[cobirds] Share Your Bird Photos for Colorado Birds! - Fall 2025 (August 1 - November 30)

Dear Colorado Bird Photographers,

Another quarter, another chance to share your best work! Colorado Birds, the quarterly journal of the Colorado Field Ornithologists, is now accepting photo submissions for our "News From The Field" feature. We're on the lookout for compelling images of rare, vagrant, or otherwise unusual birds documented in Colorado between August 1, 2025, and November 30, 2025 (see submission guidelines below).

To be considered for the upcoming issue, please send your highest-quality photos to george@cobirds.org no later than Sunday, March 8, 2026 — and be sure to follow the file-naming guidelines below when you do.

We'd particularly love to feature photos of these noteworthy species observed during this period:

Fall 2025 (August 1 - November 30)

• Trumpeter Swan

• Tundra Swan

• Mexican Duck

• Mottled Duck

• Surf Scoter

• White-winged Scoter

• Black Scoter

• Long-tailed Duck

• Ruby-throated Hummingbird

• Common Gallinule

• Snowy Plover

• Hudsonian Whimbrel

• Short-billed Dowitcher

• Red Phalarope

• Ruddy Turnstone

• Red Knot

• Buff-breasted Sandpiper

• Dunlin

• White-rumped Sandpiper

• Long-tailed Jaeger

• Parasitic Jaeger

• Pomarine Jaeger

• Little Gull

• Black-legged Kittiwake

• Sabine's Gull

• Laughing Gull

• Short-billed Gull

• Great Black-backed Gull

• Least Tern

• Arctic Tern

• Red-necked Grebe

• Red-throated Loon

• Wood Stork

• Anhinga

• Neotropic Cormorant

• Glossy Ibis

• American Bittern

• Least Bittern

• Yellow-crowned Night Heron

• Tricolored Heron

• Black Vulture

• Swallow-tailed Kite

• Acorn Woodpecker

• Crested Caracara

• Eastern Wood-Pewee

• Vermilion Flycatcher

• Great Crested Flycatcher

• Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

• Blue-headed Vireo

• Philadelphia Vireo

• Pacific Wren

• Sedge Wren

• Carolina Wren

• Crissal Thrasher

• Wood Thrush

• Sprague's Pipit

• Brambling

• Cassia Crossbill

• White-winged Crossbill

• Golden-crowned Sparrow

• LeConte's Sparrow

• Eastern Towhee

• Blue-winged Warbler

• Prothonotary Warbler

• Tennessee Warbler

• Hooded Warbler

• 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 Green Warbler

• Canada Warbler

• Scarlet Tanager

• Yellow Grosbeak

• Painted Bunting

• Dickcissel

Thanks for your contributions to Colorado Birds. Your dedication and generosity help maintain our journal's excellence, making it one of the country's finest. Thanks for sharing your photography with us!

George Mayfield

Photo Editor, Colorado Birds

(Wheat Ridge, CO)

***

Photo Submission Guidelines:

• Photos from Fall 2025 (August 1 - November 30)

• 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 names: species-date-location-county-photographer. For example, a photo of an American Robin taken Oct. 4, 2024 at Chatfield State Park by John James Audubon would be named as follows: 

American Robin (or AMRO)-20241004-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 george@cobirds.org

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Re: [cobirds] Birding Camera Optics Question

Thank you all for your helpful suggestions.
I guess if these decisions were easy, anybody could make them.
The Z 6 iii is probably the best body for me, along with the FTZ ii to work with my current lenses.
But as the discussion shows, I will most likely need another telephoto zoom, and that's the hard decision.  None of them meets my needs. There's a wonderful x to 200 coming out soon, but it would need the teleconverter. The existing 100 to 400 S looks good, but it is very heavy. And so it goes.

Thanks again for the effort you have put into your comments.

