cobirds colorado rare bird: June 2024

Monday 17 June 2024

[cobirds] Possible Black Vulture, Higbee Valley Road, Otero

Just got a message this morning from someone who lives on Higbee Valley Road in Otero. They have a spot on their property where vulture's roost every evening and can be seen coming in at dusk and leaving at dawn. They believe that they had a Black Vulture this morning. Anyone in the area might want to check it out. The property is right after the bridge approximately 2 miles south of the cemetery.

John Haycraft

Denver, CO

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Sunday 16 June 2024

Re: [cobirds] Hailstorm killed an adult eagle and nestling at Rocky Mt. NWR, Adams county

It didn't dawn on me until now that an American White Pelican that has been lingering at Ferril Lake in Denver City Park quite possibly was injured/grounded in that same violent and widely scattered May 30 hailstorm.

Visiting the park three days later, I took photos of two pelicans on separate perches at the lake.

(A pair, but sometimes one or even three or four, had been intermittent visitors for several weeks.)

Looking back now at my June 2 pix, I had not noticed how one of the pelicans, hunched on a familiar rock perch on the east edge of Ferril Lake's island, was holding its left wing unnaturally low.

Several days later, while out of state, I got a message from another birder asking where she could report an injured pelican in the park.

I offered several suggestions, including the Animal Help Now! app/online service (https://ahnow.org/about.php).

She was still trying to generate a response when I got back to town last week.

She said city parks, state wildlife folks and rescue groups apparently were saying if the bird could swim it would be difficult if not impossible to catch.

When I went out last Tuesday, the day after I returned, I realized the extent of the pelican's injury.

Standing on the lakeshore, it tried to spread its wings, but only the right one stretched out; the left wing moved but a few inches.

The wing doesn't appear unnaturally torn or tattered, or with any obvious wound.

It's hard to imagine that such a huge bird could have sustained this flight-grounding injury any other way.

But two and a half weeks since the storm, the pelican appears to be functioning, if not flying.

It perches in 2 or 3 spots around the lake, and on Sunday was swimming around, presumably fishing.

Meanwhile, this year's dramatically smaller population of nesting Double-crested Cormorants at City Park's other major water body, Duck Lake, has perhaps 75 or more nestlings, branchlings and a few fledglings now.

It's possible there were hailstorm casualties there, too, though nothing is readily apparent.

I'll look more closely there on my next visit.

Patrick O'Driscoll

Denver

On Sun, Jun 16, 2024 at 7:42 PM Amy C <acervene@gmail.com> wrote:

This is so sad, but good that the remaining eaglet was able to remain in the nest.

Over a dozen Turkey Vultures were injured in a spring hailstorm and were transported to Rocky Mountain Raptor Program for care.

It's been a hard year for big birds in Colorado!

Amy

Amy Cervene
Arvada, Jefferson

On Sun, Jun 16, 2024 at 4:46 PM Candice Johnson <johnsoncandice538@gmail.com> wrote:
On May 30, a localized hailstorm at Rocky Mt. NWR killed one of the 2 adult Bald Eagles, who was found below the nest with a head injury, and killed a juvenile as well. One juvenile was alive in the nest during the following week when Arsenal biologists visited the nest site daily, and it was not taken to rehab. The adult's body was taken to the National Eagle Repository which is at the Arsenal. When you drive along the Wildlife Drive and come to the first crossing of First Creek, all the cottonwoods have been stripped of leaves, and it looks like Winter! The storm was so localized that it spared the 2 Swainson's Hawk nests about a mile away.

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[cobirds] Baltimore Oriole, Elbert Co and a few birds from El Paso Co

Today an adult male Baltimore Oriole was along West Kiowa Creek near CR 112 in Elbert County, a short way north of the town of Elbert. The eBird database does not show any other records for Baltimore Oriole in Elbert, so perhaps this was a county first. It was surprising to be only first, but Elbert is underbirded. A Rose-breasted Grosbeak was also in the area.

