[cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows at Boulder Valley Ranch, Boulder Co

[Charles Hundertmark]

Thanks to Peter Gent for pointing us to the Cassin’s Sparrow’s singing at 
Boulder Valley Ranch. I attempted to get smartphone recordings of the birds 
this morning. The sparrows were singing and larking in a brushy strip along the 
base of the mesa between Cobalt trail and the mesa. The birds are thus distant 
from both the trail and the mesa top, making it difficult to get close enough 
for either good looks or good recordings. Nevertheless, here is link to the 
eBird list with two recordings. There are also three recordings of different 
Yellow-breasted Chats which seem to be present in nice numbers. 
https://ebird.org/checklist/S70632593 

Chuck Hundertmark
Lafayette, CO

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Re: [cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows, Boulder County

[Charles Hundertmark]

At least three singing earlier in the morning. Birds are larking. One could be 
heard from the trailhead. Behavior suggests territorial birds that will be 
present for a while.

Chuck Hundertmark
Lafayette, CO

> On Jun 20, 2020, at 4:53 PM, Randy Siebert  wrote:
> 
> Heard at least 2 Cassin's Sparrows at 1 pm today. Nice selection of other 
> birds right near the trailhead.
> Perfect directions Peter. 
> 
> Thanks,
> Randy Siebert
> Lafayette CO
> 
> On Friday, June 19, 2020 at 12:53:06 PM UTC-6, Peter Gent wrote:
> All, 
> 
> This morning between 10:15 and 11:45, there were 3 Cassin's Sparrows singing 
> and skylarking about 200 yards southwest of the Boulder Valley Ranch parking 
> lot at the end of Longhorn Road east of US 36 north of Boulder.  Park and 
> start walking west along the Cobalt Trail, and quickly listen for their song 
> to the southwest.  This species does not come up as rare on ebird, even 
> though this is only the third or fourth time I have seen this species in 
> Boulder in over 40 years. 
> 
> Cheers,  Peter Gent. 
> Boulder, CO. 
> 
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> .

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[cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows, Boulder County

[Peter Gent]

All,

This morning between 10:15 and 11:45, there were 3 Cassin's Sparrows
singing and skylarking about 200 yards southwest of the Boulder Valley
Ranch parking lot at the end of Longhorn Road east of US 36 north of
Boulder.  Park and start walking west along the Cobalt Trail, and quickly
listen for their song to the southwest.  This species does not come up as
rare on ebird, even though this is only the third or fourth time I have
seen this species in Boulder in over 40 years.

Cheers,  Peter Gent.
Boulder, CO.

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[cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows, northern Larimer County

[marimammoser]

Today I had two Cassin's Sparrows along Larimer County Road 5 east of the 
Rawhide Power Plant. They were singing along the County Road 80-100 yards 
south of the entrance to the old homestead.

Joe Mammoser
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows, Boulder County

[Eric DeFonso]

Hi folks,

On this foggy, misty morning at Boulder Valley Ranch, I spied a lonely pair
of Cassin's Sparrows working through the yuccas and shortgrass at the edge
of the mesa along the Sage Trail. The location was approximately 7/10 of a
mile from the main parking area off Longhorn Drive, along the north portion
of the loop trail about halfway to the main ranch pond near the junction
for the North Rim trail. I IDed them based on their notably plain breasts,
overall drab appearance, pale throats, stout body structure, spotty (not
streaked) mantles, and moderately but not particularly long tails. They
also had slightly dark crowns, slightly raised giving them a more angular
appearance than what I expect from, say, Brewer's Sparrows. (I experienced
many Cassin's during my field work in SE Colorado 2 years ago, and that's
what this pair definitely reminded me of.) These birds however were utterly
silent, and although the habitat was decent for them, I got the sense they
were just passing through. But, who knows.

I also found several Lark Buntings, mostly females but also a couple males
thrown in. There were also numerous House Wrens are now on territories
along the shelterbelt trees, with Western Meadowlarks, Vesper Sparrows, a
Loggerhead Shrike, and even a few Savannah Sparrows singing from the taller
grasses.


