Re: [cobirds] Boulder County - was that a Sora calling?

That story reminds me of a Mockingbird story from Georgia. My mother had a much beloved cockatiel that she took outside with her and had the general run of the house. 

    She reported hearing the mockingbird mimic her cockatiel's mimicry of paper being crumpled! 

Deb Carstensen, Littleton

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 15, 2013, at 11:31 AM, Charles Hundertmark <chundertmark8@gmail.com> wrote:

I had a similar experience several years ago while helping return chairs from an RMBO picnic. We were in the parking lot of a Brighton church, when I heard a Sora from above. There was not a bit of wetland or water around. When I looked up, there was a European Starling on a utility line doing a perfect Sora imitation. We don't often give these birds the credit they deserve as vocal masters and accomplished mimics.

Chuck Hundertmark

Lafayette, CO

On Fri, Mar 15, 2013 at 10:50 AM, Peter Burke <peterburke@gmail.com> wrote:

COBirders,

I thought I would relate a funny experience I had yesterday on the North Trail at Teller Farms. When I reached the point where the trail turns away from the river -- just before the dogleg that brings you to the lake -- I heard a Sora call. I paused to confirm and heard the bird call twice more. I'm very familiar with this species, and since they can be tough to get an eye on, I felt confident in the ID.

Still, it seems a bit early for Sora, and the habitat there is not too Sora-like. So I waited a bit more. Long story short, the Sora turned out to be a European Starling -- the quality of the Starling's imitation was uncanny, very impressive. I also heard an excellent imitation of a Killdeer's flight call, and a decent version of Eastern Screech Owl. I don't think I've every heard such impressive mimicking from a Starling before...

The only interesting sighting of the day was a juv. Harlan's Hawk across the road by Teller Lake #5.

Good birding,

Peter Burke

Boulder, CO

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http://www.linkedin.com/pub/peter-burke/5/788/a62

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Chuck Hundertmark

2546 Lake Meadow Drive

Lafayette, CO 80026

303-604-0531

Cell: 720-771-8659

chundertmark8@gmail.com

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