I surveyed the Elbert BBS route, which is 2/3 in the Black Forest area of El Paso and 1/3 in Elbert. A Williamson's Sapsucker along Black Squirrel Road was notable for the Black Forest. Also of interest there was a Lewis's Woodpecker at Wildridge Road, and pairs of Evening Grosbeaks at three places in the Black Forest. All these birds were in El Paso. Type 2 Red Crossbills were at several stops.

David Suddjian

Littleton, CO

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Re: [cobirds] Hailstorm killed an adult eagle and nestling at Rocky Mt. NWR, Adams county

This is so sad, but good that the remaining eaglet was able to remain in the nest.

Over a dozen Turkey Vultures were injured in a spring hailstorm and were transported to Rocky Mountain Raptor Program for care.

It's been a hard year for big birds in Colorado!

Amy

Amy Cervene

Arvada, Jefferson

On Sun, Jun 16, 2024 at 4:46 PM Candice Johnson <johnsoncandice538@gmail.com> wrote:

On May 30, a localized hailstorm at Rocky Mt. NWR killed one of the 2 adult Bald Eagles, who was found below the nest with a head injury, and killed a juvenile as well. One juvenile was alive in the nest during the following week when Arsenal biologists visited the nest site daily, and it was not taken to rehab. The adult's body was taken to the National Eagle Repository which is at the Arsenal. When you drive along the Wildlife Drive and come to the first crossing of First Creek, all the cottonwoods have been stripped of leaves, and it looks like Winter! The storm was so localized that it spared the 2 Swainson's Hawk nests about a mile away.

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[cobirds] Hailstorm killed an adult eagle and nestling at Rocky Mt. NWR, Adams county

On May 30, a localized hailstorm at Rocky Mt. NWR killed one of the 2 adult Bald Eagles, who was found below the nest with a head injury, and killed a juvenile as well. One juvenile was alive in the nest during the following week when Arsenal biologists visited the nest site daily, and it was not taken to rehab. The adult's body was taken to the National Eagle Repository which is at the Arsenal. When you drive along the Wildlife Drive and come to the first crossing of First Creek, all the cottonwoods have been stripped of leaves, and it looks like Winter! The storm was so localized that it spared the 2 Swainson's Hawk nests about a mile away.

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Friday 14 June 2024

[cobirds] New owner wants to return "well loved" field guide to original owner

I am posting this on behalf of Jenny Gillespie (with her permission).

"I purchased a used Guide to Field Identification: Birds of North America. The inscription says it belonged to Bill Moorefield from Colorado Springs. This guide was obviously very special to Bill, he filled in many boxes and identified so many birds, that I would love to return it to him or his family.
It has dates with sightings that are from 1983-1989 so a while ago. This is a long shot, but would love to reunite the guide with its owner!"

If you have any information, you can contact Jenny at jennybgillespie@yahoo.com . I have no other information, please direct any inquiries to Jenny.

Megan

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Megan Jones Patterson

Boulder County, CO

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[cobirds] BIRD BOMBS: Tropical Color will detonate June 20

Hi Birders,

Register here for BIRD BOMBS: Tropical Color next Thursday June 20 at 7 pm. Explore identification of Orioles, Buntings, Grosbeaks and Tanagers of the Denver Metro / Front Range region. Males may be easy or easier to ID, but females and immatures present some significant challenges.

Visit DFO's BIRD BOMBS page to view all 26 prior episodes.

David Suddjian

Littleton, CO

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[cobirds] Bobolinks and Dickcissel, Boulder County

Birders:

The Bobolinks that are in a field just east of Cherryvale Road and south of South Boulder Road have been joined by at least one Dickcissel. I heard the Dickcissel in the field across from Xanthippe Road this morning about 11:00. It was singing from the same field where two male Bobolinks were singing and chasing each other. (Merlin heard an Eastern Meadowlark, but I could not confirm it.)