-- 
Eric DeFonso
Boulder, CO

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[cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows, Boulder Co., 8-1-11

[Christian Nunes]

Birders,
Like Hugh Kingery, I too have been trying to confirm that CASSIN'S SPARROWS are 
breeding in my local patch (Boulder Co.). I have been finding dozens of 
individuals around the grasslands around the City of Boulder this year. 
Finally, after several attempts to locate evidence of breeding other than 
sky-larking males, I found a fledgling. I believe this is the 1st breeding 
confirmation for the County. Here's an awful photo of the little streaky guy 
next to Dad:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/christian_nunes/5999788799/in/photostream
Also seen in the general area was an adult CHIPPING SPARROW. No signs of molt 
in the brief look I had. The crown, at least, seemed to be completely chestnut. 
A SAGE THRASHER was the first south-bound migrant of this species I have seen 
this summer. 
Good birding,

Christian NunesBoulder, CO
pajaro...@hotmail.com

  

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[cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows in SLV

[John Rawinski]

Just got back from birding California and had a great time. The pelagic trip 
out of Santa Barbara was especially exciting. Laysan Albatross and Red-billed 
Tropicbird were some of the best among other great birds. 

But back in the San Luis Valley, where alien sightings abound, I happened upon 
at least 4 Cassins Sparrows singing and skylarking in a field near my home 
south of Monte Vista. To see them, go to the 1E and 2S road intersection just 
SE of Monte Vista, and then go about 0.7 miles farther east and look into the 
alfalfa field on the north side of the road. It was really hopping with them, 
and may be related to recent rains here and the generel irruption of them this 
year.  I know one atlaser reported them earlier this summer. Bet they can be 
found in all sorts of places for those getting out and about. 

Have noticed bird songs have subsided here. On Friday, Blanca wetlands had a 
good number of shorebirds but none too unusual for this time. Bairds and Least 
Sandpipers dominated. 

John Rawinski
Monte Vista, CO

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RE: [cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows, etc.

[Christian Nunes]

Birders,
 
Dave wrote that birds, "are definitely expanding eastward and northward, 
respectively, on the CO plains.  Drought, extensive fires, climate change?"
 
One factor that I think we must not forget is that last year's breeding season 
was very wet, and could have been a very successful breeding season for many of 
these species. So equate large numbers of previous year's birds and poor 
conditions on the breeding grounds right now, and I think the result is this 
faculatative infiltration of new, likely sub-par, breeding sites. 
 
I went out on a hike in the Shanahan Ridge area of Boulder yesterday looking 
for the singing Gray Flycatcher I detected back on the 5th of June. In its 
place was a CASSIN'S KINGBIRD. Another Pinyon-Juniper/grassland species in an 
odd place at an odd date. 
 
Cheers,
 
Christian Nunes
Boulder, CO
pajaro...@hotmail.com
 



From: daleather...@msn.com
To: cobirds@googlegroups.com
Subject: [cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows, etc.
Date: Sat, 18 Jun 2011 12:44:15 -0600



It is always dangerous to make too much out of an odd bird report here and 
there.  But it seems to me something is definitely going on with Cassin's 
Sparrows and maybe other southern species.  Populations of birds, particularly 
grassland species, expand and contract dramatically from year to year, heavily 
influenced by habitat condition.  Lark Buntings are classic in this regard, as 
are Cassin's Sparrows.  But the current situation seems bigger.  I have 
received an email from a friend (Charles Mills) of a friend (Bill Lisowsky), 
who reports finding the 1st State Record Cassin's Sparrow in Arkansas about a 
month ago.  My friend Ken Ecton just shared a blog from Ohio about that state 
finding its 1st State Record Cassin's Sparrow.  I wonder if somebody with a 
high-limit gas credit card could drive next week to Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa, 
Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky and find 
breeding Cassin's Sparrows?  How many of these would be 1st State or at least 
1st-Breeding Records?  COBIRDS of late seems to have reports of this bird from 
"special" places almost weekly, including Joey's birds at Cherry Creek.  
 
