Re: [cobirds] Hawks Galore in Wetmore (Custer)

[kickback]

On Sunday, July 30, 2017 at 8:32:27 AM UTC-6, Dave Leatherman wrote:
>
> Rich,
>
> I have been spending a fair amount of time on the western part of the West 
> Unit of the Pawnee Grasslands this summer tracking the activities of 
> loggerhead shrikes.  I have seen virtually no Swainson's Hawks.  I recorded 
> a whopping 1 on each of two 150-mile loops in the last month.  Grasshopper 
> expert Tim McNary, formerly of USDA-APHIS and now an affiliate of the 
> Gillette Museum at Colorado State recently went out to Crow Valley and came 
> home with only a dozen or so specimens of hoppers of, I think, four 
> species!  Tim can usually find that many before he gets out of the car! 
>  Normally the most commonly impaled object of shrikes are grasshoppers 
> (particularly two species, *Xanthippus corallipes* and *Arphia conspersa*).  
> This summer, I've maybe seen a total of 10 grasshoppers impaled.  I've seen 
> 5X that many hoppers impaled in one shrike territory in years past.  Very 
> few big hoppers this year on the northern prairie.  The shrikes have 
> compensated by terrorizing herps and various crickets.
>
>
> I have heard the hopper population in southeastern CO is just the 
> opposite, at least at present in terms of nymphs.  Clouds of them when you 
> walk thru a pasture.  Maybe there are also good hopper populations in the 
> meadows of the Wet Mountains.  All the moisture is growing green hopper 
> food, i.e. plants.  Maybe what you saw is a regional relocation of hawks in 
> response to food abundance, sort of like what we're seeing with 
> dickcissels.  Maybe many of the hawks that normally populate the northern 
> plains never made it up here, or maybe had second thoughts once they got 
> here and drifted back south, who knows?  I do know I had that big number of 
> 160+ Swainson's hawks on my Lamar BBS route which was bizarre in my 
> experience.  I received comments that these were probably mostly young, 
> non-breeding birds that just come north to loaf and feed for their first 
> independent summer before returning south.  Maybe the majority of what you 
> saw was this age group.  My bet would be the majority of buteos were 
> Swainson's, and that they were also somewhat staging for their later 
> departure south.
>
>
> Interesting, whatever it was.  Thanks for your post.
>
>
> Dave Leatherman
>
> Fort Collins
>
>
> --
> *From:* millerrichj via Colorado Birds  >
> *Sent:* Sunday, July 30, 2017 12:00 AM
> *To:* cob...@googlegroups.com 
> *Subject:* [cobirds] Hawks Galore in Wetmore (Custer) 
>  
> This morning in the fields north of Wetmore  I counted over 100 buteos in 
> an area of maybe 50 acres.  Most were perched on fence posts, a few were on 
> the ground.  None were flying.  They were mixed buteo species.  I 
> identified Red-tailed, Swainson's and a Harrier.  It was private 
> property and most were too far away to identify as species, however, they 
> appeared to be mostly buteos.
>  
> I don't remember ever seeing anything like this before  It was almost 
> surreal.  Why would so many hawks converge on one area in late July?
>  
> Rich Miller
> Canon City 
>
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Last Sunday I saw at least 4 Swainson's hawks between Falcon and Peyton 
which seemed high compared to prior visits to this area..

http://www.avoapples.com/birds/_MG_5242_cr.jpg

http://www.avoapples.com/birds/_MG_5313_cr.jpg

tx

Bill Kosar

bill_ko...@msn.com  


 

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[cobirds] Observation list

[JIM THOMPSON]

I submitted an observation list this morning.  I did make a mistake.  The 
swallow count should read 100+ Tree Swallows not Violet Green.  
Question:  Would it be better if I edited my observations to exclude Robins, 
Swallows, the go called common birds?

