[cobirds] Colorado Rare Bird Alert for Monday, December 17, 2012

2012-12-17 Thread Joyce Takamine
Compiler:  Joyce Takamine
Date:December 17, 2012
email:   rba AT cfobirds.org
phone:  303-659-8750


This is the Colorado Rare Bird Alert for Monday, December 17, 2012,
sponsored by Denver Field Ornithologists and the Rocky Mountain Bird
Observatory. If you are phoning in a message, you can skip the recording by
pressing the star key (*) on your phone at any time. Please leave your
name, phone number, detailed directions, including county and dates for
each sighting. It would be helpful if you would spell your last name.

Highlight species include: (* denotes that there is new information on this
species in this report)

BRANT (Larimer)
TRUMPETER SWAN (Larimer)
TUNDRA SWAN (Boulder, Denver, Freemont, Larimer)
EURASIAN WIGEON (*Fremont)
Surf Scoter (Weld, Denver)
White-winged Scoter (Denver)
Long-tailed Duck (Denver, Jefferson, *Larimer, Pueblo)
 Barrow's Goldeneye (Pueblo, Summit)
Pacific Loon (Pueblo)
MEW GULL (Pueblo)
Thayer's Gull (Pueblo)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (*Arapahoe, Pueblo)
Great Black-backed Gull (Pueblo)
White-winged Dove (Boulder, *Fremont, Pueblo)
SNOWY OWL (Weld)
ACORN WOODPECKER (El Paso)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Yuma)
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (*El Paso, Fremont)
Hammond's Flycatcher (*Fremont)
Eastern Phoebe (Boulder)
Chihuahuan Raven (Boulder, Denver)
Winter Wren (Boulder, Morgan)
Common Yellowthroat (*Boulder)
Pine Warbler (Pueblo)
Palm Warbler (El Paso)
Fox Sparrow (*Adams, Yuma)
Swamp Sparrow (Pueblo, Yuma)
White-throated Sparrow (Freemont, *Larimer)
Harris's Sparrow (Boulder, *Larimer, Pueblo, Yuma)
GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW (Jefferson)
VARIED THRUSH (*Jefferson, *Archuleta)
Snow Bunting (Pueblo, Sedgwick, Yuma)
Northern Cardinal (Boulder, Yuma)
Rusty Blackbird (Morgan)
Grey-Crowned Rosy-Finch (Jefferson)
PURPLE FINCH (Yuma)
Common Redpoll (Boulder, *Jefferson, *Larimer, Pueblo, Rio Blanco, Weld,
Yuma)

Adams County:
--A red Fox Sparrow was reported by Mlodinow at the Barr Lake feeders on
December 16.

Arapahoe County:
--On December 11, Hudak reported a Lesser Black-backed Gull at Centennial
Park. On December 16, Hudak reported that the Lesser Black-backed Gull
continues at Centennial Park.

Archuleta County:
--A f Varied Thrush was reported by Dexter in Pagosa Springs downstream
form the walking bridge at the hot springs on December 15.

Boulder County:
--At Baseline Reservoir in Boulder on November 17, the BBC field trip led
by John Vanderpoel had 5 TUNDRA SWANS (2ad, 3 juv). On December 11, Nunes
reports the TUNDRA SWANS are still at Baseline Reservoir.
--On December 13, Dowell reports 14 TUNDRA SWANS (ad) at Boulder Reservoir.
There is major construction at Boulder Reservoir, but birders are still
welcome. Just stop at the temporary entrance gate on your way in.
 --A Chihuahuan Raven was seen by Mlodinow along Valmont Rd., not far west
of Teller Farms, on December 11.
--A Northern Cardinal was found by Jinx Cooper in Hawthorne Gulch in
Boulder on November 11. From Broadway, turn N on Hawthorn and drive to the
end and park. Continue on the trail for about 200 yards. Bird was near pump
house. On December 13, Heinrich viewed the Northern Cardinal in Hawthorn
Gulch.
--A White-winged Dove was reported by Mlodinow at the corner of Oxford and
119th near Panama Reservoir on December 15.
--On the Longmont CBC on December 15, Prather reported an Eastern Phoebe at
St Vrain Park in South Central Longmont.  Good
numbers of Harris's Sparrows were seen as well and Common Redpolls and
Winter Wren.
--A f Common Yellowthroat was reported by DeFonso in the Qualcomm parking
lot in N Boulder on December 16.

