Young Gray Catbird fledgling

I have had Gray Catbirds visit my yard for past 8 or so years since a pair nested in an overgrown shrub (laced with invading vine) right under my dining room window. I like to think it is either the same pair of birds or their offspring who visit and often engage in counter-singing with me (yes, the catbird would sing, pause and I would whistle their song, the catbird would sing again, alternating sometimes for several minutes). I cleaned up that shrub so they don't nest in my yard anymore but appear to nest somewhere close in my neighborhood as one and sometimes two adult catbirds pay frequent visits in the spring. They also usually bring their offspring to meet me--well, that's what I would like to think but I realize they like all the fruit bearing plants and trees plus nice thick vegetation to hide them in.

Several days ago I heard what sounded like fledgling calls coming from a shrub in my next door neighbors front yard. After carefully approaching I spotted an adult catbird bringing food to an apparent but hidden fledgling (I got a little video but haven't had time to upload and edit it yet). Then day before yesterday I heard the fledgling calling again, this time from one of my purple ash trees in my front yard. It took some time to find it as it was 15-20 feet up on a branch that partially obscured it and here are pics of that young fledgling (see how short it's tail is). In the top pic it's creamy colored gape flanges are quite obvious. It's "dark pinkish buff" (as noted in Birds of North America BNA online) can be seen in both pics. The feathers on it's underparts look quite gray to me and likely mostly still natal down (though BNA says "Juvenal feathers loosely textured."--so maybe this is not down??). However, the undertail coverts stand out as they are colored "buffy to pale rufous" (again per BNA). A few very odd looking feather tracts come up from it's head like a spike hairdo (have to enlarge by clicking on pic then clicking again on it to see this).

For the past two days at least one fledgling catbird has been in my backyard and the adult was feeding it some partially ripened crabapples from my trees but I couldn't spot the fledgling. SeEtta

Another Salida Swainson's Hawk

I found this adult intermediate morph Swainson's a short distance west of Salida. The third Swainson's I saw that day was more distant so pic not that great--it was another subadult light morph. SeEtta

First of 3 Swainson Hawks in Salida, CO area

I was surprised to find 3 Swainson Hawks just outside Salida a few days ago and this young bird was the first one I found. This area has a history of Swainson Hawks but this seems quite unusual. Since the San Luis Valley which is just over Poncha Pass from Salida is in an 'extreme drought' it is possible that Swainson's that usually use that area have moved up (elevation is around 7,000 feet above sea level here) to where the streams and irrigation ditches are full of water for the hay fields and meadows.

The strong breeze was helpful in separating feathers on this bird. I stayed in my car and used it as a 'blind' to get these pics with my long telephoto set-up (approx 900 mm equivalent). SeEtta

Help western hummingbirds migrate through fire ravaged Arizona

The extensive wildfire burns in Arizona are creating concern by experts (ie, Southeastern Bird Observatory/Sheri Williamson) for hummingbirds migrating through there as there are fewer flowers for them and it has been suggested that birders in Colorado and other states along their migration routes help by supplying hummingbirds with more food to fatten them up.  I have extracted the following from an online ornithology forum:

• "The fires are out now, thanks to the arrival of the late-summer monsoons. But over large areas, burned forests now offer much less understory and fewer hummingbird flowers. In what looks like a direct result of missing natural food sources, hummingbirds are being seen in unusually high numbers around towns, according to Sheri Williamson, director of the Southeastern Arizona Bird Observatory (SABO) in Bisbee, Arizona.
• Williamson said she’s not worried about the long-term prospects of the hummingbirds—the forest and its understory will recover. “But we are coming into peak hummingbird migration season in the next few weeks,” she said. “I’ve got a yard full of Rufous Hummingbirds right now and it’s only going to get worse.” She noted that she has seven hummingbird feeders in her yard—about three times the number she usually has this time of year.
• Williamson has a few suggestions for people who want to help ease the burden on hummingbirds:
• Locals who don’t presently feed hummingbirds can start feeding them, and people who already do can add feeders for the next few months
• Coloradoans, Utahans, and others who live farther north along migration routes could try supplying more hummingbird food than usual. “Feed those birds well so they’re nice and fat when they take off,” Williamson said, “Maybe that’ll give them a little bit of a cushion.”
• [noting that fire will bring better habitat in the long run Williamson said,] "Things are going to eventually be much better for hummingbirds than they have been. But for a while—weeks, months, maybe a couple of years—things are going to be hard.”