Thanks


JIM THOMPSON 

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[cobirds] Fwd: eBird Report - Rocky Mt Nat. Park, Jul 28, 2017

[JIM THOMPSON]

Fall River Road can be tranversed via car without issue.
- Forwarded Message -
Rocky Mt Nat. Larimer County
Jul 28, 2017 9:45 AM - 3:15 PM
Protocol: Traveling
15.0 mile(s)
Comments:     Elaine Coley and I drove the Old Fall River Road .  The birds are 
all from the Fall River Road
18 species (+2 other taxa)

Broad-tailed Hummingbird  1
Hairy Woodpecker  2
Western Wood-Pewee  1
Steller's Jay  1
Black-billed Magpie  1     not on the Old Fall River Road but lower in the park 
at East entrance.
American Crow  3
Common Raven  2
Tree Swallow  0
Violet-green Swallow  100     Observed close up using cavities in Aspin trees.  
Do they nest this late in the year?
Mountain Chickadee  5     numerous thru out the trip.
chickadee sp.  25     heard and observed.
Bushtit  15     Low scrubs etc.  Odd at this altitude?  About 8000 feet.  Close 
observation by two people.
nuthatch sp.  5     heard not seen
American Robin  3
American Pipit  3     seen and heard.  near tree line
Fox Sparrow  1
Dark-eyed Junco  8
White-crowned Sparrow  3     two singing (seemed like a different song vs lower 
elevation birds, one visual at same location as bushtits and pine grosbeak.  
just below tree line--odd.
Pine Grosbeak  3     at tree line  LIFE BIRD
Cassin's Finch  20     numerous.  did not try counting.
Pine Siskin  15

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S38392325

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

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[cobirds] Pine Siskin, Adams Cty 7-29-17

[Eric DeFonso]

Hi folks,

I'm sure that subject line wasn't exactly riveting to most birders, but
during an early-evening run through my nearby residential neighborhoods, I
encountered a pair of Pine Siskins attending to some sunflowers right along
92nd Ave not far from Federal Blvd. Pine Siskins are of course fully
expected and typical at higher elevations right now, but seeing them in the
city in July was a bit surprising. Ebird shows very few July urban Denver
sightings of Pine Siskin over the past 10 years.


---
Eric DeFonso
Westminster, CO

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Re: [cobirds] Hawks Galore in Wetmore (Custer)

[DAVID A LEATHERMAN]

Rich,

I have been spending a fair amount of time on the western part of the West Unit 
of the Pawnee Grasslands this summer tracking the activities of loggerhead 
shrikes.  I have seen virtually no Swainson's Hawks.  I recorded a whopping 1 
on each of two 150-mile loops in the last month.  Grasshopper expert Tim 
McNary, formerly of USDA-APHIS and now an affiliate of the Gillette Museum at 
Colorado State recently went out to Crow Valley and came home with only a dozen 
or so specimens of hoppers of, I think, four species!  Tim can usually find 
that many before he gets out of the car!  Normally the most commonly impaled 
object of shrikes are grasshoppers (particularly two species, Xanthippus 
corallipes and Arphia conspersa).  This summer, I've maybe seen a total of 10 
grasshoppers impaled.  I've seen 5X that many hoppers impaled in one shrike 
territory in years past.  Very few big hoppers this year on the northern 
prairie.  The shrikes have compensated by terrorizing herps and various 
crickets.


I have heard the hopper population in southeastern CO is just the opposite, at 
least at present in terms of nymphs.  Clouds of them when you walk thru a 
pasture.  Maybe there are also good hopper populations in the meadows of the 
Wet Mountains.  All the moisture is growing green hopper food, i.e. plants.  
Maybe what you saw is a regional relocation of hawks in response to food 
abundance, sort of like what we're seeing with dickcissels.  Maybe many of the 
hawks that normally populate the northern plains never made it up here, or 
maybe had second thoughts once they got here and drifted back south, who knows? 
 I do know I had that big number of 160+ Swainson's hawks on my Lamar BBS route 
which was bizarre in my experience.  I received comments that these were 
probably mostly young, non-breeding birds that just come north to loaf and feed 
for their first independent summer before returning south.  Maybe the majority 
of what you saw was this age group.  My bet would be the majority of buteos 
were Swainson's, and that they were also somewhat staging for their later 
departure south.