Paula Hansley

Louisville

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Tuesday 11 June 2024

Re: [cobirds] Chickadee coloration question, Arapahoe county

Atypical plumage in chickadees showing brown in feathers that would normally be black or gray is likely due to "dilution" of eumelanin (the melanin responsible for black/gray pigmentation) relative to phaeomelanin (responsible for reddish-brown) in the feathers. Here are links to some examples and discussion of this topic:

David Sibley:https://www.sibleyguides.com/bird-info/black-capped-chickadee/gray-headed-chickadee-or-pale-black-capped/

Laura Erickson:https://blog.lauraerickson.com/2019/03/abnormal-plumage-part-ii-leucistic-birds.html

Kevin McGowan:https://www.birds.cornell.edu/crows/brown-headed%20chickadee.htm

David Steingraeber

Larimer County, W of Horsetooth Reservoir

From: cobirds@googlegroups.com <cobirds@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Barbara Spagnuolo <BSpagnuolo@crgov.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 4, 2024 1:45 PM
To: Deborah Carstensen <fiddlenurs@aol.com>
Cc: cobirds@googlegroups.com <cobirds@googlegroups.com>
Subject: RE: [cobirds] Chickadee coloration question, Arapahoe county

** Caution: EXTERNAL Sender **

Three years ago I photographed a brownish chickadee appearing at a friend's feeders near Downtown Castle Rock (Douglas County). It looked like a Mountain Chickadee but with brown markings.

-Barbara Spagnuolo, Douglas County

From: 'Deborah Carstensen' via Colorado Birds <cobirds@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 4, 2024 10:53 AM
To: Cobirds <cobirds@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [cobirds] Chickadee coloration question, Arapahoe county

I have a chickadee coming to my birdfeeder that takes pictures and it looks like it has an unusual amount of black/brown on the chest and sides.
I would like feedback on what people think about these coloration differences from our normal chickadees.

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Re: [cobirds] Tree Species That Are Beneficial to Birds

Washington Hawthorne: this lovely tree not only has berries that birds love, but also has lovely white clusters of flowers that have a nice scent.

The only downside to this tree are the long thorns.

Paula Hansley

Louisville

On Tue, Jun 11, 2024 at 3:28 PM Mel Goff <melgoff@comcast.net> wrote:

As Charles H mentioned, the Mountain Ash is great for birds in winter. Robins, Waxwings, and Jays come to ours to enjoy the bright orange berries.

Mel Goff
Colorado Springs

> On 06/11/2024 2:30 PM MDT Sharon Kermiet <coral96@indra.com> wrote:
>
>
> I lost a mature tree this year and would like to replant a moderate to
> large shade tree that attracts insects beneficial to birds. I'd like it
> also to be somewhat resilient with regard to late or early snows,
> although I know very few trees are completely OK in this regard. I live
> in east Denver. Does anyone have recommendations?
>
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Re: [cobirds] Tree Species That Are Beneficial to Birds

As Charles H mentioned, the Mountain Ash is great for birds in winter. Robins, Waxwings, and Jays come to ours to enjoy the bright orange berries.

Mel Goff
Colorado Springs

> On 06/11/2024 2:30 PM MDT Sharon Kermiet <coral96@indra.com> wrote:
>
>
> I lost a mature tree this year and would like to replant a moderate to
> large shade tree that attracts insects beneficial to birds. I'd like it
> also to be somewhat resilient with regard to late or early snows,
> although I know very few trees are completely OK in this regard. I live
> in east Denver. Does anyone have recommendations?
>
> --
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
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Re: [cobirds] Tree Species That Are Beneficial to Birds

We have mountain ash that we planted more than 25 years ago. I don't know about attracting insects, but it produces abundant berries every year. These berries become edible to birds in late winter when food is really needed. Great tree for birds and it is adapted to snowy climates. It handles heavy snow very well.

