Wednesday 31 January 2024

[cobirds] Aug-Nov 2023 Photos for CO Birds "News From The Field" Article

Greetings, CO Birders!


Once again, we are on the lookout for captivating images for the upcoming issue of Colorado Birds, the quarterly journal published by the Colorado Field Ornithologists. We are particularly interested in photos captured between August and November 2023 for the "News From The Field" article. Kindly submit your finest, high-quality photographs featuring rare, vagrant, or uncommon bird species within the specified timeframe (refer to the guidelines below).


Send your submissions to me at georgemayfield@gmail.com by February 8, 2024.


We are specifically seeking images of the following species reported in Colorado during this period:


  • Brant
  • Trumpeter Swan
  • Tundra Swan
  • Harlequin Duck
  • Surf Scoter
  • White-winged Scoter
  • Black Scoter
  • Long-tailed Duck
  • Red-necked Grebe
  • Common Ground Dove
  • Ruby-throated Hummingbird
  • American Golden-Plover
  • Piping Plover
  • Snowy Plover
  • Whimbrel
  • Ruddy Turnstone
  • Red Knot
  • Dunlin
  • Buff-breasted Sandpiper
  • Short-billed Dowitcher
  • Red Phalarope
  • Pomarine Jaeger
  • Long-tailed Jaeger
  • Black-legged Kittiwake
  • Laughing Gull
  • Short-billed Gull
  • Red-throated Loon
  • Pacific Loon
  • Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
  • Vermilion Flycatcher
  • White-eyed Vireo
  • Yellow-throated Vireo
  • Blue-headed Vireo
  • Philadelphia Vireo
  • Purple Martin
  • Carolina Wren
  • Pacific Wren
  • Sedge Wren
  • Wood Thrush
  • Varied Thrush
  • Sprague's Pipit
  • Common Redpoll
  • Cassia Crossbill
  • White-winged Crossbill
  • Snow Bunting
  • Golden-crowned Sparrow
  • Black-and-white Warbler
  • Prothonotary Warbler
  • Tennessee Warbler
  • Lucy's Warbler
  • Nashville Warbler
  • Mourning Warbler
  • Hooded Warbler
  • Northern Parula
  • Magnolia Warbler
  • Bay-breasted Warbler
  • Blackburnian Warbler
  • Chestnut-sided Warbler
  • Blackpoll Warbler
  • Black-throated Blue Warbler
  • Palm Warbler
  • Pine Warbler
  • Yellow-throated Warbler
  • Prairie Warbler
  • Black-throated Gray Warbler
  • Black-throated Green Warbler
  • Summer Tanager

    We appreciate your contributions to Colorado Birds. Your dedication and generosity play a crucial role in maintaining the excellence of our journal, making it one of the finest in the country. Thank you for sharing your photographic endeavors with us!


    George Mayfield


    Photo Editor, Colorado Birds


    Wheat Ridge, Jefferson County


    ***


    Photo Submission Guidelines:


    Photos from August - November 2023


    Photos must be your own, and by submitting them, you give Colorado Birds permission to reproduce in any issue and on the CFO website. We always credit images with the photographer's name.


    Please use the following format for the photo file namesspecies-date-location-county-photographer. For example, a photo of an American Robin taken Oct. 4, 2019 at Chatfield State Park by John James Audubon would be named as follows: 

    American Robin (or AMRO) -20191004-Chatfield-Adams-JJAudubon.


    Minimum quality for interior publication use is 750 x 900 pixels. To be considered for the journal cover, photos must be at least 2625 pixels (vertically) x 1725 pixels (horizontally). Please send original files in the largest resolution possible (300 dpi is preferable) . We will crop and resize as needed.  Email your submissions to georgemayfield@gmail.com

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    Monday 29 January 2024

    [cobirds] BCAS Field Trip: Open Space Believe it or Not! Sat, Feb 18

    Whether you're new to the area or someone who just wants to learn some amazing stuff about local wildlands, join Community Naturalist Dave Sutherland for a crash course on the biology, geology, and history of Boulder County open space.