Denver County:
--7 TUNDRA SWANS were reported by T. Jones at Marston Reservoir on December
13, on the west side of the lake, off of Old Wadsworth Blvd. next to the
wire fence They were in a group. All were in Ad. plumage. The Swans were
bobbing their heads up and down, continually, the whole time they watched
them. They were in the middle of the lake and then were in the south part
of the lake and flew once. The swans were seen around 4pm. You could see
how the eye looked separate from the bill somewhat, unlike in a Trumpeter.
--A juv White-winged Scoter was reported by Tina Jones at Marston Reservoir
on November 22. On December 14, T. Jones relocated the White-winged Scoters
in the northern section of Marston Reservoir. Tina recommends when viewing
birds at Marston Reservoir, please beware of signs in this area especially
if viewing from the SW, PLEASE let's not give birders a bad name and PLEASE
watch the birds from the sidewalk or right next to the sidewalk.
--On December 15, Sanders reported 2 White-winged Scoters and a Long-tailed
Duck at Marston Reservoir.
--A Chichuahuan Raven fly by was reported by Sanders at Fort Logan on
December 15.

El Paso:
--A Western Palm Warbler was reported by Farese on the Colorado College
Campus.  It was found by Surano on December 12 and was seen again on
December 15 several times.  It has been seen on the S side of Barnes

[cobirds] Brant, Loveland, Larimer County

2012-12-17 Thread The Walters
Hello CoBirders,

Around 9 this morning my family and I went over to Lake Loveland to make
another attempt (after a week and a half of searching) to see the Brant.
Not that long after we arrived, we were able to spot it with a few other
geese that were standing on an ice shelf off of the north shore of the
lake. After we had been watching for a few minutes, half of the group of
geese (the Brant included) decided to take off and head over to a field
immediately southeast of Loveland High School. Over at the field, the Brant
stayed for about an hour before leaving with 400 or so other geese.

Sean Walters
Loveland,CO

-- 
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 https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.




[cobirds] 71st Boulder CBC, Sunday, 16 Dec.

2012-12-17 Thread William Schmoker
Folks- scores of volunteers fanned out across 30 territories yesterday for the 
71st iteration of the Boulder CBC.  It will be a while before the tally is 
final, but we have a preliminary 109 species found on the count, with three 
more ticked for count week.  We added one species to the historic total, with 
the long-staying Northern Cardinal in NW Boulder marking #210 for the count.  
Other birds judged scarce as being seen 10 or fewer previous times on the count 
included Clark's Grebe, Barn Owl, Marsh Wren, and Common Grackle (10 prior), 
Fox Sparrow (9 prior), Tundra Swan (6 prior, the 8 birds previously at Baseline 
Res seen at Valmont yesterday), Lesser Black-backed Gull and Northern Saw-whet 
Owl (5 prior), Chihuahuan Raven and Golden-crowned Sparrow (3 prior), and 
Common Yellowthroat (2 prior.)  Birds seen on at least half the Boulder counts 
but not found yesterday (to my knowledge so far) include Rough-legged Hawk 
(seen on 58 prior counts), Ring-necked Pheasant (53 prior), Cassin's Finch (46 
prior), Clark's Nutcracker (44 prior), and Red Crossbill (35 prior.)  The 
Boulder foothills have a very poor cone crop this year.  Finally, I think we 
will exceed triple digits for Common Redpoll, likely setting a high count for 
the Boulder Count (though currently I can't get the re-tooled Audubon site to 
give me historic results…

Thanks to all of the leaders, participants, and feeder-watchers for another 
successful Boulder CBC!

