[cobirds] Busy birds in Roxborough

It's been an interesting 3 months in Roxborough.

For starters, I've been hanging a hummingbird feeder for nearly 30 years and never had it taken down by a bear - until this year.

https://ring.com/share/d1ab7bc1-a151-418e-8309-b41de3c57c8f

It's now posted out of reach and I have at least 3 male Broad-tailed Hummers fighting over it.

I usually have a male Lazuli Buntings hanging around, but this year I've seen at least 3 along with a couple of females.

A mini-irruption of male Western Tanagers this year, 3-4 at a time. Multiple females as well.

Numbers of both American and Lesser Goldfinches are markedly up this year.

Most interestingly, the following two birds.

A Band-tailed Pigeon. A lifer for me and only spotted once - BIG, white blaze on the nape, and bright yellow feet.

What appears to be a male hybrid red-shafted / yellow-shafted flicker - red V on the back of the head AND red lores. Definitely red-shafted. Does this sound like a hybrid, or is it possible for a red-shafted flicker to have a red blaze on the back of the neck?

Jim Tyler
Roxborough Village

[cobirds] Chatfield Banding Station, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies 5-21-26

We were back to banding this morning after our regular day off on Monday and then 2 more days off due to weather.  The number of new birds caught remained at about the same level as the previous week or so, but the diversity is up as we get later in the migration.  Eighteen species caught, including 5 first of seasons, for a total of 32 new and 3 returns:

Western Wood-pewee 3
Least Flycatcher 1 (FOS)
Western Flycatcher 2 (FOS)
Black-capped Chickadee 1
Swainson's Thrush 1
Hermit Thrush 1
Gray Catbird 5
Virginia's Warbler 1 (FOS, and first since 2023)
Yellow Warbler 1 new, 1 banded 2025
Yellow-rumped Warbler, Audubon's 1
American Redstart 1 banded 2023
MacGillivray's Warbler 2
Common Yellowthroat 5
Wilson's Warbler 1
Yellow-breasted Chat 2 new, 1 banded 2025
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Lazuli Bunting 1 FOS
Bullock's Oriole 3 FOS

We are banding Tuesday through Sunday (closed Mondays) through May 31, weather permitting.  There are opportunities for the public to visit on weekends and early mornings most weekdays.  Reservations are required and can be made through the Denver Audubon website.  (Many/most sessions are already sold out, so sign up now if you are interested!)

Meredith McBurney
Bander, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies

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[cobirds] South Platte River Trail bird walk coming up

All:

          I'm going to open this walk up to the public:  As per CoBirds guidelines this if FREE and open to birders of all levels (beginners through experts).  Educational and for seeing an identifying birds by sight and sound.  

Wednesday May 27th -  Birding the South Platte River Trail near Adams County Fairgrounds.    We will walk on flat ground, sidewalks, and some gravel paths along the South Platte River that is a great area for orioles, kingbirds (both), herons, egrets, pelicans, bald eagles, yellow warblers, and many others.  This area is where I observed several orchard orioles for several weeks last summer.   

Approximately 4-5 miles of walking, restrooms near meeting point.  You can leave any time you wish.  Limit 12 people.  

Reply to me directly for reserving a spot.   Do not reply to Group Email.  

I will send meeting time, place, and what to bring.  

Thanks, 
John T (Tumasonis)  

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[cobirds] Chico Basin Ranch Banding Station Report- May 21, 2026-Bird Conservancy of the Rockies

The Banding station woods was loud with Western Kingbirds early but not much influx of birds until after 9:00 AM. We caught the Townsend's Solitaire that had been hanging out for the past 3 days in the area. More Bullock's Orioles, mainly the second-year males piled into the woods. Most were very fat so they are only stopping for the day and will not be here to breed.

Another Warbling Vireo was banded and the measurements were not such we could ID it to the Western or Eastern Warbling Vireo. 

All recaptured birds not breeding in the banding area increased their weight from their previous banding date. Just think if we had no birds how many insects and pests we would have! YAY birds!

47 New Banded Birds

Yellow Warbler- 5

Wilson's Warbler- 1

MacGillivray's Warbler- 1

Hammond's Flycatcher- 2

Western Flycatcher- 2

Western Wood-pewee- 1

Warbling Vireo- 1

Chipping Sparrow- 2

Mountain White-crowned Sparrow- 5

American Goldfinch- 2

Lincoln's Sparrow- 6

Lazuli Bunting- 1

House Finch- 1

Yellow-breasted Chat- 1

Townsend's Solitaire- 1

Hermit Thrush- 1

Swainson's Thrush- 2

Orchard Oriole- 1

Bullock's Oriole- 7

Green-tailed Towhee- 1

Black-headed Grosbeak- 1

Brown Thrasher- 1

Common Grackle- 1

8 Recaptures

Yellow Warbler- 2

American Goldfinch- 1

Lincoln's Sparrow- 1

Swainson's Thrush- 1

Yellow-breasted Chat- 1

Bullock's Oriole- 1

Gray Catbird- 1

The Banding station will be open tomorrow from sunrise until @11 AM. Hoping for a good movement of birds. 