So let's all put out some sugar water for those hummingbirds here in Colorado and help fatten them up.  Please post to your interested groups.

You can also help by sponsoring a Kaytee kit giveaway by purchasing the package, for a reduced price, via Amazon. Check Kaytee’s Arizona Hummingbird Disaster Relief site for details. Thanks.  SeEtta

Lewis'sWoodpecker: nice tail views

Just two last pics of this Lewis's Woodpecker bringing food to nestlings that give nice views of the tail. Woodpeckers have very stiff tail feathers that they use to help anchor them to provide stability when engaged in drilling. "The bending stiffness of woodpecker tail feathers is especially high. . . It is this feature that makes them good for bracing the woodpecker against the forces of pecking." (page 9) SeEtta

Lewis'sWoodpecker: is this food white bread?

A former entomologist with the Colorado State Forest Service emailed me that this food item is not an insect or larvae. He said he thinks it is bread. Since the nest is about a quarter mile from two homes plus farm workers in nearby fields may drop white bread, it would certainly be feasible for this Lewis's Woodpecker to opportunistically appropriate some bread thinking it would be easy-food for the nestlings (though likely not a source of much nutrition for them). In the pics showing this food, it certainly has a strange consistency. For much closer views of this food just click on each pic then click on them again. SeEtta

Lewis'sWoodpecker: nestling sneaking a peak

In the top pic the nestling has reached it's bill up to receive food (white stuff) from the parent Lewis's Woodpecker (it's bill is just to the right of the arrow). The bottom pic shows a nestling sneaking a peak between visits by the parent to the nest hole with food. This is first time I have ever seen a nestling Lewis's Woodpecker so I was very excited when I saw this pic in my camera's lcd viewer. The nestling has a hint of the strawberry coloration on it's lower face plus the gray/silver coloration on the neck area that is so distinctive of adult birds. The hatchlings fledged had fledged when I returned 2 days later. SeEtt

Lewis'sWoodpecker: feeding nestlings

The Lewis's Woodpecker is in the process of feeding nestlings inside the nest hole in both of these pics. In the bottom pic it had turned it's back to me so this is a tail-end view of the bird as it inserted it's head into the nest hole. SeEtta

Lewis'sWoodpecker: bringing food to nestlings

This is a parent Lewis's Woodpecker at the nest hole I found recently. In the top and middle pics this bird has some very good size white-colored food it has brought to the nest tree. I believe it is some kind of insect, or extra large larvae, as I could discern what looked like a couple of legs sticking out from it--I would love to find out if anyone could identify it. (this can be viewed close-up by clicking on each pic then clicking again on enlarge pic)

After it flew to the next to the nest hole with the large food item, this woodpecker deposited it in crevice in the tree bark then proceeded to pound on it with it's bill. The bottom pic is when the bird rested during this process and it shows some of the food attached to it's bill--I suppose it was killing it then maybe breaking it into smaller pieces as it proceeded to take small pieces to the nestlings. More to come. SeEtta

Unusual tanager today/post note: others don't think so

Post note: I received messages from two experienced birders who said they believed this bird had either worn off one wing bar or was young and had not acquired it yet.

I saw this apparent female Western Tanager this morning on the Canon City Riverwalk, but something didn't seem right so I took these pics. The first thing that struck me was that this bird had only 1 wing bar instead of the two that are considered field marks for separating female Westerns from other female tanagers. The pics seem to show a yellowish wing bar and it is in the location of the greater coverts. The yellowish wing bar that would be expected to be formed by the tips of the median coverts is not present (photos show some spots of daylight that were filtering through the branches).
The other thing that really struck me as different was the larger size of this bird's bill. In the photos it also shows that most of the lower mandible is quite dark (should be more greenish yellow per Birds of North America-BNA online as shown in this bird-in-hand pic) though the cutting edge does appear to be greenish-yellow as is expected on Western females (BNA).