Interesting, whatever it was.  Thanks for your post.


Dave Leatherman

Fort Collins



From: millerrichj via Colorado Birds 
Sent: Sunday, July 30, 2017 12:00 AM
To: cobirds@googlegroups.com
Subject: [cobirds] Hawks Galore in Wetmore (Custer)

This morning in the fields north of Wetmore  I counted over 100 buteos in an 
area of maybe 50 acres.  Most were perched on fence posts, a few were on the 
ground.  None were flying.  They were mixed buteo species.  I identified 
Red-tailed, Swainson's and a Harrier.  It was private property and most were 
too far away to identify as species, however, they appeared to be mostly buteos.

I don't remember ever seeing anything like this before  It was almost surreal.  
Why would so many hawks converge on one area in late July?

Rich Miller
Canon City

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[cobirds] Colorado Rare Bird Alert, 30 July 2017

[Joyce Takamine]

Compiler: Joyce Takamine
e-mail: RBA AT cobirds.org
Date:July 30, 2017

This is the Rare Bird Alert for Sunday, July 30 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 now using the new AOU checklist and the order of families
has changes.

Wood Duck (Washington)
Bufflehead (Larimer)
Barrow’s Goldeneye (Chaffee)
Greater Sage-Grouse (Jackson)
Dusky Grouse (Boulder)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (*Larimer)
Greater Roadrunner (El Paso)
Black Swift (Boulder)
Chimney Swift (Jefferson)
RIVOLI’S (MAGNIFICENT) HUMMINGBIRD (Gilpin, Jefferson)
Sandhill Crane (Park)
Semipalmated Plover (*Jackson)
Stilt Sandpiper (*Jackson)
Pectoral Sandpiper (El Paso, Jackson)
Semipalmated Sandpiper (*Jackson)
Solitary Sandpiper (El Paso)
Black Tern (El Paso, Washington)
Common Loon (Ouray)
CALIFORNIA CONDOR (Dolores)
Mississippi Kite (El Paso, Las Animas)
Red-headed Woodpecker (Adams, El Paso, Las Animas, Washington)
Williamson’s Sapsucker (Pueblo)
American Three-toed Woodpecker (Boulder, Gunnison)
Least Flycatcher (*Weld)
Eastern Phoebe (*Douglas)
Chihuahuan Raven (Kiowa)
Pacific Wren (Boulder)
Carolina Wren (Las Animas)
Bewick’s Wren (Las Animas)
Curve-billed Thrasher (El Paso, *Fremont)
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (El Paso)
Northern Parula (Larimer)
Yellow-throated Warbler (Pueblo)
Lark Bunting (*Jackson, Washington)
Black-throated Sparrow (*Fremont)
Fox Sparrow (Boulder, *Jackson, Larimer, San Juan)
Summer Tanager (Baca, Las Animas, Montezuma)
Indigo Bunting (Kiowa)
Dickcissel (Boulder, Douglas, El Paso)
Bobolink (Boulder)

BOULDER COUNTY:
---On July 22 at Rocky Mountain NP, Wild Basin, Renee Casias reported 3
Black Swift, Pacific Wren, and Fox Sparrow.  On July 23 at Rocky Mountain
NP, Wild Basin, Dean Shoup and Tim Smart reported 4 Black Swifts and
singing Pacific Wren;  Candice Johnson reported f American Three-toed
Woodpecker just below Calypso Cascades and Pacific Wren.  On July 25 at
Rocky Mountain NP, Ouzel Falls, Luke Pheneger reported 3 Dusky Grouse,
American Three-toed Woodpecker, Pacific Wren, and Fox Sparrow
(slate-colored) and Ted Floyd reported Pacific Wren.  On July 26 at Rocky
Mountain NP, Ouzel Falls, Loch Kilpatrick reported Black Swift and Pacific
Wren.

