Lazuli Buntings at Canon City Riverwalk

Yesterday morning I birded some on the Canon City Riverwalk. As I have posted before, there are a lot of Lazuli Buntings there including this male I picked out of the foliage in a tree. They are such strikingly handsome birds with their azur blue heads, rusty chest, set off by the white on their lower parts and accented by their white wing bars--like birds in designer plumage. As brightly colored as they are, they are nonetheless a challenge to find as they perch inside thick foliage like this one.

Indigo Buntings are also on the riverwalk as well as a healthy population of Blue Grosbeak, all with this year's juveniles following them. There are also many Black-headed Grosbeak, including many juveniles. It is easy to spot a family group with the parents leading the young to forage on some of the several varieties of berries that grow here. The birds seem to relish the berries as they can be seen just holding one of these red berries in their beak as though holding a prize they had won.

I ran into the Rich who found the Hooded Warbler there several weeks ago. He said he saw the male Hooded feeding a juvenile. I still haven't seen these birds and may not as he said the area off the trail where they are located in infested with mosquitos and it is necessary to drown oneself in Deet. Though I enjoy seeing a rarity, they are not my focus and not important enough to use a lot of Deet.

I was pleased to hear some Cedar Waxwings in the top of the tall cottonwoods though I only saw 2 birds. Both Black-chinned and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds whizzed by. Black-capped Chickadees foraged as they do, working a limb from top to bottom as they go upside down to get at tidbits. Yellow Warblers seemed especially active as they flew quickly from tree to tree, singing their "sweet, sweet, so sweet" song. Yellow-breasted Chats called loudly and distinctively. Common Yellowthroats repeated their "witchity, witchity, witchity" calls while Western Wood-pewees sang their burry calls. This area is like a Baskin-Robbins with a great variety of auditory flavors to savor.

SeEtta