As I drove down a gravel road a few miles south of Canon City this morning, I heard some chirping coming from a dry gulch near the road. I stopped and was delighted to see 4-5 Black-throated Sparrows in a small deciduous tree. At least one was an adult and several were in juvenal plumage with a streaky breast but with a bold white supercilium as shown by the two different birds in these pics (while pics not the best, they will enlarge to show very close-up views--just double-click on each pic).
Birds of North America online notes that Black-throated Sparrow adults " feed young for at least 2 wk after nest departure." So I think there is a very good possibility that this is a new Fremont County breeding location for this species. This is a very nice find as there have only been a few locations in southeast Colorado where this species has been documented breeding and most have been quite far south. I will try in the next day or so to refind them in hopes of obtaining more evidence that this is a family group that has bred nearby. SeEtta c
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