!  Go figure.  After traversing Rabbit Ears 
Pass (Gray Jay in 3 counties) we dropped into Jackson County where we had a 
total of four Golden Eagles, a Prairie Falcon and a Northern Shrike, plus lots 
of common waterfowl at Lake John and Walden Reservoir.  The Auto Loop on the 
NWR had zero waterfowl, and not too much water, but we did get (thanks to Linda 
Vanderpoel's sharp eyes) three Greater Sage Grouse.

In comparison to Joey's results, we had one Common Loon and no scoters, however 
in certain spots (notably Windy Gap, Catamount, John and Walden) waterfowl 
numbers were very impressive because we were 150 miles or so further north, no 
doubt.

Finally, a couple of notes.  Thank you Leon Bright!  Joining CFO costs $25 (a 
fee that has been fixed for about 10 years, I think).  That membership fee gets 
you the pleasure of supporting the State's ornithological organization and 
thereby features like Cobirds as well as four issues of Colorado Birds each 
year.  Please visit the CFO website and join.

Second, thank you Mark Chavez.  I would offer the opinion that this weekend's 
posts of all kinds have been the most interesting and vibrant on Cobirds in 
recent memory.  I think Mark Chavez stimulated us (and even Tom B.!) to 
remember to use this resource and share our birding with the other 1,408 
readers of Cobirds.

Bill Kaempfer
Boulder



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Re: [cobirds] CFO's journal COLORADO BIRDS

[Diana Beatty]

I've really like the series in COLORADO BIRDS highlighting different people
birds are named after - Wilson of Wilson's Warbler, Say of Say's Phoebe,
etc.  I wonder if the author would consider putting them together into a
small book when done?

On Sun, Nov 1, 2015 at 2:58 PM, Leon Bright  wrote:

> COBirders,
>
>   Yesterday our mail carrier brought us the Fall, 2015 edition of COLORADO
> BIRDS.  It’s some fatter than usual and has several very interesting
> articles, among them a paper by Alyssa Rawinski, teen daughter of John and
> Lisa, frequent contributors to this forum.  For those subscribers of
> COBirds who are not members of the Colorado Field Ornithologists, I highly
> recommend they consider joining CFO so they will receive this neat
> publication.  It normally contains writings of interest to casual birders
> as well as those who are scientifically oriented.  Surprisingly, Alyssa’s
> article is one of the latter.  Another feature of broad interest by Bill
> Schmoker in this quarter’s journal examines the place the new “bridge”
> cameras have for birding.
>
>   By visiting to the CFO website you can learn how to sign up to receive
> COLORADO BIRDS.
>
> Leon Bright, Pueblo
>
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-- 

**

All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the
old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.

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Re: [cobirds] whither & wherefore of reporting, cont.

[Diana Beatty]

Actually, I agree with you.  The reports of individual rare birds here
doesn't interest me much because I, too, am not likely to chase something.
It is cool when some kind of record comes up - like Brandon Percival's Vaux
Swift this year, or the California Condors we had in the spring.  But I
enjoy broader stories much more - field trip reports that mention all the
birds, discussions about trends or some kind of educational discussion, etc.

Diana Beatty
El Paso County

On Sun, Nov 1, 2015 at 2:15 PM, Linda Andes-Georges <
andesgeor...@comcast.net> wrote:

> What an interesting thread this has been (what to report, how to report,
> and if reporting, how fast to report--or do it at all?). I get the digest
> so I just read through many opinions in a short time. The perspectives were
> interesting to me, and many expressed at least one aspect of the subject
> that resonated acutely with my way of loving the birdwatching activity.
>
> This led me to ask myself why I read Cobirds (somebody else brought this
> up... ). I think that while the constant flow of "rare or uncommon
> sightings" is mildly interesting, I'm not much of a chaser unless the bird
> is 5 minutes away by car, or a bike-able distance! So what I'm looking for
> here are mainly two things that appeal to me:  good birding stories
> (anecdotes) about wildlife or human behavior, often both at the same time;
> and, What is the seasonal drift? What birds are now appearing where at this
> time of year? So the latter often is NOT uncommon or rare, but rather,
> typical, or if not, perhaps a new trend (we'll see).
>
> I sense that I'm in the minority. I just wanted that minority viewpoint to
> appear in the thread.
>
> Happy hunting, everyone.
>
> Linda Andes-Georges
> central Boulder County (shortgrass prairie)
>
> PS  On a strictly birdy note, we've had the aforementioned 3-jay days many
> days straight now, weeks even. In this matter, we're geographically between
> the far East (Centennial) and foothills:  2 Scrub Jays, 1 Steller's,
> bunches of Bluejays... If only a Gray Jay would show up, I could boast of
> an "Uncommon" of my own!
>
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**

All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the
old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.