Chuck Hundertmark

> On Jun 11, 2024, at 2:30 PM, Sharon Kermiet <coral96@indra.com> wrote:
>
> I lost a mature tree this year and would like to replant a moderate to large shade tree that attracts insects beneficial to birds. I'd like it also to be somewhat resilient with regard to late or early snows, although I know very few trees are completely OK in this regard. I live in east Denver. Does anyone have recommendations?
>
> --
> --
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[cobirds] Tree Species That Are Beneficial to Birds

I lost a mature tree this year and would like to replant a moderate to
large shade tree that attracts insects beneficial to birds. I'd like it
also to be somewhat resilient with regard to late or early snows,
although I know very few trees are completely OK in this regard. I live
in east Denver. Does anyone have recommendations?

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[cobirds] BCAS Field Trip: Pella Crossing on June 16

Join local birder Carl Starace on Sunday, June 16 to bird Pella Crossing. Possible birds include Osprey, Wood Duck, Bullock's Oriole, Warbling Vireo, and Blue Grosbeak.

Registration required. Limited to 18 participants.

Sunday, June 16, 7:30 am - 10:30 am

For more information and to reserve your spot, https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/pella-crossing-carl-starace-june-2024

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Monday 10 June 2024

[cobirds] Flycatchers & Yard Birds - Centennial (Arapahoe)

The last week has seen me inside dealing with a sinus infection that bloomed out of a cold I had in mid-May. Yuck, and during my favorite time of year.

But today, I'm feeling a little better, so I checked in on the Eastern Phoebe(s) and Western Flycatchers along the Canal in Centennial. Saw the former, heard the latter. The Eastern Phoebe(s) continue to beguile me. I swear they fly away from the Canal into the surrounding neighborhood, which means that documenting their nesting is going to be unlikely. But maybe I'm misinterpreting their behaviors or flights. Western Flycatchers, meanwhile, continue to call from around the Little Dry Creek. I've not yet had good observations of them, and I haven't seen pairs or nesting behavior.

Back home, in my Centennial yard, some sickly Siberian Elms, who continually drop branches during spring storms no matter how much I pay to have them tended, are a veritable buffet for Bushtits, American Robins, Black-capped Chickadees, a Broad-tailed Hummingbird, and Fox Squirrels. The larvae of Elm Leafminder (Kaliofenusa ulmi) are raining down on my yard; I swear I hear the larvae hit the ground, where robins come through to collect them. (Thank you to Dave Leatherman for teaching us about this dynamic.) One day, these elms will have to go. Despite my strong preference for native plants, it'll be sad to see them gone.

A Chipping Sparrow is trying to collect nesting material in my yard, but seems unhappy with what they're finding. It doesn't help that a Broad-tailed Hummingbird keeps chasing the Chipping away. The Chipping just wants debris, but is, apparently, too close to the penstemon blooms for the Broad-tailed.

As for those Bushtits: have young fledged? I've had noisy flocks of 5 or 6 or so in my yard off and on for the last week or so. I don't associate flocks with this time of year, but perhaps young have already fledged? I've never found a nest in the Centennial area, though I know they must be somewhere. They seem to show fidelity to the pinon pines behind Trader Joe's, but perhaps that's just a communal roosting spot.

I heard a nighthawk a few days ago -- but I haven't been able to chase them around as I like to do this time of year. Kinda bummed to be missing out on their migration.

- Jared Del Rosso

Centennial, CO

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Thursday 6 June 2024

[cobirds] Cherry Creek State Park Tree Removals

Does anyone know why all of the standing dead trees at CCSP are being removed? The trees are crucial wildlife habitat and they're all being cut down during nesting season. I left a message and no one has gotten back to me. These trees are in open areas and don't pose a risk, as there aren't targets. I can't imagine someone at CO Parks & Wildlife doesn't know how important these trees are for cavity nesting birds and raptors.

Doug Schoch
Arapahoe County

Sent from my iPhone

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[cobirds] Hybrid(?) oriole, Boulder County

CObirders,

I continue to read reports of a Baltimore X Bullock's hybrid at Walden/Sawhill. I have spent quite a bit of time in the area, including 4 hours on Monday morning (6/3) documenting nesting bird species as I am the ecosteward for Sawhill Ponds. The only orioles that I have seen are at least two pair of nesting Bullock's Orioles and one other Oriole, a continuing, singing, first year male Orchard Oriole— he is flying around — from tree to tree singing and singing (almost desperately). The only way that I could identify this bird way by taking a telephoto px and enlarging it on my computer! I reported the bird with a picture to CObirds at least a week ago. Had I not done that, I would have misidentified the bird. It is almost impossible to see, let alone photograph, because of the leaves and its constant motion.

