[cobirds] Bird Conservancy of the Rockies Chico Basin Ranch Banding Update 9/24/21

No shortage of Wilson's Warblers here-- they made up a majority of our captures today, which was 54. We have crossed the threshold of 700 birds banded for the season, which is an exciting milestone! We were also given the opportunity to present to an AP Biology class today and they were fascinated by the banding process and even got to see a Sharp-shinned Hawk up close! Thank you to Kara for volunteering these last two days. 

Chico captures for 9/24:

Wilson's Warbler 34

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 2

Orange-crowned Warbler 4

Chipping Sparrow 2

Lincoln's Sparrow 7

White-crowned Sparrow 7

Hermit Thrush 4

Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 

Ovenbird 1

We are open 6 days a week at Chico Basin Ranch (closed Sunday), usually returning from the first net run around 7am and staying open until about 11:30am, weather permitting. Thank you for your continued support! 

Nancy Ransom

Bander, Chico Basin Ranch

Bird Conservancy of the Rockies 

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en
* All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate
* Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/abdabe7a-1b0b-45b8-8b82-6b289e722cd9n%40googlegroups.com.

[cobirds] Grackle Observations (Arapahoe) + DU Merlin (Denver)

Lately, an incredible flock of Common Grackles has been hanging around my neighbors' and my yards in Centennial (Arapahoe). They like one neighbor's apple trees, and their effort in the tree sends the overripe fruits thudding to the ground. Between the sound of that and the creak of 150+ grackles, my chickens end up hiding away, mistaking the racket for a genuine threat. I was surprised to see this, as the birds can be brave around other noisy birds, such as magpies. 

I'm grateful for the presence of this flock. The sound is wonderful enough -- strange and uncommon in my neighborhood, as the birds prefer to stay around the open spaces during summer. And the activity is exciting, a constant whir between the fruiting trees and shrubs. When they decide to leave, all at once, the suburban tree line briefly fills with birds. 

Elsewhere, today at the University of Denver, several of us did an informal survey of birds on campus. We encountered no migrating songbirds (indeed, very uncommon on campus), but the morning began with a Merlin with a small songbird. It was my first campus Merlin and, eBird tells me, my 50th species of bird at DU in nearly a decade.

My last few encounters with Merlins have been like this -- this amazing hunter with a small songbird coming undone in its talons and beak. Previously, it was during the 2019 CBC (1/1/2020, if my memory is right (and eBird says it is), with the Denver Metro count), with Joe Roller and before COVID-19. A junco, then, was taken. 

- Jared Del Rosso

Centennial, CO

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en
* All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate
* Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/189009f4-123c-4fd4-befc-e8496784f1d6n%40googlegroups.com.

Re: [cobirds] Wilson Warblers-Crow Valley-CG

There is a suggestion here maybe to extrapolate a good migrant concentration at one place to fit it to the whole landscape, or similar areas. But I think there is seldom evenness to the distribution of such migrant landbirds. As an isolated grove, maybe the trees of Crow Valley were a draw to bring warblers to concentrate in that general area, even if they were foraging in the thickets?

I had just one Wilson's in my patch near home this morning at Ken Caryl. I could extrapolate that to balance the Crow Valley bounty :-)

David Suddjian  

Ken Caryl Valley

Littleton, CO

On Fri, Sep 24, 2021 at 1:22 PM Robert Righter <rorighter@earthlink.net> wrote:

Hi all

While birding for two hours this morning, I detected 30 migrating Wilson's Warblers. The vast majority were seen in thickets, not so much in the trees. So did I see all the Wilson's Warblers in the campground? Most likely not. Given the inventory of thickets in the region, could I reasonable assume I only saw about half of the actual number—most likely so.  The Wilson Warbler's breeding range stretches from the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, although the warbler is more common in the west than in the east.  Since I was only in the region for two hours, what could this information mean towards calculating the total population for this warbler. Since the campground is just a mere speck in the totality of the warbler's migrating range and just a moment in time, would it be reasonable to assume the total population for the warbler to be in the millions, hundreds of millions or……?

Given the above example, what would others estimate Wilson's Warbler total population to be?