Enjoy- Bill Schmoker, Longmont
__
   • Bill Schmoker •
__
http://schmoker.org 
  http://brdpics.blogspot.com   
   bill.schmo...@gmail.com
720/201-5749 
__

-- 
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 https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.




[cobirds] Acorn Woodpecker/Palm Warbler (El Paso) yes

2012-12-17 Thread Bill Maynard
COBirders,

 

I watched the Colorado Springs female Acorn Woodpecker for about 30 minutes
this a.m.  As reported previously, it was found by the Marty Wolf party on
Saturday's Colorado Springs CBC.  Although I first saw the woodpecker
pecking on a low branch of a silver maple along Willow Circle near Cheyenne
Blvd (not Cheyenne Rd and not Cheyenne Mtn Blvd), it eventually came to a
hanging wooden cylindrical suet feeder at the house on the corner of
Cheyenne Blvd and the lower end of Willow Circle near the previously
mentioned coffee store.  This house has a bigger than life-sized inflated
green animal Santa (I am sure it has a name) with a red hat and red
waistcoat in the front yard.  

 

Also, the Colorado College Western Palm Warbler is back skulking in its
usual spot by the science building adjacent to the pink brick Palmer
Building, the bird staying mostly hidden on the ground or in the low
shrubbery by the bicycle racks.  Photos of both birds will be posted to the
CFO Group on Facebook, a good spot to post single photographs. 

 

Bill Maynard

Colorado Springs

-- 
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 https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.




[cobirds] FW: [ia-bird] Satellite-tracked Snowy Owl in Iowa

2012-12-17 Thread Kayleen A Niyo
CO Birders,

 

Just received this fascinating post by Matt Wetrich, Carroll Co., IA biologist, 
about the release of a satellite-tracked Snowy Owl.  The new facility and SOAR 
project is new since I left IA!  Bob Anderson of Raptor Resource Project has 
helped along with many others.

 

Should be fascinating to see where this rehabilitated Snowy Owl goes if she and 
her tracking device survive the winter.  She was brought in for rehab in Jan 
2012 and just released Nov 28.

 

Kay

Kayleen A. Niyo, Ph.D.
Niyo Scientific Communications
Kay Niyo Photography
 mailto:k...@kayniyo.com k...@kayniyo.com

 http://www.KayNiyo.com www.KayNiyo.com
__
5651 Garnet Street
Golden, CO 80403
Phone: (303) 679-6646
Fax: (866) 849-8013 

 

From: bounce-ia-bird-7...@lists.iowabirds.org 
[mailto:bounce-ia-bird-7...@lists.iowabirds.org] On Behalf Of Matthew T. Wetrich
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2012 12:14 PM
To: IA-BIRD
Subject: [ia-bird] Satellite-tracked Snowy Owl in Iowa

 

Birders,

I wanted to inform you that the Snowy Owl that was reported Friday morning 
(12/14) near the Onawa Exit on I-29 is a bird that is a rehabilitated owl from 
last winter's irruption event. The reason I know this is because she is wearing 
a satellite tracking device that will help scientists learn more about Snowy 
Owl behavior. She was returned to the wild in late November at Owego Wetlands 
south of Sioux City. She seems to have found her way down to the Onawa area and 
has set up shop there for over a week now.

This is a project partnered by Raptor Resource Project (of Decorah Eagle fame) 
and Saving Our Avian Resources (SOAR) with assistance from Carroll County 
Conservation.

If you happen to see her, please report sightings to me so we can add the 
sightings to the data base. There is an antenna comimg off her backpack that 
will let you know it is her.

As with all birds, please remember your birding ethics regarding distance of 
viewing, not approaching, etc.

This is a very excitng project and when there is some additional information 
regarding her travels and about the project in general, I'll post links to the 
partnering webpages.

A photo by IOU's head man and a quick synapsis can be seen at SOAR's webpage. 
www.soarraptors.org 

Here is a link to Raptor Resource Project's Facebook page. 
http://www.facebook.com/mobileprotection#!/pages/Raptor-Resource-Project/103786266324668?fref=ts

Bird On...

matt 

-- 
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 https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.




