Fruitless Blog Fodder

Despite the lack of recent posts I have been making every attempt to get some birdable blog content over the past week. Tuesday was miserable, but mild, with a dark overcast on the front of an advancing storm front. I had thought I would find a lot of foraging behavior, but the birds were eerily quiet, adding to the gloom. Wednesday brought dropping temps, steady winds and a snow storm that continued throughout the daylight hours. That one kept me in the office and out of the weather at lunch, so I could head home early and beat the nightmare traffic.
So yesterday found me bundled up, and enjoying the cold sunshine over a brilliant white background. I went back to the Singletree trail, the one I located for my entry two back. I was hoping that the sun direction would lead to even better shots of the Juncos I had seen previously.
A Coyote was present to welcome me again. This time I spotted the silhouette above the skyline as I was parking and relocated for the shot above heading uphill and into the sun. Unfortunately that meant no assistance in flushing anything from deep in the brush on the 'down-sun' side of the trail.


The birds were once again strangely quiet and hard to find. I did get a small flock of Black-capped Chickadees, who were also hanging around on the side of the trail facing directly into the sun. The picture above was the best bird shot I could pull from two walks over three days.

That is not to say that it has been a birdless week. My attention keeps returning to the large, mixed flocks of Canada and Cackling Geese who have descended on the fields surrounding my office. Repeated scans have not produced any oddballs, but I feel like they should be in there. Yesterday as I was talking on the cell and looking out a large window that faces west. As I took in the view a Merlin flew low across the view, and made a banking turn no more than 25 feet in front of me. Of course there was no chance for a shot, but a great moment. I had not previously seen a Merlin around my office, much less in Boulder County, so I will have to keep my eyes open on the surrounding area to see if I can relocate it and hopefully get some shots.

As I returned to the car I had a bit better angle to capture a Coyote as it climbed through a more gentle section of the bluff. My feeling was that this was a different individual. The one seen when I first arrived would have had to descend in the opposite direction from which it was headed and then be climbing back in the same direction. They sure do suffer a loss of their camouflage when the snow is covering a majority of the vegetation, but then they can probably track down a good bit of winter kill to snack on at these times as well.

Another Red-tail, If You Please?

After a non-birdy start to 2010, (my weekend consisted of laundry, cleaning, year end paperwork filing, groceries, and a horrible end to the Denver Broncos NFL season), I finally made it out quickly yesterday at lunch. I spotted a this Red-tail Hawk as I pulled into a parking spot, and aside from a group of Canada Geese it was the only bird I saw.

All the same getting a few poorly angled liftoff shots is better than nothing, right?

I followed its flight path and was surprised that it continued down on a low angle rather the lifting above the landscaping trees and bushes.

Quickly I rushed around a bend in the trail to get a look into the depression where the hawk had landed. Just as I scanned and refound the bird it took to the air, and my quick shot confirmed that the hunt had been unsuccessful.

Undeterred the hawk rose to a new perch atop a light pole and started to scan the ground again for its next potential meal.

A New Trailhead in a Favorite Area

Any trail that I come across where a Coyote and I cross paths at midday is one that holds good potential for me. This one even more so, because it is fairly close to my work, and is accessible during a lunch break.


My furry, young, companion decided that I was not someone who was going to yield the trail, so it dove for the trailside underbrush ahead of me. I had a feeling that I knew where the wanderer would emerge from the thickets ahead, so I slowed and then stopped, 'pishing' the bushes as I waited.

I tracked the progress of my unwitting helper by the increasing numbers of juncos who were rising from the depths of the brush as a predator slunk below them.

When the path of starting birds merged with the end of the brush I though I was ready, little did I know that the Coyote was many feet closer to my position, and unfortunately I missed the close up as it peeked through a gap. Realizing it was too close for comfort it returned to the depths and reemerged at the anticipated spot seconds later, allowing me the two shots above from a still respectable range.

The opportunities were not wasted by me as the juncos rose from the depths to stay at a safe range from hungry teeth. Above, a Gray-headed representative of the Dark-eyed Juncos posed for a shot.

Not to be outdone, an Oregon race perched at the top of the stack, with only the snowy backdrop keeping the eye from fully resolving. I also had passing picks of Pink-sided individuals, who are close in appearance to their Oregonian cousins, but lack the highly contrasted dark hood.

In lieu of a poor junco shot I will show this Song Sparrow, who thanks to a response to some 'pishing' finally appeared amongst the camouflage of branches and a lichen covered concrete marker. The marker brings me back around to this trail, which is one I will be sure to visit again, especially as spring arrives, and the brush that was so productive yesterday will be full of even more goodies. In addition to the wildlife it features a placard that points out the historic foundations of the old mining town of Superior, Colorado.

A Few Shots of Winter Friends

A second walk while visiting Minnesota featured much better weather, and some good looks at a pair of woodland friendly faces.

This particular White-breasted Nuthatch perched for a relatively long while, for a nuthatch, and allowed me some good looks.