    The field trip includes hiking through beautiful ponderosa pine forests to vantage points for wonderful views plus a chance to see wildlife. Be prepared to hike three miles with a 400-foot elevation gain. Please bring strap-on traction for footwear (e.g., micro-spikes or Yak-tracks) since the trail WILL be very slick and icy.

    Where to meet: Dave will provide the meeting location to registered participants.

    Sunday, February 18, 2024: 9:00 am - 12:00 pm


    Limit 15, RSVP to trip leader to reserve your spot after 6:00 pm on Monday February 5. Early registrations are not accepted.

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    Friday 26 January 2024

    [cobirds] BIRD BOMBS: Colorado Bird Taxonomy Made Simple Feb 15

    Hi CoBirders,

    Register now for the next BIRD BOMBS set to explode Feb. 15 at 7 pm:
    Colorado Bird Taxonomy Made Simple .Bird taxonomy - the science of organizing and naming life forms - comes into play continually for birders. An understanding of bird relationships helps us in our identification and in appreciating what we see. This BIRD BOMBS will bring a Colorado focus to the topic, and have practical connections to how we bird.

    Visit the DFO BIRD BOMBS video archive to view past episodes, including the recent double gull bombsGet Gullable and I Wish They All Could Be California Gulls.

    David suddjian
    Littleton CO


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    [cobirds] Feb 4: First Sunday Bird Watching at Greenlee Wildlife Preserve, Lafayette

    Everyone, including beginning birders, are invited to experience the fun and discovery of bird watching at the Greenlee Wildlife Preserve on the first Sunday of each month year-round. Knowledgeable bird watchers will be on hand with binoculars, spotting scopes, and learning tools to assist in the fun activity of identifying birds in their natural habitats. These

    No RSVP required - drop by anytime between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00 PM. Park in Waneka Lake lot and walk around the lake to Greenlee or park on nearby Waneka Lake Trail.

    For more information on the February 4 event: https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/lafayette-birds-first-sunday-bird-watching-feb-2024 

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    Thursday 25 January 2024

    [cobirds] Pueblo birds on 1/25

    Van Truan and I birded Pueblo Reservoir this afternoon.  We started this morning at Cattail Crossing Pond in Pueblo West, where the possible Mexican Duck continues. 

    We then enjoyed the goose show in Colorado Springs, El Paso County, saw the Black Brant, Greater White-fronted Goose, Snow Goose, Ross's Goose, and a couple hybrid geese too.  Along with other Colorado Springs birders, we saw a female Williamson's Sapsucker (which turned out to be the only Sapsucker we saw today).  We decided to go to Canon City and try for Sapsuckers and other birds, and stuck out.  We forgot to go to one of the Sapsuckers places, which we found out when we got home, did have sapsuckers today.  Oh well.  

    We then birded Pueblo Reservoir, where our luck changed, saw the continuing Yellow-billed Loon (note this bird has a yellow upturned bill and is tan colored), 7 Common Loons (which are not the same color as the Yellow-billed Loon), Red-necked Grebe, Pacific Loon, Field Sparrow, Great Black-backed, several Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Iceland (Thayer's) Gull, Double-crested Cormorant.  We saw a hybrid gull, which may be a Glaucous-winged x Herring Gull.  It has a two toned bill, that looks like a Glaucous Gull, though the wing tips look more like Glaucous-winged.  There are photos on the ebird checklist.

    Always fun to bird with my uncle, and see some fun birds.

    Good birding,
    Brandon K. Percival
    Pueblo West, CO

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    [cobirds] Cinnamon Teal in Bent County

    Birders, 

    I'm not quite ready to declare that winter is over in SE Colorado, but I saw a male Cinnamon Teal near the junction of the Arkansas and Purgatoire Rivers in Bent County today. This is my first January sighting of this species in SE Colorado. 

