SE Colorado Birding

Birding and discussion: A conservation-oriented birding blog that emphasizes low-impact birding and sustainable birding practices together with the enjoyment of birds. Southeast Colorado offers a diversity of habitats which provide premiere birding opportunities. Save Sabal Palm

Monday, April 30, 2007

Camera shy Green Heron



Well, I haven't published any posts for a few days as I was in the lower Arkansas River valley. I found this Green Heron hiding behind some vegetation in a small wetland in a verdent valley that the Purgatory River runs through. It is at the bottom of the prairie canyons that ring this valley.

Green Herons are always reticent and will flush easily so care must be taken to approach them carefully. Like many birds, this Green Heron thought it was hidden because it was behind some vegetatiom.

More on the trip later.
SeEtta

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Friday, April 27, 2007

Other birds of interest on Canon City Riverwalk



Some of the other birds of interest on the Canon City Riverwalk this week include a pair of Black Phoebes that apparently stopped for a few days to feast on the hatching Caddis flies and other mayflies. Black Phoebes are seen occasionally along parts of the Canon City Riverwalk as they move around seeking nesting locations.

The next photo is of one of the pair of Mountain Chickadees that has also been feeding in the same area as the phoebes. They fed in trees that are budding out along with dozens of Yellow-rumped Warblers, a few Orange-crowned and Virginia Warblers, at least one Tennessee Warbler, a Plumbeous Vireo and a Northern Parula.

Other birds the last two days included at least one Hermit Thrush and a singing White-throated Sparrow. The Eastern Phoebes and Carolina Wrens that have been on the Riverwalk added their songs to the chorus.

The bottom photo is of a red fox that stopped to check out a bunch of us birders. The light dots around it are the caddis flies that are reflecting the light.

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Thursday, April 26, 2007

The big chase--Cooper's Hawk after a Broad-winged


Though the sought-after Painted Redstart was not seen today in Canon City, several other birds gave those who drove over a hundred miles a nice show. One of those was a Broad-winged Hawk being chased by a Cooper's Hawk. This had also happened yesterday, but today the Cooper's chased the Broad-winged directly over our heads and only about 20-25 feet above us--fantastic show.

The Broad-winged perched in a tree about 100 feet away and I got its photo there that is in the lower pic (double-click on this photo to enlarge it for more detail). The Cooper's Hawk also landed in that same tree though on the other side and not very visible to us. After several minutes of respite, the Broad-winged Hawk, without any notice so I could get prepared to take it's picture, took off again with the Cooper's behind it. I got the photo above of the Broad-winged in flight (with a little blur as it moved so quickly but I think it's not bad since my digital camera is not an SLR) but couldn't get a photo of the Cooper's. A Cooper's Hawk has nested for several years in this area and I have seen one around this spring so it may be planning to nest again so it wouldn't want another big raptor around.
SeEtta

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Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Painted Redstart foraging


I got this photo of the Painted Redstart while it was foraging--it has it's head down and somewhat tilted as it goes after an insect. This pic shows the white wing patch nicely.

Painted Redstarts are a southwestern U.S. speciality whose range in mostly from Central America north into Mexico, but it comes up into parts of Arizona, S. Nevada, S California, N central New Mexico. Another finger of range comes up into the Big Bend National Park area of Texas. Canon City is far from its normal range (though we do have a number of other southwest specialities such as our population of Black Phoebes, Curve-billed Thrashers, Chihuahuan Ravens, Ladder-backed Woodpeckers and the mostly southwestern Rufous-crowned Sparrows).
SeEtta

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Painted Redstart fanning its tail feathers


Painted Redstarts have a habit of fanning their tail feathers on a fairly frequent basis. I got these photos of this bird doing so, taken from almost directly beneath the bird. The photo clearly shows the 3 white outer tail feathers that Painted Redstarts have (actually the two most outer feathers are white while the innermost of these outer feathers is partially white)

Birds of North America online has an interesting note on the tail-spreading behavior--"The behavior may be connected to this redstart’s method of feeding—startling prey into movement as it gleans, hover gleans, or hawks insects on the ground, on tree trunks, or among branches and twigs.".