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[cobirds] Common Redpoll at Matthews-Reese (Larimer) - YES, Red-throated Loon at Terry Lake (Boulder) - YES

[Kevin Keirn]

At noon I re-found a flock of four Common Redpolls at Matthews-Reese in 
Estes Park (Larimer). They were flying into the Water Birches (thanks Dave 
Leatherman!) by the small pond to the south of the path, and were finally 
visible when they landed on trees toward the northwest side of the pond. 
For those interested, please know that there were quite a few (a hundred or 
more?) elk packed into the immediate area, which limited access off of the 
concrete bike path. I just waited by the pond until the Redpolls eventually 
flew out toward the concrete bike path.

At 1:40pm Tina Jones re-found the Red-throated Loon on the southern portion 
of Terry Lake near the private golf course(?). We viewed this from the west 
side of the lake. Day 6 for this loon?

Regards,
Kevin Keirn
Fort Collins, CO


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Re: [cobirds] Re: Cobirds vs Ebird Reporting

[Scott Somershoe]

I'm a little late chiming in, but this is a common issue, probably all
states.  A lot of folks go birding, at whatever intensity, some post to the
list(s), some use eBird, and some post on Facebook, while others do combos
of these and others yet do none.

In Tennessee, we had the same issue with cross-posting.  For years eBird
use in TN was pretty limited, but I slowly but surely got more people to
use eBird (through talks to TOS chapters and some arm twisting) and
encouraged posting to the state list TN-Bird.  Many folks refuse to post to
the list because of fear of criticism and scrutiny, and getting nasty grams
from the list manager turned a lot of people off (everyone got rudely
chewed out now and again).  I ultimately created a TN Birding Facebook
page, plus promoted Facebook and eBird through two websites I designed for
my agency (I was ornithologist for the Tennessee state wildlife agency).
We engaged with thousands of people that were otherwise unaware of birding
groups and wildlife resources sharing information through utilization of
the Tennessee's Watchable Wildlife (tnwatchablewildlife.org) website and
and the new Tennessee Birding Trails (tnbirdingtrail.org) website and
associated Facebook pages and an "Ask Scott" email link where I got all
kinds of questions.  Sadly, I launched the birding trails page day before I
announced I was moving to CO to be the land bird coord for this region of
the US Fish and Wildlife Service, so that page hasn't been completely
promoted yet (but the Bird Trax rare bird gadget is on the home page and
eBird is full integrated everywhere on both web sites).

The morale of the story is that we can engage thousands of folks to share
information. Some will choose to post, eBird, FB, all or none, but we
should continue to encourage use of multiple resources as much as
possible.  We constantly promoted the TN-Bird list on Facebook in Tennessee
but folks often wouldn't post, so when someone posted a rarity (often via
posting photo of a bird they couldn't ID), I made a point of posting to the
list serve. That cross-posting was very important for a lot of reasons.  In
general, the List Serve is a very good archive of bird records, field
notes, etc, where as Facebook is not searchable and is a terrible archive
but is easy for engaging tons of folks easily.  All outlets have positive
attributes, but it's always going to be tough to make them all work to
their max.

In terms of eBird data, I'll echo what Arvind said with the scientific
value.  In TN, when we were updating our State Wildlife Action Plan, I got
permission from the eBird folks and downloaded 250,000 records of priority
species occurrences in the state.  These data were the majority of bird
records we had for most species and were extremely valuable to conservation
planning for the state.  So submit those lists!  Your every day birding
records are valuable at many levels, no matter what state or country you
are in.  eBird isn't just a listing tool (although I use it for that too!).


I'd also add that birding is fun, has to be fun, and honestly, sharing
birds with others is the greatest part of this crazy obsession (I mean,
hobby) of mine.  Some of my fondest birding memories are of sharing good
birds with others, whether I found them, chased them, or founds goodies
with a group.  Memories of birds and birding days from years ago remain
with me much better than what I did last week.