    Duane Nelson
    Las Animas, Bent County, CO

    Monday 22 January 2024

    [cobirds] BCAS Program: Remote Camera Technology - Insights into Boulder’s Wildlife, Jan 23, zoom and in-person

    Presentation by Christian Nunes covers the wonderous, and sometimes shocking, discoveries made by remote cameras on City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks lands over the past 15 years. The cameras reveal wildlife use of highway underpasses, document the presence of elusive creatures like the northern river otter and ringtail, and are used to determine the presence/absence of the Federally threatened Preble's meadow jumping mouse.

    Tuesday, January 23, 2024, 7:15 PM - 8:15 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder (5001 Pennsylvania Ave).

    In-Person Gathering - BCAS welcomes everyone back to in-person programs Doors open at 7 PM for socializing and the program begins at 7:15. While the church is no longer requiring masks, we encourage you to wear your favorite high-quality mask, and we will provide free surgical masks for anyone who needs one. Please stay home if you feel sick, and watch the program on Zoom!

    Online Gathering - The meeting room will open at 7:10, the program starts at 7:15. Questions for the speaker will be taken from the chat feature of the Zoom session.

    Click this link to join the Zoom meeting.

    For more info: https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/jan-2024-program


    On Monday, January 8, 2024 at 11:41:19 AM UTC-7 Janet Smith wrote:

    Presentation by Christian Nunes covers the wonderous, and sometimes shocking, discoveries made by remote cameras on City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks lands over the past 15 years. The cameras reveal wildlife use of highway underpasses, document the presence of elusive creatures like the northern river otter and ringtail, and are used to determine the presence/absence of the Federally threatened Preble's meadow jumping mouse.

    Tuesday, January 23, 2024, 7:15 PM - 8:15 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder (5001 Pennsylvania Ave).

    For more info: https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/jan-2024-program

     

     

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    [cobirds] Thick-billed Longspurs in Bent County, Co

    Birders, 

    The historic cold spell has eased, and daytime temperatures are finally above freezing. Today, I ventured north from Las Animas CO on County Road 10 toward Adobe Creek Reservoir. At the small pond on the east side of Road 10, about 8 miles north of SH 194, I was rewarded with seeing multiple flocks of Thick-billed Longspurs coming to the pond in waves, and finding pockets of drinking water on the edge of the frozen pond. This winter, this is a great place to see these uncommon wintering birds. 

    There is a major road construction project on Road 10, which made it impossible for me to reach Adobe Creek Reservoir. I don't think it's possible to combine the Longspur pond with Adobe Creek reservoir without a major detour. 

    Duane Nelson
    Las Animas, Bent County, CO


    [cobirds] Pueblo birds 1/22

    The weather was finally nice around here, and not too cold.  Pueblo Reservoir was windless this morning, so scoping the lake was nice.  Highlights on Pueblo Reservoir today: YELLOW-BILLED LOON, a Pacific Loon, 3 Common Loons, Red-necked Grebe, Lesser Black-backed, Iceland (Thayer's), California Gulls (and many Ring-billed and Herring), other birders saw the Great Black-backed Gull that avoided me today.  A land bird surprise, was a Field Sparrow that Al Garner and I saw with some American Tree Sparrows, and seen by many other birders.  Below the dam, there was an immature Black-crowned Night-Heron.

    Brandon Percival
    Pueblo West, CO

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    Friday 19 January 2024

    [cobirds] Applications are open for Boulder County Audubon's Scholarship for teens to Hog Island Camp

    Boulder Audubon is delighted that we can offer our scholarships to National Audubon’s Camp at Hog Island, Maine to two teens.  If you have no idea what a great opportunity this is, catch this video by a past scholarship recipient: https://youtu.be/Qtyk0XUEDXo

     

    Applications are now open and are due February 1.  The Camp is June 16-24, 2024.  Colorado Teens aged 15 – 17 are eligible to apply.  Please check our website for information and the application form.  You can send questions to scholarship@boulderaudubon.org.

