American Pipits also stop over at Turk's Pond (Colo)

I also found 2-3 American Pipits including this pipit at Turk's Pond today. Since American Pipits breed in very high elevation areas of Colorado, they may have had a short trip to this location if far southeast Colorado though they could have migrated from the high arctic like the Pectoral Sandpipers that fed near to them. SeEtta

Perky Pectoral Sandpipers at Turk's Pond (in Colo)

Today I birded in Baca County in extreme southeast Colorado. Though there were slim pickings at Two Buttes 'black hole' (which had some water in main pond area tho other ponds dry), little Turk's Pond had some interesting birds including these two Pectoral Sandpipers. It seems amazing that these long-distance migrators found this small lake in the middle of short grass prairie on their trip from their arctic breeding grounds to South America where they spend the winter. They are fortunate to find this pond, which has a reasonable amount of water for fall, since due to the severe drought conditions in southeast Colorado all summer there are few ponds/lakes with any water in them.

I really liked the view of the Pectoral Sandpiper in the bottom pic as it shows good detail. Just a note: it was windy and gusty so I am pleased I got these pics as I was handholding my digital camera with a 400 mm lens on it. SeEtta

Migrating hawks feeding in hay fields

The Swainson's Hawk in the top pic has the usual brownish bib. It is standing in the same field as the hawks in next two pics which show the hawks using hay bales for perches. These recently cut hay fields provide serve as essentially 'fast food restaurants' for migrating hawks since many larger insects (and possibly mice or gophers) have been chopped up by the cutting blades so are pre-processed for consumption by hawks. There are usually many others live insects including grasshoppers that the hawks will chase down by walking or even running after then pouncing on them--this is most amusing to see. Though I haven't seen any this time, hawks will follow farm implements in fields in order to catch rodents trying to escape.

Currently three are hundreds of butterflies--yellows and some whites-in all the alfalfa fields. They seem fairly small for a Swainson's Hawk to eat but Birds of North America online does state that at least in winter they consume butterflies so maybe they eat these too? SeEtta

Swainson's Hawk

This handsome bird is one of the hundreds of Swainson's Hawks that are in agricultural fields, on power poles (and hay bales) and circling above on thermals throughout eastern Colorado right now. There are Swainson's Hawks in every plumage due to age, sex and morph. This Swainson's has an unusually gray bib. SeEtta

Hawk migration in eastern Colorado

Fall hawk migration is a pretty spectacular event in eastern Colorado. Large numbers of hawks stop-over in fields to feed on insects, often large numbers of grasshoppers. Though I've seen groups of hawks in native grassland as well as agricultural fields, this year they have all been in ag fields likely due to the severe drought conditions that has plagued southeast Colorado all summer (though there have finally been some recent rains have mitigated drought ratings). In the top pic only one hawk remains in the field as others have taken off and are flying in the background (all those little black dots are flying hawks).

The bottom pic shows a larger number of hawks that are in a 'kettle'--that is a group of hawks that are circling as they rise on a thermal. Again, all those black dots are hawks SeEtta

More Scissor-tailed Flycatcher pics

Though these pics are less than sharp, as the bird is flying they show more field marks. The top two pics provide good top and bottom view of this bird. Though fairly blurry, the bottom pic shows the colors just as the camera took them. I have tweaked the other photos to improve the lighting and view but I left this totally as it. SeEtta

Salida white hummer: still around

I found out this past week that the probable albino hummingbird that had visited a feeder near Salida, CO was still around and coming to a neighbor's feeder. (Let me add a thank you to Susan Tweit of Salida for sending me a tip about this bird). The feeder owner, Helen Brieske, was most generous in her invitation to sit on her deck to wait near the feeder. I was delighted that the bird came in to feed several times and also perched in a nearby pine tree for several minutes at a time so I was able to get photos that could be cropped to show it pretty close-up.

The white feathering was truly dazzling. The dark that is seen through the white feathers appears to be the skin which is darkened by the flood of blood vessels beneath. These photos show that the bill is very pink, just as was shown in the original photos I posted, though almost translucent as shown in the photo on the right. In these photos the legs are visible as well as the feet, both of which are whitish to pinkish in coloration. That would be from the blood flowing through the veins as I understand it. When I enlarge the photos as far as possible the toenails also appear pinkish. The eye, however, does not appear to have red or pink in it so what I saw in the very enlarged original photos was likely the reflection from the red feeder.