Unfortunately these pics of the bird do not provide views of other parts that might show other field marks. As there have been records of hybrid tanagers, it causes me to wonder if this bird might be a hybrid??? SeEtta

Hybrid BlackXEastern Phoebe: a second juvenile

While watching for the Black, Eastern and hybrid offspring Phoebes I have been following in Canon City,CO I spotted a second hybrid juvenile. It was easy to tell that this was another juvenile as it's appearance is substantially different from the first hybrid juvenile. The top and middle pics are of the second hybrid juvenile while the third is one of the pics I took of the first hybrid juvenile I found a week ago.

This second hybrid juvenile looks mostly like an Eastern Phoebe with a whitish throat contrasting with dark head, smudgy sides (though there seems to be some rather black portions and smudgy areas 'leak' across breast (similar to Black Phoebe but not completely dark across breast and Eastern Phoebes in juvenal plumage often have this). The tips of the rectrices are quite sharp, a characteristic of juvenal plumage for Black Phoebes and possibly for Eastern also (Birds of North America online not very clear on Eastern. It lacks both in the photos, and in my observation through my spotting scope, yellow wash on belly and underparts that is prominent in juvenal plumage for Eastern Phoebes. Other plumage characteristics not seen in photos or when I watched the bird in my spotting scope. Though this bird is clearly different in appearance than the first hybrid, it is in my opinion intermediate in plumage between Black and Eastern Phoebes. SeEtta

Western Screech-Owl: still pics of one of the the juveniles in owl family

This is one of the juveniles in the family of Western Screech Owls I have been following these past few weeks. I found this one at 8:30 pm which is right just a little after sunset so can get pic without flash. Took bottom pic around the same time as too pic but taken at only 1/30th of a second rather than 1/50th as on last pic so get more features but a little blurry--and both handheld so difficult not to have blur at that slow speed (usually take photos, with good light, at 1/400th to 1/800th of a second). These young owls are becoming skilled flyers, at least for short distances, and darn good hunters. SeEtta

Colorful moon

I got the top pic of the full moon as it was close to the horizon--I did not edit color, this is what it looked like (and I have no idea why). Just 20 minutes later as seen in bottom pic the moon, both taken from Canon City, CO area, had lost it's color (??) but still interesting with clouds moving in front of it. SeEtta

Burrowing Owl Family-pt I

I found this family of Burrowing Owls and at least one more family east of Canon City, CO on some of the remaining short grass prairie in this area. In this clip of a Burrowing Owl family, one young owl and a parent stand near their burrow as a younger owl emerges. SeEtta

Western Screech Owl juvenile eating the prey it just hunted

This is the continuation of the video I took of one of the Western Screech Owl juveniles hunting. It flew into this tree then showed it had been successful in it's hunting as it gobbles down something it had just hunted. This species, and especially young juveniles like this bird, often hunt insects but this looks like quite a beak-ful so maybe a baby mouse? After eating it wiggles it's body around as though in celebration of it's successful hunt. Then it wipes it's beak off on the tree branch. SeEtta

Western Screech Owl juvenile: hunting

One of the Western Screech Owl juveniles in the family of owls I have been following practices it's hunting skills. It flies down to the ground less than 20 feet from where I standing, then pounces on some unseen object a few feet away, then flies off to a nearby tree. It was successful as in a subsequent video clip it is shown eating something it has in it's claws. SeEtta

Hybrid BlackXEastern Phoebe juvenile

I have continued watching the area near where the male Black Phoebe and probable female Eastern Phoebe nested as I did catch a few glimpses of at least one fledgling. I finally got a good view of the phoebe in these pics a few days ago but had hoped I would get some clearer photos to post so held off. These pics are digiscoped (hand held camera to scope) at distance of about 75 feet. Since I took these pics I have only seen glimpses of a possible offspring of this mixed phoebe pair.

This bird demonstrates an intermediate plumage with features of both Black and Eastern Phoebe. The juvenile phoebe in these pics shows the white belly with inverted 'V' of white feathers extending up into breast while the rest of the breast, the wings, tail and back are blackish as is found on Black Phoebes (though in young birds the black coloration is usually very black not the more charcoal-like coloration on this bird). Then this phoebe shows a whitish throat as is found on Eastern Phoebes (while Black Phoebes have black throats).