I watched this bird a number of shorter periods that likely added up to over a half hour of viewing. It foraged whenever I watched it and seemed pretty successful at catching insects. It also called actively for stretches of time, then would fall silent for a period.
SeEtta

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American Redstart, uber rarity, in Canon City


Today there was a significant warbler "fall out" on the Canon City Riverwalk and it was highlighted by an adult American Redstart. Since there have only been 4 or 5 prior records in the whole state, this bird is an uber rarity.

This photo shows the red chest/belly, black upperparts and white outer tail feathers (actually only 3 have white in them, but when folded only the white shows from underneath). If you look closely you can see the white crescent beneath it's eye (double-click to enlarge photo to see crescent and other details).

This bird was found by a Canon City birder, Rich. I was in Pueblo and received a call on my cell phone from Brandon but couldn't leave for an hour or so. I got back to Canon City about 4 pm and the bird was still being seen and actively calling. I got this photo with my 12X digital camera when the bird was on a lower branch about 30 feet away. I have more pics I need to edit so more later.
SeEtta

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Tuesday, April 24, 2007

What the storm blew in and strange feed-fellows

Today a major spring storm hit much of Colorado with a variety of rain, snow, and wind. The high elevations in southeast Colorado got the snow but most of us just got the rain and wind. As the winds were cranking in from the southeast, I went out this afternoon to see what might have been brought in by this storm. On the east side of Canon City I saw a flock of about 75 Franklin's Gulls beginning a flight up the Arkansas River at low elevation, possibly in order to feast on insects flying just above the water (yes, this species of gull eats insects).


On Florence River road (local name for the road nearest and parallel to the Arkansas River), there was a flock of White-faced Ibis (quite possibly the one I posted on yesterday). Though they were in the same field that the Ross'Goose was located, I didn't see it today. A ways down the road I found the first Great-tailed Grackles that I have seen in this area this season including the male bird in this pic. Though quite common in many southern states, these are still a bit of a novelty in many parts of Colorado.

I also found the first Yellow-headed Blackbirds of the season here, shown in the lower pic with their strange feed-fellows (yeah a play on words on "strange bed-fellows"). Actually, Yellow-headed Blackbirds and as well as other members of the blackbird family are quite common around dairy cows such as these and other cattle.

There were some Mountain and Western Bluebirds near Brush Hollow Reservoir but surprisingly no waterfowl or waterbirds. Two Turkey Vultures loafed on the shore like two grounded teenagers.

And I was surprised to find a light morph adult Ferruginous Hawk at the far eastern parking lot for the Canon City Riverwalk. These are birds of more open grassland areas so it may have been blown in by the gusty easterly winds.

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Which birds are singing in the cold rain?

Not having gained any better sense during the aging process, I ventured out to walk a little on the Canon City Riverwalk when the earlier heavy rains had diminished to intermittant light showers. The temps were hovering just below 40 degrees F so I wondered what might be singing, and flitting around, in this weather. Though not totatlly silent, the Carolina Wrens were fairly quiet--during my 1 hour walk on the bluff trail I heard a Carolina Wren singing only once (at the far west end).

However, I did see several Yellow-rumped Warblers foraging and chipping as they did so. Also several Black-capped Chickadees called as they flitted from tree to tree, seemingly oblivious like to the brief rains falling on them. I heard at least one Ruby-crowned Kinglet called while several Robins, who never seem to pay much attention to the weather, went about their business.

