[cobirds] Re: hybrid duck at Stearns Lake, Boulder County, Jan. 14

[Jack Bushong]

Hi all, 
Here are a few images that I took back in November of presumably the same 
bird: https://www.flickr.com/photos/145000253@N05/albums/72157675456456894

Good Birding, 
Jack Bushong,
Louisville, CO

On Saturday, January 14, 2017 at 6:36:43 PM UTC-7, Ted Floyd wrote:
>
> Hey, everybody.
>
> This evening, Sat., Jan. 14, in fading light at Stearns Lake, southeastern 
> Boulder County, Andrew Floyd and I saw a hybrid duck that I'm not certain 
> about. In terms of gross plumage characters, it reminds me of a "Brewer's," 
> or "Bemaculated," Duck, i.e., a Mallard x Gadwall hybrid. But the tail and 
> bill suggest Northern Pintail parentage, and I even wonder if American 
> Wigeon is in this bird's ancestry. The pix, below, are dark and grainy, but 
> I imagine there's enough in there for rampant conjecture. Let the games 
> begin!
>
> (By the way, there are well over 1,000 *Anas* ducks and several thousand 
> geese at Stearns. Arrive there a bit earlier in the day than when Andrew 
> and I were there, and you should get great studies of the big flock. And 
> maybe you'll find a Mexican Duck or beautiful goldeneye x merganser hybrid 
> or something.)
>
> Okay, here are the photos of the Stearns Lake hybrid (click on the images 
> to enlarge):
>
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> Ted Floyd
>
> Lafayette, Boulder County
>
>
>

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[cobirds] Re: Aurora Reservoir birding question

[Thomas Holub]

Cheryl, this is really helpful, thanks for giving me a better idea of the 
situation, it will really help me.
Thomas Holub, Littleton, CO

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[cobirds] Aurora Reservoir birding question

[cteuton]

Sorry, the dam face is, of course, at the north end!
Cheryl 

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[cobirds] Aurora Reservoir birding question

[cteuton]

Hi Thomas,
A couple of things about Aurora Reservoir that I should have noted in my post, 
just to let folks know.  First, as I know you and your grandfather know, 
everyone should remember that this is a fee area. Aurora takes this seriously. 
Secondly, in my post today, I neglected to say that David Blue was the person 
who pointed the Brant out to us, as it just come in. 
Aurora Reservoir is a challenging place to bird, as conditions change from day 
to day and during the day. A lot of the big gulls were a long way out this 
afternoon, and many of them left after eagles took to the sky around them. On 
the other hand, it was around that time that the Brant came in, so go figure. 
With the way the ice was today, and probably should be tomorrow, the best 
viewing will be either from the dam face (south end), or by walking up from the 
west dam parking lot. AM sounds like the big gulls may be closer.
Good birding!
Cheryl Teuton 
Aurora 
 

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[cobirds] Re: Aurora Reservoir birding question

[Thomas Holub]

Luke, thanks for the great advice. This makes total sense, I really 
appreciate the comment, going to give it a shot tomorrow! Great list!

Thomas Holub, Littleton, CO

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[cobirds] Aurora Reservoir birding question

[Luke Pheneger]

And I forgot to mention that the whole swim beach is frozen over, and the ice 
fisherman scared off the gulls on that side.

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[cobirds] Aurora Reservoir birding question

[Luke Pheneger]

But some gulls did start to come back at 11:30.

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[cobirds] Aurora Reservoir birding question

[Luke Pheneger]

Go early in the morning before the gulls start to leave, so I suggest around 
9:00. That's when we saw the Iceland Gull,Glaucous Gulls, White Winged Scoter, 
and Thayer's Gulls. Around 10:30 most of the gulls started to leave. Best to 
view them from the west dam. This was today(1/15/17).

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[cobirds] Aurora Reservoir birding question

[Thomas Holub]

Hi, 
My Grandfather and I visited Aurora Res. about a week or two ago. We 
arrived at about 930 and extensively searched among the large close range 
groups of geese with good results (Greater White Fronted and Ross's). 
However, when viewing the gulls, most were too far out to identify, even 
with a scope, except Ring Billed and Herring Gulls. Do the positions of the 
gulls vary throughout the day? We plan to visit the area tomorrow around 
the early afternoon hours to look for the great gulls that have been 
reported as well as the white winged scoter and recently reported Brant. 
Does anyone have any advice regarding the time of viewing as well as the 
best locations for viewing at the reservoir? It would really help, as we 
felt very lost the first time we made it out there.  