     

    You can find the information and application here:

    https://www.boulderaudubon.org/bird-camp-scholarships

     

    Wednesday 17 January 2024

    Re: [cobirds] Abridged summary of cobirds@googlegroups.com - 2 updates in 2 topics

    Hi
    We spotted at least four red breasted mergansers on the reservoir in South Platte Park
    Ellen
    PS I don't know how to post to this group as is obvious.

    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing!" 
    - George Bernard Shaw

    On Jan 17, 2024, at 1:20 AM, cobirds@googlegroups.com wrote:

    
    Hugh Kingery <ouzels8@aol.com>: Jan 17 01:11AM

    The Black Forest CBC counted 1948 birds of 39 species; average 1748 birds, 38 species.  Our 25 observers went out in 13 partis. 
        Two new top counts: 75 Red-breasted nuthatches - way above ...more
    Susanna Donato <susanna.donato@gmail.com>: Jan 16 07:02AM -0800

    So interesting! We have a scrubby area of cotoneaster, mountain mahogany,
    and some kind of volunteer small juniper that's full of sparrows and
    towhees, and there are some wood pieces of an old ...more
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    Tuesday 16 January 2024

    [cobirds] Black Forest CBC

    The Black Forest CBC counted 1948 birds of 39 species; average 1748 birds, 38 species.  Our 25 observers went out in 13 partis. 
        Two new top counts: 75 Red-breasted nuthatches - way above prior high of 35; 217 Red Crossbills - more than  double previous high of 130.
    Besides that, some minor peaks  29 flickers (previous high 23, ave. 19); 26 ravens (= previous high)
        We always enjoy this count, as well as our other CBCs.

    Starting this year, Jeannie Mitchell will run the count.
    <vancerus@earthlink.net>

    Hugh

    Re: [cobirds] Where do Dark-eyed Juncos spend cold nights (Arapahoe)?

    So interesting! We have a scrubby area of cotoneaster, mountain mahogany, and some kind of volunteer small juniper that's full of sparrows and towhees, and there are some wood pieces of an old chicken coop leaning on a shed where there are juncos all the time. Yesterday, I saw a couple emerge from a deep window well where there's a dead vine at the bottom. The juncos are getting quite masterful at eating from my feeder as well as on the ground if the blue jays shake seed out with their heavy landings. (Otherwise, squirrels are getting the seed on the ground first.) Yesterday it was so cold that I noticed a red-breasted nuthatch sitting still, puffed up, on a branch instead of just darting in and out as they usually do. And I woke both of the last two days to a rapping that at first I thought was a squirrel trying to break into the house, but turned out to be the flickers chipping away at the frozen suet. 

    Susanna Donato
    Denver

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    Monday 15 January 2024

    Re: [cobirds] Where do Dark-eyed Juncos spend cold nights (Arapahoe)?

    Juncos seems to nestle as close to the base of the house as possible, under porches and behind bushes.  

    But I love the way the flickers flatten themselves on the lee side of the trunk of our honey locust to keep warm.  They often line up along the trunk, as flattened as they can get.  It is so interesting to see.  

    I also have been wondering how the regular feeder birds are keeping warm, but when morning hits, they are back feeding.  Today a mountain chickadee was with the regular black capped visitors, magpies and doves, a robin and two blue jays, a scrub jay all puffed out, and a lot of juncos!  I agree, the house finches seem to be waiting for a spring day to sing!

    Libby Edwards
    Northwest Fort Collins
    Larimer County

    On Jan 15, 2024, at 10:18 AM, Pauli Driver-Smith <hollyhockfarms@msn.com> wrote:

    
    They hang out in my hen house along with various other sparrows and finches. There is a gap above the door which allows them to come and go. Between the heat from the hens and the heat lamp, which I have going right now, they are nice and warm. I haven't seen them eating the chicken feed, but they are swarming my feeders right now. They have learned that there isn't much seed on the ground from the feeders right now.

    I watched one yesterday, figure out how to get to the seed in the feeders. It stood around the deck railing, then made several attempts to land on the feeder's perch, missing it a few times, then finally making it. Now, I have five or six constantly eating from the thistle seed feeder, and a couple others from the regular feeder. The only other visitors right now are the Chickadees. I think that the house finches are content to stay in the warm hen house and eat the chicken feed.