I neither saw nor heard from the pair of Eastern Phoebes that have been around the old sewer district--this weather was not very conducive to fly catching. And all those American and Lesser Goldfinch that had been in a feeding and song frenzy the past few days near the parking lot were nowhere to be seen.
SeEtta

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White-faced Ibis in town

I have been seeing White-faced Ibis for about a week in the Canon City area. They feed in fields flooded with irrigation water then loaf and roost on local ponds and sometimes the Arkansas River. This photo is of part of a flock of about 50 that I caught flying in Florence, a small town east of Canon City. Their distinctive scythe-like bills and large size make them interesting to many non-birders who spot them.

The lower pic shows the interesting "mixed flock" composed of White-faced Ibis, an unusual Ross' Goose (this is west of their flyway), 2 Canada Geese and a horse whose flooded pasture they are sharing. While I watched several ibis were flushed when the horse moved too close for comfort. The horse didn't seem to pay any attention to it's uninvited guests.
SeEtta

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Monday, April 23, 2007

Black Phoebes checking out old nest sites



Today I visited my friend and got to watch the Black Phoebe pair checking out old nest sites under a small bridge where Black Phoebes have nested for several years. Each of the phoebes flew under the bridge like a husband and wife looking for a new house.


At one point both phoebes flew under the bridge in one location together. I hope they choose this site as I would be able to see it better than the site they choose last year--under a separate section where I had to hang my upper body over the bridge to look under it. Not only was this uncomfortable, but it kept me from doing much monitoring as I didn't want to disturb the nesting.
SeEtta

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Sunday, April 22, 2007

Common warbler with uncommon beauty



Yellow-rumped Warblers are the most common Warbler in Colo but they are uncommonly beautiful in their fresh breeding (Alternate) plumage. Their bright yellow throats, sides, crowns and rumps are really set off by the black and white on the rest of their bodie parts.

This bird has a white throat which makes it a Myrtle subspecies (Audubon's subspecies have yellow throats). This species of warbler is a generalist--it works high, medium and low in trees, sometimes hops down on the ground to eat a tasty morsel, sallies out to catch flying insects and gleans leaves. This beauty was feeding in a cottonwood tree on the Canon City Riverwalk.
SeEtta

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Earth Day: birds imperilled by global climate change

Today is earth day, yet the recently released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change portends terrible things to come due to human impacts. An Spiegal online special report on global climate change states, "Some 20 to 30 percent of all species face a "high risk of extinction" should average global temperatures rise another 1.5 to 2.5 degrees Celsius from their 1990 levels. That could happen by 2050, the report warns."

We are already seeing some of those effects in Colorado. Snow melt occurs 3 weeks early now which has serious effects on water availability since most municiple and agricultural water comes from snow. That also impacts the amount of snow in high forested areas, causing them to dry out and increasing the risk of catastropic forest fires. These remove large swaths of habitat for many bird and other species.

We all have an obligation to take action to avert worse effects. Here is the Earth Day website that lists some options of things you can do to help. Remember-if you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem. Be part of the solution and help birds survive.
SeEtta

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Better Osprey pics & with a very big fish



Today while I was birding on the Canon City Riverwalk I found an Osprey in large cottonwood. And for a change, the sun was shining. It really makes a big difference when it is sunny versus cloudy when using high power on digital lens (they need a lot of light to make good pics). So I got the top photo, with the bird about 80 feet above the ground and about 150 feet from me, using my full 12X power lens. Much better than the pics from the reservoir even though the one with the perched bird was only about 100 feet away.

I didn't notice when I took the photos, but as I edited them tonight I realized this Osprey was chowing down on one hunker of a fish that I would estimate to be 15-20" in length. So I cropped the second photo to show the fish best (though it pushes the bird so it's a little fuzzy).
SeEtta

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Best fisherman of the day--a pair of Osprey



I checked the Osprey nest yesterday at the Pueblo State Park that I have watched being built. There had been more material added to the nest. The Osprey wasn't there but I found a pair fishing nearby. The bird in the top photo was perched above some people who were fishing. It did not seem concerned by me under it, probably due to its being used to having a lot of people around as this is a very busy state park. This is different than I have found with Osprey I have found perched in other, less busy areas.