Thanks! -Thomas Holub, Littleton,CO

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[cobirds] Brant at Aurora Reservoir, Arapahoe Cnty

[teuton]

Currently in the northwest corner, near the dam.Cheryl Teuton Aurora 


Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone

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Re: [cobirds] hybrid duck at Stearns Lake, Boulder County, Jan. 14

[John Jones]

I will second Matt's opinion of American Wigeon  x Mallard.

I will also point out that a great option for perusing photos of hybrid
ducks or other hybrids too, is ebird's relatively new photo gallery tool:
https://ebird.org/media/catalog

Using that tool, you can see what other people have posted for various
hybrid combinations, and it looks like the Northern Pintail x Mallard
combination should have a fully dark head for the male. The American Wigeon
x Northern Pintail option only has one photo (and it appears to be a female
bird), but I would be surprised if it were that combination based on the
amount of dark reddish on the leading half of this bird (comparable to
Mallard). I think all these other photos on ebird, in combination with the
reasons that Matt has stated, point towards American Wigeon x Mallard.

Fun bird!

John Jones
Lakewood (Jefferson Co)

On Sat, Jan 14, 2017 at 11:43 PM, Matt Rodgers 
wrote:

> There's no doubt in my mind that this is an American wigeon hybrid...The
> gray/pale blue bill and green mask that a drake baldpate exhibits are
> palpable; what it's crossed with is more conjecture for me but I believe
> that it is crossed with a mallard. Perhaps the juxtaposed true mallard
> present in the photo is influencing me but the apparent feather coloring on
> the sides, wings and what appears to be a more chestnut than pinkish chest
> portends mallard. Also, a true drake baldpate has a "mini sprig" if you
> will for a tail (when compared to a Northern Pintail) and while this one
> features quite a long tail, it bends upward as a mallard drakes tail
> feathers do although not the whole way around. Just my thoughts. I've never
> seen such a hybrid, thank you for posting!!
>
> Matt Rodgers
>
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[cobirds] Colorado Rare Bird Alert, 15 January 2017

[Joyce Takamine]

Compiler:  Joyce Takamine
e-mail:RBA AT cobirds.org
Date:   January 15, 2017
This is the Rare Bird Alert for Sunday, January 15, sponsored by Denver
Field Ornithologists and the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies.

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

NOTE:  The RBA is using the new AOU checklist, & the order of families has
changed.

Trumpeter Swan (*Douglas, Mesa)
Tundra Swan (*Boulder, *Larimer)
White-winged Scoter (*Arapahoe)
Long-tailed Duck (Chaffee, Larimer)
Barrow's Goldeneye (Adams, Moffat)
Red-necked Grebe (Boulder)
Greater Roadrunner (Baca)
American Woodcock (Larimer)
Greater Yellowlegs (Adams)
Franklin's Gull (*Larimer)
Mew Gull (*Arapahoe)
Thayer's Gull (*Arapahoe, Douglas, *Larimer, Pueblo)
ICELAND GULL (*Arapahoe)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Adams, *Arapahoe, Bent, *Larimer, Pueblo)
Glaucous Gull (*Arapahoe)
Great Black-backed Gull (*Arapahoe, Pueblo)
Double-crested Cormorant (*Adams)
American White Pelican (*Larimer)
American Three-toed Woodpecker (*Larimer)
Juniper Titmouse (Baca)
Winter Wren (*Weld)
Hermit Thrush (Arapahoe, *Mesa)
Gray Catbird (Mesa)
Curve-billed Thrasher (Baca, *El Paso, Pueblo)
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Boulder,  Pitkin)
Black Rosy-Finch (Boulder, Pitkin)
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (Boulder, Pitkin)
Lapland Longspur (Bent, Logan)
Rufous-crowned Sparrow (Baca)
Canyon Towhee (Baca, Bent)
Yellow-headed Blackbird (*Larimer)
Rusty Blackbird (Huerfano, *Weld)
Great-tailed Grackle (*Larimer)
Brown-headed Cowbird (*Larimer)

