Hello, Birders. No rarities to report, but some birds of local interest, from Boulder County yesterday, Friday, March 9th. Definitely a pinewoods theme. Here goes:
In "Upper" Ward (which is a bit like referring to exits off Baca County roads), still 2 Brown-capped Rosy-Finches hanging out at the feeders discovered a few weeks ago by Bill Kaempfer and Alex Brown. Many Evening Grosbeaks and a few Pine Grosbeaks in the area too. And odd to hear a pair of Great Horned Owls hooting, one to the other, in broad daylight. In Allenspark, a sprawling swarm of Evening Grosbeaks in the general vicinity of 2nd Avenue and Ski Road. At least 5 Cassin's Finches, including songsters, here too. In the Wild Basin section of Rocky Mountain National Park, in the woods immediately west of Copeland Lake, an immense flock of tree-pecking birds. Nuthatches and woodpeckers galore, but the Clark's Nutcrackers and Mountain Chickadees were also getting in on the tree-pecking action. What's up with that? Haveta say, I was sorta half-expecting to find Leatherman out there, sneaking through the woods and surreptitiously applying on the tree trunks a nice fresh coating of sweet-smelling beetle juice. At one point, I had 11 different Hairy Woodpeckers accounted for; so I decided to look for American Three-toed Woodpeckers. And I found one. A beautiful male. Here's a tip for finding American Three-toed Woodpeckers: http://tinyurl.com/6v53dae Along Old South Road in suburban Lyons (cf. Upper Ward and exits off Baca County roads), 3 small flocks of Bushtits and a flock of bluebirds going over. Didn't get more than a glimpse at the bluebirds; probably Mountains, but I'm not sure. In the Lichen Loop parking lot, off Left Hand Road (off US-36), Type 5 Red Crossbills calling pretty much continually. Oh. I have a butterfly question. I'd consult a butterfly book, but they've all been "borrowed," it would seem. Along Old South Road, I saw a few butterflies that looked somewhat like small versions of Milbert's Tortoiseshells. I hope that description--coupled with the observation that they were flying in early March amid still-partially-snow-covered rock outcroppings--is enough for an ID. Ted Floyd tedfloy...@hotmail.com Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado -- 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.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
