Dear Cobirders,
Just wanted extend a quick thanks to Peter for sharing the link of the Colorado Symphony's digital outreach, and to Allison for her birds+music story. The short answers: yes, Shoeshine is indeed a Jenday Conure, and did not, unfortunately, arrive in Colorado by natural occurrence. He loves all kinds of music (although not opera curiously, so he has never accompanied me into the pit at the Santa Fe Opera), and will bob and "whoop" to the beat enthusiastically.
Also, I would like to add my voice to Allison's with regards to seizing this opportunity to bird (very) locally. And please post to Cobirds so that we may bird vicariously (and conscientiously in terms of keeping those at higher risk safe and healthy).
As some of you may know, for the last dozen or so years I've been on a "green" birding kick, hiking or biking, sometimes many miles, rather than getting in a car and emitting more carbon. It was inspired by a challenge that several Canadian birders started back in 2008 called the Big Green Big Year. See this site for a bit more background:
One of the best outcomes of this endeavor has been a higher appreciation of the diversity, activity, and nuance of local bird life. Last year I made a huge effort, including several wonderful bike trips up Lefthand Canyon to Ward, Brainard Lake, and even Mt Audubon, to get out and see/find as many species as possible. This year, perhaps as a result of that effort, I've become even more local and have birded almost entirely in my yard and on Mt. Sanitas.
In keeping closer watch in my yard, and taking notes, I've been able to follow the trends, observe individual birds, and be present for the unusual visits. For example: Lesser Goldfinches present almost every day in numbers of 1 up to 18 from early December to early March, suddenly gone, coinciding with the appearance of Pine Siskins; Red-breasted Nuthatches much more regular this winter; Cassin's Finches coming down in elevation with almost every snow storm; the white-cheeked Dark-eyed Junco that appears every several days; two new yardbird owls (N Pygmy-Owl in the am, the E. Screech Owl at night) in one day; FOY Common Grackle today (3/28), just one day off last year (3/29); Say's Phoebe five days earlier than last year; Red Crossbills in numbers of 1-20 on at least 15 trips out of 50 up Mt Sanitas, also a Red Crossbill nest pointed out by Maggie Boswell.
It might be excruciating to stay local this spring migration, but, who knows, maybe that rare warbler will end up in one of our yards or local patch, and we'll be there to see it.
Good birding to all, best wishes for staying healthy and safe,
Thomas Heinrich
Boulder, CO
On Thu, Mar 26, 2020 at 8:12 PM Allison Hilf <allisonhilf@gmail.com> wrote:
Peter,It looks like a Jenday Conure ( Jandaya Parakeet) and should only be in Colorado for aviculture purposes.The only parrot I'm aware of that is/was??? breeding outside of captivity in the wild in Colorado was the Monk Parakeet. Monk Parakeets are "technically" on the books as prohibited for sale, ownership, etc.. There are many states where they are invasive and people irrationally fear nesting behaviors can pose a danger to power lines, etc. I believe this might have been the case years back in the Boulder area and might be why Colorado prohibits them. Well, I have a handicapped "Quaker Parrot" (just don't tell the authorities it is the same as a Monk Parakeet). She's at least 12 and has healed wing and leg fractures from previous home. If I could play the cello my Quaker would be trying to take apart the bow and my African Grey would be sitting on my shoulder bobbing to whatever beat I'm attempting to play. It's a good thing I play French Horn.--On Thu, Mar 26, 2020 at 12:04 PM Peter Gent <gent@ucar.edu> wrote:--All,In these days of more birding from home, I thought the following clip was nice. It shows Boulder birder Thomas Heinrich playing his cello with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra with a Parrot holding onto his upper right arm:The questions are: what species is it and did it get to Colorado by natural occurrence?Peter Gent.Boulder.
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