There appears to be some disagreement on exactly what is a albino and what is a leucistic hummingbird. I summarized the designations defined by Cornell University on my first post about this bird on the Birds and Blooms blog. Using this research this hummer would meet the criteria for an incomplete (or partial) albino as it has white feathers and the pigment missing in bill, legs and feet but it has a dark eye. However, I am told that identification can only be confirmed with a hummingbird in hand so this will remain a probable partial albino. SeEtta

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher: shows orangish axillary patch

In the top pic the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher has just caught an insect which it is beginning to devour. In both of these pics an organgish colored axillary patch is visible (I believe that is what is showing towards the top of the wing bend in the top pic and clearly visible inside the opened wing). This is a characteristic that Birds of North America online indicates is absent in juveniles. Adult males have "bright scarlet red" patches and very long tail feathers. As this bird has shorter tail feathers and the organish axillary patch, I suspect it is an adult or sub-adult female. SeEtta

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher: casting a pellet

I was quite surprised to see what looked like this Scissor-tailed Flycatcher casting out a pellet, a behavior I had no idea that this or any flycatcher species engaged in but I kept shooting as fast as possible to document it. And Birds of North America online confirms it: "Occasionally casts brownish black pellets composed primarily of chitinous insect exoskeletons" (Jonathan V. Regosin)

This series of 4 pics were taken within 1 minute (per camera time/date stamp). In the top pic the bird is beginning the process of casting the pellet which is barely visible when photos is enlarged. In the next pic the pellet is visible in the bird's mouth.

In the third pic the pellet is difficult to see but towards the front of the bird's mouth just as it begins to be cast out. And in the final pic the pellet is out and shown at the bottom of the pic. Interestingly the bird appears to watch it fall from it's mouth. SeEtta

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher-a pretty vagrant here in Colorado

This afternoon I found this pretty Scissor-tailed Flycatcher near Holbrook Reservoir in Otero County, Colorado. Scissor-tailed Flycatchers are rare vagrants to Colorado. In the bottom pic the bird has it's foot up to scratch it's head (best seen by clicking on pic to enlarge it for close-up view). More pics to follow. SeEtta

White-throated Swifts making a feeding stop above Arkansas River in CO

The day after I enjoyed that wonderful mixed flock of birds in Florence River Park I returned to see if any had extended their stay. Only a few remained at this location. However, a very nice flock of around a half dozen migrating White-throated Swifts had made this location a feeding stop.

They sometimes flew quite close to the Arkansas River as they picked off the apparent abundance of insects on which they feed. Boy oh boy, do they move fast! Trying to get a reasonable photo was a real challenge. While not great (terrible back lighting so virtually no features) I think these photos show some interesting views of these highly skilled flyers.

The top pic shows their slender wings and tail, the latter pulled in and appearing quite pointed.  In the middle pic the swift has it's wings tucked in for very fast flight (not that they were flying slow otherwise).  And I think the bottom pic looks more like an airplane that a bird.  If you look closely there is a little of the the white sides of it's it's rump (just behind wings towards the top) showing--the white throat, belly and secondary tips didn't come through.

These swifts stayed over, possibly grounded by the rainy weather last week, and I saw them several days more. SeEtta

Townsend's, another fall warbler

There was at least one Townsend's Warbler in the mixed flock with the Am Redstart and 'Western' Flycatcher in Florence River Park including this bird. Like the American Redstart it was flitting about foraging as warblers tend to do. SeEtta

'Western' Flycatcher-another good pic

This is just another pic of the 'Western' Flycatcher that is high enough quality that it can be enlarged by clicking on it for super close-up views. It is quite a handsome bird. SeEtta

"Western' Flycather in Florence River Park

This is the 'Western' Flycatcher I found in Florence River Park last week foraging in the mixed flock with the American Redstart I posted about below. The Western complext of flycatchers is the designation for both the Pacific-slope and the Cordilleran since they are so similar in appearance they cannot be safely separated in the field as noted in updated field guides. In the top pic the overall brownish mixed with olive coloration with darker breast band is prominent as is the distinctive eye ring that is extended to the rear of the eye.

