Williamson'sSapsucker--yet another male in Canon City

Another day, another sapsucker--I found this new male Williamson's Sapsucker in a private yard in Canon City today. It is working some pines and is perched next to some sap wells he is enlarging. I have seen these birds making these enlarged and rectangular galleries of sap wells by continuing to drill and probe into the usual smaller and round sap wells they are known to drill. This pic provides a good view of one of these sap well galleries. Interestingly this type of enlargement into rectangles is described for Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers in Birds of North America online but not in the account for Williamson's. SeEtta

Another sap-lover: Western Yellowjacket

I photographed this Western Yellowjacket yesterday in Lion's Park in little Florence, CO as it and a number of other wasps feasted on/at some of the fresh sap wells drilled by the sapsucker(s) working the pine trees here. I have read that this species of wasp does not overwinter (except the queen)so these workers are time-limited. Also read that Western Yellowjackets are responsible for 90% of the stings reported in Colorado-glad these guys were busy sipping sap. SeEtta

Williamson's Sapsuckers--two in Florence,CO

I had previously seen fresh sap wells at Lion's Park in Florence,CO but had not had the time to get out there early enough to find the sapsuckers working the pine trees in this fairly small park. Today I found a female Williamson's Sapsucker there but did not get a photo of her. However I also found this male Williamson's in a pine tree near the Florence Municipal Center building. This was such a nice view of it's back plumage I enlarged it to show how the white from the center of it's rump show through the black and white feathers going up the the back. Do double-click on this pic to enlarge it for a great view of details. SeEtta

More sap-lovers: Juniper Titmice

As if the small grove of eurasian elm trees weren't crowded enough with the 3 female and 1 male Williamson's Sapsuckers located in a dry wash just outside of Canon City, several Mountain Chickadees and these 2 Juniper Titmouse shared the sap well bounty provided by the sapsuckers. Since this area of Colorado is in a 'moderate drought' per NOAA, I imagine that these secondary beneficiaries of the sap (and whatever insects the sap attracts) are very happy that this group of sapsuckers has chosen this location to drill their sap wells. SeEtta

Williamson's Sapsuckers-feeding on elm in dry wash in p-j area

As I noted in last night's post, I saw a male and 3 female Williamson's Sapsuckers in the location just outside of Canon City where I had previously seen just 1 male and 1 female Williamson's. I got these pics of one of the male and of one of the females. It is really different to see them in these non-native and invasive eurasian elm trees but they certainly seem to enjoy feeding in/on (?) them as they continued to return to these deciduous trees after chasing each other into the pinyon-junipers that surround them. SeEtta

Raining Sapsuckers

I saw 20 sapsuckers today!!!!!

I was astounded to see all of these 18 sapsuckers in or just outside of Canon City,CO--and in only 3 hours of birding!!. I started off to check on male Williamson's Sapsuckers by first finding two of them at Rouse Park in the same areas where I have seen them previously. I headed directly to Lakeside Cemetery to see if the 2 male Williamson's I had seen there yesterday were there (if not, then they might be moving between the cemetery and Rouse Park and were not separate individuals from the 2 I saw at Rouse today). Surprise--not only did I refind the two male Williamson's in the area of Lakeside Cemetery I saw them yesterday but I found 3 more male Williamson's for a grand total of 5 males plus 3 female Williamson's--just at this one cemetery!!!!!! The top pic is one of the male Williamson's I found at Lakeside Cemetery today.

The middle (bird probing a sap well-view is from under it's chin so a little of red throat is visible) and bottom pics are of a second male Williamson's that I also saw today in a different location in Lakeside Cemetery than I have previously seen male (or female) Williamson's this year. More on today's Sapsucker Extravaganza in next post. SeEtta 

--------------------------------------------

Williamson's Sapsuckers-2 males in Lakeside Cemetery again

This is one of the two male Williamson's Sapsuckers I saws in Lakeside Cemetery in Canon City, CO today. I posted pics of 2 male Williamson's at this location in early November but I hadn't seen any males here since. I don't know if these are the same 2 males I have seen in Rouse Park which is just over a mile away or additional males. SeEtta

