First, Dave, I want to thank you for this comprehensive post. Second, I
want to commend you here for your knowledge of the eating lives of birds,
and your ability to educate us.
And, in concert with your praise of other birders, I give a continuing
praise for their keeping us informed and furthering our education.
But my post is to defend Sandy Komito. I am of course aware of a few
disputes he has had...none involving me. But I have found him humorous,
honest, perceptive, educated, and just plain fun to be around. I have had
the pleasure of birding with him in (I can't remember all) Alaska,
California, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Florida, Nova Scotia, North Carolina,
and British Columbia. I birded with him during his first (1987) record
breaking big year in both Florida and Alaska. Enthusiastic, surely goal
driven, but always a gentleman to me.
Karl Stecher
Centennial
DAVID A LEATHERMAN writes:
> In response to what Ted Floyd and Nick Komar have already posted about the 2013 CFO Convention and its birds, I feel compelled to add some things. These are grouped by category.
>
> CFO and its Convention
> We are an amazingly balanced organization. To be sure, various types of listing dominate our pursuit of birds, but the ugly type is all but completely absent. Oh sure, there are nice folks on bad days in rare circumstances, but the occasional comment I hear from birders who only observe CFO from afar that we are law-breaking lusters who make the book version of Sandy Komito look like a Boy Scout, are utterly unfounded. Besides tick, we also spend a very healthy amount of our birding time photographing, documenting, surveying, watching, researching, and marveling.
>
> We are old, young, experienced, wide-eyed, low tech, high tech. And we are growing in number. What would we do if all the members attended the same Convention, and instead of 150 attendees, we had 450? To somewhat respond to Gary Lefko's questions, convention locations are as much a matter of who can handle our numbers and specific needs as anything, plus there is reason to give each area of the state its "turn". Yes, we probably have an economic impact, but I doubt there would be a big bidding war to host us. Maybe this is incorrect. Others will comment, I hope.
>
> Our leadership has been, is, and will be good. Like all social organizations, a few people do most of the work. But we are better than most in that respect. Thank you out-going Board members Jim Beatty and Maggie Boswell for all your hard work.
>
> Nathan Pipelow is an rich asset to us all. Our Journal is superior, and he is the primary reason. Having a bird vocalization giant in our midst is something from which we all benefit. His running of the Convention's Paper Session and ID Challenge earn him more kudos. Anybody stop to think how much time he put into just those last-mentioned assignments, on top of teaching classes at CU, editing a journal, preparing to write a Peterson Field Guide, etc., etc.? Yikes.
>
> This year's name tags were an excellent addition.
>
> The Paper Session this year felt like a solid part of the proceedings, not just "something we've always done".
>
> The team format now used for the Bird ID Challenge is excellent, and the session as a whole is very educational. Minimal ego, much learning, wholesome competition.
>
> Steve Jones being chosen for the Ron Ryder Award was a brilliant choice.
>
> Likewise, CFO and certain individual members are to be commended for supporting the coolest research of the coolest bird, the Black Swift.
>
> John Vanderpoel's recanting of his astounding Big Year was fascinating. Such things usually make me jealous, but not this one. I felt privileged to be along for the vicarious ride. I still say the first five seconds of Dick Schottler laying eyes on a Red-faced Warbler in the Wheat Ridge Greenbelt has to be the most exciting time in the history of Colorado birding, but Colorado resident John's year has to be right up there.
>
> The Birds
> Southwest CO at this time of year (and this particular year) has lots of big-billed Red Crossbills, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins, and Western Bluebirds.
>
> Eastern migrants, to be relished anywhere in CO, are exceptionally rare on the West Slope and my sympathies go out to all who seek them. At times on the Eastern Plains in the right places on the right dates, one "knows" an eastern rarity is imminent. When an asterisk species doesn't show up on such days, one goes home feeling disappointed and cheated (see Joey's post from NE CO the other week). I never had the feeling in Cortez one was even possible, let alone likely. Much easier on the heart, at the end of the day.
>
> I thank Urling for finding the Red-naped Sapsucker in an apple tree at Boyle Park in Mancos, because for the first time many of us got to witness what we've heard about - that is, a hummingbird drinking (apple juice, anyone?) from sapsucker sap wells.
>
> The color of a displaying male Dusky Grouse's chest sacs is unique in Nature. Seeing and hearing a bird on Madden Peak was a first, and unquestionably the highlight of my week. I owe this experience to Mackenzie and Doug, for asking me to eat with them at Burro Pancho's, and for sharing info about their field trip that included this grouse.
>
> The Habitat
> Diverse, like most of CO. Dry, like most of CO. The trees are late, like most of CO (more than once on field trips, I heard the location of a bird described as "in the dead tree" - sometimes the tree actually was dead, but usually it was just as yet "unleafed" Gambel Oak). The Pinyon Ips Beetle epidemic of the early 2000's converted a lot of pinyon-juniper areas to juniper areas. But young pinyons are everywhere and the epidemic was just an "adjustment" to the species mix. An old ponderosa pine stand, thick needle carpet underneath, usually-invisible Grace's Warblers singing overhead, is good for the soul.
>
> Just like eastern CO, cottonwood catkins are the "preferred" foraging site for Neotropicals this spring in southwestern CO, in lieu of other options. Elm seeds are available much later this year than usual (Evening Grosbeaks and Pine Siskins rejoice).
>
> Lastly, the only things I thought were missing (my fault as much as anybody else's) were tributes or moments of remembrance for both Mona Hill and John Prather. A resident of Lewis for several years, Mona and her birding husband Dean did a lot to put the Cortez area on the map. They hosted many of us during our birding visits to Southwest CO and explored many of the routes and locations we now take for granted. Likewise, the late John Prather, son of birders Inez and Bill Prather of Longmont, was the predictor and prover of Lucy's Warblers nesting in Yellowjacket Canyon. It will be interesting to see if his other predictions about Hermit Warblers being regular on Sleeping Ute Mountain in autumn, and Crissal Thrasher showing up someday (already?) near Four Corners, come to fruition. He also pointed out that Red-faced Warbler is regular at Flagstaff, only a few hundred miles to the west.
>
> I could go on, but somebody new school is already mumbling something about "too long", or "get a blog". Beak me.
>
> Dave Leatherman
> Fort Collins
>
>
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