Black-chinned Sparrows now may be regular in Colorado for the foreseeable 
future.  I know of two Painted Bunting reports in the Lamar area in the last 
week.  A Wood Thrush was also in Lamar in the last few days.  Summer Tanagers 
were almost in the FC ("fairly common") category this spring.  A 1st State 
Record Lesser Nighthawk was found dead at the Hereford Ranch in Cheyenne, WY 
over Memorial Day weekend.  When will WY gets its first Black Phoebe?  Lesser 
Goldfinches and Black-chinned Hummingbirds are definitely expanding eastward 
and northward, respectively, on the CO plains.  Drought, extensive fires, 
climate change?  Could be all of these.  And it could be a strange, 
keep-your-eyes-open summer in Colorado. 
 
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins 
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RE: [cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows, etc.

[David Elwonger]

Scott
I suspect the sparrow "tweet" each other about the condition of the habit :)
Dave

  _  

From: cobirds@googlegroups.com [mailto:cobirds@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
Of Scott Seltman
Sent: Saturday, June 18, 2011 3:13 PM
To: 'COBIRDS'
Subject: RE: [cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows, etc.



 

Hi Dave & everyone,

 

There has also been an invasion of Cassin's Sparrows into central Kansas in
areas where they are seldom if ever recorded.  Right now there are numerous
singing males at Cheyenne Bottoms, Quivira NWR and, oddly enough, in the
Wichita metro area.  So while Front Range birders are seeing them NW of
their core breeding range, here in Kansas we are seeing them 50-100 miles E
of their usual summering locations.

 

I agree that it's always risky to assign cause-and-effect, but it's also
easy to imagine that many of these errant Cassin's arrived in their usual
habitats on the High Plains, realized that it hadn't rained since last fall,
and decided to just keep on going.

 

Scott Seltman

Larned, Kansas 

 

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[cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows

[Steven Mlodinow]

Greetings All,


RE: Cassin's Sparrows, there are a number of phenomenon likely involved in 
various data presented.
To parse some out, the LONG DISTANCE vagrancy of Cassin's Sparrows may or may 
not have much to do with summer irruptions n and w of their normal breeding 
ranges.


Some of the long distance vagrants have been spring, some fall. I don't have 
time to fully flesh this out right now, unfortunately... but spring 
long-distance vagrancy in Cassin's may be due to inclement conditions on their 
breeding grounds, or to other reasons ascribed to spring vagrancy. Fall 
vagrancy tends to be more common in years of good nesting success (larger pool 
of young birds to go astray).


However, relevant to what we are seeing this year (and I seem to remember that 
last summer there were some foothill records, including Boulder County), 
Cassin's Sparrows are somewhat well known for dispersing fairly far and wide if 
conditions in their breeding grounds are unsuitable (usually drought). This 
dispersal is mostly north and west.


Black-throated Sparrows behave very similarly.


This behavior is fairly widespread, I'd imagine, in arid-land birds, 
particularly migratory ones. Brewer's Sparrows in e. Washington (which nest in 
sagebrush flats)... during one drought year... simply moved into open lodgepole 
pine woodlands to breed (or at least a number of birds did) as well as disperse 
in small numbers into w. WA and w. OR.


All fascinating stuff.


These movements are called facultative, and are actually pretty common, and 
show amazing versatility and adaptability to local conditions, and sometimes, 
adjusting to novel habitats (as in the Brewer's Sparrows).


However, I am not sure a westward push of RH Woodpeckers (and I think e. 
Warbling Vireos and maybe Orchard Orioles) is related to the movement of 
Cassin's Sparrows other than they probably are all demonstrations of 
facultative movements.


Best Wishes
Steven Mlodinow 
Longmont CO






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[cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows

[Jxdrummo]

Co birders :
 
  Interesting to read the comments on Cassin's  Sparrows . What a 
difference a little rain makes. I did an atlas block in  Eastern El Paso this 
morning and must have had a minimum of 50 Cassin's singing  , carrying food etc 
etc . Just two weeks ago there were virtually none so once  again 
demonstrating birds go where it is greenest. Lark Bunting numbers were up  
considerably too. 
 
And speaking of absences where have all the Dusky Flycatchers gone this  
year ?
 
John Drummond
Monument 

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[cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows, etc.

[Dave Leatherman]

Glenn Walbek and Charles Mills have responded to my post earlier today with 
interesting information.