Good birding!
Scott Somershoe
Littleton CO

On Fri, Oct 30, 2015 at 8:19 PM, David Suddjian  wrote:

> As an avid eBirder and regular CObirds poster, I agree that the two
> satisfy different needs or purposes, but these overlap between the two
> outlets, too. I don't principally use either for chasing purposes, as that
> is a not a main interest for me, thus the immediacy is less a need. But I
> will note that a CObirds post can be a good deal more informative about the
> birding experience at a location, and offer much additional info that is
> lacking in the eBird alerts or even on eBird checklists. It is easier to
> tell the story of the birding experience via CObirds, or enjoy stories from
> others, and I like that part. And easier to pose thoughts and delve into
> interesting questions. So both are good outlets.
>
> The current membership of CObirds is 1,409 people, so it is hard to see
> that as an insider thing. I think many birders seek out regional lists as a
> basic sort of info and can fidn CObirds that way, and anyone discovering
> CFO or DFO could also readily learn about CObirds.
>
> David Suddjian
> Littleton, CO
>
> On Fri, Oct 30, 2015 at 8:05 PM, Steve Stachowiak  wrote:
>
>> Cobirders,
>>
>> A "Thank You" to the parties that posted the Great-crested Flycatcher
>> sighting to eBird and documenting the record for further discussion.
>>
>> I am not following the logic to Mark's original post because even if the
>> bird had been posted to CObirds the minute it was seen it would have 

[cobirds] not done yet: 40 cranes 2 mi west of Lagerman, Bldr Cnty

[Linda Andes-Georges]

I can't get enough of this lovely phenomenon.
Linda Andes-Georges

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[cobirds] November White-throated Swifts in Pueblo 11/01

[Brandon K. Percival]

Margie Joy has been watching White-throated Swifts on the cliffs above the 
Arkansas River since August, west of Swallows, seen from the South Side Pueblo 
Reservoir SWA (Pueblo County).  She has seen them a few times in mid to late 
October, including last week again, so she and I went over there today, 
mid-day, and saw them for November.  I don't know if there are any or many 
sightings of White-throated Swifts in Colorado, during the month of November.  
It has been very warm down here, and that might be why they are still around.  
Counting them isn't easy, though there were 100-250 of them, at least.  Maybe 
all the White-throated Swifts in Colorado are congregating, there, until they 
are ready to move south for the winter.  Pretty cool bird to see in November, 
they may well stay until it get really cold.  We also saw a Sage Thrasher and a 
Prairie Rattlesnake today on the south side SWA.  Thanks Margie for finding 
these birds. Brandon PercivalPueblo West, CO

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[cobirds] Re: whither & wherefore of reporting, cont.

[Chuck]

Re: Jays, Diane Carter who does not report to ebirds or post to cobirds had 
a Scrub Jay at her suet feeder in Westminster Saturday morning. No Scrub 
Jays in Adams County have been reported to ebirds for the months of 
October, November and December.

Chuck Lowrie, Denver

On Sunday, November 1, 2015 at 2:15:24 PM UTC-7, Fauvette wrote:
>
> What an interesting thread this has been (what to report, how to report, 
> and if reporting, how fast to report--or do it at all?). I get the digest 
> so I just read through many opinions in a short time. The perspectives were 
> interesting to me, and many expressed at least one aspect of the subject 
> that resonated acutely with my way of loving the birdwatching activity. 
>
> This led me to ask myself why I read Cobirds (somebody else brought this 
> up... ). I think that while the constant flow of "rare or uncommon 
> sightings" is mildly interesting, I'm not much of a chaser unless the bird 
> is 5 minutes away by car, or a bike-able distance! So what I'm looking for 
> here are mainly two things that appeal to me:  good birding stories 
> (anecdotes) about wildlife or human behavior, often both at the same time; 
> and, What is the seasonal drift? What birds are now appearing where at this 
> time of year? So the latter often is NOT uncommon or rare, but rather, 
> typical, or if not, perhaps a new trend (we'll see). 
>
> I sense that I'm in the minority. I just wanted that minority viewpoint to 
> appear in the thread. 
>
> Happy hunting, everyone. 
>
> Linda Andes-Georges 
> central Boulder County (shortgrass prairie) 
>
> PS  On a strictly birdy note, we've had the aforementioned 3-jay days many 
> days straight now, weeks even. In this matter, we're geographically between 
> the far East (Centennial) and foothills:  2 Scrub Jays, 1 Steller's, 
> bunches of Bluejays... If only a Gray Jay would show up, I could boast of 
> an "Uncommon" of my own!

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[cobirds] Cherry Creek Res 2 Common Loons

[ROBERT RIGHTER]

Hi

There were two Common Loons motoring along the north side, at about 2pm.

Bob Righter
Denver CO

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[cobirds] Jamie Simo - Common Redpoll - Cherry Creek State Park - Lake Loop

[Susan Wise]

Email from Jamie Simo at 918 am
Guys, I'm at Cherry Creek State Park on the Lake Loop and I just saw a redpoll! 
I've never seen one before!

Email from Jamie Simo at 940 am
I was shocked too! I was looking at juncos when I heard an odd song.