Is this the bird that has been reported as a hybrid oriole? I would like to read a detailed description of the hybrid that is being reported. Please.

Paula Hansley

Louisville

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[cobirds] Summary of Spring Migration San Luis Valley

I thought I might share my thoughts on the status of the spring bird migration in the San Luis Valley. Summer has arrived and it has been an interesting spring migration. Please realize this is an assessment based on my daily jaunts afield since February's Cranes up to now. I also rely on the 100 San Luis Valley birder's that I network with for their observations. Also, I do peruse eBird and COBIRDS to see what is being seen. I also check our local Doppler radar to get a glimpse of what is passing overhead as we snooze from our busy days.

The first week of June finds us with a decline in numbers of migrating birds according to the local Doppler Radar for Rio Grande County. A while back, we had over 200,000 birds passing over Rio Grande County in a single night, but that declined to only 10,000 for last night. Is there a correlation between numbers passing over at night and what you see by day? I am not so sure. Having been out nearly every day of "spring" from cranes in February to yesterday's tail end of migration, it is really hard to tell. We humans sample such a limited area in our daily jaunts, but I do have some gut feelings on the matter anyway.

So if I had to assess the SLV migration based on my limited sampling and what I have seen the past few months, and include all the other data sources, it would probably look like this:

Cranes: Average

Hawks and Raptors: Average

Ducks: Average

Shorebirds: Down

Hummingbirds: Way down

Passerines including Flycatchers, Warblers, Tanagers, Sparrows: Way Down

Numbers of rare birds seen this spring in the SLV by all sources: About average. Notable species include Brant, Gray Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, Red-headed Woodpecker, Neotropic Cormorant, and Grace's Warbler. Likely a few more that I missed.

I think many of the radar-detected birds simply passed over in the fair weather conditions we had. There never seemed to be an abundance of birds, both numbers and diversity, in the choice habitats I regularly visited. Expected numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers seemed low, and Wilson's and Orange-crowned, pretty much nonexistent. Where were they? I enjoyed reading the various bird bander reports to see what was happening over the ridge, and the diversity was much greater on the front range than anything here.

Okay, there you have it. Onto summer! Stay cool!

John Rawinski

Monte Vista, CO

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Wednesday 5 June 2024

[cobirds] Reminder: BCAS Field Trip: Crane Hollow Road, Fri, June 7

Join local birder Carl Starace this Friday, June 7, and bird along Crane Hollow Road. Possible birds include Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Gray Catbird, Cedar Waxwing, and Eastern Phoebe.

This trip is limited to 12 participants. RSVP to trip leader.

Friday, June 7 from 7:30 am to 10:00 am.

For more info and to reserve your spot: https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/crane-hollow-road-carl-starace-june-2024

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[cobirds] Four Species Flycatcher Birds

We really work hard at making habitat available for birds on our property. One of the best things is keeping the greasewood habitat in good shape where we have nesting Brewer's, Vesper Sparrows and Sage Thrashers. We do create a buffer zone to reduce fuels near our structures.

We also have nesting Say's Phoebes, Western Kingbirds, and Western Wood-pewees. Todays unexpected flycatcher was an Ash-throated Flycatcher, only the second one at our place in almost 30 years. They all made my chores less tedious!

John Rawinski

Monte Vista, CO

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Tuesday 4 June 2024

RE: [cobirds] Chickadee coloration question, Arapahoe county

Three years ago I photographed a brownish chickadee appearing at a friend's feeders near Downtown Castle Rock (Douglas County). It looked like a Mountain Chickadee but with brown markings.