Charles let me know they now have reported multiple Cassin's Sparrows in 
extreme sw AR, with at least one pair among these suspected of breeding.  He 
also reports this species is being seen in ne OK, ne TX, and nw LA this year.  
The E-Bird link he provided has a map (labeled "year-round, all years") that 
shows Cassin's Sparrows as having been found at Cape Cod (MASS), Pt. Pelee 
(ON), the western tip of Long Island (NY), extreme sw WI, northern IN, 
west-central OH, and south-central NC (Glenn says new to the state this year).

An email from Joe Roller, and yet another from Rachel Hopper, reminded me of an 
additional species that deserves comment in connection to the theme:  
Red-headed Woodpecker.  Like most woodpeckers, this bird apparently has a 
plastic distribution at the mercy of fairly ephemeral wood-boring insects that 
only occur for a period of years (5-10, at most) after a tree dies.  The 
insects are roundheaded (also called "longhorned") and flatheaded (also called 
"metallic") wood-boring beetles in the families Cerambycidae and Buprestidae, 
respectively.  When the Poudre River changed channels in the area of the 
Environmental Learning Center in eastern Fort Collins 20 or so years ago, many 
of the Plains Cottonwoods near the old channel, died.  Red-headed Woodpeckers 
were quite common for a few years hence.  Red-heads are very seldom seen there 
these days.  A similar thing has happened along Willow Creek at the Lamar 
Community College Woods.  Many of the big cottonwoods died 10 years or so ago, 
and Red-headeds were common, not so much now, as the big, barkless trunks 
continue to fall.  Perhaps the high number of reports of Red-headed Woodpeckers 
in CO of late have something to do with normal or inflated numbers of these 
birds in areas to the south of us being pushed northward by the fires (with 
their numbers having been inflated in the first place by drought killing trees 
that are now burning up in the ultimate manifestation of drought, namely fire.  
See also, Chris Blakeslee's interesting, excellent recent reports and 
predictions on woodpeckers, including Red-headed, responding to borers in the 
Hayman Burn area.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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RE: [cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows, etc.

[Scott Seltman]

 

Hi Dave & everyone,

 

There has also been an invasion of Cassin's Sparrows into central Kansas in
areas where they are seldom if ever recorded.  Right now there are numerous
singing males at Cheyenne Bottoms, Quivira NWR and, oddly enough, in the
Wichita metro area.  So while Front Range birders are seeing them NW of
their core breeding range, here in Kansas we are seeing them 50-100 miles E
of their usual summering locations.

 

I agree that it's always risky to assign cause-and-effect, but it's also
easy to imagine that many of these errant Cassin's arrived in their usual
habitats on the High Plains, realized that it hadn't rained since last fall,
and decided to just keep on going.

 

Scott Seltman

Larned, Kansas 

 

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[cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows, etc.

[Dave Leatherman]

It is always dangerous to make too much out of an odd bird report here and 
there.  But it seems to me something is definitely going on with Cassin's 
Sparrows and maybe other southern species.  Populations of birds, particularly 
grassland species, expand and contract dramatically from year to year, heavily 
influenced by habitat condition.  Lark Buntings are classic in this regard, as 
are Cassin's Sparrows.  But the current situation seems bigger.  I have 
received an email from a friend (Charles Mills) of a friend (Bill Lisowsky), 
who reports finding the 1st State Record Cassin's Sparrow in Arkansas about a 
month ago.  My friend Ken Ecton just shared a blog from Ohio about that state 
finding its 1st State Record Cassin's Sparrow.  I wonder if somebody with a 
high-limit gas credit card could drive next week to Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa, 
Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky and find 
breeding Cassin's Sparrows?  How many of these would be 1st State or at least 
1st-Breeding Records?  COBIRDS of late seems to have reports of this bird from 
"special" places almost weekly, including Joey's birds at Cherry Creek.  

