Yesterday I reported seeing what I was thinking was a young-of-the-year Swainson's Hawk out on its own at Crow Valley. In the Clark and Wheeler hawk field guide the authors state (photo and caption on page 199 in my second edition) many young birds arriving back on the breeding grounds for their second summer show up with whitish heads. After arriving in spring, juveniles then do a complete molt into Basic 1 Plumage. A second molt into Definitive Basic Plumage occurs late in summer or fall (sometimes on the wintering grounds). The bird I saw was still in Juvenile Plumage and apparently misinterpreted. FYI, the CO Breeding Bird Atlas 1 book lists May 29 as the onset of fledging and since everything seems to be getting earlier and earlier, maybe a two-week extension of this phenomenon wasn't that big of a stretch. The latter interpretation seems the less likely, although it will be interesting to see what BBA II discovers.
Dave Leatherman Fort Collins --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Join us at the 2009 Convention in Alamosa: http://cfo-link.org/convention/index.php 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 To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.as/group/cobirds?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
