Whimbrel, a large sandpiper visiting Pueblo Res

Today I received a call from a Pueblo birder who had found a rare gull. Since it was at the Pueblo Reservoir, which is only about 30 miles away, I drove down. That gull took off and we couldn't refind it, but there were some other treats there including this Whimbrel.

Whimbrels are the most widespread member of the curlew family (the Long-billed Curlew being best known). As can be seen in these pics, they have a long and down-curved bill. Though it is mostly gray-brown in coloration, it has two distinctive head stripes.
SeEtta

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

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

See the ring around the Ring-necked Duck's neck

The Ring-necked Duck actually has a ring, albeit a partial ring, around its neck that is rarely seen. It is visible in several of my photos, probably best in this pic. Birds of North America online describe it as "> . .dark chestnut collar around lower neck. . . ." The Smithsonian Handbooks Birds of North America-Western Region describes it as a cinnamon ring. It almost looks reddish or purplish (maybe cranberry would describe it) to me.

Though the duck's head gets a little blurry when it is enlarged, it still helps see the neck ring by double-clicking on the photo.

SeEtta

SeEtta

More Ring-necked Duck pics

The top photo of the Ring-neck Duck I photographed at Pueblo Res yesterday shows the details of the bill-a white edging around the base of the bill, white around the nostrils (called nares), the white band then the black tip. The eye is a bright yellowish orange.


In the lower pic the duck had just lifted its bill out of the water. I caught a few drops of water dripping from its bill.
SeEtta

Ring-necked Duck close-up and personal

I took these photos of a Ring-necked Duck at the Pueblo Reservoir yesterday. I wish I would take credit for effective stealth in getting such close-up pics. Sadly, that is not the case. This duck was hanging out at the North Marina and clearly was accustomed to being fed by the folks on the dock. Not only did this little fellow (yes, it's a male) swim right up to me but it followed me as I walked around the dock.

These photos clearly show the distinguishing feathers of Ring-necked Ducks including a peaked head (as very evident in lower pic). It's blackish upperparts show a greenish sheen (sometimes bluish) when the light reflects off the feathers of the wing in the top pic but purplish on the side of its neck. The sides/flanks and belly are whitish/pale grayish (depends on which field guide or description). The white bar that appears to invade the wing (actually it's just in front of the folded wings) is clearly visible in both pics. The bill has white markings with a black tip.

I think the clear views of the feet and the fanned-out tail are interesting to see. And be sure to double-click on the photos for even better detail. I'll post more pics in another post.
SeEtta

Pueblo Reservoir again

As I had a dental appointment in Pueblo West, the areas adjacent to the Pueblo Reservoir, I did some birding there afterward. It was a fairly foggy and chilly day, but the sun kept breaking through.

I ran across a flock of about 40 or so American Tree Sparrows in a weedy area near the shore. I could see 2 Bald Eagles out on the ice and lots of distant waterfowl. I did not see the Northern Mockingbird I saw last week-end that was in the photos in posts earlier this week.


I took this photo of a Pied-billed Grebe swimming near the North Marina. Though quite plain in plumage, this grebe has a distinctive ring around its short bill.
SeEtta

Greater Black-backed Gull at Pueblo Reservoir

Other birds I saw yesterday at the Pueblo Reservoir include one of the 2 wintering Black Phoebes and a fairly rare for winter Spotted Sandpiper. At one point the sandpiper apparently trespassed on the phoebes territory as the Black Phoebe aggressively chased it away. Both birds were foraging just downstream of the dam along with 2 Canyon Towhees and 2 Song Sparrows.

At the reservoir, in addition to a lot of waterfowl I saw 1 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and 2 Greater Black-back. In the top photo one of the Great Black-backed Gulls stands out with its distinctly dark black mantle and large size relative to the other mostly Ring-billed Gulls. This is not one of my better photos but even with a 12X digital these gulls were too distant for a good enlargement (this is where digiscoping would be good, but my equipment doesn't fit together well for digiscoping and its cost prohibitive for me to purchase specialized equipment for it).

SeEtta

Pueblo Reservoir Northern Mockingbird

In a December, 2006 I posted about a Northern Mockingbird I found at the Pueblo Reservoir. I added a not-so-hot photo of the bird which was rather camera shy. Today I saw a Northern Mockingbird in the same location where I found the December bird (so likely the same one as this species). However, today the mockingbird was a great photo subject as can be seen by these two pics (remember that I am using a 12X digital zoom). I stayed in my car so as not to disturb the bird (it makes more sense to not disturb birds as these photos demonstrate).

Though not real rare, this species is found very infrequently in winter here in Colorado. I believe that this is one of two Northern Mockingbirds reported at the Pueblo Reservoir this winter. Sometimes we have one winter in Canon City but I don't know of any this year here or that have been reported recently in other areas of Colorado. Birds of North America online notes that this species tends to stay year-round except at northern edges of its range. They further note that they believe these birds in winter do migrate out of the state but note that "some remain in urban areas." It further states, "Perceptions of status could be affected by reduced visibility of mockingbirds during winter." So I guess there may be more Northern Mockingbirds in Colorado than are seen and reported.

I recommend double-clicking on the photos to enlarge them so their feather to toenail detail can be seen. By doing so it is possible to see plumage and eye characteristics that indicate this is an immature bird (more on that tomorrow, it's getting late)

SeEtta