Bob Righter

Denver CO

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en
* All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate
* Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/0A01F6D7-4021-4669-901F-13443C2DAE6E%40earthlink.net.

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en
* All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate
* Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAGj6Roqc2AiikEv%2B5g5k0G7-PXeWBup0BhwO6JiQYOV_DQGFig%40mail.gmail.com.

RE: [cobirds] Wilson Warblers-Crow Valley-CG

Here's what Cornell's "All About Birds," says:  Wilson's Warbler populations declined by nearly 2% per year between 1966 and 2015, resulting in a cumulative decline of 61% according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Populations in the West are declining at a greater rate than populations in the East. Despite these declines, they are not listed on the 2016 State of North America's Birds Watch List, however the 2014 State of the Birds Report listed Wilson's Warbler as a Common Bird in Steep Decline. Partners in Flight estimates a global breeding population of 60 million with 61% spending some part of the year in the U.S.

 

Sent from Mail for Windows

 

From: Robert Righter
Sent: Friday, September 24, 2021 1:22 PM
To: cobirds
Subject: [cobirds] Wilson Warblers-Crow Valley-CG

 

Hi all

 

While birding for two hours this morning, I detected 30 migrating Wilson's Warblers. The vast majority were seen in thickets, not so much in the trees. So did I see all the Wilson's Warblers in the campground? Most likely not. Given the inventory of thickets in the region, could I reasonable assume I only saw about half of the actual number—most likely so.  The Wilson Warbler's breeding range stretches from the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, although the warbler is more common in the west than in the east.  Since I was only in the region for two hours, what could this information mean towards calculating the total population for this warbler. Since the campground is just a mere speck in the totality of the warbler's migrating range and just a moment in time, would it be reasonable to assume the total population for the warbler to be in the millions, hundreds of millions or……?

 

Given the above example, what would others estimate Wilson's Warbler total population to be?

 

Bob Righter

Denver CO

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en
* All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate
* Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/0A01F6D7-4021-4669-901F-13443C2DAE6E%40earthlink.net.

 

[cobirds] Wilson Warblers-Crow Valley-CG

Hi all

While birding for two hours this morning, I detected 30 migrating Wilson's Warblers. The vast majority were seen in thickets, not so much in the trees. So did I see all the Wilson's Warblers in the campground? Most likely not. Given the inventory of thickets in the region, could I reasonable assume I only saw about half of the actual number—most likely so.  The Wilson Warbler's breeding range stretches from the Pacific ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, although the warbler is more common in the west than in the east.  Since I was only in the region for two hours, what could this information mean towards calculating the total population for this warbler. Since the campground is just a mere speck in the totality of the warbler's migrating range and just a moment in time, would it be reasonable to assume the total population for the warbler to be in the millions, hundreds of millions or……?

Given the above example, what would others estimate Wilson's Warbler total population to be?

Bob Righter

Denver CO

[cobirds] Boulder County Audubon Society Meeting Tuesday Sept 28 ONLINE ONLY

Please join us on Tuesday Sepember 28 at 7:15 pm for the first program of our ‘season’.  We will be ONLINE ONLY and not at the church as previously planned. 

 

Our speaker will be Pam Smith, who will speak on the biodiversity study at Colorado’s newest State Park, Fisher’s Peak.  Learn more at https://www.boulderaudubon.org/all-events/sept-2021

 

 

Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81830018237?pwd=VElVa3FINk5oVXdTZmdaKzJWRWowdz09

--

[cobirds] Last Chance (Wash Co.) 9/24

Hi Everyone, 

This morning 9/24 I visited the Last Chance Rest Area. A Magnolia Warbler was in the trees in the north end of the lot behind the hotel and mailboxes. There was a good variety of more regular migrants, including a Green-tailed Towhee and two Clay-colored Sparrows in the currants. The pond seems smaller every time I visit. The toilets were being pumped out as I arrived, so they were in unusually good shape. 

Mark Miller 

Longmont, CO 

Mark 

--
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en
* All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate
* Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CADLCh%2BwEePcrycS1AWMPKmdnBQoYth%3D1_7hByCQahu9i-ePLsQ%40mail.gmail.com.