    From: cobirds@googlegroups.com <cobirds@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Jared Del Rosso <jared.delrosso@gmail.com>
    Sent: Monday, January 15, 2024 8:39 AM
    To: Colorado Birds <cobirds@googlegroups.com>
    Subject: [cobirds] Where do Dark-eyed Juncos spend cold nights (Arapahoe)?
     
    I'm pretty sure at least one Dark-eyed Junco spends the night within the frame of an outdoor lounge-type chair. It (the frame) has a large opening, out of which a junco has emerged the last two mornings. There's a perch-like rod that runs horizontally across the frame. There are bird droppings within the frame's empty space.

    I also think juncos may be overnighting beneath my shed. I see junco-like footprints and bird droppings on the landscapes bricks that I placed around the edge of the shed, my lazy attempt to discourage raccoons and foxes from accessing the space beneath the shed, which has about 8 inches of space beneath it.

    I've not yet noticed juncos within my (now empty) chicken coop. I'll keep an eye on that.

    My yard is edged with a thicket of Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago) and chokecherries. There are other random, non-native landscaping plants mixed in. There's also a juniper, which has reseeded and created several small junipers. I've added some downed branches and the corpse of a few, small Christmas trees to the mix. The towhees seem to like staying within the mess of all of that. Seems like some juncos prefer more manufactured spaces.

    - Jared Del Rosso
    Centennial, CO
     

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    Re: [cobirds] Where do Dark-eyed Juncos spend cold nights (Arapahoe)?

    They hang out in my hen house along with various other sparrows and finches. There is a gap above the door which allows them to come and go. Between the heat from the hens and the heat lamp, which I have going right now, they are nice and warm. I haven't seen them eating the chicken feed, but they are swarming my feeders right now. They have learned that there isn't much seed on the ground from the feeders right now.

    I watched one yesterday, figure out how to get to the seed in the feeders. It stood around the deck railing, then made several attempts to land on the feeder's perch, missing it a few times, then finally making it. Now, I have five or six constantly eating from the thistle seed feeder, and a couple others from the regular feeder. The only other visitors right now are the Chickadees. I think that the house finches are content to stay in the warm hen house and eat the chicken feed.

    From: cobirds@googlegroups.com <cobirds@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Jared Del Rosso <jared.delrosso@gmail.com>
    Sent: Monday, January 15, 2024 8:39 AM
    To: Colorado Birds <cobirds@googlegroups.com>
    Subject: [cobirds] Where do Dark-eyed Juncos spend cold nights (Arapahoe)?
     
    I'm pretty sure at least one Dark-eyed Junco spends the night within the frame of an outdoor lounge-type chair. It (the frame) has a large opening, out of which a junco has emerged the last two mornings. There's a perch-like rod that runs horizontally across the frame. There are bird droppings within the frame's empty space.

    I also think juncos may be overnighting beneath my shed. I see junco-like footprints and bird droppings on the landscapes bricks that I placed around the edge of the shed, my lazy attempt to discourage raccoons and foxes from accessing the space beneath the shed, which has about 8 inches of space beneath it.

    I've not yet noticed juncos within my (now empty) chicken coop. I'll keep an eye on that.

    My yard is edged with a thicket of Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago) and chokecherries. There are other random, non-native landscaping plants mixed in. There's also a juniper, which has reseeded and created several small junipers. I've added some downed branches and the corpse of a few, small Christmas trees to the mix. The towhees seem to like staying within the mess of all of that. Seems like some juncos prefer more manufactured spaces.

