RE: [cobirds] Re: Ridgway Banding and comment on rare birds.

For what it's worth, both of these species (Hooded Warbler and Painted Bunting) are SE US breeders as opposed to boreal Canada breeders like a Cape May Warbler or Mourning Warbler.  In fact many of the rarer migrants this fall, the White-eyed Vireo found by Steve Mlodinov and Nick Moore in Yuma County comes to mind or even the Red-shouldered Hawk at North Sterling State Park which was classified from photos as of the Arkansas-East Texas population by Brian Wheeler, are SE birds.  Perhaps the hot and dry weather of the last 6-8 weeks is indicative of a high pressure shield that had deflected northern migrants further east while some birds for the SE have been free to wander around.

 

So that advances an hypothesis as to why these kinds of birds, but why relatively so many?  How does this sound—a bird going south up the Uncompahgre Valley might be daunted by the prospect of the San Juan mountains looming right ahead.  Experienced birds that have been that way before know that if the grit their teeth (bills?) and take the flying leap, the other side of the mountains isn't too far.  Those who haven't been that way before might decide to get some extra fat on the bones.  So the question is, is there a (statistically) higher proportion of hatch-year birds at Ridgeway vis-à-vis Barr or Chico?

 

Bill Kaempfer

Boulder

 

From: cobirds@googlegroups.com [mailto:cobirds@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of meredith
Sent: Monday, September 21, 2015 6:08 PM
To: Colorado Birds
Subject: [cobirds] Re: Ridgway Banding and comment on rare birds.

 

Nick,

 

I think most active birders would have picked out the same two birds from Amanda's list as rare that you did, and I had been thinking the same thing that you were before reading your post - Wow, very low numbers for the two weeks we band in Ridgway but two rarities.  On the other hand, we at Barr are having a pretty good year in terms of numbers so far, but zero rarities.  My memory is that Chico has not seen many rarities either.  I have been attributing that to the lack of any major weather disruptions, but of course have no idea whether that is accurate. (And then I have no explanation for how a HOWA and PABU made it to Ridgway.....)  So, I guess I don't think rarities as a group can be measured in terms of 1 per anything - some periods we will have many and others none.

 

Meredith McBurney

Barr Lake  

On Sunday, September 20, 2015 at 9:11:09 PM UTC-6, Nick Komar wrote:

Interesting that among only 64 captures, two were rare (Painted Bunting and Hooded Warbler). I usually think of a rare occurrence being closer to 1 per thousand. But maybe 1 per hundred is closer. "Rare" is a subjective term. Finding rare birds is one of my favorite aspects of birding. But what is truly rare? I'd be curious to know what other birders in Colorado consider the definition of rare from a birding perspective. Reply to list, or privately to me. I'll tally the responses and summarize them (anonymously) on Cobirds. 

Nick Komar

Fort Collins

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 20, 2015, at 7:39 PM, Amanda Ziegelbauer <atzieg...@gmail.com> wrote:

We had a great last week in Ridgway! Thursday morning brought us a beautiful after hatch-year male Virginia's Warbler. We also had a surprise bird that was caught early Friday morning - a hatch-year Painted Bunting! Pictures are available.

 

End of season tally:

 

Willow Flycatcher - 2

Black-capped Chickadee - 3

House Wren - 4

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - 1

Gray Catbird - 4

Orange-crowned Warbler - 2

Virginia's Warbler - 1

Yellow Warbler - 3

Macgillivray's Warbler - 4

Wilson's Warbler 20

Hooded Warbler - 1

Song Sparrow - 11

Lincoln's Sparrow - 4

Gambel's White-crowned Sparrow - 1

Mountain White-crowned Sparrow - 1

Black-headed Grosbeak - 1

Painted Bunting - 1

 

Thank you to all our amazing volunteers and visitors! We had a beautiful season.

 

Amanda Ziegelbauer

Bander

Ridgway State Park Banding Station

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies

 

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