Black-chinned Sparrows now may be regular in Colorado for the foreseeable 
future.  I know of two Painted Bunting reports in the Lamar area in the last 
week.  A Wood Thrush was also in Lamar in the last few days.  Summer Tanagers 
were almost in the FC ("fairly common") category this spring.  A 1st State 
Record Lesser Nighthawk was found dead at the Hereford Ranch in Cheyenne, WY 
over Memorial Day weekend.  When will WY gets its first Black Phoebe?  Lesser 
Goldfinches and Black-chinned Hummingbirds are definitely expanding eastward 
and northward, respectively, on the CO plains.  Drought, extensive fires, 
climate change?  Could be all of these.  And it could be a strange, 
keep-your-eyes-open summer in Colorado. 

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins 

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[cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows, Boulder Co.

[Christian Nunes]

Birders,
I found 3 singing CASSIN'S SPARROWS along the Lefthand Trail yesterday, 6-4-11. 
If one starts at the trailhead off Neva Rd, walk south until you get to the 
wooden foot bridge a little ways south of the reservoir, near where the houses 
end. Listen to the West. Some may remember that this is the same area where 
they were found in 2009. 
Thanks,
Christian NunesBoulder, CO
pajaro...@hotmail.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/christian_nunes/



  

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[cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows and Little Blue Heron, Boulder County

[Walter Szeliga]

Dear Cobirders,
   Nathan Pieplow and I headed out early (well 7AM) to see, and for
Nathan, to record, the singing Cassin's Sparrows near Lefthand
Reservoir.  We were not disappointed, finding at least three singing
males and seeing two other non-singing individuals.  All of the birds
were in the same location described in yesterdays posts and the birds
were audible for some distance.  Pressing our luck, we quickly headed
over to the White Rocks Trail where we were also able to relocate the
Little Blue Heron and the Least Flycatcher.  The Little Blue Heron was
along the western shore of the large lake as described in previous
posts.  By 10AM the Heron had retreated into a small cove and was only
visible from the east shore of the pond.  The Least Flycatcher was
very vocal and basically in the same tree along the eastern edge of
the lake as it was on Monday (and two years ago for that matter).  He
could be heard on the hike in from as far away as the railroad tracks.

Cheers,
Walter Szeliga
Boulder, CO

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[cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows--Boulder County

[William H Kaempfer]

Christian Nunes, Will Keeley and I found two male Cassin's Sparrows
singing on territory today south of Left Hand Valley Reservoir in
Boulder.  The birds were first found this morning by Jessie Dulberger
while doing a wildlife transect in the area-great find Jessie, thanks.

 

The birds are on Open Space property with public access, but,
unfortunately, not right next to a trailhead, in fact the area is about
1 mile east of US 36.  Interestingly this area was right in the middle
of the huge burn north of Boulder last winter, but unless you really
examine the yucca stalks, there is almost no evidence!  

 

Here are the best direction I can offer:

 

Take US 36-North Foothills Highway-north out of Boulder.  Slightly more
than one mile north of Longhorn Road (the road into Boulder Valley
Ranch) there is an agricultural track heading east from US 36.  This
track has a barbed-wire gate across it, but it is easily removed to
allow walking along the track.  It is open space and foot access is
allowed, but remember to put the gate back in place.

 

Go east on this track for about .75 miles, then bear off to the SE  for
a few hundred yards.  The birds, which were both larking, singing
regularly and then perching at the top of thistles were on either side
of the first drainage south of the track coming in from 36.  If you go
too far on that first track, it ends up at the south end of Left Hand
Valley Reservoir.  From there follow the "official" trail to the south
until you come to the first drainage coming in from the west and head
back up that drainage.

 

If you are like me, you will hear the wonderful Cassin's song (along
with meadowlarks, Vesper Sparrows, Lark Sparrows and Horned Larks)
before you see the birds.  They can be heard (depending on your ears!)
from over 100 yards away, easily.

 

Finally-USE EXTERME CAUTION AND LOOK FOR RATTLESNAKES-they are present
in the area (although we didn't see any this morning).

 

Bill Kaempfer

Boulder

 

 


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[cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows

[Sparrow Hurley]

Hi All,

I'm a graduate student at Arizona State University doing research on
Cassin's Sparrow reproduction in AZ and CO.

I'd appreciate it if anyone can let me know if they are seeing
Cassin's Sparrows skylarking and singing especially in the southeast.

Thanks!

Lori Hurley
Graduate Student
SoLS, Arizona State University

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