Remember to register on the Aiken Audubon website if coming to bird the ranch.

ww.aikenaudubon.com

Enjoy the Day!

Julie Shieldcastle

Bander, Chico Basin Ranch

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies

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[cobirds] Colorado birder Amelie Anderson named 2026 ABA Young Birder of the Year

Hey, all.

Here's a news story from a short while ago on Colorado birder Amelie Anderson, recently named 2026 American Birding Association Young Birder of the Year:

https://www.9news.com/article/life/jefferson-county-7th-grader-national-young-birder-of-the-year/73-94edbb2d-2f82-4a77-9a1b-bd40dc43cfdd

While I have everybody's attention, here's a fun pic of Amelie and her birding buds at The Arsenal, of course, back on Feb. 22, 2026. L.–r.: Isabelle Busch, Topiltzin Martínez, Patrick O'Driscoll, Amelie (in purple jacket), me, Elena Klaver, Tykee James, Linda Lee, Eric Perryman, Lori Potter, Isaac Boardman.



Ted Floyd
Lafayette, Boulder Co.

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[cobirds] Black-bellied Plover and Red-necked Phalarope at Cherry Creek State Park, Arapahoe Co.

Hello all,

An excellent day of birding at Cherry Creek State Park, Arapahoe County today with Cynthia Madsen and Dave Hill. We saw 17 species of shorebirds, which in my experience is a very good count for the park. Highlights were Black-bellied Plover and Red-necked Phalarope. There were two Black-bellied Plovers at Pelican Point, one in full breeding plumage. We made a count of 124 Red-necked Phalaropes. This count could be low as flocks of 10-50 birds were constantly moving around. They were seen mostly from the Prairie Loop west to the southeast corner of the Lake Loop. There were also astounding numbers of swallows, probably 1000 or more. They were everywhere, over the lake, along the shore, in the woods, and over the grasslands. They were mostly Barn, Cliff and Violet-green, with some Tree and a few Northern Rough-winged. Migrant passerine species (warblers, sparrows, etc.) were very few. Dave posted the full list to eBird.

Bob Andrews

Yekepa, Nimba Co., Liberia, West Africa

Currently in Centennial, Arapahoe Co.

[cobirds] Share Your Bird Photos for Colorado Birds! — Winter 2025–2026 (December 1 – February 28)

Hello CO Birders, 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 December 1, 2025, and February 28, 2026 (see submission guidelines below).

To be considered in the upcoming issue, please send your highest-quality photos to george@cobirds.org no later than Thursday, May 28, 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:

Winter 2025–2026 (December 1 – February 28)

• Brant
• Mexican Duck
• Surf Scoter
• White-winged Scoter
• Long-tailed Duck
• Barrow's Goldeneye
• Greater Roadrunner
• Dunlin
• Black-legged Kittiwake
• Franklin's Gull
• Iceland Gull (kumlieni)
• Great Black-backed Gull
• Glaucous-winged Gull
• Red-necked Grebe
• Pacific Loon
• Red-throated Loon
• Yellow-billed Loon
• White-faced Ibis
• Red-shouldered Hawk
• Short-eared Owl
• Acorn Woodpecker
• Northern House Wren
• Pacific Wren
• Carolina Wren
• Crissal Thrasher
• Brambling
• Cassia Crossbill
• White-winged Crossbill
• Snow Bunting
• Chipping Sparrow
• Field Sparrow
• Fox Sparrow
• Golden-crowned Sparrow
• Bullock's Oriole
• Rusty Blackbird
• Ovenbird
• Northern Waterthrush
• Black-and-white Warbler
• Tennessee Warbler
• Orange-crowned Warbler
• Nashville Warbler
• Common Yellowthroat
• Cape May Warbler
• Northern Parula
• Bay-breasted Warbler
• Northern Yellow Warbler
• Chestnut-sided Warbler
• Black-throated Blue Warbler
• Pine Warbler
• Yellow-throated Warbler
• Scarlet Tanager
• Western Tanager
• Northern Cardinal

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

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Photo Submission Guidelines:

Photos from Winter 2025–2026 (December 1 – February 28)

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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