    - Jared Del Rosso
    Centennial, CO
     

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    Re: [cobirds] What do bushtits eat when it's 3 degrees? (Larimer)—AND BOULDER

    I have been getting a flock of bushtits, 12 of them, that are staying in my little garden most of the time. They occasionally go to the bushes and look for things, but I think they've cleaned those out and now go to the seed cake, seed column feeder and suet. 
           In the past, they've come to my feeders, stay five minutes and then disappear for hours but now the longest they're away is about five minutes. They share the feeder, etc.,with downey woodpeckers, black capped chickadees, house finches, and flickers. 
    Deb Carstensen, Arapahoe county 
    Sent from my iPhone

    On Jan 14, 2024, at 7:24 PM, Ted Floyd <tedfloyd73@gmail.com> wrote:

    
    Thanks, Dave, for raising the question. I pondered that very matter yesterday, Sat., Jan. 13, when the temperature at Greenlee Wildlife Preserve, Boulder Co., was minus-4 Fahrenheit (minus-20 Celsius). Dunno whether you'll be able to glean, haha, anything from this video, Dave, but see what you can do:

    https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/613483712

    Here's a close-up, fwiw:

    https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/613483718

    Of course, most of the time, these days, they feed on THIS:

    https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/613439173 (Fri., Jan. 12, temp right around 32 degrees Fahrenheit, or 0 degrees Celsius.)

    O tempora! O mores!

    (We had eel tempura for dinner. O tempura! O morays!)

    Say, while we're on the subject of birds finding food in cold weather, here's one finding the good stuff in ample plenitude earlier this relatively balmy (temp all the way up to 4 degrees Fahrenheit, woohoo!, or minus-16 Celsius) Sun. afternoon, Jan. 14:

    https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/613529221

    Also in the immediate vicinity: a northern shrike and a swamp sparrow.

    Ted Floyd
    Lafayette, Boulder Co.

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    [cobirds] Where do Dark-eyed Juncos spend cold nights (Arapahoe)?

    I'm pretty sure at least one Dark-eyed Junco spends the night within the frame of an outdoor lounge-type chair. It (the frame) has a large opening, out of which a junco has emerged the last two mornings. There's a perch-like rod that runs horizontally across the frame. There are bird droppings within the frame's empty space.

    I also think juncos may be overnighting beneath my shed. I see junco-like footprints and bird droppings on the landscapes bricks that I placed around the edge of the shed, my lazy attempt to discourage raccoons and foxes from accessing the space beneath the shed, which has about 8 inches of space beneath it.

    I've not yet noticed juncos within my (now empty) chicken coop. I'll keep an eye on that.

    My yard is edged with a thicket of Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago) and chokecherries. There are other random, non-native landscaping plants mixed in. There's also a juniper, which has reseeded and created several small junipers. I've added some downed branches and the corpse of a few, small Christmas trees to the mix. The towhees seem to like staying within the mess of all of that. Seems like some juncos prefer more manufactured spaces.

    - Jared Del Rosso
    Centennial, CO
     

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    Sunday 14 January 2024

    [cobirds] What do bushtits eat when it's 3 degrees? (Larimer)—AND BOULDER

    Thanks, Dave, for raising the question. I pondered that very matter yesterday, Sat., Jan. 13, when the temperature at Greenlee Wildlife Preserve, Boulder Co., was minus-4 Fahrenheit (minus-20 Celsius). Dunno whether you'll be able to glean, haha, anything from this video, Dave, but see what you can do:

    https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/613483712

    Here's a close-up, fwiw:

    https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/613483718

    Of course, most of the time, these days, they feed on THIS:

    https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/613439173 (Fri., Jan. 12, temp right around 32 degrees Fahrenheit, or 0 degrees Celsius.)

    O tempora! O mores!

    (We had eel tempura for dinner. O tempura! O morays!)

    Say, while we're on the subject of birds finding food in cold weather, here's one finding the good stuff in ample plenitude earlier this relatively balmy (temp all the way up to 4 degrees Fahrenheit, woohoo!, or minus-16 Celsius) Sun. afternoon, Jan. 14:

    https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/613529221

    Also in the immediate vicinity: a northern shrike and a swamp sparrow.

    Ted Floyd
    Lafayette, Boulder Co.

