Re: [cobirds] Historical perspective on Bohemians?

Hi Jared- love this and looking forward to also hearing from CO long-timers!

I have two stories to tell, starting with 1987.  That year the Boulder CBC tallied 11,284 Bohemian Waxwings, which for years was the all-time Christmas Bird Count high count.  (Can any Boulder long-timers fill in more details on this mega year?)  Anchorage AK has since surpassed that but nice to know that for a while we were record holders.  I didn't participate in the count yet but I remember (as will my then dorm-mate Scottt Severs) seeing big flocks on the CSU campus that winter up in Fort Collins.  The Boulder CBC also had a strong precursor count in 1986 with 2135 and other standout years in 1968 (4200) and 1983 (2530.)  Boulder has tallied Bohemians 24 times out of 81 counts.

In 2007 the Longmont CBC tallied a very nice 1366 Bohemians.  That year set my personal high mark, with my team tallying 825 in our territory.  But even better were ~2100 in my Longmont back yard on 29 Dec., a count I arrived at by photographing what I could of the massive flock and extrapolating.  Here's a shot of 698 BOWAs, which I estimated to be 1/3 to 1/4 of the total flock.  I counted each bird by digitally dotting them, changing color every 100 birds to help visualize the magnitude of the flock.

Enjoy- Bill Schmoker, Boulder CBC Compiler

p.s.  My BOWA count so far this winter is... 0!  :-(

On Sun, Jan 29, 2023 at 5:24 PM Jared Del Rosso <jared.delrosso@gmail.com> wrote:

I'd love to hear from long-time birders about their experiences with Bohemian Waxwings prior to this year! While eBird tells part of the story, I'd love to hear more about these past encounters -- including but not limited to where, how many, when, what the birds were up to, and anything else that stood out. I think it would help those of us who are newer to the state and/or birding (like me) appreciate the encounters we're having this winter. 

Here's my contribution, which isn't my contribution.

W. H. Bergtold, who I wrote about for the October 2022 issue of DFO's The Lark Bunting, reported Bohemian Waxwings "all over [Denver] in great numbers, from February 22 to April 8, 1917, when the last two were seen in Cheesman Park." This brief account appears in The Wilson Bulletin in Bergtold's 1917 list of Denver birds. 

Oddly, Bergtold has a single account of a Cedar Waxwing listed in the same essay: "Cedar Waxwing. Seen in Berkeley, February, 1906." Might Denver's birders have once chased that Cedar as we've been out looking for Bohemians?

Finally, I'll note Joe Roller's eBird report of Bohemian Waxwings in his S. Yates home in 1991. Joe had told me that he'd had large flocks of Bohemian Waxwings in his yard, but I couldn't find it on the eBird map, thinking his home was closer to Wash Park and the encounter more recent. (Perhaps this is a previous home?) In any case, his brief note on the historical checklist tells us that 1991 was an invasion year for Bohemians: "Had large flocks throughout winter, lingering into spring. Larger than nearby Cedar Waxwings, rusty under tail coverts; 'mean' looking facies." I suspect "facies" is a typo, but with Joe I can't be sure. It's also apparently a medical term! I'll also admit to not realizing that Bohemians appear mean, though I indeed think that of Mountain Chickadees.

I checked DFO's newsletter archives, and Bohemians were reported on DFO trips from November 1990 (Barr Lake, three in total) through mid-April of 1991 (150+ in Lakewood). 

Briefly -- occasional sightings of a female/immature type Cassin's Finch and a White-throated Sparrow in my Centennial yard. Yesterday encountered a flock of robins and a small number of Bohemian Waxwings as they descended on an errant Buckthorn in a neighborhood yard near University and Orchard. I stopped briefly and made everyone in my car ooh and aah. 

- Jared Del Rosso

Centennial, CO

lonesomewhippoorwill.com

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