Those fishing nearby were no match for these Osprey who each made one swoop and came up with a fish-in-talon as shown in the bottom pic.

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Saturday, April 21, 2007

Best fisherman of the day--a pair of Osprey



I checked the Osprey nest yesterday at the Pueblo State Park that I have watched being built. There had been more material added to the nest. The Osprey wasn't there but I found a pair fishing nearby. The bird in the top photo was perched above some people who were fishing. It did not seem concerned by me under it, probably due to its being used to having a lot of people around as this is a very busy state park. This is different than I have found with Osprey I have found perched in other, less busy areas.

Those fishing nearby were no match for these Osprey who each made one swoop and came up with a fish-in-talon as shown in the bottom pic.

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Friday, April 20, 2007

Pair of Golden Eagles


I found this pair of Golden Eagles on a power pole in S. Fremont Co today. This is an area where I see a Golden Eagle from time to time so they apparently nest in the mountainous area not far from here. They are truly regal.
SeEtta

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Cute little Great Horned Owl nestlings


While at the Pueblo Res/State Park checking on the nesting Great Horned Owls I have been following, I was told about a second nest location with nestlings. This owl nest was in the top of a tree that was basically a snag as shown in the bottom pic. As can be seen this tree is near some picnic tables, though they have likely not been used much due to weather not good yet (and its' not an area where I have a lot picnicers before). A trail goes right past this tree but the nestlings stay mostly hidden.

There are two Great Horned Owl nestlings in the top photo. Owl nestlings are just so cute and these fit that rule as they peak around the tree at me. Mom owl was originally in the nest cavity and flew out when I got close inadvertantly (as I didn't see any owls until she flushed). She flew to a nearby tree where she could watch and she emitted several single note calls to the nestlings when I was first taking these photos, presumably telling them to hide (which they did). I moved away so as not to disturb the owls.

Since there are no branches for the nestlings to climb out on as they mature and from which they can learn to fly, I hope they don't become visible to passers-by when they start practicing flying. Nestling and fledgling owls are very vulnerable.
SeEtta

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Thursday, April 19, 2007

Just Coots



Today I did less birding but did check out a local Canon City wetland and pond area. I found a Marsh Wren, they are fairly common in marshy areas here. Nearby was this pair of American Coots hanging out in some pond vegetation as they often do.

There were several common Great Blue Herons flying around. Though they tend to be rather sensitive to disturbance here, the heron in this photo felt safe as it was about 200 feet away and up a tree.

For the third day in a row I have seen or heard flocks of Franklin's Gulls flying over my house as they migrate through the area. Yesterday I was able to find them visually as they flew in and out of some clouds.
SeEtta

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Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Photo of possible 3rd Carolina Wren in Canon City


This morning I set out to try to discern how many Carolina Wrens were on the Canon City Riverwalk. I saw my first bird only a few hundred feet from the Sell's Lake parking lot. That bird was a rich rusty color on its upper parts and a pale cinnamon. After foraging for about several minutes on the forested floor of the bluff (and looking in some tree cavities), I lost it and it started singing from above. I refound it between 80-100 feet high in a cottonwood--singing from a rather high perch. It sang a 2 note song.

I walked further down the trail and heard the bird in this photo singing. And it was singing a 3 note song.

Then I walked even further down the trail and heard a Carolina Wren singing a 2 note song that sounded different from the first bird. This bird clearly has a light breast and neck (but it is difficult to compare to the photos I posted earlier as they show the bird/birds from different angles).

I believe there are 3 male Carolina Wrens and wonder how many females might be here.
SeEtta

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Tuesday, April 17, 2007

More Canon City Riverwalk birding

In addition to the Broadwinged Hawk at the Canon City Riverwalk this morning, there was lots of action by passarines. I heard one of the Eastern Phoebes calling, and after several minutes I saw it over the old sewage tank. Then a Say's Phoebe began calling nearby. Then "the" (more later) Carolina Wren began singing. What a delight as I listened to all three of these calling and singing for about 10 minutes, all within a few hundred yards of each other.

