[cobirds] Re: Rosy-Finch Winter Distribution

Lots of good questions Bob, as well as a good suggestion regarding standardized counts.  In fact, your idea was recently realized.  The non-profit Wild Utah Project has just expanded their citizen science Black Rosy-Finch feeder counts to other interior west states, including Colorado and are now including all rosy-finch species in their counts.    

This is the only standardized rosy-finch count that I am aware of and I would strongly encourage anyone who regularly feeds rosy-finches to participate in this well-organized project.  This winter's count is only halfway through and they are still very interested in having more homes sign up.  You can find all the information you need to participate, including a training video, on their website:

https://wildutahproject.org/rosy-finch

There is quite a bit of rosy-finch research happening in Colorado at the moment. As you mentioned, Scott Rashid has banded quite a number of rosy-finches.  Other ongoing research efforts here in Colorado include:

Breeding surveys and population estimates (Amy Seglund at Colorado Parks and Wildlife)

Various studies on winter movements, site fidelity, over-winter survival (UC Santa Cruz, CPW, Regalis Environmental, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, USFWS)

Population genetics (UC Boulder, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, CSU)

The above groups are also contributing feather samples to insanely cool Bird Genoscape Project (Kristen Ruegg at CSU and too many partners to list) which has a superb new short video out describing their efforts and objectives:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p43ksRgIlk

Apologies to any rosy-finch researchers that I've forgotten to mention, I'm sure there's at least one.

Greg Levandoski

Longmont, CO

On Thursday, February 4, 2021 at 8:45:23 PM UTC-7 Bob Shade wrote:

Down here in the "lowlands" (Golden) Black Rosy-Finches seem to be numerous this year and Brown-capped Rosy-Finches scarce. On the other hand Park County has plenty of Brown-caps and few Blacks. A quick rough check of eBird Rosy-Finch records for 2021 shows the following: 

55th Place in Golden (also labeled El Diente) 1/27 Gray-crowned 290,

     Black 15, BCRF 1

Mesa Meadows Golden 1/26 GCRF 61, Black 70, BCRF 3

But in Park County (Middle Park) Brown Caps are predominant.

Como 1/24 GCRF 8, Black 2, BCRF 32

Al Gulch Road (Jefferson) 1/9 GCRF 18, Black 5, BCRF 400!

The Lambs (Fairplay) 1/8 GCRF 1, Black 1, BCRF 75

I love these birds and am intrigued by the fact that at least this winter, the Brown Caps, almost Colorado endemics, are staying closer to their summer homes above timberline in the Colorado Rockies, whereas those that have come from Idaho and Montana (Blacks) and the Gray Crowns from British Colombia as far as Alaska seem to prefer lower altitudes in the Front Range. Blacks seem to be unusually numerous this year. 

Is (has) anyone studied the distribution of these scarce birds? How about a citizen science project to survey their numbers at certain feeder locations once a week during the winter. (CFO?) Isn't Scott Rashid banding them in Estes Park? Why do they come some years (like to Red Rocks and Ira Sanders' place in Golden) and then show up at a different location the next year? Where do they roost at night in the winter? Ira suggested that they need rocky cliffs like North Table Mountain for night roosts.

Bob Shade

Lakewood

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