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    [cobirds] What do bushtits eat when it's 3 degrees? (Larimer)

    Today on the bike trail around Sheldon Lake in Fort Collins City Park I did a lap to see how the bird word was coping with the cold.  The usual white-cheeked geese and mallards were sitting on the ice or in open water made by bubblers.  They were joined by a young male common goldeneye hunting crayfish, a male northern shoveler and three common mergansers. 

     

    Most interesting was a flock of at least 20 bushtits busily feeding in both large willows and Scots pines.  I was able to figure out what they were eating in the pines: Cinara aphid adult cadavers and eggs, plus pine needle scales.  I suspect giant willow aphid (Tuberolachnus salignus) eggs and adult cadavers were the targets in willow. Bushtits are the ultimate “free pest control”.  During the ten minutes I watched, the number of individual aphids they prevented from sucking pine and willow sap had to be in the several hundreds. Who says you can’t be an insectivore in CO in the winter. Then, on some mysterious signal like they always do, it was off to another tree, then another, then another.  They are quite the clean-up crew.

     

              

    From left to right: adult aphid cadaver (Cinara sp.), aphid eggs (Cinara sp.) and pine needle scales (Chionaspis pinifoliae)

     

    Dave Leatherman

    Fort Collins

    Saturday 13 January 2024

    [cobirds] BCAS Field Trip: Pella Crossing, Saturday Jan 27

    Join local birder Carl Starace for a winter birding adventure to Pella Crossing. We will search for wintering waterfowl including Common and Red Breasted Mergansers, songbirds such as Townsend's Solitaire, and raptors including Merlin and Rough-legged Hawk.

    RSVP to Carl Starace (castarace@gmail.com) after 6 PM on Monday, January 15 to reserve your spot. Early registrations are not accepted. Limited to 16 participants.

    For more information, visit Pella Crossing with Carl Starace — Boulder County Audubon (boulderaudubon.org) 

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    Friday 12 January 2024

    [cobirds] Apply for CFO's CO Birding Challenge Conservation Grant

    Need funding for your work conserving Colorado Birds and their habitats? Apply for Colorado Field Ornithologists' Colorado Birding Challenge Conservation Grant.
    You now have until March 31, 2024 to apply. Past Challenge conservation initiative grant recipients have received from $20,000 to $40,000, depending on how much is raised by the Challenge, to support the important work to conserve Colorado birds and their threatened habitats. Organizations and individuals with conservation projects impacting Colorado birds and their habitats are invited to submit proposals.
    Visit https://cobirds.org/grants-scholarships/#challenge-grants for more information and to apply.
    And btw, CFO's Colorado Birding Challenge event is moving this year from May to September 14th! More on this later in the year.


    Linda Lee
    Louisville

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    Wednesday 10 January 2024

    [cobirds] Update: BCAS Program: Remote Camera Technology - Insights into Boulder’s Wildlife, Jan 23 (In-person/Zoom)

    The January 23 meeting will be in-person as well as Zoom. We will post the Zoom link with log-in information the day before the event. 

    On Monday, January 8, 2024 at 11:41:19 AM UTC-7 Janet Smith wrote:

    Presentation by Christian Nunes covers the wonderous, and sometimes shocking, discoveries made by remote cameras on City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks lands over the past 15 years. The cameras reveal wildlife use of highway underpasses, document the presence of elusive creatures like the northern river otter and ringtail, and are used to determine the presence/absence of the Federally threatened Preble's meadow jumping mouse.

    Tuesday, January 23, 2024, 7:15 PM - 8:15 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder (5001 Pennsylvania Ave).

    For more info: https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/jan-2024-program

     

     

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    Tuesday 9 January 2024

    [cobirds] Snowmass Village birds, Pitkin County

    Hello
    I jealously read all of the reports statewide of Bohemian Waxwings last year, but here in Pitkin county—nada.  But today, I found a flock of 15 in Snowmass Village when I decided for some reason to check the least productive pond in the county.  Last week there were more sightings of a Mexican Duck that has been present intermittently since late November, depending on the presence of open water.  Exciting to have visitors from the south and north at the same time here in our frozen bit of the state!
    Bryan Gieszl
    Snowmass Village

    [cobirds] scope eyepiece and birds at Hamilton Reservoir (Larimer) on 9Jan2024

    If you lost a Pentax 20-60x scope eyepiece at the Observation Site on the south side of Hamilton Reservoir (Larimer), contact me privately.  I have the eyepiece.