After I walked on down the trail I heard "the" Carolina Wren give it's "cheer" call then saw it slinking about then flying across the trail into a scrubby area. I was surprised that this bird appeared more buffy than the Carolina Wren I photographed several weeks ago. Then it started singing and its song was different from what I had just listened to several hundred feet down the trail.

Another local birder, Rich Miller, came along and said he had just been listening to a Carolina Wren at the east end of the bluff trail which was around a half mile away. He said he had been thinking there had to be two Carolina Wrens as he would hear one at one end of the bluff trail then walk to the other end and hear one there. Since he and I had each separately, and more than a half mile apart, been listening to a Carolina Wren singing it is clear there are at least 2 Carolina Wrens here; and since only males sing, there are at least 2 male Carolina Wrens here (so are females?).

The lighter colored, more buffy wren I just saw that was singing a slightly different song opens the possibility of three male Carolina Wrens--wow.
SeEtta

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Broad-winged Hawk visiting Canon City

Broad-winged Hawks tend to be eastern hawks but they do come into Colorado as uncommon vagrants. Today one was perching the bluff canopy on the Canon City Riverwalk and it was seen by another local birder, Rich, who showed it to me.

Since the hawk was several hundred feet away, this photo isn't great. And, of course, the hawk laid it's wing tips over its' tail so the diagnostic tail bands are not visible and perched with its' back to us so reddish chest was only barely visible. Wouldn't you know. It does show the dark back without the scapular lightness that is indicative of Red-tailed Hawks.

I could see the tail bands when the bird flew, and it gave a good show by flying directly over us.
SeEtta

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Monday, April 16, 2007

Black Phoebes in Florence River Park

I drove to Florence to see what was around. In Florence River Park there were very few birds in the main part because they had completed a tamarisk removal project that took out 90% of the understory (a lesson to be considered for other projects). I only saw 1 Northern Flicker and heard a few House Finches there.

However, the pond area and the shore where they could not get their machine in to remove tamarisk was much more productive. There were 5 male and 2 female Cinnamon Teal in the pond. I saw 3 Yellow-rumped Warblers, 2 of which were Audubon's type that were in bright new breeding (Alternate) plumage. There were also a number of Red-winged Blackbirds there.

And I refound the Black Phoebe I found there a few weeks ago (though it's possible this is a new bird) plus it had acquired a mate. Interestingly each phoebe used a different call. One used what Birds of North America online calls the "chatter" vocalization that they say is "described as soft, wheezy sound" that is "used by males when approaching females and during Nest-Site-Showing Display." Now this is a surprise to me as there isn't any suitable nest sites in this location, at least from what I've read and also what I've seen for this species (ie, no wall or rock to which to attach their mud nests).

This makes the 2nd pair of Black Phoebes in Fremont Co so far this season, though more are likely to be found given historical numbers. I got this photo from about 30 feet away with my 12X digital camera.
SeEtta

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Sunday, April 15, 2007

Gorgeous male Ruddy Ducks



There were a number of Ruddy Ducks at Lake Meredith yesterday and all the males I saw were in their very colorful Alternate (breeding) plumage including the two in these pics. Their bills are such a nice blue color that stands out even against the blue color of the water.

Known as stiff-tailed ducks, this is due to their long black and indeed a stiff tail that is best seen in the lower pic. Sometimes they will swim with their tails stuck up in the air, a characteristic that can be used in identification.
SeEtta

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Why Franklin's Gulls have pinkish cast on belly

As noted in prior post, many of the Franlin's Gulls I saw had a pinkish cast to their belly area, a feature seen every year in spring and that wears off as the feathers are worn. So where do they get the pinkish cast seen on the gull in this pic (double-click to see it best)?

