[cobirds] Crestone Yard List update

[jandbcobb]

Thomas, thanks for provoking a really interesting thread. Gives renewed 
respectability to sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea gazing idly through a 
window…

 

Location/habitat: urban, suburban, rural, etc? 

We are in the Baca Grande, Crestone, Saguache County at 8000 ft in pure Pinyon 
Juniper habitat but about a half mile from Willow Creek with riparian 
Ponderosa, Aspen, and Cottonwood. Most willows and brush cleared out for fire 
mitigation.

 

How long have you been keeping your list?  

In Colorado, we have had feeders since 1971. In Crestone, intermittently, since 
2000, as we visit irregularly for a month or so at a time – two feeders are 
maintained by a friend when we aren’t there.

 

What's your style of yard listing: casual, mainly feeder watching, moderate, 
dedicated, obsessed?  

When in residence, we maintain multiple feeders, bird baths, and some brush 
piles. My wife, Bayard, is dedicated. She would call me obsessed! 

 

How many species? 

95 on the property with an additional 12 within a half mile radius, along 
Willow Creek. 

In addition, the Mule Deer vacuum up sunflower. Black Bear (when we forget to 
bring in the feeders) eat the suet and the feeders. Coyote are frequent 
visitors, and Gray Fox and Bobcat irregular visitors.  This year a stunning 
Abert’s (Tufted-eared) Squirrel has graced us with their presence.

 

Rarest, or favorite species? 

Probably, the rarest species on the property: Orchard Oriole, Blue Jay, 
Yellow-breasted Chat, Lazuli Bunting. Due to our location in the Sangres, the 
appearance of any “eastern species” is a big event, such as when N. Parula and 
Hooded Warbler were found close by. 

Flocks of Pinyon Jays (which are running at 45 this year, with a high count of 
95 at feeders in years past) which visit every three hours or so, are a sight 
to behold and to hear and expensive to satisfy. 

Each year, we have something unique to record: this year we have had a flock of 
12-15 Bushtits who swarm a suet cake until it becomes just a hanging “hive” of 
bushtits.

 

Notably absent from our list is any Rosy Finch or Red Crossbill – both species 
are difficult to find in Saguache County. We also missed a Scott’s Oriole which 
was seen for a week or more at another feeder in the Baca.

 

Most memorable experience? 

Two Williamson’s Sapsuckers hanging out at our bird bath for a couple of days 
in 

late fall. When we are there in mid-May, suet and oranges attract large numbers 
of Western Tanagers (high count 14), Black-headed Grosbeaks and Bullock’s 
Orioles providing colorful chaos for 5-6 days.

 

John and Bayard Cobb

Currently Denver

 

 

 

 

From: cobirds@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Thomas 
Heinrich
Sent: Monday, March 18, 2024 10:15 AM
To: Colorado Birds 
Subject: [cobirds] Colorado Combined Yard List update

 

Hi all,

Just a quick update:

 

Total species now: 385

 

Total number of contributors: 60, make that 61 with Larry M

 

Needs list total (see below): 135 species

 

Still working on getting all who have contributed represented in the list. If 
you have any new species to add to the list, I'm happy to include them. I'll 
try to include those submitting species already listed from now forward, if I 
have time. Definitely have my hands full. But please keep posting--it's been 
really interesting and a lot of fun to read about everyone's experiences and to 
connect with others across the state (and out of state, as well). 

 

Thanks!

Thomas

 

 


Black-bellied Whistling-Duck


Fulvous Whistling-Duck


Pink-footed Goose


Barnacle Goose


Garganey


Eurasian Wigeon


Mexican Duck


American Black Duck


Mottled Duck


Tufted Duck


Harlequin Duck


White-winged Scoter


California Quail


Ruffed Grouse


White-tailed Ptarmigan


Greater Sage-Grouse


Gunnison Sage-Grouse


Sharp-tailed Grouse


Greater Prairie-Chicken


Red-necked Grebe


Groove-billed Ani


Eastern Whip-poor-will


Mexican Whip-poor-will


Vaux's Swift


King Rail


Common Gallinule


Purple Gallinule


Yellow Rail


Black Rail


Limpkin


Whooping Crane


Black-bellied Plover


American Golden-Plover


Piping Plover


Snowy Plover


Eskimo Curlew


Hudsonian Godwit


Marbled Godwit


Ruddy Turnstone


Red Knot


Ruff


Sharp-tailed Sandpiper


Curlew Sandpiper


Dunlin


Purple Sandpiper


White-rumped Sandpiper


Buff-breasted Sandpiper


Semipalmated Sandpiper


Short-billed Dowitcher


Willet


Red Phalarope


Pomarine Jaeger


Parasitic Jaeger


Long-tailed Jaeger


Long-billed Murrelet


Ancient Murrelet


Black-legged Kittiwake


Ivory Gull


Sabine's Gull


Black-headed Gull


Little Gull


Ross's Gull


Laughing Gull


Short-billed Gull


Western Gull


Slaty-backed Gull


Glaucous-winged Gull


Kelp Gull


Sooty Tern


Least Tern


Arctic Tern


Royal Tern


Sandwich Tern


Black Skimmer


Red-throated Loon


Arctic Loon


Pacific Loon


Yellow-billed Loon


Wood Stork


Magnificent Frigatebird


Brown Booby


Neotropic Cormorant


Brown Pelican

RE: [cobirds] Abridged summary of cobirds@googlegroups.com - 4 updates in3 topics

[jandbcobb]

Ditto – I was thinking the same thing. While Cassin’s Finches are regular and, 
in some past years, common (6-10) at our feeders in pinyon/juniper habitat in 
Crestone, Saguache County, this morning I counted 32 individuals including only 
one adult male, with the rest females or immatures – bodes well for the species!