I also had lots of looks at three members of the woodpecker family, Downys, Red-bellieds, and several looks at Hairys. Most Hairys are distinguished in the field when viewed by their overall size, and the relative length of their bills to the length of their heads. I am learning that they can be distinguished well before sightings by their calls and drumming, but I am not there yet.

Another field mark, one that I hadn't gotten much chance to observe until these photos were taken, is that the outer tail feathers of the Hairy Woodpecker are clean white. Note the straight vertical edges of the white on the Hairy's tail above. On the bad picture of the Downy below the black spots, which make a barred appearance on the outer tail, are seen while the feathers are fanned.

Finally, one more look at the White-breasted. This particular individual either had something caught on the end of its bill, or had gotten a bit of a deformity while pecking. It didn't seem to slow this bird down as it worked over its dead perch, but does give it's upturned bill an even more authoritative appearance.

I have entered my species from the trip and Boulder CBC into eBird, and unless there is a dramatic sighting at lunch these will be the numbers I use for my year summary tomorrow:

2009 Count: 196

Lifetime: 201

Merry Christmas! Winter Wet!

Ah, back home for Christmas! It is always fun to return to your childhood home, especially with the nostalgia of the holiday season. Add in 18 inches of snow on Christmas Eve, and the magic of Christmas is in full effect. Regrettably the snow was measured in feet at my Sister's home in Iowa, so the holiday focus has shifted from childhood exuberance about presents and Santa to good times and relaxation with my parents, Aunt and Uncle, and cousins. All of the present exchanges are on hold until my sister's family can make it into town, so working a few jigsaw puzzles and just catching up while watching the snow fall and the birds visit the feeders has been the order of the days.

This morning after a great Christmas breakfast I was off to break a trail through the snow to Mt. Normandale Lake Park. Unexpectedly the snow changed over to rain, and I was in for an increasingly strenuous, soggy, postholing adventure through the snow.

For the first hour I didn't see a bird besides Chickadees, and didn't even dig my camera out from the dry shelter of my coat. Eventually I reached the woods, where the steady rain/sleet/snizzle was broken by the trees, and exchanged for constant large drops everywhere. Despite the damp the walk was great. It was warm and calm enough to stay pleasant, and even with poor light I was able to see some fun birds.

Red-bellied Woodpeckers seem to be my constant traveling companions, greeting me wherever I visit east of the plains. I also have never seen as many Blue Jays as I did today, there were multiple groups of four as I moved along. I had Northern Cardinals as well, but despite their bright colors none were captured well enough for posting here. I did however get a poor shot of a passing Red-tail Hawk. Shooting up in low light with falling snow is a bit of an effort in futility, but the shot below after a bit of brightness adjustment shows the Minnesota version of the species that is everywhere in Colorado. A bit more of a treat to see this one in suburbia.

Continued Happy Holidays to all!

A Few More Count Day Images

Just a few more shots taken on the Boulder Christmas Bird Count last Sunday.

There were White-winged form Dark-eyed Juncos, one that I don't know that I have previously photographed.


Nuthatches were all about, and for whatever reason Sunday was the day that the Red-breasteds were the most photogenic.


I really enjoyed the chance to spend hours learning and then practicing identifying the dramatically different calls of the various Nuthatches. Hopefully I will have a chance to hear a few in Minnesota over the next few days.


A Townsend's Solitaire is no stranger to a perch atop a juniper, but this one stopped close as we were gathered next to, and just upslope of his perch. It was the spot from which we had been observing the Northern Pygmy Owl, and ended up being well lit for the Solitaire as well.

To any and all, may your Holiday be filled with family and friends, food and fun, fur and feathers, and if your location favors it at least a bit of frost!

Goldeneyes

My target bird while checking out the South Platte on Saturday was a reported Barrow's Goldeneye. It had been seen and refound by a number of Denver area birders, at both the Evans and Florida Avenue bridges.



My previous sighting of this species was through bins out in the middle of Baseline Reservoir. It was a chance to see the bird, but nothing like this close range exposure where I was at times no more then 10 yards away from this male as it fished in the rapids.


I mentioned in the previous post that I had started off in the wrong direction from where I parked, and as a result saw a great variety of ducks, geese, and mergansers along the river. Among the many species were a handful of the much more numerous Common Goldeneye. The male above gives an opportunity to see the differences in their field marks. Note the solid upper boarder of the white on the wing, the more smooth transition between the bill and angle of the forehead, and of course the obvious oval shape of the white cheek patch.

Here is a female Common Goldeneye, she has a tell-tale yellow tip to her bill. Should I ever track down a female Barrow's her bill should show yellow from base to tip.

Check this picture for the field marks on the Male Barrow's; it has the distinctive white spots along the back, a noticeable angle between the bill and head, and of course when visible the teardrop shape cheek patch.

Our fine Barrow's fellow wasn't going solo just because he was the only representative of his clan - he just found a Common Goldeneye female, and the two seemed to enjoy some cross species company. I watched as they preened near one another and did a bit of diving in the rapidly moving water below the bridge. Perhaps next year there will be a hybrid or two to sort out!

A great looking bird, and a great opportunity to see it up close!