Hey COBirders, “Birdcast” forecast a “medium” intensity migration event last night for Colorado Springs - I can confirm that by the birds today it was definitely more active than the “low” days we’ve had lately!
23 birds banded today, with good diversity. A small wave of mixed warblers went through the woods about 8am, with several Audubon’s, a N Waterthrush, a couple Yellows, an Orange-crowned, a Wilson’s, and the BEST of the day - a male Black-throated Blue Warbler. He foraged on the bark of a small cottonwood, at eye level, 20’ away for a couple minutes before moving on - to the North, and not seen again. I telepathically tried to convince him to head to one of my nets nearby, but as my wife said later - “the force is not strong with this one”! Also FOY Black-headed Grosbeaks, Ad F, and SY F. They bite. FOY Warbling Vireo with the warblers, and only my SECOND solitary Chipping Sparrow. Where are these guys? Last year I banded 250 of them, in 2019 - 150, but most years less than 25. This year - 1 banded, 1 other seen! A little later a flock of Mourning Doves that had been feeding on the ground in the bare hay field came STREAKING into the woods on 12 different vectors, followed by a Peregrine Falcon that went to the top of the biggest cottonwood. I was getting a pretty good look at his mask and streaked chest before a Prairie Falcon zoomed up and chased hm off. Very cool! And lastly, I came around the corner in a net lane to find a Cooper’s Hawk adult male in a net, on his back, glaring at me, and seemingly just daring me to try to extricate him. I took a look at the size of his talons and, discretion being the better part of valor, decided that two hands weren’t going to be enough for this guy. I flipped him out and and he zoomed off easily. Whew. I got skewered last fall when extracting a pretty tangled young one. This guy looked like he meant business! Forecast for the next two nights is “High” migration activity. Woo Hoo! Happy Migration, Steve Brown Colo Spgs -- -- 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 For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/AC119AEF-AAC4-4CBB-AA48-1170B440F5F5%40gmail.com.