Not only do Franklin's Gulls get this but so do some Ring-billed Gulls as well as some Elegant Terns, though they had some other similar substances. It has been found to be due to a carotinoid substance called astaxanthin. And it is within their feathers not in the preen oil they produce.

An article in the Journal of Field Ornithology by McGraw and Hardy hypothesized that some of these species get the pinkish coloration because they are getting a lot of this astaxanthin in their diets when they are growing their feathers. This article, "Astaxanthin is responsible for the pink plumage flush in Franklin's and Ring-billed gulls" states, "It is tempting to link the increase in sightings of pink Ring-billed Gulls since the late 1990s with the introduction of pure, synthetic astaxanthin to the diets of hatchery-raised salmon."

It seems that natural astaxanthin is in the food that wild salmon eat and that is responsible for the pink color of their flesh. Since these farmed salmon (which are not nearly as healthy for people to eat due to reduced omega 3 content and they are harmful to other fish and the ocean environment) don't eat healthy, they supplement with synthetic astaxanthin (which has been approved by the FDA as a dye for this and some other foods). And astaxanthin is derived from petroleum products (so when you eat farmed salmon you are getting them with dye made from petroleum-ick!).

As much as I have found this pinkish cast to be interesting, I would really rather see my gulls (and my fish) with their natural color.
SeEtta

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A very birdy Lake Meredith


I returned to Lake Meredith yesterday and it was much different than late Thursday when the snow and low clouds reduced visibility. Now the snow was gone in the sunshine and temps in the mid 50's (yes, that's usual Colo weather-it rained one day, then turned to snow then warm with sunshine--yeah!).


As can be seen from these pics, there were Franklin's Gulls feeding on the insects that are over the lake. All of the Franklin's I saw were in this stunning Alternate (breeding) plumage (seen best when double-clicked to enlarge pic). Birds of North America online states, "Underparts pure white, initially with rosy pink cast (rarely salmon) on chest and abdomen. This is most apparent on shafts and base of feathers and can be seen in the plumage of the neck and mantle and the greater underwing coverts. Color fades during breeding season due to photo-oxidation of carotenoid pigments." More this pinkish cast in next post.
SeEtta

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Saturday, April 14, 2007

Lake Hasty at John Martin State Park



Lake Hasty sits at the base of the John Martin dam and includes a campground with lots of trees that draw neotropical migrants. Though I walked through the campground I could not find any warblers, not even a Yellow-rumped Warbler. I did see a Say's Phoebe working the edge of the trees.

At Lake Hasty I found around a hundred Double-crested Cormorants, about the same number of American White Pelicans, 1 Western Grebe and 1 Turkey Vulture. I took these photos of some cormorants and pelicans taking off from the lake. And the bottom pic shows part of the lake and part of the treed camping area.
SeEtta

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More Swainson Hawk pics



These two photos are of a third Swainson Hawk I saw today. While the typical plumage hawk in the post below has a rufous bib, this one has a dark brown bib. These bibs make Swainson's Hawks most distinctive and often easily identified in the field.

Unfortunately these birds are declining. Pesticide use in south America is thought to be a problem. Even though they eat rodents and insects that benefits them, ranchers and farmers used to hunt them until the 1930's in North America. As is a serious problem with many species, degredation of habitat has been a problem though Swainson's have adapted to many farm fields.

Swainson Hawks will build nests on power poles which can result in electrocution for them as wells as power outages and damage to power lines causing problems for humans. In some locations (they do this in the San Luis Valley) in Colorado special devices are placed on at-risk power poles to discourage nest building and artificial nest poles are erected to encourage nesting away from active power poles.
SeEtta

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Swainson Hawks are back


Swainson Hawks, that winter as far south as Argentina, are returning to Colorado to breed. Today I saw 5 Swainson's Hawks, mostly in Bent County, including two perched in one tree. One of those in that tree was a Rufous morph, while the other and the remainder of the birds were typical Swainson's with dark bib and whitish bellies.