--Pieter

On Fri, Feb 27, 2026 at 4:58 PM Kevin Schutz <kschutz@gmail.com> wrote:

I'd suggest going to a good local camera shop and seeing if you can test out what you're considering to purchase.  Some places may rent equipment.  The real question is how you perceive the quality of the resulting images, and how will you view/enjoy them.  Will images be consumed on a notepad/laptop or printed, and at what scale.  Virtually all major brands are putting out fantastic offerings today.  And tomorrow's offerings may be better still.  As we age, most individual's eyesight will degrade anyway, so we may not be able to discern detail to the Nth degree anyway.  Try to balance this reality against what your end goals are, how you personally perceive images when viewed and your overall enjoyment factor.  If new equipment is easy to use, if it will add to your fun and enjoyment,  and if it will motivate you to get out and photograph more, then go for it.

KS

El Paso County

On Fri, Feb 27, 2026 at 8:59 AM pstra...@gmail.com <pstrauss451@gmail.com> wrote:

Need assistance understanding pixel pitch effect on resolution.
Due to life changes, I am now birding using my camera at the limits of its abilities.

My Nikon D7200 plus 300mm zoom lens is aging, and I want to replace it with a Z 6 iii mirrorless with 200mm zoom plus 2x telextender. The D7200 has 3.89 µm pixel pitch, the Z 6 iii has 5.92 µm. Am I correct that, all things being equal, this means worse resolution at the same distance?
I had been thinking that better image stabilization, larger sensor, and newer electronics would be an advantage, then it occurred to me to check the pixel pitch. I really don't want to spend thousands of dollars to make my remaining birding years worse. Any advice greatly appreciated.
The picture attached (I'm thinking red tailed hawk) is taken at the limit of my D7200 rig.)  I hope this image clarifies my dilemma. Image taken in North Boulder CO on 2 24 2026.

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[cobirds] Re: Leaf-footed Bug Woodpecker

Dave: 

            I agree that woodpecker photo holding the insect is probably Genus Leptoglossus, but without seeing both sides of the insect clearly, I would not jump to species conclusion.  

The photo on the right is Leptoglossus clypealis - a common bug of Colorado.   Do Google image searches for Leptoglossus occedentalis versus Leptoglossus clypealis, and you'll see the differences.  

Note that L. occidentalis is found (mostly) west of the Rocky Mountains, whereas L. clypealis is found throughout Colorado and to the east.  Both have similar, but some different food preferences.  L. clypealis is considered a food crop pest in some regions.  

The common names for both species overlap and will throw people off track.  

The common name for L. clypealis is the "Western Leaf-Footed Bug" which is a misnomer, as it lives more in the eastern USA rather than the western USA.  

Hope this clarifies, 

John T (Tumasonis), Broomfield CO

On Thursday, February 26, 2026 at 10:43:08 PM UTC-7 DAVID A LEATHERMAN wrote:

The Acorn Woodpecker that showed up recently at Mountain View Cemetery in Boulder is generating lots of interest from birders.  Todd Deininger of Longmont was kind enough to share a few photos of the bird with something in its beak.  I thought those of you who have seen the bird might be interested in what it ate for at least one meal.  It obviously has other food issues figured out, too.  I know from having led "what birds eat" field trips in that cemetery that it has some fine oak trees.  In the right year, those oaks probably have lots of acorns.

 

The insect in Todd's photo is a leaf-footed bug in the family Coreidae, genus Leptoglossus.  There are multiple species in this genus in Colorado, but it is probably L. occidentalis (common name Western Conifer Seed Bug).  It inserts its long needlelike mouthpart, called a stylet, in the seeds of pines and other conifers.  These bugs are reported to also feed on the moist fruits of other woody plants.  I have long suspected they poke juniper cones ("berries"), as I see a lot of these insects associated with Rocky Mountain Juniper.  Below at left is Todd's photo, highly cropped.  Note the wide "calf" (tibia) expansion on each hind leg that is leaflike and gives the group its name.  At right is a photo of a leaf-footed bug (Leptoglossus sp.) from a pine tree on the Baca County Courthouse grounds, Springfield, CO.  I wager anyone who has spent considerable time outside paying attention to anything other than their Merlin app has seen these.

