[cobirds] Colorado Rare Bird Alert, 12 January 2015

[Joyce Takamine]

Compiler:   Joyce Takamine
Date: January 12, 2015
e-mail:   r...@cobirds.org

This is the Rare Bird Alert Monday, January 12 sponsored by Denver Field
Ornithologists and the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory.

Highlight species include: (* indicates new information on this species).

Tundra Swan (*Boulder)
White-winged Scoter (El Paso, Pueblo)
Long-tailed Duck (Pueblo)
Barrow's Goldeneye (Arapahoe, Delta, Garfield, Pueblo, Routt, Summit)
Sharp-tailed Grouse (Weld)
Red-throated Loon (Pueblo)
Red-necked Grebe (Huerfano)
Thayer's Gull (Arapahoe, Pueblo)
Lesser  Black-backed Gull (Arapahoe, El Paso, Pueblo)
Glaucous Gull (Arapahoe, Pueblo)
Great Black-backed Gull (Pueblo)
Greater Roadrunner (Fremont)
ACORN WOODPECKER (El Paso, Pueblo)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Prowers)
Ladder-backed Woodpecker (Prowers)
Black Phoebe (Fremont)
Chichuahuan Raven (El Paso)
ROCK WREN (*Fremont)
Canyon Wren (Baca, *Fremont)
PACIFIC WREN (*Fremont)
Winter Wren (Fremont)
Bewick's Wren (Baca)
Lapland Longspur (Arapahoe, Baca, Denver, Larimer, Prowers, Weld)
Chestnut-collared Longspur (Arapahoe)
McCown's Longspur (Arapahoe)
Snow Bunting (Arapahoe, Weld)
Pine Warbler (Jefferson)
EASTERN TOWHEE (Logan)
Rufous-crowned Sparrow (Fremont)
Golden-crowned Sparrow (*Boulder, *Jefferson)
Northern Cardinal (Prowers)
Rusty Blackbird (Baca, Bent/Kiowa)
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Grand, *Jefferson, Larimer, Teller, Weld)
Black Rosy-Finch (Jefferson, Teller)
Brown-caped Rosy-Finch (Grand, Jefferson, Teller)
PURPLE FINCH (Bent, Larimer, Prowers)
White-winged Crossbill (Park)

ADAMS COUNTY:
--A Snow Bunting was reported by Kilpatrick at 96th and Tower Road on
January 2.

ARAPAHOE COUNTY:
--On January 4, Rutherford reported Lapland, Chestnut-collared and McCown's
Longsspurs N of Deer Trail between 3019 and 3071 South Prince Road.  On
January 5, Suddjian reported Lapland, Chestnut-collared and McCown's
Longspurs and a Snow Bunting on South Prince Road N of Deer Trail.  On
January 11, Goldthwait reported Chestnut-collared Longspur between 642 and
776 S Prince Road.
--A male Barrow's Goldeneye was reported by Hopping at South Platte Park on
January 6.
--On January 9 at South Platte Reservoir, Suddjian reported Lesser
Black-backed Gull, Thayer's Gull and Glaucous Gull and 2 m Barrow's
Goldeneyes.

BACA COUNTY:
--300+ Lapland Longspurs were reported by Leatherman on CR UU w of CR 37 NW
of of town of Two  Butte on January 6.
--A m Rusty Blackback was reported by Leatherman below the dam (east ) of
Two Buttes Res on January 6.
--At Cottonwood Canyon (January 3-9)  Leatherman reported Canyon Wrens and
Bewick's Wren.
--At Carrizo Canyon (January 3 -9) Leatherman reported Bewick's Wren.

BENT/KIOWA COUNTIES:
--At Adobe Creek Reservoir on January 2, Duane Nelson reported 2 Rusty
Blackbirds from dam at outlet.  Drive W on Bent CR UU from CR 10 until you
get to spillway.

BOULDER COUNTY:
--On January 1, Gent reported Golden-crowned Sparrow at Teller Farms
parking lot. On January 5, Dowell and Moore reported Golden-crowned Sparrow
at Teller Farms parking lot.  On January 11, Floyd reported Golden-crowned
Sparrow at Teller Farms parking lot.
--A Tundra Swan was spotted by Bob Spencer Jr on January 1 at the Valmont
Complex.  On January 2, Mlodinow reporte juv Tundra Swan at Valmont.  On
January 10, Steadman reported Tundra Swan at Valmont Complex.

DELTA COUNTY:
--1 Barrow's Goldeneye was reported by Filby at Confluence Park on January
4.

DENVER COUNTY:
--2 Lapland Longspurs were reported by Kibbe at Gun Club Road south of E
112th Ave on January 4.

