Friday Night "Light"

What species is this?


Being that this past Friday was just a few days before the Winter Solstice, there wasn't much light to work with when I got away from work a few minutes early and had a chance to swing by Stearn's Lake before full dark. Fortunately, this large buteo was content to remain perched on a power pole as I drove below, and then returned from the south for a bit better illumination.

I would like to think this is a juvenile Ferruginous Hawk. In the picture above, one tell-tale feature appears to be visible. The Ferruginous sports a pair of feathered legs. In a light adult those white legs will take on a rusty-brown color, and will provide a great overhead field mark, in a juvenile they remain white. Unfortunately, from the angle I had it seems that the legs are feathered, but a Red-tailed Hawk can pull its legs back into its lower feathers, obscuring the 'bald' legs.

A tighter look at the face reveals more specifics of a potential Ferruginous, but become more inconclusive on closer inspection. "Sibley's" describes a "large bill and long gape", which certainly seems to be here, but Red-tail juvenile's tend to have a longer gape as well. Frankly, I am not sure if this one reaches back far enough under the eye to qualify.

The head seems a bit darker, but given the light conditions and angle I am thinking that it may appear lighter in full sun. If anyone can help with a definitive trait I would love to know, but for now I am willing to target this bird for a return visit. In the meantime, the weekend is already on a very birdy path, I filled a 4 Gb memory card along the South Platte in less than an hour today, and head out for the Boulder, CO, Christmas Bird Count early tomorrow.

If there is time amid the work, laundry, holiday cheer, packing, and potential snowy commutes over the coming days I should have some good, pic filled, posts coming.

Take care all, and good birding!

He thinks he's been very good this year!

If only he had opposable thumbs, to aid in the writing of a letter.

He might ask for a couple of these guys to pal around with.

Not much time for birding for humans though, holiday deadlines loom large.

All will hopefully be done in time for Sunday's CBC.

Coming Soon - CBCs!

Or, if you are in a really early area, they are here as of today! That's right the 'longest running wildlife census', is back for its 110th running, the Christmas Bird Count.
I will be participating in my second year of Christmas Bird Counts this year. As indicated in my previous post, the CBCs have, and will probably continue to have a special place in my birding consciousness, as I am sure they do for many others for a variety of reasons. For me they represent my first exposure to group birding, and will hopefully remain as a yardstick against which to measure my experience and ability from year to year.
An update to my previous posting on the Boulder CBC: I have confirmation that I will be returning to the same count area that I was at last year, this time seeing it with a whole new group of eyes for company. I wonder what I will learn this year? I have already learned that the weather will be dramatically different from last year's count:



AccuWeather.com tells me that Boulder is in for much more mild weather than last year, when we only briefly saw the sun from our location up on the ridge, and the counters in the valley below had to endure a full day of overcast skies and falling snow. That count will be this coming Sunday, I can hardly wait. My only reservation is that I will be carrying my on-call pager for work, and will have to trust to luck for an uninterrupted count. Failing that, I am only minutes from work and will just have to keep my vehicle close, so no extra carpooling for me.
In addition to the Boulder count, I have also signed up for this year's Loveland count, on New Year's Day. That count is in its second year, and should be a quite different experience again, as I believe that there are fewer participants in that one. Since it is still a ways off, held on New Year's Day, I have no idea what I will be in for but look forward to the surprise. (It says quite a bit about my level of frustration with my CU Buffaloes football program that I am abandoning all the bowl games that day, but a healthy day outdoors sounds much better, as my alma mater seems destined for a drought before its next New Year's appearance).