 

          

 

Thanks to Todd for sharing his observation.  If anybody else sees this bird eat something interesting, please take a pic and send it to me.  Thanks.

 

Dave Leatherman

Fort Collins

 

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Re: [cobirds] Birding Camera Optics Question

I'd suggest going to a good local camera shop and seeing if you can test out what you're considering to purchase.  Some places may rent equipment.  The real question is how you perceive the quality of the resulting images, and how will you view/enjoy them.  Will images be consumed on a notepad/laptop or printed, and at what scale.  Virtually all major brands are putting out fantastic offerings today.  And tomorrow's offerings may be better still.  As we age, most individual's eyesight will degrade anyway, so we may not be able to discern detail to the Nth degree anyway.  Try to balance this reality against what your end goals are, how you personally perceive images when viewed and your overall enjoyment factor.  If new equipment is easy to use, if it will add to your fun and enjoyment,  and if it will motivate you to get out and photograph more, then go for it.

KS

El Paso County

On Fri, Feb 27, 2026 at 8:59 AM pstra...@gmail.com <pstrauss451@gmail.com> wrote:

Need assistance understanding pixel pitch effect on resolution.
Due to life changes, I am now birding using my camera at the limits of its abilities.

My Nikon D7200 plus 300mm zoom lens is aging, and I want to replace it with a Z 6 iii mirrorless with 200mm zoom plus 2x telextender. The D7200 has 3.89 µm pixel pitch, the Z 6 iii has 5.92 µm. Am I correct that, all things being equal, this means worse resolution at the same distance?
I had been thinking that better image stabilization, larger sensor, and newer electronics would be an advantage, then it occurred to me to check the pixel pitch. I really don't want to spend thousands of dollars to make my remaining birding years worse. Any advice greatly appreciated.
The picture attached (I'm thinking red tailed hawk) is taken at the limit of my D7200 rig.)  I hope this image clarifies my dilemma. Image taken in North Boulder CO on 2 24 2026.

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Kevin Schutz

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Re: [cobirds] Cranes Abundant at Monte Vista

Have a look at the resources on the Monte Vista Crane Festival webpage. They have maps of viewing spots.

David Suddjian

Littleton, CO

On Fri, Feb 27, 2026 at 4:16 PM Karen Clark <keclark740@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi John,

I appreciate your updates on the cranes. In about 2 weeks, a few of us from the Broomfield Bird Club are going to make a trip down there. As I recall, there are some county roads with ample parking where I was able to view the cranes during the day last year. Would this be a good place to see them at dawn, or is the refuge a better spot for sunrise viewing?

Karen Clark

Broomfield 

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 26, 2026, at 6:34 AM, John Rawinski <johnrawinski0@gmail.com> wrote:

Glad you experienced those moments. As far as Greater Yellowlegs, they are one of the first shorebirds we see in spring. Had them at Smith a few weeks ago. Nice finds!

On Tuesday, February 24, 2026 at 8:11:59 PM UTC-7 Caoimhín Perkins wrote:

I want to second that first light is a great time to see the cranes at Monte Vista NWR. We pulled up at 6am, complete overcast and fog, astronomical twilight — *before* first light. My partner and I stopped at the very first pond you encounter in the loop and saw the faintest shadows of cranes starting to move in the near-perfect dark. Very magical and mysterious moment, like the cranes were slowly popping into the faintest of existences. We kept driving and around civil twilight, the huge amount of noise at the larger pond they gather at was incredible, as were the huge flocks as they took off, piecewise, over the next hour. 

Afternoon is cool, but seeing them wake up in the dark is something else. Not sure if this is the right time of year, but there were greater yellowlegs in the pond right before the big one when we went.

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