Though the bottom pic is not of the same high quality as the top it does show other field marks including a long tail and narrowish tail, the suggestion of a short primary projection and two whitish wing bars. Do click on each bird for more close-up views. Naturally the bird did not call. SeEtta

American Redstart, a rare visitor in Fremont Co,CO

I found this first year female American Redstart in a mixed flock last week in Florence River Park. American Redstarts are rare in Fremont County and I think fairly rare in most of Colorado. I was fortunate to get these two reasonable good pics of this fairly shy bird that was very actively feeding. The mixed flock with which it was associating included at least one each Townsend's and Yellow-rumped Warbler, two empids including one 'Western' Flycatcher, lots of Wilson's Warblers, a Plumbeous Vireo, a fem/imm grosbeak species, and 2-3 Eastern/Black/hybrid phoebes. A Downy Woodpecker joined the flock for a while as did a Red-breasted Nuthatch plus a very large flock of Cedar Waxwings fed nearby providing a lot of background noise. SeEtta

Another prob Colo albino hummingbird (Phantom Canyon Ranch)

Photo ©Carolina Kyvik Ruiz This little beauty was seen from Sept 2 through 6 on the Phantom Canyon Ranch, NW of Livermore, CO. The top photo,courtesy of Carolina Kyvik Ruiz, clearly shows a red eye and white plumage plus when further enlarged the feet appear to be whitish. (Click on pic to enlarge it for better viewing)

The bottom pic courtesy of Robin Mitchell shows a pinkish bill. All of these characteristics are those found in albino hummingbirds as I note in my post below about a probable albino hummingbird in the Salida area. Since I have been told that the Salida area probable albino may have returned on several days after it was first seen, this may be a second hummingbird seen in Colorado in the past several weeks that appears to meet the criteria for albino. Thanks to Douglas Murray for providing the opportunity to share this white beauty here. There is a photo of a white hummer found in New Jersey with a link to a video of it on this Bird and Blooms magazine blog site. SeEtta

Ted Eubanks takes on birders

I found this in a recent publicly viewable blog by Ted Eubanks for the American Birding Association (his blog is quite lengthy as is some repartee that a very conservative ABA member enters into with Ted, all readable at the link).  Ted always has a way with words and well-honed ability to get under peoples' skin:

"Bird conservation is fundamentally about politics, and politics is fundamentally about body count. Yet birding is cursed by being a closed community, a clique where members are more interested in impressing each other than in explaining the wonders of birds to the world outside. How else can you explain big years, big days, life lists, tics, twitches, the minute differences between the Empidonax flycatchers, and the like?

. . .  But to protect birds and birding from these recent Teaper assaults, birders and birding will have no choice but to engage the public. I have seen little evidence of a willingness to do this in the past. I see little reason to be confident of a change in the future."

Prob hybrid dark ibis in Colo

Since the small flock of Plegadis ibis were moving around as they were feeding in the flooded agricultural field, I cannot say if these are from different or from the same bird. In the lower pic there is an additional Glossy Ibis field mark showing that does not show in other pics. In his book Advanced Birding Kaufman states, " the shape of the pale border on Glossy Ibis is quite consistent. The upper border widens between the eye and the bill . . . ." (p.40) Kaufman also notes that Glossy Ibis "retain at least a hint of this pale edging all year" and each of these pics in this post and in the previous post show pale edging which looks slightly bluish to me. There are other field marks such as very small size difference and leg color that seem less reliable for separating these two species in winter. (click on each pic to further enlarge) I looked on the internet for pics of White-faced Ibis in Basic plumage and this webpage (JohnAvise, CA) can be enlarged nicely to show the difference to my pics. SeEtta (Note: to reduce issues for id, only editing was cropping to enlarge ibis pics , no color corrections or lighting changes,etc--just hard daylight at 1:30 pm on sunny day)

Post note: H. David Pratt has reviewed photos and says he believes it is probably a hybrid GlossyXWhite-facied. Dr. Pratt, who is the Research Curator of Birds at North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and who has who provided species accounts of both of these in the The Audubon Society master guide to birding, is a respected contributor to Bird Id Frontiers. In his email to me Dr Pratt said he was traveling and would send me his detailed analysis when he returns home next week. I will ask his permission to share his remarks.

