Got Grebe?

Just when I thought I was back to a routine last week my car battery started acting up. So, quite a few days later I was back at Standley Lake Park checking to see what was about at lunch time. I was fortunate, one of the Horned Grebes was still around. It was fairly close to shore, and in better - if overly bright mid-day sun. I parked and approached along the shore from the west. That gave me better looks than I had gotten when looking directly south from the road. Grebes, for those who don't know, are diving ducks. They submerge for long periods chasing after fish like the one above. While they are underwater is a great time to gradually move along the shore towards them. As I was conducting the 'squat and scurry' routine two geese arrived to confirm that I was not some aggressive predator. I am not a huge fan of the Canadas, but these two, (there were two), swam along shore to where I was standing, emerged and circled me within arms distance. Waited, I guess to see if I would feed them, and then after getting a drink headed back to the water. There are a bunch of fishermen along the shore, so perhaps they are conditioned. These two weren't overly aggressive - they just checked my spot to see if I was at a good feeding spot and then went on their way. A handful of gulls were out as well. All the individuals that I could see were Ring-billed. This picture and one other did raise a good photographic question though. I was panning with the birds, from about 12:00 to 10:00, starting due south. Notice the ghosting? I am curious if that is an effect of the camera's processor computing light and dark regions vs the rate of panning motion. Any ideas or thoughts? Feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email. *Update - just looked at this on a different monitor and the image looks fine* Gulls and Geese aside, this little Grebe definitely stole the show today!

Nice Lunch Break

At lunch today I decided to swing by the Broomfield Civic Center parks to see what birds I could spot in a short amount of time. The list wasn't all that exciting, but the fall colors were great. This House Finch was hanging out with some friends right in the parking lot.


At the library pond I spotted this banded Canada Goose while looking for odd gulls. It conveniently swam over to me, so I grabbed a legible shot and submitted a sighting report this afternoon. The website for submissions seems to have had a face-lift, and has a convenient section for identifying the type of band you saw.



In this case the record took well under five minutes to submit. I don't know that the goose records are of much interest to researchers outside the scope of their project, but it is easy to do, and kind of fun to add to the records I keep. If you have the chance to record a readable bird band in a photograph be sure to stop by http://www.reportband.gov/. A good way to make common birds more interesting.

1 down - 5 to go!

Here we are one week removed from the Groundhog's prediction of six more weeks of winter. This morning certainly fit the winter bill, with a fresh coating of 3-5 inches of dry fluffy snow, and temps in the low single digits it was definitely a wintry morning. I tried to grab a bit of the early light at Stearn's Lake on my way into the office. Unfortunately, the only bit of open water was right on the east edge of the dam. Its position and the thick cloud of steam really kept me from getting much of a look at the waterfowl that were crowded in. I did see Canada and Cackling Geese, Northern Shovelers, and a trio of Common Mergansers coming in to land. That was it though, the shot above was the first of four I took when I arrived. Just as I did the steam started moving towards me, and blocking my view of the open water.

So I turned my head to the sky and spotted this airplane properly adorned with a snowflake for the weather. I have no idea what the insignia represents, but that was the first time I had noticed that plane taking off from Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport. As I was looking skyward I had a flyover from a pair of Western Meadowlarks, they weren't singing today - but a few brave Red-winged Blackbirds were.

Clear skies and warming temps should have this reminder of winter receding into our memories in the next few days, personally I hope to see at least another five this season.

Half a Dozen

Despite a morning with single digit temps the sun was out today. I got an early start, and with good weather had plenty of time to swing by Stearn's Lake on my way into work.

I was hoping for the scene above and got it. A small area of still open water that had the geese concentrated in a relatively small area. Even better, it was on the close side of the lake to the trail, allowing close looks from behind a tree. Unfortunately, there were no Snow or Ross's Geese present yet. Soon perhaps, but well worth a periodic quick check.

While there were no uncommon Geese, there were Red-tailed Hawks. As indicated by the title, I had six individuals split between my drive along the dirt road to the lake and my walk. I am fairly confident that it is my highest count total for individuals in such a short span in one location.

There is something about a Hawk surveying the area from a high perch that just fits with a cold morning.

A closer crop, showing the lighter colored eyes and tail banding of this juvenile bird. (For contrast note the brown-eyed adult in the top picture).

Here, primed for takeoff, the patagial bars on the leading edge of the under-wing are clearly visible.

Then, with a wingbeat, a pump of the fully fanned tail, and a thrust of the legs this young Red-tail is aloft! With so many neighbors about he/she will need an early start to get breakfast. From my visit to the hawkwatch at Dinosaur Ridge last spring I know that as waves of migrants pass through periodic numbers can easily spike for a certain area. In this case most individuals were spaced out amongst the various tree clusters, with no more than two individuals in any particular area. It was a fun first to see so many of those clusters occupied on this chilly, and therefore very private morning with the hawks.