I observed this young apparent hybrid BlackXEastern Phoebe sallying after insects, appearing to now be independent of it's parents (timing would be appropriate for Black but too soon for Eastern per Birds of North America online. SeEtta

Black bear mamma with 3 cubs: grabbing a bite as follow mom

This is another video clip of the Canon City,CO bear family. In it the momma bear continues leading her triplet cubs down the Canon City, CO Riverwalk trail (this is easier for not only adult bears but especially cubs to walk on just as trails are for people). As they walk by some overhanging limbs that apparently have something good to eat, first one then the second and finally the third cub grab a bite as they continue after their momma (like a drive-in for bears). SeEtta

"How People Get Bears into Trouble
Trash left around homes and campsites. This includes trashset out the night before trash pickup.
Feeding pets outdoors.
Hummingbird feeders filled with sweet-smelling/tasting liquid.
Suet/peanut butter/ bacon grease feeders for birds and squirrels.
Greasy barbecue grills left outside."

Black Phoebe perched by river

This is the apparent male Black Phoebe that has been paired most recently with a probable female Eastern Phoebe. They nested in a culvert across the Arkansas River from the Canon City, CO Riverwalk and are currently feeding at least one offspring that is apparently a BlackXEastern Phoebe hybrid fledgling. This Black Phoebe is, like most the Black Phoebe males I have observed, an excellent mate and father. He stayed brought food to the probable Eastern Phoebe female when she was on the nest then stood guard nearby. He has also provided food to the offspring in the nest and since it/they fledged plus tends to stay close by, chasing off other birds who come too close. Here he has flown across the river to feed and now takes a break by the river as he surveys the area. Did you see it catch some small insect and gobble it down at the beginning of this clip? SeEtta

Black bear with cubs: walking on down the trail

The black bear momma and her cubs come out from the forested area where they were feeding and continue on down the Riverwalk trail (after they disappeared behind the trees, I retreated a ways back on the trail just in case she decided to return back down the trail the way they-and I-had come and to make sure I didn't crowd them). The cubs investigate and play a little as they follow mamma, stopping to smell the roses (or more likely some berries), then running to catch up. The cubs sure look awful bow-legged, more so than momma. BTW, they are now at a safer distance so I am not moving away from (and knocking into) the camcorder to check on them with my binoculars so the video doesn't jump as in previous clips (can't really see as well through viewfinder and when she was close I kept monitoring her frequently). SeEtta

Black bear momma with 3 cubs: chow time

This is a video of a black bear with 3 young cubs that I shot at the Canon City, Co Riverwalk yesterday (this is the second clip, I am having problems editing clip I so it will go up later). The black bear momma stops for some food--and it's bear food not human food-yeah (sadly many who live near this natural area leave out garbage or worse yet bird feeders plus management of Riverwalk refuse to purchase bear-resistant trash containers--shame on them all). She is shown doing some digging, maybe for some roots or grubs. The cub next to her looks like it is tasting the tall grasses in this forested area of the Canon City,CO Riverwalk. When momma decides it's time to leave, the cubs begin to follow and one looks in the light to be a cinnamon colored cub. The end of this clip is pretty cute as each cub follows, and the last one runs to catch up. BTW-the bears are about 150 feet away (which was closer than I had intended) but close shots from 40X zoom. SeEtta

Western Screech Owl: very visible in this short video clip

I took this video clip tonight of what looked to be an adult Western Screech Owl. It is perched about 30 feet overhead which makes it stand out clearly. Again, the soft intra-familiar call can be heard. It was very windy and I would have enjoyed watching the family tonight as this kept the terrible mosquito infestation down but I only saw this owl and none of the others. SeEtta

Western Screech Owl fledgling: video clip

I brought local birder Jan Swarm out with me last night to see if I could again refind the family of recently fledged Western Screech Owls. I was successful (have found every night but didn't get home from out of town in time to look Thurs night) and we were delighted to see them beginning at 8:45 pm when there was a little light to see them well. But I was surprised when we found 5 owls as I previously had seen only 2 fledglings and an adult. They gave us quite a show as they flew back and forth from tree to tree nearby before flying further away--then we found them again when we went back to our cars as they were in the trees adjacent to where we parked. Though this is a little dark (they really don't like my spot light and I don't like using it on them) but the fledgling is right in the middle of the screen. It emits the soft calls that I have previously heard used by this species when they have young, a gentle intra-family calling. SeEtta