EL PASO COUNTY:
--An ACORN WOODPECKER was reported by Peterson at Cheyenne Blvd in Colorado
Springs on January 2.
Please respect the privacy of homeowners.  On January 3, Driscoll reported
ACORN WOODPECKER in Willow Circle neighborhood of Colorado Springs.  On
January 5, Koehn Reported ACORN WOODPECKER in Willow Circle neighborhood.
On January 6, Brobin and Goff reported ACORN WOODPECKER in Willow Circle
neighborhood.
On January 9, Nick Moore reported ACORN WOODPECKER in Ridgeway neighborhood
of Colorado Springs.  On January 10, Tonnessen reported ACORN WOODPECKER in
Willow Circle neighborhood.
--A Chihuahuan Raven was reported by Peterson and Walbek in Colorado
Springs along 26800 - 29024 Myers Road on January 4.

FREMONT COUNTY:
--A pair of Greater Roadrunners was reported by Moss south of Canon City in
Cholla grassland on January 4.  They were seen along CR 77 near the
intersection of Chandler Road.
--A PACIFIC WREN was reported by Percival on the Canon City River Walk.
Park at Raynolds Ave. Walk theicy bluff trail past 3/4 mile marker.  Listen
for it calling on the south side of trail about 50 yards west of the 3/4
mile marker.  Percival reported that Denver birds saw and heard a Winter
Wren along the River Walk.  Drummond reported Winter Wren and Pacific Wren
along Canon City River Walk.  Chartier and Mark Miller reported PACIFIC
WREN on Canon City RIver Walk on January 11.
--Drummond reported Rufous-crowned Spa

[cobirds] Vogel Canyon closure

[Duane Nelson]

Birders,

 

On January 11th, I went to Vogel Canyon south of La Junta (Otero County) in
the Comanche National Grasslands, hoping to see some of the canyon country
bird specialty species that are resident in juniper - cliff habitat there. I
found a barricade placed by the Forest Service at the cattle guard north of
the parking lot. Inconspicuously placed on the barricade were two sheets of
laminated paper, stating that the canyon was closed on January 1st 2015, and
will be closed for at least a year. Hidden in one sentence on one of the
sheets of paper was the reason: the tumbleweed hazard. There may be
significant penalties or fines, even for people entering the area on foot.
I'm kind of at a loss for the reasoning behind this decision to close
indefinitely what is possibly the single most visited natural site in
southeast Colorado.

 

The Purple Finch frequenting my feeder in Las Animas was present again on
the morning of January 10th, but not after that date. The two Rusty
Blackbirds persist below the dam at Adobe Creek Reservoir (Bent County). On
January 10th, I saw a lone American White Pelican with the 30,000 Snow/Ross'
Geese at John Martin Reservoir, but the lake remains frozen solid save for
the small patch of open water used by the pelican and other birds.

 

Duane Nelson

Las Animas, Bent County, CO



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[cobirds] Field trip, Sun., Jan. 18, Scott Severs

[Pam Piombino]

*Sponsored by Boulder County Audubon*

*Sunday, January 18, 2015, 8:00 a.m. - noon*

"Walden-Sawhill Ponds"  75th Street, Boulder

Join Scott Severs for a winter ramble around the ponds and riparian areas
of this nature preserve.  If we have some open water, ducks, geese and
gulls can be abundant.  Wintering passerines are common along with the
occasional over-wintering Yellow-rumped Warbler.  Eagles, Hawks, Falcons
and Harriers are regular over and about this complex. Winter Wrens are
often found early in the year, and at least one Great-horned Owl can almost
be guaranteed. 8 a.m. to noon. Meet at the Cottonwood Parking lot on the
Walden side, off of 75th Street.





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[cobirds] "Raptor Alley" Scout Trip/Nunn

[The "Nunn Guy"]

Hi all

I went "raptoring" along the southern portion of "Raptor Alley" (south of 
Weld CR 100)--had to get back in time for Cowboys game (Ugh! Wasn't all bad 
though-Broncos lost, too!  :-) ).  Overcast and drizzling weather still 
produced birds--total of 34 birds for only half of "Raptor Alley":

   - Golden Eagle - 1
   - Bald Eagle - 4
   - Ferruginous Hawk - 1
   - Red-tailed Hawk - 10
   - Rough-legged Hawk - 4
   - American Kestrel - 8
   - Northern Harrier - 2
   - Merlin - 1
   - Prairie Falcon - 2
   - Great Horned Owl - 1
   
*Reminder for upcoming "Raptor Alley" Trip #2 this Saturday:*

*When*:  January 17, 2015 from 8am to 1pm (FREE, all levels and birders 
welcomed)