No Mercy

Caution! The following post is a bit of a downer, no graphic images, but some of the tough realities of nature are explored. If you prefer a less challenging, more warm and fuzzy experience please stop reading - click here for flowers and bunnies, or wait for the typical bird pics from the walk post that will follow.

This guy or gal almost wrecked my mood today. The sun had only been up ten to fifteen minutes, and I was walking back from the east side of the large lake, (typically mudflat), when I saw a lone Canada Goose swimming towards me. It was riding low in the water, visibly struggling to reach the bank. I couldn't tell if it had a wing or foot problem, or if it was something else. In any case it was clear that if it didn't get resolved shortly the goose would not be long for this world. Granted, that part of the situation is a bummer, but it is a part of the way the natural world works. I have watched enough predators devouring perfectly healthy prey that the sight of a doomed injured animal at the very least doesn't make bloggable material.

What did was the response of three other geese to its desperate calls as it neared the bank. It had been using its wings to keep itself above water and looked and sounded exhausted. Then, one of the three geese in the area started honking loudly. It placed itself between the distressed goose and the shore and began to defend the territory.

It drove that individual away from the bank, and back out into deeper water. I walked away with plenty of thoughts to chew on - I didn't need to stand around and watch what I can imagine was the eventual outcome.

The question is, do geese drive away all injured or otherwise distressed members of their species? Having volunteered in a raptor rehabilitation clinic, and read examples on the web, I know that there are many bird individuals that cope with injuries, malformities, and other maladies and get on quite well. Since Canada Geese are frequently seen in large groups I have to imagine that the defensive response was specific to that bird, and not something that would have been presented to a healthy individual, but I could be wrong there.

That lead me to a next question, are there certain disease conditions amongst birds that can be recognized, and cause banishment - like leprosy?

Fortunately there were many other sights to see this morning, and the thoughts of rejection and death were chased away by bright sunlight and birdsong. Even so, I am curious if anyone else has encountered this or similar behavior. Any experts out there that can offer any insight are welcome to comment or email me.

Harper Lake Late Lunch

Poor Geese, they are out there for us day in and day out. I leave a trip to a lake thinking I saw nothing, and on any given day there are at least 20 of these dudes, (or dudettes), out there keeping it real for us. This guy or gal was content to sit trailside as I walked past, didn't even bother to honk or hiss, just chilin'. It deserved a picture on the blog, since the last Canada Goose I pictured was having a bit of trouble on the ice.

Chilly it was. The forecast says that there may be snow, but it should stay south and that we may see a dusting - usually the sure sign that we are going to get dumped on. I meanwhile am paying for my previous post about practicing photography on Gulls. Now more than ever the Ring-billeds seem to feel a need to make approaching passes at me. Not the slow hunting passes that are reliable either. These are the ones that come at you so fast that the auto-focus only sees sky as they come past at 15 feet. Oh, well. They are entertaining, and getting outside for an hour sure is nice.

The gull lifting away here had just pulled a great bit of larceny on the gull in the water, at first I thought I had a bit of inter-species rivalry going, but as usual it was just two Ring-billeds doing what they do best.

I saw some better behavior action when two Crows and a Ring-billed all joined forces to drive a Red-tail that had flown into the area across the lake. They made it very clear that the Red-tail was unwelcome.

This next gull wasn't doing much of anything, but the water he was sitting in picked up a great shade of blue from the partly cloud skies.

Finally, I found a more cooperative Black-billed Magpie than the well lit ones from Tuesday evening. Unfortunately his blue is not popping out like that evening, but he was willing to hang out at the ground feeder near someone's fence. Not sure what he was feeding on, but it must have been good.

Bird it Good!

Catch-up

Getting out on a dreary weekend can be tough. I was glad I forced myself to endure the cooler weather and drab skies over the past few days.

Friday evening I swung by Stearn's Lake, but decided to hike through the Preserve area and Open Space instead of looking at the geese in low light. I was greeted by a curious calf.






I then got to watch a Red-Tailed Hawk having supper.






The light degraded even more, so I abandoned the camera and just enjoyed walking in the open countryside. As I returned I checked some trees where I thought I had seen a Great Horned Owl on an early morning in January, but had not had enough of a view to be sure. This time I was fortunate to see him perched on a branch before he took flight for his evening hunt. Seeing an owl always makes time outside exciting.



Yesterday I had time, so despite the heavy clouds I decided to see where inspiration would lead me. I stopped by Lower Church Lake and saw the Trumpeters again. They were present along with tow cars of people watching them. I stopped for a bit, waved to the others who were there, and then decided to head on to Stanley Lake Park.

There were some Sparrows and Finches near the parking area, and this Rock Pigeon appeared undeterred by the giant fish above his head.



The lake was very quiet. I did get to continue my now apparent trend of seeing Ring-billeds eating crayfish.





He seems to be enjoying the snack.



I ended up on the far side of the lake, which had even fewer birds, there were two coyotes that passed a land bridge to an island.