Probable Glossy Ibis near Florence,CO-now prob hybrid GlossyXWhite-facedIbis

Having just read a big discussion about identifying Glossy Ibis in non-breeding plumage (actually the facial skin is the issue most discussed) as the field marks are substantially less obvious in field after breeding season. Both of these pics are of the same bird, top just further enlarging it to show more detail. I photographed this along with several other Plegadis ibis in a flooded field near Florence, CO earlier this week. As can be seen in both pics this bird has a dark brown iris which though a field mark for Glossy Ibis is also seen in juvenile White-faced Ibis. (Birds of North AmericaBNA online states, "immature White-faced until at least first winter has gray-brown iris") However, this bird appears to be an adult in Basic plumage per BNA and article on Plegadis ibis published in Sora by Patten and Lasley which states, "It is straightforward to distinguish between a Plegadiis in Juvenal plumage and one in basic plumage. A. uniform muddy-brown head and neck lacking white streaking and the dull brown underparts characterize Juvena plumage(Kaufman1990). Juveniles exibit a variable amount of white splotching on the throat. . . ." Also apparent in both pics is that this bird has pale bluish/grayish facial skin which is consistent with Glossy Ibis in winter per BNA which further clarifies winter plumage identification as follows: "Facial skin on White-faced Ibis becomes dull grayish-pink during nonbreeding season. Pale blue-gray skin bordering facial skin o

n Glossy Ibis may be confused with white feathering of White-faced, but note blue-gray lines of Glossy do not extend behind eye." (found in 'Distinguishing Characteristics section). More pics and discussion coming in next post. SeEtta (Note: to reduce issues for id, only editing was cropping to enlarge ibis pics , no color corrections or lighting changes,etc--just hard daylight at 1:30 pm on sunny day) Post note: H. Douglas Pratt has reviewed photos and says he believes it is probably a hybrid GlossyXWhite-facied. Dr. Pratt, who is the Research Curator of Birds at North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and who has who provided species accounts of both of these in the The Audubon Society master guide to birding, is a respected contributor to Bird Id Frontiers. In his email to me Dr Pratt said he was traveling and would send me his detailed analysis when he returns home next week. I will ask his permission to share his remarks.

Burrowing Owl: does it have ear tuft?

I took these pics just a few days ago of a Burrowing Owl in a prairie dog town in some nice short grass prairie in Crowley County, Colorado. I didn't notice until I uploaded these pics that it appears to have 'ear tufts,'(not part of ear structure but tufts of feathers) a characteristic this species of owl is not supposed to have. I have checked "North American Owls: Biology and Natural History" (2nd Ed) by the well respected ornithologist Johnsgard and it said this species is without ear tufts. I also checked a number of online sites including Cornell's 'All About Birds' and they all noted that Burrowing Owls do not have ear tufts. That is with the exception of a 1981 article "Adaptive Significance of Ear Tufts in Owls which listed Burrowing Owl as one of the species with ear tufts. Now one could maybe disregard this rather old single study except that it was published in the prestigious ornithological journal Condor.

Be sure to click on each photo to enlarge further then click again for super enlarge to view 'ear tufts' up close. Note: 'ear tuft on right side of owl's head is set further back than the one on the left side. So is this bird an anomaly? Are these not true ear tufts? Could an article that made it into Condor be in error about Burrowing Owls having ear tufts????? SeEtta
 9-11-11 Post Note:  It was suggested by Christian Nunes that these feathers on top of this bird's head are not real ear tufts but just feathers that are amiss.

Standoff-"It's my doggie" or Red-tailed Hawk vs magpies and vulture

I spotted this strange assortment of birds in a prairie-dog town in Otero County. The Red-tailed Hawk had nailed a prairie-dog and was clutching it in it's foot while Black-billed Magpies and a Turkey Vulture brazenly crowded the pressured hawk. When the hawk flew a short distance it was followed by the magpies and another vulture that had been circling. Given the terrible drought that has plagued this area all summer it would seem that scavengers like these magpies and vultures are emboldened. SeEtta

Migrating sandpipers: sewage ponds

Yesterday we had the first truly cool day, only in the 70's, in more than 2 months so I drove down to the lower Arkansas Valley (which has been in upper 90's to 100+) to look for migrating birds.  I stopped at Fowler Sewage Ponds where I found the best assortment and number of migrating shorebirds this trip--there is nothing like sewer ponds for shorebird action. 

I was delighted to find several, at least 3 or 4 Solitary Sandpipers in various sections of these sewage ponds including the one in the top pic. The bottom pic shows one of the Semipalmated Sandpipers--CORRECTION: this is a juvenile Least Sandpiper (thanks to Christian Nunes for catching this). Also there were Western and Baird's Sandpipers, a few Greater Yellowlegs, dozens of Killdeer and some Wilson's Phalarope. SeEtta