Hello, Birders. This post is mainly about hybrids, domestics, "spuhs," and uncountable exotics. If that's not your cup of tea, I'll briefly note that recent unproblematic birds from Waneka Lake and Greenlee Preserve, Boulder County, include Swamp Sparrow, Ross's Goose, and Greater White-fronted Goose.
-- The rest of the story:
1. Of late many Cackling Geese have been staging overnight at Waneka Lake. Nearly all appear to be of the expected hutchinsii ("Richardson's") subspecies, but I saw 3 on Sat.-Sun., Dec. 6-7, that I think were "Taverner's" Cackling geese (subspecies taverneri). Here's audio from Sat. morning, Dec. 6, of a small portion of the main flock of Cacklers: http://tinyurl.com/CacG-12-06
2. Here's a photo of a Greater White-fronted Goose, presumably of the Western/Tundra subspecies (frontalis=gambeli), with "Lesser" Canada Geese (subspecies parvipes), at Greenlee Preserve, Sun., Dec. 7: http://tinyurl.com/GWFG-12-07
3. One of the geese at Waneka Lake appears to be an intergeneric Chen x Branta hybrid. Figuring out its parentage is tricky, but I've been talked into a provisional ID of Lesser Snow Goose x Richardson's Cackling Goose. I entered it into eBird as "Snow/Ross's x Cackling/Canada Goose." Anyhow, here's a photo of the bird from yesterday, Sun., Dec. 7: http://tinyurl.com/Chen-Branta-12-07
4. How about ducks? On Sun., Dec. 7, I saw a bird, mainly or entirely a Gadwall, that gave me pause. Could it be a "Brewer's Duck" backcross? Beats me, and I'm sufficiently uncertain that I entered a "0" count for the eBird taxon. Here's a link to photos and comments: http:/tinyurl.com/Gadw-12-07
5. Ducks and geese definitely hybridize! The Waneka Lake population of frankenducks is expanding, due in part to hybridization with "wild" ("Northern") Mallards. The colonizers are easy to recognize, but their volant offspring are considerably harder to detect. Here's video from this Mon. morning, Dec. 8, of part of the flock: http://tinyurl.com/ducks-12-08
6. I declare that Streptopelia doves are the next frontier for lovers of bird ID challenges. Even the "pure" or "wild-type" individuals are tricky. Vocalizations are distinctive--but what about hybrid individuals...or even an introgressing Front Range population? Well, here's a typical Eurasian Collared-Dove from the outskirts of Greenlee Preserve this Mon. morning, Dec. 8: https://soundcloud.com/ted-floyd/eurasian-collared-dove-1
7. And here's a typical African Collared-Dove, also from the outskirts of Greenlee Preserve this Mon. morning, Dec. 8: https://soundcloud.com/ted-floyd/african-collared-dove-1
8. How 'bout an audio quiz? See how many bird species can you hear and identify in this short cut from Greenlee Preserve, Sun. morning, Dec. 7: https://soundcloud.com/ted-floyd/sound-quiz
9. A comment about my eBird checklist for the Waneka/Greenlee complex, Sun., Dec. 7. It's a bit contrived inasmuch as I was specifically looking for "non-species taxa," but still: 39 species and 26 non-species taxa. I wonder if I've established some sort of record! Here's the checklist: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S20832159
10. Okay, let's wrap up on an entirely unproblematic note. As others on COBirds have noted, 'tis the most wonderful time of the year...for going out at dusk and seeing and hearing Great Horned Owls. And tonight, Mon., 12/8, was perhaps the grandest night of the year for an owl encounter--because this is the night of the earliest sunset of the year (yes, even though the solstice is still nearly 2 weeks off). At the stroke of nautical twilight, at 5:05 p.m., this Great Horned Owl was in a tree near Greenlee Preserve: http://tinyurl.com/GHOw-12-08
Ted Floyd
Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado
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