Courtney speaking of intergrade Northern Flickers, spurs me to comment that, not for the first year (maybe the third?) I've had several male intergrades around the neighborhood, yard & feeders (along with at least three female Red-shafteds) during the late fall & winter (this fall/winter without *any* Red-shafted males). But then once "spring"/March comes along the male intergrades all disappear. This week their disappearance coincided with the sudden appearance of a very vocal, drumming male Red-shafted Flicker, and typically now I won't see any more intergrades until the fall...
1) Has anyone else noticed this pattern? 2) Are the male intergrades unable to reproduce, and/or might they have lower levels of male hormones, causing them to vacate when a "robust" Red-shafted male shows up? 3) Or has anyone actually observed successful nesting/clutches from pairings of intergrade males and Red-shafted females? I didn't see anything about it in the *Birds of the World* entry for Northern Flicker (Geographic Variation section). For what it's worth, the intergrade males (& one female) I've had around here over the years have all been individuals with varying degrees of red napal crescent (from the Yellow-shafted genes) but otherwise having Red-shafted features/phenotype. Maybe the particular visible/phenotypic trait of the given intergrade individual (e.g., the red napal crescent in otherwise Red-shafted features in this case) might correlate with decreased fertility? Or just coincidence? I'm just curious. Marty Wolf NW Colo. Spgs. On Thu, Mar 14, 2024 at 5:23 PM Courtney R <[email protected]> wrote: > > Well. I should not have waited to reply until after Mary Kay’s list 😄. > > > My list will definitely not address any species gaps, but this is a fun > activity, and at least some of the more interesting and memorable accounts > are a delight to share to fellow bird lovers. I live in a condo complex in > Lafayette, so it’s quite urban, but at least has several older trees and > backs up to an open space. I’ve definitely bordered desperate bird lady > with the variety of feeders and foods that I keep out for our flighted > friends; but one can only do so much with a tiny and mostly concrete > backyard. > > > > - How long have you been keeping your list? On eBird, since late 2023 > but I’ve been attentive of rarities since moving here about 2.5 years ago. > - What's your style of yard listing: Obsessed when home (I work > remotely and specifically placed my desk next to the sliding glass door to > be able to watch outside at all times. If you have seen the movie “Up”, I > embody the dog character, except I react every time there’s a bird rather > than a squirrel; although, to be honest, I react to squirrels too) > - How many species? Literal yard—40; with condo complex backing up to > an open space, the broader open space list increases to over 100. > - Rarest, or favorite species? Literal yard: lazuli bunting pair in > summer 2022, one pine siskin, one leucistic common grackle, intergrade > northern flickers, and yesterday a red winged blackbird male with AKD > (avian keratin disorder); open space: common nighthawks, swallows, flyover > sandhill cranes, male NOHA, Merlin, bats. > - Most memorable experience? So many! Seeing a flicker’s full tongue > extend to reach seed (image below), GHOW pair duetting then copulating on > my chimney, blue Jay attacking a GHOW just hanging out on the fence ( > https://www.facebook.com/share/v/GHjz2JByVtsivh1r/?mibextid=K35XfP). > Also, while I’m not a morning person, hearing a Cooper’s hawk in an > argument with blue jays will wake me up in the best mood possible—it > happened a few times last summer. Lastly, I love how often the blue jays > mimic either red tailed hawks, Cooper’s hawks, or something that sounds > more Phoebe like. > > > - Location/habitat: Urban. In a condo complex near open space and with > aged trees (back yard is a small fenced in one, mostly concrete) > > Some pics! (Pardon any door distortion—the glass has had a rough life > since the late 80s) > > NOFL tongue > [image: image0.jpeg] > > > RWBL with avian keratin disorder of upper mandible/maxilla > [image: image1.jpeg] > > COGR with leucism > [image: image2.jpeg] > > > > Thank you, > Courtney > > *Courtney Rella, PhD* > *[email protected] <[email protected]>* > > On Mar 14, 2024, at 13:36, Mary Kay Waddington <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > This has been fun to see what's shown up in yards. I do this daily by > participating in the e-bird yard tallies, but I've noticed that many of > these fantastic lists people have been sending in, are not included! I'd > like to recommend that people go to eBird, click "explore", go down to > "yard birds" then click "add a yard". Put in the location name you use > for your yard. Then at the top where it says "region", click that and > enter Colorado. It's fascinating to watch what different people have > seen. You can even follow a bit of migration patterns by seeing who has > seen what, where. There are rules to follow -- any bird you see while in > your yard. Don't cheat! I've often seen a bird while outside the yard and > had to see if I could still see or hear it when I'd crossed over my > property line back into my own yard. If no, it doesn't go on the list. Of > course if some of these wonderful yards that you've all posted here are > included in eBird's yard list, my ranking will go way down! But that's > ok. > > My own stats: > > How long have you been keeping your list? Have lived here 60 years but > only birded a lot here for 25. Then discovered during the pandemic that > exploring my own yard daily was really as exciting as driving around > chasing birds in different places. > > What's your style of yard listing: I'd have to say obsessed -- a minimum > of 3 trips around the property every day, often more. > > How many species? 139 > > Rarest, or favorite species? The Bobwhite was unexpected (escaped?) and > the Snipe that blew in after a storm and let me walk right up to it. > Northern Parula and Chestnut-sided are the rare warblers. The 200 Bohemian > Waxwings were definitely exciting, but I actually prefer the Cedars and > love seeing them. Just yesterday had a pair of Hooded Mergansers in the > Creek. But I actually love being able to show people my Eastern Screech > Owls. Many people got a lifer seeing them peek out of their holes. > Birders always welcome. > > Most memorable experience? Maybe it was watching a Bushtit hung up on a > twig 20' up and hanging by its tail. Other Bushtits tried to free it but > couldn't, so a Chickadee finally came over and snipped off the twig, > freeing the Bushtit. > > Location/habitat: suburban. Lucky enough to have 2.5 acres with big trees > and a bit of creek. And I let it go completely wild. > > Other location in foothills above Westcliffe: > > species: 105 > > The Saw-whet was pretty special, and a 5-woodpecker day (can't compete > with Duane!). but nothing could beat the 3,000 Sandhills flying over in one > day. > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds > * 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/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 [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAA-Db7eF8BnRxAANcugKYTpiXQV71piqK7FNtJZRxrVhONBueA%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAA-Db7eF8BnRxAANcugKYTpiXQV71piqK7FNtJZRxrVhONBueA%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds > * 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/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 [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/7704A150-F5D0-4414-8A9F-D5EAB622A691%40gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/7704A150-F5D0-4414-8A9F-D5EAB622A691%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds * 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/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 [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CADoSYTOnTFF2z7sbwoz6sq3E2hcJ_nAu2F3Ym5AbcvfG0bT2Zg%40mail.gmail.com.
