Re: [cobirds] note on Ruby-Crowned Kinglet and Lesser Goldfinch, Ken Caryl and Littleton

All,

I'll add a little to David's report.  Lesser Goldfinches have been quite regular in my yard in Littleton, near Clement Park, for a couple months.  Yesterday (12/26) I set a yard high count of 23!  I was playing in the sandbox out back (with our 4 yr old daughter) and the feeders were covered and adjacent bushes had several more.  Twenty-three was the max I counted between playing in the sand and being told what to do.  When we were on the side of the yard with the feeders, thus keeping birds away, the Lesser's were chomping on seeds in our ash trees and making quite a racket.  Admittedly, I got a second thistle feeder a few weeks ago to see if I could keep some Lesser's around or attract more individuals.  I seem to have done both as I now have many more individuals than just 2 weeks ago.

I did a quick look at recent eBird reports, and as David noted, there are a bunch of Lesser's reported around Littleton and Ken Caryl Valley (and many of those were reported by David).  Scattered continuing birds are around Lakewood as well, with very few to the north.  Colorado Springs has a smattering of recent reports as well.  If you come across Lesser's, at your feeder or otherwise, I encourage you to eBird them.  This will help us all get a better handle on not just the spatial extent of wintering birds, but how many individuals are being seen, as these birds are fairly new wintering birds in Colorado over the last few years.  

From an eBird data standpoint, continued reporting from the same location is some of the best information you can submit.  Don't hesitate to report your yard birds, daily, weekly, whatever.  Just eBird them! 

Good birding,

Scott Somershoe

Littleton, Jefferson Co.

On Mon, Dec 26, 2016 at 8:17 PM, David Suddjian <dsuddjian@gmail.com> wrote:

I have encountered more Ruby-crowned Kinglets in the southern Metro Area so far this winter (my 4th in CO) than in the previous three, with most time spent in the same general areas each winter. In the past two week I've had 5 in Littleton, Arapahoe Co, and 9+ in the Ken Caryl Valley, JeffCo. One visits my yard most days lately, and there were two in the yard this afternoon. In my prior winters I found them to be fewer and much farther between.

Lesser Goldfinches were sporadic and in 1s and 2s on my efforts in Ken Caryl Valley in November and early December (others maybe had them more frequently at that time), but with the cold and storm on 12/17 they became regular, daily, and in numbers of at least 9 at a time. They are pretty much continual around my home right now. Today I had at least 7 there, plus 5 together in a near by open space corridor and 2 others elsewhere. About 85% are females, but the smaller percentage are brighter and some show flecks of black on the crown. 

David Suddjian

Ken Caryl Valley

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