CHAFFEE COUNTY:
---On July 24 at Sands Lake SWA, Christian Hagenlocher reported m Barrow’s
Goldeneye.  On July 26 at Sands Lake SWA, Van Truan reported m Barrow’s
Goldeneye.

DOLORES COUNTY:
---On July 24, Steve Heath reported a soaring CALIFORNIA CONDOR 4 miles
above Bradfield bridge on Dolores River.

DOUGLAS COUNTY:
---On July 29 at Charfield SP, Diane Roberts and Felice Lyons reported
Eastern Phoebe.
---On July 24 at Spruce Mountain Road fields, Monday Birders reported
Dickcissel.

EL PASO COUNTY:
---On July 26 at Ramah Reservoir SWA, Cheri Phillips reported Solitary
Sandpiper, Red-headed Woodpecker, and Dickcissel; Cole Wolf reported
Pectoral Sandpiper, 2 Solitary Sandpipers, 6 Black Terns, and 4 Dickcissels
(2 at N end and 2 at S end).
---On July 27 at Fountain Creek Regional Park, Tanja Britton reported
Mississippi Kite.  On July 28 at Fountain Creek Regional Park, Diane
Roberts reported Mississippi Kite.
---On July 24 at Pikes Peak Summit, Clive Harris reported 5 Brown-capped
Rosy-Finch.  On July 25 at Pikes Peak Summit, Joel Adams reported 3
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch.
---On July 28 at Hanover Road, Diane Roberts reported Greater Roadrunner
and 2 Curve-billed Thrashers.

FREMONT COUNTY:
---On July 29 at Siloam Road at CR 110, Joel Adams reported 6
Black-throated Sparrows.
---On July 29 at CR 123 near Penrose, Joel Adams reported 2 Curve-billed
Thrashers.

GILPIN COUNTY:
---On July 25 at Golden Gate Canyon Park, northernmost picnic area on
Mountain Base Road, Steve Mlodinow reported f RIVOLI’S (MAGNIFICIENT)
HUMMINGBIRD.

JACKSON COUNTY:
---On July 28 at MacFarlane Reservoir, Chuck Hundertmark reported 6 Greater
Sage-Grouse and m Lark Bunting.  On July 29 at MacFarlane Reservoir, Steve
Mlodinow reported Semipalmated Plover and Semipalmated Sandpiper.
---On July 28 at Walden on CR 34, Chuck Hundertmark reported Lark Bunting.
---On Juy 28 at 18 Island Reservoir, Chuck Hundertmark reported Pectoral
Sandpiper.  On July 28 at 18 Island Reservoir, Steve Mlodinow reported 8
Stilt Sandpipers.
---On July 28 on CR 21, Steve Mlodinow reported a pair of Lark Buntings and
Fox Sparrow (slate-colored).

JEFFERSON COUNTY:
---On July 27 at Hildebrand Ranch Park, David Suddjian reported Chimney
Swift and Matt Clark reported
f-type RIVOLI’S (MAGNIFICIENT) HUMMINGBIRD by the stream.

LARIMER COUNTY:
---On July 27 at Rigden Reservoir (Strauss Cabin Lake), Nick Komar reported
f Bufflehead.
---On July 24 at Gateway Natural Area, Jonathan Layman reported Northern
Parula.
---On July 29 at Wellington SWA Cobb Lake Unit, Andy Bankert and Mik McCloy
found Yellow-billed Cuckoo and later Nick Komar, David Wade, John Shenot
and 

[cobirds] Hawks Galore in Wetmore (Custer)

[millerrichj via Colorado Birds]

This morning in the fields north of Wetmore  I counted over 100 buteos  in 
an area of maybe 50 acres.  Most were perched on fence posts,  a few were on 
the ground.  None were flying.  They were mixed buteo  species.  I 
identified Red-tailed, Swainson's and a Harrier.  It was  private property and 
most 
were too far away to identify as species,  however, they appeared to be 
mostly buteos.
 
I don't remember ever seeing anything like this before  It  was almost 
surreal.  Why would so many hawks converge on one area  in late July?
 
Rich Miller
Canon City 

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