     

    I failed in my second attempt to see either Red-necked Grebe or Greater Scaup today, both of which have been reported at the res.  No loons, scoters or long-tailed ducks that I could find. There are four distant swans per usual along the west shore, which I am calling 2 Tundra and 2 Trumpeter based on differences in size and neck length/thickness (two days ago there were 5 swans, 2 of which were definitely Tundra). Also along the west side was a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers, an uncommon species in winter.

     

    Dave Leatherman

    Fort Collins

    Monday 8 January 2024

    [cobirds] Updated Access Policy for Timnath Reservoir - Larimer County (no bird observations)

    Fort Collins Audubon Society (FCAS) has worked to maintain access for birders to Timnath Reservoir ever since the town adopted a restricted access policy several years ago. The policy is a frequent source of confusion for birders. After a recent conversation with town officials, I thought it might interest some in the COBIRDS audience to update/reiterate the town's current policy for public access. See below. Feel free to contact me if you have questions.

    John Shenot
    FCAS President
    Fort Collins, CO


    Timnath Reservoir is one of the top birding destinations in all of Colorado, with 270 different bird species observed there throughout the years. However, signs at the Timnath Town Park entrance and information on the town website state that access is for permit holders only. I have some good news to share about that.

    But first, some background. The Town of Timnath has a lease agreement with the water company that owns Timnath Reservoir that allows for recreational uses on the water and shoreline. The town adopted a policy limiting those uses to permit holders. Town residents can get an annual shore use permit for free, but must pay to obtain a permit for boating. All others must pay to obtain a permit for shore use or boating – with one important exception.

    FCAS secured an informal agreement with the Town's Parks and Recreation Department that allows FCAS members in groups of 5 or fewer people to have free access without a permit to the reservoir shoreline, including the park on the southwest side of the reservoir, for wildlife viewing (including birding) only. Larger groups must notify and get prior permission from town parks department staff. If a town employee asks to see your permit, tell them you are a member of FCAS and you will be allowed access for birding, but not for boating, fishing, dog walking, disc golf, or any activity other than wildlife viewing. You will not have to show proof that you are an FCAS member.

    If for any reason a town employee insists you need a permit, please don't argue with them. Be respectful, leave the area as requested, and notify FCAS so we can try to fix the problem. Access by a non-town resident is a privilege, not a right, and it is important that all of us follow the rules and observe good birding ethics if we want this privilege to continue.

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    [cobirds] BIRD BOMBS: I Wish They All Could Be California Gulls this Thursday

    Hi CoBirders,

    Register now for BIRD BOMBS: I Wish They All Could Be California Gulls, exploding this Thursday January 11 at 7 pm. This episode will help you identify and enjoy the wide variety of Colorado's winter gulls, with a focus on Short-billed, California, Iceland, Lesser Black-backed, Glaucous and Great Black-backed gulls. 

    Check out the video of BIRD BOMBS: Get Gullable to learn key basics of Colorado gull ID. Videos of all 23 episodes at DFO's BB video archive.

    David Suddjian
    Littleton, CO


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    [cobirds] BCAS Program: Remote Camera Technology - Insights into Boulder’s Wildlife, Jan 23

    Presentation by Christian Nunes covers the wonderous, and sometimes shocking, discoveries made by remote cameras on City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks lands over the past 15 years. The cameras reveal wildlife use of highway underpasses, document the presence of elusive creatures like the northern river otter and ringtail, and are used to determine the presence/absence of the Federally threatened Preble's meadow jumping mouse.

    Tuesday, January 23, 2024, 7:15 PM - 8:15 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Boulder (5001 Pennsylvania Ave).

    For more info: https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/jan-2024-program

     

     

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