Dear friends-- Our yard has been hopping with fledglings (HO finches, BC chicks, Am robins, hs wrens, tree swallows; also both goldfinches, bluejay, wb nuthatch, blue grosbk & downy wodpker spillover fr other yards) but the grand finale, for me, was a bunch (I suppose 2nd brood) of Say's phoebes under the eaves. They took forever to fledge 4 young (on Monday), but the result was adorable; I can hardly get my work done for admiring their antics. I am rather impressed by their luck at fledging so many in that tiny, precarious, sloppy nest; I thought they'd lose a few early, but nope. They spent a lot of time huddling on the woodpile, begging for handouts today.
The house wrens, on the other hand, chose the kestrel house after the flicker rejected it (the preference of the latter was for the entire inside of our bedroom wall, emptied of insulation; we thwarted that effort). The wren pair spent days filling their big house with twigs-- talk about your prairie mansion! They fledged at least 3 or 4 last Saturday, but have been very secretive about it. I've had no satisfying look at their progeny. Meanwhile, here's a mystery hummer question for you: Yesterday our feeder had repeated visits from a strange little guy (or gal) who had a prominent gray-white "flame" (like the blaze on a horse's nose) from base of top bill to crown of head, tapering off at the top. It was not subtle. Otherwise, it looked a bit like a Calliope (wingtips reached tailtip; no extension that I could perceive). Could this have been a black-chinned? Don't think I've ever had one here before; and the ones I've seen elsewhere never had this kind of unique "forehead." Let me know what you think. A friend of mine in N. Boulder foothills has had a strange hummer too; I can't make head nor tails of his description so unless he gets a photo, it will remain a mystery. Happy hunting, Linda -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to cobi...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