The bird in the top photo is, of course, a typical Swainson. The bird in the botton pic is the Rufous-morph that I saw today. As can be seen, these have dark brown (as with this bird) or rufous breast with a lighter rufous belly. As can be seen, the undertail feathers are grayish with many darker bands with a broader sub-terminal band.
SeEtta

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Friday, April 13, 2007

Birding in the snow

I have been in the Rocky Ford/La Junta area for the past several days for the Arkansas River Basin Water Forum (I am on the planning committee, one of the conservation related activities I do as water is very important to birds and environment). We were supposed to get this major blizzard that didn't materialize, but it has rained and snowed much of that time leaving dirt roads muddy.

When the Forum ended mid-afternoon, I took off to get in some birding. It was a little challenging as it was snowing some and visibility limited. However, I quickly found a flock of 80-100 migrating Franklin's Gulls foraging in a farm field. As is not uncommon, many of them had a pinkish cast to the white sections of their plumage.

At Lake Meredith I found hundreds of Northern Shoverlers, mostly paired-up and feeding with their mates. I saw the first of the year Barn Swallows foraging above the lake with Northern Rough-winged Swallows. Also first of the year was 1 male Blue-winged Teal. There were a few Eared Grebes, Cinnamon Teal, Western Grebes and Bufflehead with larger numbers of Ruddy Ducks, and Lesser Scaup. As the lake is full of irrigation water there is not much shoreline and what is there is often covered with tumbleweeds (Russian Thistle) and Kochia (another weed) so the only shorebird I saw was a Killdeer.

At nearby Lake Henry (road was very muddy) I found 1 American Avocet, some Am White Pelicans, some white-headed gulls and Northern Shoverlers. Visibility was so limited I couldn't see the other side of the lake so could have been much more there.

More later.
SeEtta

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Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Osprey near Brush Hollow Reservoir



Yesterday I drove out to Brush Hollow Reservoir near Penrose. The reservoir was extremely full, extending almost to the top of the boat ramp. As an irrigation reservoir, the water will be going down soon as the orchards and farms begin watering their crops.

I saw one Osprey at the reservoir but there were no sticks on the artificial nest platform there. Due to the amount of water in the reservoir it now stands in several feet of water. I found a second Osprey about a mile away on my out. That is the bird in these two photos. I took the photos from my car from about 150 feet. I'm afraid that the close-up views that you can get by double-clicking on the pics are a little blurry though they do show some details.

There were also 2 Say's Phoebes on the east shore of the reservoir. Say's Phoebes seem to be everywhere right now as they migrate around the state.
SeEtta

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Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Update on nesting Pueblo Res Great Horned Owl


As I noted in the post just below, I stopped at the Pueblo Res yesterday to check on both the nesting Osprey and the nesting Great Horned Owl. Just as has been the case on the other occasions I have seen this nest, the female was sitting on the nest. In fact, this time she was lying across the nest with just the top of her head as can be seen by the bottom photo and her ears showing on one end while her tail waved in the breeze on the other end of the nest.


And her ever faithful mate was perched in a nearby tree as usual. He was taking a cat-no, owl-nap as can be seen in the top photo. At dusk I heard them hooting to keep contact.
SeEtta

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Update on nesting Osprey at Pueblo Res


Yesterday I stopped at the Pueblo Reservoir to check on the Osprey that I found building a nest (posted on 3-26-07) as well as the nesting Great Horned Owl (next post). I found that this Osprey was still working on building its nest but had added quite a bit of material. Though I was more than a thousand feet away, the bird let out some alarm calls (interesting since some people claim that Osprey can nest with human activity nearby). At least this bird did not welcome human disturbance, even distant disturbance.

This photo shows the nest with the Osprey perched on another pole a little further away. Double-click on the pic to enlarge it.
SeEtta

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