*For directions to unfamiliar locations (e.g. "Lower Latham"), please
refer to CFO's Colorado County Birding site:  www.coloradocountybirding.org

ADAMS COUNTY:
---On January 8 at South Platte River and Sand Creek mouth, Steve Mlodinow
and Nick Moore reported 2 Barrow's Goldeneyes and 24 Double-crested
Cormorants.  On January 10 at South Platte River and Sand Creek mouth,
Sunny Bradford reported 5 Double-crested Cormorants.
---On January 11 on South Platte River 74th Ave Area, Mark Minner-Lee
reported 12 Double-crested Cormorants just south of I-76 overpass.
---On January 11 on South Platte River, 88th Ave area, Rebecca Laroche
reported 2 Barrow's Goldeneyes and 2 Double-crested Cormorants.  On January
14, Chuck Hundertmark reported Double-crested Cormorant at 88th Ave and
South Platte River.
---On January 11 on South Platte River, Henderson Road to E 470, Lorraine
Lanning reported Double-crested Cormorant.
---On January 11 on South Platte River, 88th Ave, Dave Cown reported 2
Greater Yellowlegs.
---On January 14 on South Platte River at 78th Ave, David Kembel reported 9
Double-crested Cormorants.

ARAPAHOE COUNTY:
---On January 9 at Aurora Reservoir, Diane Roberts and Tim Ryan reported
Mew Gull, 2 Thayer's Gulls (1 ad, 1 juv), 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls,
Glaucous Gull and Great Black-backed Gull.  On January 10 at Aurora
Reservoir, Gwen Moore reported White-winged Scoter, Thayer's Gull, and
Lesser Black-backed Gull.  On January 13 at Aurora Reservoir, Dan Stringer
reported ad m White-winged Scoter.  On January 13 at Aurora Reservoir, John
Drummond reported f-type White-winged Scoter, 5 Thayer's Gulls (1 ad, 4
imm), 1-st cyc ICELAND GULL, 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls (3 ad, 1 2nd-cyc,
1 1st cyc), 1st cyc Great Black-backed Gull.  On January 13 at Aurora
Reservoir, Glenn Walbek reported Glaucous Gull and 2 Great Black-backed
Gulls (1ad, 1 1-st cyc).  On January 14 at Aurora Reservoir, Loch
Kilpatrick and several other birders reported White-winged Scoter, Mew
Gull, Thayer's Gulls, ICELAND GULL, Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Glaucous
Gull, and Great Black-backed Gull.
---On January 10 at South Platte Park, Cynthia Madsen, Jonelle Balais,
Betty Glass, and Janet Shin reported imm Double-crested Cormorant.
---On January 10 at deKoevend Park, Jared Del Rosso reported Hermit Thrush.
---On January 10 at South Platte Reservoir, David Suddjian reported 2
Lesser Black-backed Gulls (1 ad, 1 3rd-cyc).
---On January 12 at McClellan Reservoir, David Suddjian Reportd 1 ad
Thayer's Gull.

BACA COUNTY:
---On January 12 at Cottonwood Canyon, Alec and Bill Hopping reported
Curve-billed Thrashers, Canyon Towhees and Rufous-crowned Sparrows.
---On January 12 at a stop on CR 8, Alec and Bill Hopping reported Greater
Roadrunner, Juniper Titmouse, and Canyon Towhees.

BENT COUNTY:
---On January 13 at John Martin Reservoir at Dam Area, Alec and  Bill
Hopping reported Lesser Black-backed Gull, Lapland Longspur, and 2 Canyon
Towhees.

BOULDER COUNTY:
---On January 12 at Valmont Overlook, Sue Riffe reported Red-necked Grebe.  On
January 13 at Valmont Overlook, Norm Lewis reported Red-necked Grebe.
---On December 28 at Fawn Brook Inn in Allenspark, Chris Wood reported all
3 species of Rosy-Finches and 22 Bohemian Waxwings.   On December 30 at
Fawn Brook Inn, Mark Amershek reported all 3 species of Rosy-Finches.  On
January 8, Bill Fink reported all 3 species of Rosy-Finches at Fawnbrook
Inn.
---On January 14 at Cottonwood Marsh, Joyce Takamine reported