John Cobb

Currently Crestone, Saguache County

 

 

From: cobirds@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Patrick 
O'Driscoll
Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2022 11:00 AM
To: David Suddjian 
Cc: Cinnamon Bergeron ; Kathleen Sullivan 
; cobirds@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [cobirds] Abridged summary of cobirds@googlegroups.com - 4 updates 
in3 topics

 

Same here -- two Cassin's Finches among dozens of hungry juncos, House Finches 
and House Sparrows, and a few chickadees and towhees.

Cassin's is a new yard bird for me here in east-central Denver.

About 10 days ago, we had a first eBird record for Cassin's in Denver City 
Park, a mile west.

Seems like there's a Cassin's irruption of sorts going on along the Front Range 
this late autumn.

 

Patrick O'Driscoll

Denver

 

 

On Tue, Nov 29, 2022 at 10:43 AM David Suddjian mailto:dsuddj...@gmail.com> > wrote:

Two Cassin's Finches showed up in my yard this morning at Ken Caryl Valley, 
JeffCo. They were my first Cassin's near home in 14 months. 

 

David Suddjian

Littleton, CO

 

 

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RE: [cobirds] Glossy Ibis at Heron Pond.

[jandbcobb]

To supplement Norm Erthal’s email of yesterday below, I should apologize for my 
own waffling on the Heron Pond Ibis. I saw this bird on Monday 25 April and 
identified it (and posted it to ebird) as White-faced Ibis. For the reasons 
Norm cites, I saw no reason to doubt the id. 

On Tuesday, I read an ebird post which, citing photos, had identified, 
presumably the same bird, as a Glossy. I then was prompted to review three poor 
photos I had snapped of the bird which, while ambiguous, to my surprise seemed 
to support Glossy. I then changed my post to Glossy. 

When I got Norm’s clarifying email, I took another look at my photos, and 
recalling the opacity of Heron Pond mud, realized that in between my visual ID 
and the photos the aforesaid Ibis had devilishly dunked his bill and head in 
silt becoming Plegadis obscura. 

 

I have again amended my post. Hopefully, no one spent a $5 gallon to go see a 
Glossy after my first amended post. In summation, even with photo “evidence”, 
sometimes “first thought, best thought” is more reliable. Or, it also calls to 
mind, “fool me once….., fool me twice….” Or however that goes. 

John Cobb

Denver

 

 

From: cobirds@googlegroups.com  On Behalf Of Norm 
Erthal
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2022 6:32 PM
To: Colorado Birds 
Subject: [cobirds] Glossy Ibis at Heron Pond.

 

I may have caused some confusion by posting on eBird both Glossy and 
White-faced. I thought it would give me a good way to make comments about the 
one ibis there by adding comments using notes for the glossy. I was able to get 
great views zoomed to 60 power. The bird was clearly a white-faced as the 
facial skin was obviously red with a complete white border. The border was not 
bold indicating it was not in full breeding adult plumage. There seems to be 
some confusion that I had photos which is not the case. My plan was to later 
delete glossy from the checklist which I did.

 

Norm Erthal

Arvada

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[cobirds] Nelson’s Sparrow

[jandbcobb]

The Nelson’s Sparrow continued at 8:30 am this morning in same area at Pelican 
Point.
John Cobb
Denver 

Sent from my iPhone

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[cobirds] Hooded Warbler - Saguache

[jandbcobb]

Bayard and I had a stunning male Hooded Warbler on Spanish Creek in Crestone
this morning. He paused long enough for me to get adequate photos. 8th
record for the valley (per John Rawinski) and only the 2nd I know of for
Saguache - although there may be more Hooded Warblers than birders currently
in Saguache so we will never really know for sure. To date, a Western Palm
Warbler at Russell Lakes May 8 has been the only other warbler
pulse-quickener.  

Stay well,

Bayard and John Cobb

Crestone, Saguache County

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[cobirds] Saguache white-throated sparrow

[jandbcobb]

This afternoon, Bayard and I had a White-throated Sparrow at Russell Lakes in 
the brush southwest along the parking lot.
 After seeing one white-throat in 45 plus years in CO, we have seen two this 
month (Westerly Creek, Denver). 
Also of interest were 32 Great-tailed Grackles on a power line along US 285 
west of parking lot.
John Cobb
Crestone and Denver

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[cobirds] Denver — Harris’s Sparrow

[jandbcobb]

This morning there was a immature Harris’s Sparrow in with a group of 
White-crowns at Bluff Lake Nature Center in the brush near the entrance 
porta-potties.
The wood duck count on the lake is down to four females from 14 about three 
weeks ago.
John Cobb
Denver

Sent from my iPhone

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