I'm posting on her behalf as she is currently out there studying at the color 
of the knees of Herring Gulls.  

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[cobirds] Re: Eastern Larimer County 11/1

[John Shenot]

I wasn't with Andy but also saw the Dunlin and Dowitchers at Timnath this 
morning. One very late American Avocet was also still there (continuing 
from previous reports).

John Shenot
Fort Collins

On Sunday, November 1, 2015 at 1:56:29 PM UTC-7, Andrew Bankert wrote:

> I hit a few reservoirs in northeastern Larimer County today with the 
> following highlights:
>
> Douglas Lake: First of Season Bonaparte's Gull
> Tri-Lakes Area: nothing of interest
> Cobb Lake: 3 Ring-necked Pheasants
> Timnath Reservoir: Dunlin (continuing) with 5 Long-billed Dowitchers; 2 
> Lesser Black-backed Gulls
>
> Overall, the duck numbers and diversity seem to be increasing.
>
> Good Birding!
>
> Andy Bankert
> Fort Collins 
>

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[cobirds] whither & wherefore of reporting, cont.

[Linda Andes-Georges]

What an interesting thread this has been (what to report, how to report, and if 
reporting, how fast to report--or do it at all?). I get the digest so I just 
read through many opinions in a short time. The perspectives were interesting 
to me, and many expressed at least one aspect of the subject that resonated 
acutely with my way of loving the birdwatching activity.

This led me to ask myself why I read Cobirds (somebody else brought this up... 
). I think that while the constant flow of "rare or uncommon sightings" is 
mildly interesting, I'm not much of a chaser unless the bird is 5 minutes away 
by car, or a bike-able distance! So what I'm looking for here are mainly two 
things that appeal to me:  good birding stories (anecdotes) about wildlife or 
human behavior, often both at the same time; and, What is the seasonal drift? 
What birds are now appearing where at this time of year? So the latter often is 
NOT uncommon or rare, but rather, typical, or if not, perhaps a new trend 
(we'll see).

I sense that I'm in the minority. I just wanted that minority viewpoint to 
appear in the thread.

Happy hunting, everyone.

Linda Andes-Georges
central Boulder County (shortgrass prairie)

PS  On a strictly birdy note, we've had the aforementioned 3-jay days many days 
straight now, weeks even. In this matter, we're geographically between the far 
East (Centennial) and foothills:  2 Scrub Jays, 1 Steller's, bunches of 
Bluejays... If only a Gray Jay would show up, I could boast of an "Uncommon" of 
my own!

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[cobirds] Eastern Larimer County 11/1

[Andrew Bankert]

I hit a few reservoirs in northeastern Larimer County today with the
following highlights:

Douglas Lake: First of Season Bonaparte's Gull
Tri-Lakes Area: nothing of interest
Cobb Lake: 3 Ring-necked Pheasants
Timnath Reservoir: Dunlin (continuing) with 5 Long-billed Dowitchers; 2
Lesser Black-backed Gulls

Overall, the duck numbers and diversity seem to be increasing.

Good Birding!

Andy Bankert
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Two Glossy/White-faced Ibis at Cottonwood Marsh, Boulder County

[Peter Burke]

Happy November!

There was a single immature Glossy/White-faced Ibis at this location last
week. That individual had a plain, uniform-colored face with a dark iris.
Both of the birds I observed this morning had lighter faces, in particular this
bird . I would be interested to know if people
feel this individual can be identified to species.

Good birding,
Peter


Peter Burke

Editor, *Colorado Birds*

*Colorado Field Ornithologists*

935 11th St. Boulder, CO 80302

(973) 214-0140

CFO   Flickr
   LinkedIn


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[cobirds] South Platte Reservoir - Surf Scoters - Arapahoe County

[Douglas Kibbe]

Hoping that the previously reported Surf Scoter on South Platte Reservoir was 
at least close to the Jefferson County line, Jeff Dawson, Mackenzie and I 
visited the reservoir this noon.  Although the surf scoter was still present, 
it was still solidly in Arapahoe County.  However, we were surprised to find 
that it has been joined by another (thereby doubling the chance that one, or 
both, may eventually cross that imaginary line into Jefferson County?).
For the moment, however, the best viewing location continues to be the 
southeast corner of the reservoir.   Even there, a telescope is more than 
helpful.
 
Doug Kibbe
Littleton
  

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[cobirds] Late Western Kingbird Lamar (Prowers) Colorado 31Oct2015

[Janeal Thompson]

Yesterday, 31Oct2015, during a short trip around Lamar (Prowers) , Jane
Stulp and I saw and photographed a late, flycatching, Western Kingbird.