*Full details here*:  
http://coloradobirder.ning.com/events/nunn-guy-birding-raptor-alley-field-trip-2

*"Raptor Alley" Trip (2014-2015) reporting*:

January 11 (2015) - 34 raptors
* November 22 - 66 raptors*

November 2 - 39 raptors 

October 20 - 39 raptors


*Last year's (2013-2014) "Raptor Alley" reporting*:

October 13 - 25 raptors
October 26 - 30 raptors
December 1 - 47 raptors
December 15 - 43 raptors
*January 11 - 57 raptors*
February 23 - 45 raptors

Average Count Per 2013-2014 Trip- 41 raptor

Thanks Gary Lefko, Nunn
http://coloradobirder.ning.com/
Mobile:  http://coloradobirder.ning.com/m

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[cobirds] Black Merlin - Mesa County

[Mike Henwood]

Thought this might be of interest regarding merlins in Mesa County.

On 1-8-15 I observed a Pacific (Black) Merlin at the Orchard Mesa Wildlife
Area (OMWA).  I had seen it previously on 12-28, but didn't get a real good
look.

Also this fall on 1-24-14, I  saw a Boreal (Taiga) subspecies at the Grand
Junction Wildlife Area  (GJWA) as well as the more common Prairie
subspecies.

Both the GJWA (Gunnison River) and OMWA (Colorado River) are located in
bottomland along a river.  In addition to seeing the Prairie at GJWA area,
they also have been observed in other areas such as town, farm land. and
desert areas here in Mesa County.

Mike Henwood
Grand Junction
Mesa County

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[cobirds] Canon City Winter/Pacific Wrens

[Brandon Percival]

If anyone happens to get photos of any of the wrens along the western part
of the Canon City river walk in Fremont County, I would like to see them.
I saw Joey Kellner's photo of a Winter Wren from Saturday.  His photo is a
different bird than the bird I photographed on Dec 21st.  I think the bird
I thought was a Pacific Wren on the 21st, isn't for sure one.  It wasn't as
orange on throat as the Valco Ponds in Pueblo bird from a few years ago, so
I'm not sure if it really is a Pacific or not.  Colorado seems to get a lot
of odd stub tail wrens.  Sounds like there might be several Winter type
Wrens along the Canon City River walk.  I am starting not to like these
birds very much.

Hopefully mid April is coming soon, so I can look for warblers that aren't
usually as confusing as these silly stub tail wrens are.

Brandon K. Percival
Pueblo West, CO

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[cobirds] Park County (Jan 10), Ken Caryl Valley JeffCo (Jan 12)

[David Suddjian]

I made another visit to Park County on Saturday (Jan 10). More of a
sampling of things rare for the winter in that county or in good numbers.
Lots of *Red Crossbills* continuing. 4 hardy *Bushtits* (is that an
oxymoron?...apparently not) at Crow Valley Road near Bailey. But the most
fun was Rosy-Finches. I've been seeing them at a number of spots in the
last couple weeks, but this outing had some good numbers. One house on Main
Street (such as it is) in the town of Jefferson had several feeders in
plain view from the road and an area with seed placed on the ground outside
the front fence. Can't miss it if you go...look for the house behind the
store. This yard had a bout 550 *Gray-crowned*, 145 *Brown-capped*, and a
delightful 17 *Blacks*. Another swarm was at the town of Como with no
apparent connection to a feeder as far as I could see. there I counted 300
*Gray-crowned*, 100 *Brown-capped*, and 4 *Blacks*. At Fairplay there were
feeders along Front Street, and the biggest swarm was there, congregating
on various roofs and trees and dropping down into a yard where a feeding
station was out of view from the road. Estimates of this Fairplay swarm
were 950 *Gray-crowned*, 110 *Brown-capped* and 12 *Blacks*.

Elsewhere in Park, there is a cow carcass that is attracting birds along
County Road 59, located east of the active ranch that is east of the
junction with Mineral Road. Lots of ravens, but of note for Park in winter
were 13-14 *Bald Eagles*, mostly loafing on low rocky hills in the vicinity
of the carcass.

I was interested to encounter a lone *Black-capped Chickadee* at Hartsel.
It was the first chickadee I've seen in that wide open town with few trees,
but seemed more notable in that it was many miles from areas of the county
where (I think) Black-capped is expected, suggesting the bird did a lot of
wandering to Hartsel. But then again, everyone wants to get to Hartsel,
right?

Around my house today at Ken Caryl Valley a *Northern Goshawk* made another
appearance, and a *White-throated Sparrow* and *Harris's Sparrow* visited
the feeding stations. Still 30-40 *Cassin's Finches*.

David Suddjian
Littleton, CO

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