[cobirds] Where *aren't* the Bohemians? - Arapahoe

Yesterday, Geoff Stacks and I had flyover after flyover (frustratingly so) of waxwing flocks, often Bohemians, around Centennial. We finally stumbled into a flock feeding on junipers, drinking melting snow on a roof, and sunning on a leafless tree in a residential neighborhood near the Big Dry Creek. They were joined by a few Cedar Waxwings and robins. Several passerby asked us about the birds and were enthusiastic about their encounter with the flock. 

Today, while driving from Centennial to Littleton, I had two flocks of waxwings fly over me, crisscrossing the High Line Canal. Given recent sightings, which have Bohemians vastly outnumbering Cedars, I suspect that's who made up the majority of these flocks. I first encountered a passing flock on Orchard, then another on one of the Canal's crossing on Broadway (at Ridge). I had a decent enough view of the second flock to feel confident in saying that they might definitely could have been and possibly were Bohemian Waxwings.

This weekend was the first I'd encountered Bohemians feeding on junipers (rather than Buckthorn). Have others noticed this transition, or is it just a sort of fluke of my own observations -- after all, I spent the first half of January looking for them in Buckthorn thickets?

These flocks are so remarkable. They really do change the ebb and flow of suburban winter birding. Same for the Cassin's Finches. In my brief time in Centennial, only the autumn-winter-spring of 2017-18 has matched this winter in intrigue. (That was the year of Golden-crowned Kinglets, Pygmy Nuthatches, Red Crossbills, and Steller's Jays -- and my yard had a brief visit from a Golden-crowned Sparrow.)

- Jared Del Rosso

Centennial, CO

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