Janeal Thompson
Lamar, CO

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[cobirds] Waxwings at Walden, or: COBirds vs. The Universe

[Ted Floyd]

 

Hello, Birders.

 

Some things never change. Soon after I moved to Colorado, 13.5 years ago, 
somebody asked me to spread the word if I found reliable cedar waxwings. 
And, just the other day, I got pretty much the exact same request. So here 
goes: This cloudy Sunday morning, Nov. 1, I found a flock of 32 *cedar 
waxwings* at Walden Ponds, Boulder County. (Also at Walden Ponds this 
morning: *wood duck*, a seemingly red-eyed *Plegadis* ibis, *Harlan hawk*, 
*Virginia 
rail*, *greater yellowlegs*, *eastern bluebird*, and *swamp sparrow*.)

 

Back to the waxwings. When I arrived in Colorado in the spring of 2002, 
pretty much the only way to get the word out was via COBirds. But change 
was in the air. Within a year or so, the groundbreaking *Colorado County 
Birding* website was launched. Instead of having to ask for directions to 
Walden Ponds, you could get that info from Colorado County Birding. You 
still can; you can get directions, and a whole lot more:

1. http://tinyurl.com/CedW-2015-11-01-CCB

 

Okay, but what if you want to know the exact location of the waxwing flock? 
(That's a bit like asking for the exact location of an electron, I 
suppose.) Well, that brings up another e-resource that was just gaining 
currency around the time I moved here. Something called Google. In 
particular, *Google Maps*. Here's the exact location, right down to the 
particular tree, of the waxwings this morning:

2. http://tinyurl.com/CedW-2015-11-01-GM

 

Google has come a long way since 2002. So has *eBird*. In planning your 
search for the waxwings, maybe you want to know what else to expect? Here 
ya go, my eBird checklist for Walden Ponds from this morning:

 

3. http://tinyurl.com/CedW-2015-11-01-eB1

 

eBird is so much more than checklists. eBird will very soon be unveiling a 
major new functionality, an "*add media*" option. Here's a sneak preview, a 
photo of a particularly interesting waxwing in this morning's flock:

4. http://tinyurl.com/CedW-2015-11-01-eB2

 

Maybe you'll want to be on the lookout for that particular bird. Or maybe 
you just need more general information. Maybe you just want to know what to 
listen for. eBird can do it. Here's *audio*, uploaded to eBird, of the 
flock this morning:

 

5. http://tinyurl.com/CedW-2015-11-01-eB3

 

Pretty cool. But maybe you're way into "ear birding," and you want more 
than the audio and animated spectrogram provided by eBird. No problem. Just 
bop on over to *Xeno-Canto* for all the technical specs on these waxwings' 
vocalizations:

 

6. http://tinyurl.com/CedW-2015-11-01-XC

 

Conversely, maybe you *don't* want all that fancy output and analysis from 
Xeno-Canto. Totally fine. With *SoundCloud*, you can just listen:

 

7. http://tinyurl.com/CedW-2015-11-01-SC

 

Y'know, my characterization of SoundCloud ("you can just listen") isn't 
entirely fair. You can "like" recordings, "follow" the recordist, "share" 
recordings, build your own "playlist," and more. SoundCloud introduces a 
dimension that simply wasn't there in 2002: online social media. Speaking 
of online social media, here's how the vocalizations of this morning's 
waxwings are presented on *Twitter*:

 

8. http://tinyurl.com/CedW-2015-11-01-T

 

Where there's smoke, there's fire. From a consideration of Twitter, we 
proceed of course to *Facebook*, and, in particular, to CFO's flourishing 
and rapidly expanding Facebook presence. Here, on Facebook, are all 32 of 
this morning's waxwings:

 

9. http://tinyurl.com/CedW-2015-11-01-FB

 

All of which might leave you wondering:

 

10. What's left in it for *COBirds*? Whither COBirds? Here's my take. I 
think COBirds serves a valuable role as an aggregator; COBirds is where it 
all comes together. Xeno-Canto and Facebook and eBird et al. are marvelous, 
but they generate only a partial record of the total Colorado birding 
experience. A post to COBirds provides context that those other resources 
really cannot; COBirds tells the rest of the story; COBirds is, to use a 
good Boulder word, holistic. If you want facts and data (and that's fine), 
go to eBird; If you want fancy technical stuff (totally fine), go to 
Xeno-Canto and such sites; if you want the online social media experience 
(also fine), join Twitter and Facebook and so forth. But for the fullest 
immersion in the Colorado birding community online, stick with COBirds. 
It's still relevant.

 

Ted Floyd

Lafayette, Boulder County

 

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