Hi CO birders,
-- On December 27th, David Resch photographed a Brambling in a Colorado Springs suburb, and submitted it to eBird on December 29th. Thanks to Mark Peterson for calling me and alerting me to this, I then went out to give the neighborhood a check the following morning, fully not expecting to find anything. However, at 9:32 I lucked into the bird feeding on berries with a flock of juncos and House Finches at 38.907514,-104.858815 in a red berried ornamental; then followed it as it flew to 38.908563,-104.859306 in cottonwoods and below some feeders, still associating strongly with junco flocks. I was viewing the bird from Pinon Valley Rd throughout. At approx. 9:47 am I lost track of the bird while chatting with a dog-walker. But my guess is it kept going north to visit another yard with a good food source in the area. There are several houses with feeder setups in the neighborhood, currently.
This morning, 4 of us looked in the same spots without luck. David Resch has also not seen the bird since photographing it on the 27th.
Thus far, homeowners have been friendly. But if you find this bird, and pin down a spot where it seems to be potentially reliable, please make sure with the homeowners who reside there that alerting birders to the location would be ok.
If you look for this bird, I recommend parking at the US Post Office at 5001 Centennial Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO 80919, or at the plaza across the street from there, and walking up Pinon Valley Rd towards the Brambling area. While there is some street parking along these roads, please be careful not to crowd the streets where locals reside.
People will be curious, and be prepared to be stopped and questioned about what you are doing if you have large optics visible. Enthusiasm on the subject of birding and explaining the rarity of the target bird while showing them pictures (I like to use Merlin) always helps. Be respectful and courteous, and do not walk onto lawns or yards unless explicitly given permission.
To me, this individual looked like a male in basic plumage. Very bright for a winter Brambling, and it's dazzling orange is what caught me eye initially, along with its size (slightly larger than a junco or House Finch). This species does not typically fly to the very tops of trees, unlike many of the local finch species, but stays at mid-level or just below the crown. They feed on the ground more than other finch species, too
Good luck, and Happy New Year's Eve!
~ David Tonnessen
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