I was flattered to receive a call from the leader of the group with whom I had participated at last year's Denver count. He wanted to check to see if I was still planning on rejoining the count. Unfortunately, I am unable to do so as that count is on Saturday the 19th, and my on-call leash doesn't reach that far - even for a good excuse. Sadly, even were I to be able to free up time I would be unable to attend, as my friend's just-out-of-town wedding would be the next priority on my list. Even so I was impressed to be contacted by the leader. As a first year participant last year, I know I wasn't the most valuable asset to have along. But even now, a year later, the leader gave my cell a call to see if I was interested in coming back. I have been involved with many volunteer projects where the communication was not that well done, and wish that there was a way I could be in three places at once this Saturday.
So, as a good faith appeal, let me ask for another consideration from the small, but hopefully growing, audience of this bit of avian digital clutter. If you have already given blood in the past 8 weeks, and have signed up with the national organ donor registry, and still have a few hours to spare on Saturday in the Denver area please think about signing up for the:

56th Denver Christmas Bird Count

Please hit the National Audubon site to preregister, it is the count with the four letter abbreviation CODE, or contact Count Leader/Compiler: Dick Schottler (303-278-8035, birdschotuswestnet) and I am sure he will be happy to point you in the right direction.

For those of you not in the Denver area check out the site and throw in your hometown or holiday destination to the search tool. I guarantee you won't be disappointed with a few hours or a full day spent in the outdoors this holiday season!

Common Colors

Got out for an even more gorgeous lunch this afternoon. 30 some degrees has never felt so nice.

I decided to have a look-see at Greenlee Preserve, where I had a feeling some brush areas might make up for the lack of open water on the area lakes.

I was treated to lots of activity from some very common species, House Finches, Dark-eyed Juncos, and European Starlings were all busy in great numbers. The Spotted Towhee started in a fairly clear patch under the brush, but gradually moved deeper and deeper until the movement was visible but the bird was not.

Chickadees were present as well, but were far too preoccupied to remain still for any pictures.

Next time perhaps.

The Best Part of Really Cold Weather

Is the first mild day after!


I headed a bit downstream along Coal Creek from where I had seen the American Robins on Tuesday. I walked quickly into the sun, and a more wooded riparian area where I had visited a House Wren hole a few times this summer.

As I headed along the bank I noticed that the creek was running a bit, but at the time the only sounds of activity I heard were Junco and Chickadee calls high above. I was returning a few minutes later when I saw a shorebird shape explode up from the creek's depression and fly a bit downstream. There I was momentarily distracted by the deep purple colors of the male Mallard's head at that angle. Eventually, I found two Wilson's Snipe hiding along the shore. With the bits of green grass sticking up and melting snow no one would guess that the high temperature yesterday was well south of ten degrees.

That was a fun surprise. The last thing I expected to see on today's walk was a group of shorebirds. Even more surprising for me was that from first sighting to confirmation of the pictures online I was thinking Wilson's Snipe. This is a species I have seen a couple of times before, and between the size and bill shape I knew it would be that or something close.

I turned from the Mallards and Snipe and got a well lit look at this Northern Flicker savoring a drink of liquid water.

Finally, as I returned across the open space towards my car I was shocked to see a Coyote crossing the trail ahead of me,moving away from a neighborhood and towards the trees and creek bed. Coyotes are no strangers in this area, and despite some localities culling efforts earlier this year they are not all that uncommon to see, even in areas with heavy development. What was strange was to see one in the relative open at 2:00 in the afternoon. I hope this one stays out of trouble, this is their home as well, but if pets go missing it usually ends poorly for the Coyotes.

Nature Food for Thought

Yesterday I planned for the cold and left for work an hour early. I don't know why the temperature makes traffic crawl, but based on the hype the morning news was giving the temps I knew it was either going to be a stop & go affair, or everyone would be afraid to open their doors and I would have the roads to myself.

As it was the drive was slow, but I still arrived nearly an hour before I normally do, which had the benefit of giving me a chance to get away for a bit more time at lunch. I took the opportunity to head up to Eldorado Canyon State Park, which is a bit of a stretch in an hour, and had the extra bonus yesterday of being sheltered from the wind.

I grabbed some lunch on the way, and ate in the sunshine with my window down. The Chickadees serenaded my midday meal, but remained well out of sight in the treetops. I believe they were the Mountain variety, but don't trust my ear to be positive.