Williamson's Sapsucker-shy girl

This is the third female Williamson's Sapsucker I found today in Centennial Park. She was pretty shy as she peaked around the tree or put herself behind small branches that obstructed her view until I caught this view (blurred by some pine needles). It does provide an intimate view as she takes a brief break from feeding. SeEtta

Williamson's Sapsuckers-3 feeding in Centennial Park today

This morning I found 3 female Williamson's Sapsuckers in Canon City's Centennial Park today including the one in this pic. Two were feeding in pine trees less than a hundred feet apart. With the 2 other female Williamson's I saw today, there are at least 5 female Williamson's in Canon City which is a high for this species here. I have pics of one of the other females and 2 males I saw today that I will post next (I didn't get pics of the other females). SeEtta

Pacific Loon in good light

The Pacific Loon was still at Brush Hollow Reservoir and I was able to photograph it in much better light than yesterday. As these pics show, the chin strap is no longer evident--maybe what looked like a definite chin strap in yesterdays rather dark pics was actually a shadow?? So this appears to be a juvenile bird. SeEtta

More pics of Pacific Loon in winter plumage

This appears to be an adult but there is some checkering pattern on it's back. Birds of North America online states that Basic Plumage "Worn from Nov to Mar. Acquired by complete Definitive Prebasic molt, beginning in Aug–Nov or later, with most feathers replaced by winter," So I guess it is not unusual for them to retain this portion of their Atlernate plumage this close to December? SeEtta

Pacific Loon near Canon City, CO

Late this afternoon I found this Pacific Loon at Brush Hollow Reservoir about 10 mile northeast of Canon City,CO. Though Pacific Loons visit large Colorado lakes every fall and winter, it is pretty rare to see this species at this less-than-large lake that covers 200 acres when full--currently about 3/4 full so covering about 150 acres.

Unfortunately it was late afternoon and storm clouds moved in resulting in darkish photos that I had to lighten during editing--I try to keep retain the same appearance as I observed but this is difficult with birds that are black and white as is obvious in the differences apparent in these pics. More pics to follow in next post. SeEtta

Williamson's Sapsucker-2 males in Rouse Park in Canon City

I found the male in the top pic on the north side of Rouse Park in Canon City last week but didn't get any photos until a few days later on Nov 15. I have seen him working this same pine tree on 3 occasions.

The other two pics are of a second male Williamson's I also found on Nov 15 a few hundred yards from the other male. I have seen him in this same pine tree on days now but also have seen fresh saps wells in several other nearby pine trees. SeEtta

Williamson's Sapsucker-female in Centennial Park in Canon City

This female Williamson's Sapsucker has apparently been working the pine trees in Centennial Park for the past several weeks. I have seen a female in this and two other pine trees plus have seen active sap wells in several other pine trees in this park. SeEtta

Williamson's Sapsucker-female in Canon City cemetery

The Canon City, CO sapsucker-fest continues with Williamson's Sapsuckers taking the very big lead--currently at least 4 females and 2 males in various hotspots in town. I have seen this female in the same pine tree in Lakeside Cemetery on several occasions over the past several weeks.

The bottom pic catches this lady with her beak in a sap well. SeEtta

Sapsucker-fest continues in Canon City, CO--Williamson's in the lead

In addition to the single male Red-naped Sapsucker I found on the grounds of The Abbey in Canon City on November 1, there are at least 4 female Williamson's and 2 male Williamson's Sapsuckers at local hotspots. Since female Williamson's look alike, I drove from one hotspot to another finding one at each of 4 hotspots including The Abbey. Since I think it is pretty unlikely that one or more females flew immediately to the next hotspot after I drove to the next one, I believe the 4 females I saw were different individuals.

