Tuesday began the wind, but I had an update from a fellow Broomfield birder that he had seen a Cinnamon Teal in Plaster Reservoir over the weekend, so I rushed over on my lunch to see if it was still around. If it was I didn't see it, instead it was lots of wind, and a harried lunch.
This American Coot was riding the whitecaps.
Last evening I had another go at the Cinnamon Teal, it had been so windy that I would not have been surprised to have missed it in plain sight. It was still absent though, so I had to make do with singing birds and a less windy pleasant evening.
This Song Sparrow kept well back in the vegetation, but some of his mates began to sing.
Red-Winged Blackbirds were singing everywhere.
The irony was not lost that I was enjoying an evening full of signs of spring before heading home to dig out my ski gear from all of last year's hiding spots.
Today at lunch I was looking for shelter from the wind again, so I headed to Eldora Canyon State Park for lunch. It was a bust, but I did spot a Slate-Colored Junco at a trail-head on the way back.
At first I did not even know that it was a Junco, it seemed to long, and light. After looking at the pics more closely I knew it was a Junco, and then noted that it had white wingbars.
From there I did some searching on the White-winged variety, and found that they are larger, and a paler shade of gray. Both of those attributes were what had kept me from initially nailing the id as a Junco in the first place. I guess at least I am getting better at noticing essential differences, even if they are not clear to me at the time.
Now I am off to the mountains, hopefully some good high elevations species while I am there.
2009 Count: 60
Lifetime: 90
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