-Barbara Spagnuolo, Douglas County

Re: [cobirds] Chickadee coloration question, Arapahoe county

I had a nesting pair of Red Breasted Nuthatches in my central Fort Collins home this year. Over the past few weeks, I noticed some color variation on both parents, although especially on the female. I attributed this to the "messiness" of brooding and raising nestlings to fledge. The nest cavity is covered with sap and fecal material. If any of you have raised toddlers, you'll know they wipe all kinds of stuff on you as a parent. When I first saw your photos, Deb, I thought it may be a busy parent!

On Tue, Jun 4, 2024 at 10:53 AM 'Deborah Carstensen' via Colorado Birds <cobirds@googlegroups.com> wrote:

I have a chickadee coming to my birdfeeder that takes pictures and it looks like it has an unusual amount of black/brown on the chest and sides.
I would like feedback on what people think about these coloration differences from our normal chickadees.

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Deb Carstensen, Arapahoe county
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[cobirds] Chickadee coloration question, Arapahoe county

Monday 3 June 2024

[cobirds] BCAS Field Trip: After-work Birding at Rocky Flats, June 11

Join Peter Ruprecht for birding at Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, which offers access to a large tract of grassland with riparian corridors and small wetlands. Prairie sparrows, raptors, and other grassland and shrubland species are prevalent this time of year. We'll enjoy the evening and sunset while walking ~five miles on flat to gently-inclined gravel roads and trails. The walking pace may be faster than on many outings due to the lower density of birds in some parts of the refuge.

Registration required. Limited to only 12 participants. RSVP to reserve your spot after 6 pm on Monday, June 3.

Tuesday, June 11, 5:45 pm – 8:30 pm

For more information and to reserve your spot, visit https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/after-work-birding-rocky-flats-june-2024

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[cobirds] CSR, El Paso Co, Spring Wrap-up

Hey COBirders,

I closed my Clear Spring Ranch banding site yesterday (6/2/24) as well. I stayed open longer just-to-see what the Birdcast predictions of medium to heavy migration flights might mean for birds banded at CSR. It meant nothing. Friday I caught just 10 birds, Saturday - 10, Sunday - 5, almost all recaps. In fact, the last two weeks have been pretty abysmal for banding numbers. 10 of the last 14 days I recorded my lowest number caught on that date over the last 11 years. Sigh.

So like Meredith just reported, I looked at my averages to see where the different species sat this spring, compared to my 11-year average. I keep daily numbers for several species that are the common ones I get, and it looked like this:

Species with above average numbers for 2024 - N Waterthrush; Yellow Warbler; Yellow-rumped Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler; MacGillivray's Warbler; and totals of flycatchers.
Species right about average - Warbling Vireo; RC Kinglet; Swainson's Thrush, Hermit Thrush; Gray Catbird; Com Yellowthroat; Wilson's Warbler; Spotted Towhee; Green-tailed Towhee; Song Sparrow; White-crowned Sparrow.
Species well-below average - House Wren; Yellow-breasted Chat; Lincoln's Sparrow; Chipping Sparrow (!). (Actually almost all sparrows - I didn't catch a single Vesper, Lark, Brewer's, or Savannah Sparrow - and only one Clay-colored Sparrow.)

Especially Chipping Sparrow. 2024 I caught 8 - 2023 I caught 993. My 11 year average is 171, with a range from 1 (!) to 993. This has affected my total numbers on average as well. 2024 I caught 393 birds, and my 11-year average is 778 birds (low 302, high 1736). For me, as Chipping Sparrow go, so go my numbers, and this year they didn't stop here. I talked to the local farmer who leases the CSR land, and he, too, noticed a lack of sparrow flocks when driving around. I regularly saw small flocks of 10-20 birds, but not near the net area, and not every day - nothing like the days where I would net 150-300 CHSP in a morning!

So that's my story. Despite Birdcast showing an above average number of birds migrating over El Paso County 2024, it seems they did just that - migrate over, and keep going!

Life is like a box of chocolates…

Steve Brown
Colo Spgs

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