I haven't seen either of the two male Williamson's I posted on at Lakeside Cemetery on Nov 6 even though I have looked several times. However, I saw both male Williamson's in Rouse Park, one on the north side and one several hundred yards away. I drove back and forth twice between these locations to confirm that these were 2 different birds. I posted photos of the female at The Abbey below so will post photos of the other sapsuckers in next posts. There is a possibility that these are the two male Williamson's that were at Lakeside Cemetery early in Nov but since they don't have bar codes I can't tell. SeEtta

Safe perch for Great Horned Owl

I spotted this Great Horned Owl perched about 75 feet up in a large tree. As I walked beneath the tree, it became clear why it choose it's current perch--it was at least partially camouflaged by branches and leaves from any position on the ground. I took a few quick hand-held shots and moved on so I didn't flush it from it's safe perch on the grounds of The Abbey in Canon City,CO. SeEetta

More Common Raven and rabbit dinner

In the top two pics this Common Raven, who is being harassed by the second raven in hopes it will drop it's rabbit, jumps up (with rabbit safely in it's beak)then lands again to feed a little more--and providing nice views of the underside of it's wings and tail.

The distinctive 'very shaggy throat' noted in The Sibley Guide to Birds is clearly visible in the bottom pic and I have enlarged it for a better view of these plumage details. Also note th4e big chunk of rabbit it has in it's mouth. SeEtta

Raven, raven

This is one of two Common Ravens I enjoyed watching this week in Canon City, CO. In the top pic the raven has a beak full of rabbit, with the rest of the bounty secured by it's feet.

In the bottom pic the nictitating membrane is covering the bird's eye, giving it a strange appearance.   Double-click on these pics for very close-up views.  SeEtta

Brown on brown

Another cool little Brown Creeper blending in with dark bark this time. SeEtta

I found this male Downy Woodpecker working hard on one tree after another on the grounds of The Abbey in Canon City,CO.

The bottom pic shows the Downy with it's nictitating membrane over it's eye, a protection it uses just a millisecond before it's beak rams against the tree. SeEtta

Blending in

Look closely--even though the bark on this tree is mostly white, this Brown Creeper still blends in. SeEtta

Big buck

While I was watching the two male Williamson's Sapsuckers chase each other around the Lakeside Cemetery in Canon City, CO, I got another surprise when the very big buck in these pics showed up. Though Lakeside Cemetery is on the edge of Canon City, it is bordered on the north side by H115 which is busy all day. I suspect he ran across traffic as he was already in a panic to get out of town when I first spotted him. It is not only unusual to see such a large buck with this big rack here but he is a Mule Deer and I usually see White-tailed Deer in town.

In the bottom pic he is getting ready to jump the 6 foot fence that can be seen behind him and he made this big jump successfully. SeEtta

Williamson's Sapsucker-bright yellow belly

This is one of the male Williamson's Sapsuckers I found in Lakeside Cemetery today. I just love how yellow the bellies are on this species. SeEtta

More Williamson's Sapsuckers--two males in Canon City,CO

I had spotted a female Williamson's Sapsucker at Lakeside Cemetery in Canon City, CO last week. This is another location where sapsuckers have wintered in most years. However, I wasn't sure if this female might be the same one that I had found at Centennial Park, which is about a mile from this location (at least as the crow/sapsucker flies) as I have found in previous years that sapsuckers work in areas this far apart. I spotted a sapsucker flying but quickly realized it was a male Williamson's. Soon after I was very surprised to find that there were two male Williamson's Sapsuckers not only working the pine trees in this cemetery but seeming to chase each other from tree to tree then feed only a few feet apart without apparent antagonism--that seems most unusual.

To see if one of these males might be the male Williamson I have been following just outside of Canon City and only a few miles from this cemetery I drove immediately to where it has been working in a small group of elm trees--it was there so it seems most likely that these are two additional male Williamson's Sapsuckers. SeEtta

Some latish migrating Dowitchers

I also found this small flock of Dowitchers feeding in an irrigation pond in Pueblo County yesterday. I believe these are most likely Long-billed Dowitchers but they didn't give any calls, the best way to separate them from Short-billed Dowitchers. Plus they were quite distant and the light dwindling as it was almost dusk so I was not able to make out the field marks necessary for an accurate identification. It is getting a little late for even Long-billed Dowitchers to be migrating through Colorado and some/all of these may be juveniles.

In a larger nearby pond were 4-5 Snow Geese and lots of common waterfowl but they were even further away so photos were not good. SeEtta