Coyotes are getting a lot of bad press in the Denver metro area, and the media is full of proposed culling methods. I do understand population management issues, and that regulation is required at times. I grew up in Minnesota where for a time White-tailed Deer in the Minneapolis metro area seemed more numerous than rabbits. On the other hand it frustrates me that individuals blame the Coyote for attacking small pets. Personal accountability seems so unpopular these days. Despite the good time at the lake the leaden skies were getting to be a bit much, but Colorado offers a great solution....mountains!

Late afternoon didn't give me a large window, but I did get up to the Crescent Meadows section of Eldorado Canyon State Park. It was one of those quick moments that really makes me appreciate Colorado. A quick drive got me up 1500 feet, and above most of the clouds. I hiked up to the top of an outcrop and settled in to enjoy the sunset. While I was there I had what I thought was a Townsend's Solitaire perch in a treetop just above me. He was up sun from me, but I took a few frames while I had the chance. Despite the poor light conditions, the picture showed that this was not a Solitaire. Look at the shape of the bill:






It is a Northern Mockingbird. Correction - it is a Clark's Nutcracker, the Northern Mockingbird was a bad seasosnal fit, but I didn't think of the Clark's and as I had not seen it previously it did not pop into my mind immediately. A bit out of range, but fun to see that the sunshine was enjoyed by all sorts of species.


As the sun dropped I quickly headed back down the hill, and made one last pass by the Trumpeters on my way home.



Glad I made it outside!

2009 Count: 59

Lifetime: 89

Snow Goose & Gulls

Yesterday the call went out to COBirds that there was a "Blue" Ross's Goose at Stearn's Lake, along with a traditional white Snow Goose. I was fairly confident that it was the same "Blue" Snow Goose that I had seen previously, but I went over to the lake to check what was there at lunch. I did find both birds. The White Snow Goose was prominent walking on the ice, but the "blue" had his head tucked against a strong wind. Without getting a good look I was still confident that it was a Snow Goose as opposed to a Ross's because of its comparable size to the Canada Geese around it; a Ross's Goose is noticeably smaller. I returned to work to see that another Broomfield birder had already replied with the correct ID. (It is nice to get confirmation though).
After work I pulled back in at Stearn's to see if the "blue" had moved, it had not but the white Snow Goose was much closer to shore, allowing me to get the picture above.
Before leaving I walked down to the dam and caught a Gull gliding in the strong wind.



After a quick look and seeing that the original Snow had not moved I headed back for the car, and on to Plaster Reservoir, where the other birder reported that he had seen a White Ross's Goose in the morning.
If it had been there it was long gone. I walked towards a golf course on the far side of the lake to see if anyone out enjoying a mid winter round would stir anything interesting out of the trees.
That didn't happen, but the setting sun and strong wind provided a great setting to catch more Ring-Billed Gulls coming in to the lake for the evening.



Sometimes the water is so close you can almost taste it, right gull?

I believe that birdwatching is catching on more than many people know. As I stood in the open catching gulls on the wing, a pair of eyes in a blind were watching me!

He probably has his bins and field guide stashed in there as well. Hopefully he could check me off as a lifer!

2009 Count: 56

Lifetime: 86

Snow?

Will yesterday's Snow Goose be an omen? There are supposed to be passing bands of snow showers, but while the clouds have locked in there have only been flurries.

This morning I headed back over to Eastlake Reservoir, where I had happened to see the Kestrel on the first. I walked the full loop, picking up Robins, Mourning Doves, and a few House Finches for the year count. Eastlake features a nice rock wall observation platform for their waterfowl, but unfortunately it was not well situated for the open water left from the ice. As I looked through the group of Ring-bills for a stray gull I caught a raptor coming in across the lake. At the time I noted his rufous body, and wondered if it was the poor light on the resident Kestrel. I snapped a series of him crossing the lake, and then changed my focus to the gulls settling back to the ice rim once the danger had passed. Back at home I used my copy of Hawks From Every Angle, by Jerry Liguori to nail the ID. The dark hood, with a visible pale facial disk, uniform light rufous underparts, white rump patch and other details helped me narrow down the options to a juvenile Northern Harrier, lifetime checklist #82.

There was an entertaining scene as three loud Canadian Geese circled in and landed just in front of me. I think they may have had an argument about the directions they were following, or that the leader had landed them on an ice covered lake. Whatever the reason, the three had at it on the ice with much hissing and "goosing". It is comical to see a goose lose his feet and do a sliding 360 on his back. Unfortunately that bit evaded my camera.

After my circuit I headed for home, on the way I spotted a hawk perched low off an intersection where I had seen a light morph Red-tail juvenile on the first. I pulled off at the next cross street and looped back on foot. While snapping pictures of what I believe to be the same individual, (top of page), I caught a few light colored doves sitting on a power line a few feet from the hawk. I shot five frames of these brave birds before wrapping up on the hawk. On closer examination these doves were Eurasian Collared-Doves, a species that has been exploding in numbers, but had eluded me until today.

2009 Count: 31

Lifetime: 83