[cobirds] Eurasian Wigeon, Canon City, Fremont County 12/17 YES!

2012-12-17 Thread melgoff
Greetings all!

Last night I got a call from Debbie Barnes about a Eurasian Wigeon found on 
Sunday’s CBC by Bill and Dan Maynard.

This morning we followed her directions and came upon a small pond that had 
about 16 wigeons in it. We parked and had just found the Eurasian Wigeon in the 
group when all but one of the birds lifted off and flew to the west then 
circled around toward the north (to the river?). The one bird that stayed, 
amazingly, was the object of our trip. We had a good 8-10 minutes to watch it 
before it, too, took off. We waited for a while to see if any of the birds 
would return, but none did.

The best part of all was that this Eurasian Wigeon (excuse me not knowing the 
proper 4-letter abbreviation) was our 350th species for Colorado this year. 
What a thrill it was!

To see this pond, take US Hwy 50 west to Canon City. Turn left on Mac Kenzie 
(south) and drive to the junction with CO Hwy 115. Turn right and go west on 
115 to Willow Road. Turn right and go north to Willow Lane. Turn right on 
Willow Lane and go until it dead ends at the entrance to a dairy farm. There 
will be two tiny ponds on the right, and the birds were right there. (Lots of 
“rights”.) We also saw a Belted Kingfisher, several Common Ravens around town, 
some Black-billed Magpies, not to mention the NEW McDonalds.

Thanks to Debbie for calling and to all who have wished us well over the last 
couple of weeks.

Good Birding!

Mel and Jeanne Goff
Colorado Springs

-- 
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 https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.




[cobirds] Possible Vega Gull at Lake Loveland, Larimer County

2012-12-17 Thread Nick Komar
Staging gulls this afternoon at Lake Loveland included:
Ring-billed Gull – approx. 400
Herring Gull – 18
California Gull – 2
Lesser Black-backed Gull – 2 (1 ad, 1 1st-cycle)
Vega Gull – 1 adult 

The candidate Vega Gull is discussed and photographed at 
http://www.pbase.com/quetzal/mysterygullae.

Nick Komar
Fort Collins CO

-- 
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 https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.




[cobirds] Birding with FRS Radios Channel 11-22 Is it time for a change? Some Food for Thought

2012-12-17 Thread birderbob
Hello COBIRDERS,
 
For birders who utilize Family Radio Service (FRS) walkie-talkies (channel 
11-22 the Birder Channel) here is some food for thought -
 
Channel 11-22 has been designated as the Birder Channel, however, since 
finding this split frequency on your device often poses a challenge 
(especially for some of us senior birders) I would propose changing the 
channel to channel 21 for a few reasons. 
 
Channel 21 is easier to find and dial into on your radio.  
Channels 15 and higher (15 up to 22) have superior transmission range. More 
bang for your buck . . . 
Using an un-split frequency means you can buy cheaper radios (the 
split-frequency capable radios are usually a few bucks higher).
 
In all my experience using FRS radios while birding, I have never 
encountered other birders on the channel 11 -22.  Maybe they can't find it?
 
 
Bob Santangelo  (aka BirderBob)
Wheat Ridge  CO
 
(p.s. @ Todd - sorry for my error earlier today - I've refreshed myself on 
COBirder etiquette for posting)
 
 

-- 
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.
To view this discussion on the web visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/cobirds/-/likShpPoy6sJ.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.




[cobirds] American Dipper in Adams County this afternoon

2012-12-17 Thread bomaa...@yahoo.com
I saw a single American Dipper in Clear Creek just east of Lowell Blvd. 
(Adams Co.) today at 4:05 pm This is the regular location. I was looking 
off of the Lowell bridge near 55th Pl.
Also saw an American Kestrel from same spot.
Bob Canter, Denver Colo.

-- 
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.
To view this discussion on the web visit 
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/cobirds/-/YTtaGtOZCtUJ.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.