Since nothing was visibly moving while I ate, I decided to try out a new tool - the iBird app I recently added to my iPod. I pulled up a few likely species and played their related calls.

Nothing responded to closely, until I played the Canyon Wren, the species we had heard last weekend in Deer Creek Canyon. I have also seen this species in later months just to the north in Gregory Canyon, so it seemed worth a shot.

I did get a response, but it didn't sound anything like a Wren. A series of pleasant, slow, staccato notes queried through the air. My best guess after listening to a few others later in the day was that it may have been a Pygmy Nuthatch. As I have stated in previous posts, I am flat out bad at identifying birds by ear, but hope to improve. The iBird app, along with the Smithsonian Guide CD loaded on my iPod, will hopefully be a way to make some inroads.



While I sat, not seeing birds, I was thinking a bit about how consuming birding is for some folks, and if that carries an intimidation factor for others. I am looking forward to the upcoming Christmas Bird Counts, and it took me back to last year, when just over a month in I decided to sign up for the Boulder CBC. For me, birding is mainly a solo activity. I have many friends, and while we frequently engage in camping trips and other outdoor activities, none of them are too interested in waking up well before dawn to head out in cold weather to find some birds. Granted, they don't know what they are missing, but I can't say I blame them. Until late 2008 I would have been right there with them, looking to sleep in.

So my concern for others, on looking back at last year, is that there are those out there who enjoy getting out and watching birds, or have a feeder and look up the visitors in a book, but who wouldn't really consider trying to talk their friends into tagging along for a first Christmas Bird Count. For me, the concern I expressed to the count organizer was that I didn't want to be put with a group whom I would hold back. I like meeting new people, and wasn't concerned that I would be miserable, rather that they would be because of my lack of skills - little did I know at the time just how lacking I was. I know others in my life for whom jumping into that type of an experience for the first time without others to join them would be enough reason to just stay home on a warm couch.

As it turned out, I was with three very esteemed birders, and as a bonus they were all bloggers who I have been able to follow since. It was my first group birding experience which had the dual effect of showing me what a difference experience makes in birding, and also just how enjoyable the whole process can be regardless of skill level. I was also fortunate in that all three had jobs in the birding world and shared a knack for interacting with others on the topic. Some birders can be less 'people people', and while still enjoyable would not have been as engaging for a first timer as they were.

As I was signing up for this years edition of the same count the organizer checked back to let me know that a different birder would be covering that territory. I replied back that he could put me with any group that needed an extra set of eyes, at this point I know I will have a blast, and learn something in any group. I am confident enough now that I know I can at least make a contribution, even if I am not pulling out obscure IDs.

I guess the emphasis of this ramble is that if you are like I was, a just getting started birder, and are wondering whether you can just sign up for one of these Christmas Bird Counts by yourself, the answer is unequivocally yes. Count organizers are there to make groups that work, and they will understand if you are new to the game. I can't guarantee anything about your experience, just like I have no idea what I will see or who I will be with this year, that is part of the fun. I can say with confidence that the experience will be well worth five dollars, and the first count will be one that will stand out for years to come.

To find out more go to the getting involved page or just search for a count in your area.

Cold...Gotten Colder

Yesterday afternoon I headed out, briefly, to see if I could track down anything moving in the single digit temps and snowflakes.

What I found were six American Robins, all in a group of trees close to where I parked. They were busy drinking at a bit of open stream, a valuable bit of real estate when enduring a cold snap. Inspired by my initial success I headed on down the path, seeing exactly nothing further for my efforts. I headed back by the open stream on my way to the car, confirmed that nothing was challenging the Robins for their stretch of water and then left them to it as I headed back to indoor warmth.

Cold days are rarities that should be enjoyed, not just endured. Make sure to bundle up, and then try to get out in it, at least for a few minutes at a time. Today started at -7 for me, but it is supposed to warm up and hopefully will do so. The skies are clear and I hope to get out this afternoon.