Pretty Ferruginous Hawk

I found this light morph Ferruginous Hawk in Pueblo County. This species is listed as 'Special Concern' in Colorado so I always enjoy seeing one of them. SeEtta

Lone Sandhill Crane in Canon City

This morning I spotted this single Sandhill Crane in a cut hay field on the east edge of Canon City. We do usually get some of these migrating cranes stopping over to rest and feed but usually they are several and usually not this late in November.

This crane was several hundred feet away and actively feeding, but it would come to attention when it heard the gunshots that sounded fairly close (within a half mile or so). When I drove further to look for other cranes-none found-it flew off and I did not see it again. SeEtta

More Golden Eagle sightings past two days

Since last week when I spotted at least 3 Golden Eagles flying together I have been seeing Golden Eagles all around eastern Fremont and Custer Counties. Day before yesterday I saw a likely juvenile flying high above Red Canyon Park north of Canon City. Today I saw an adult flying around the Wetmore area before I found this likely adult perched on a power pole.

And just a little west of Wetmore I spotted this 2nd year (white at base of tail but no white spots on wings) Golden Eagle in flight. SeEtta

Golden Eagle family still together

Yesterday I spotted 4 large raptors above a canyon in which I was driving. By the time I found a safe place to pull over I missed identifying one of the raptors though I believe it was also a Golden Eagle like the others I observed. In the top photo an adult Golden Eagle flies with it's legs in the down position as it is holding some prey (click on that image to enlarge it for better viewing)

The next 3 pics are also of an adult Golden Eagle. Two of the Golden Eagles I was able to id and age were adults.

At least one of the raptors was the juvenile Golden Eagle in the pic below.

Two of the Golden Eagles, an adult and a juvenile, perched near each other on an escarpment for a period of time--this would indicate that the juvenile was the offspring of a pair of Golden Eagles.

Birds of North America online indicates that young Golden Eagles can stay with their parents from 1-6 months. SeEtta

Surf Scoter in Canon City

Yesterday I photographed this Surf Scoter that was found the day before on a small private reservoir called Valco Ponds along with good numbers of common waterfowl and several Grebes. I got this shot without trespassing on this private property by standing on the large cement blocks by the vehicle gate to get a clear view of the bird as it swam past about a hundred feet away.

 I have limited experience with scoters, and they are usually far out on a large body of water, but I believe this is an immature as it has a dark brown iris (Birds of North America online states, "Pale blue gray or yellow white in adult male; usually pale brown (also pale gray or yellow) in female; dark brown in immature.") SeEtta

Pair of Rufous-crowned Sparrows

Rufous-crowned Sparrows were first discovered about 15 years ago at the Tunnel Drive area of Canon City during a Christmas Bird Count by birder Dave Johnson. They have been seen in this area every year (rarely seen during June and July when I speculate they go up into the higher side canyons in this area for nesting) and are the most northern residents of this species in Colorado.

believe I saw two of them together yesterday and believe they were likely a pair as Birds of North America online notes that pairs in California "are paired throughout the winter." This is one of the few times I have seen them without Canyon Towhees nearby.

I was able to bring them down from the hillside by making squeak noises with my lips so got the best photos of them I have ever been able to get. SeEtta

Yellow-bellied and Red-naped Sapsuckers in town now

I have not refound the adult Yellow-bellied Sapsucker I posted about earlier this month and only 1 of the 6 Williamson's Sapsuckers earlier this week but yesterday I found an immature Yellow-bellied and an adult male Red-naped Sapsucker in Canon City.

I suspect that the severe Arctic storm that dropped temps here to below freezing for 3 days has impacted the sapsuckers as the bark and possibly inner portions of the trees on which they feed have likely frozen. Though it has warmed here it is still a challenge for them as I have seen the Williamson's feeding on a deciduous tree and low to the ground where the sun was on that part of the and the Yellow-bellied feeding very low on a pine in a portion where they sun was hitting it.

Though some Red-naped Sapsuckers show little or no red on their napes, this one did. It also showed an incomplete black frame on it's face. SeEtta

Also a Northern Shrike in Williamsburg,CO

I also found a Northern Shrike in the Williamsburg area. Other birds this morning in this scrub-juniper-cactus habitat included a flock of Mountain Bluebirds and a Northern Flicker feeding on juniper berries (that must have been flash-frozen when the temps dropped 50 degrees from the low 70's Mon afternoon to the low 20's overnight. SeEtta

Ladder-backed Woodpecker drilling cold cactus

I found this male Ladder-backed Woodpecker drilling some tree cholla cactus this morning within the large area encompassed by the small town of Williamsburg, less than 15 miles from where I live. After two nights of below zero temps and daytime below freezing for 4 days including today that cactus was at best very cold and likely frozen. As can be seen the woodpecker had it's feathers fluffed to keep warm in the 20 degree F temperature. Ladder-backed Woodpeckers are uncommon residents in my county (Fremont) as well as nearby Pueblo and El Paso Counties. SeEtta

Yellow-rumped Warblers foraging & warming today @ 12º F in Canon City

I spotted 5 Yellow-rumped Warblers foraging at The Abbey in Canon City today. With the temperature about 12º F there were clearly not a lot of insects about for them to feed on. While I watched the warblers flew under a large branch that appeared to provide shelter and the possibility of warming up by fluffing up their feathers where they were protected from the wind.

In the pics just above and below three of the five Yellow-rumped are perched in the shelter of the large limb with their feathers fluffed up to warm them.

After perching all fluffed up for several minutes these warblers groomed their feathers for a minute or two as can be seen in this brief video clip below:

YRWarblers-12 d F,TheAbbey from SeEtta Moss on Vimeo.
The bottom two pics show one of the warblers perching briefly in the shelter of a building where it had been foraging against the wall for insects (a good place to get them usually).

Note all photos were taken with high zoom (near or at 100X magnification) and then most were cropped some to enlarge the birds more---I stayed in my car and did not drive closer to get better quality photos as I did not want to risk disturbing the birds who are stressed by the exceptionally cold weather. In fact I didn't start my engine and leave when I was done as I was concerned that would flush them so I waited for them to move away on their own. Even though a limited number of Yellow-rumped Warblers often overwinter in the usually mild winter climate here I felt badly for these birds trying to survive in this unusually harsh weather. Getting good bird photos is not in my view more important than the birds' health and welfare. SeEtta

Rufous morph Red-tailed Hawk

It has been awhile since I have seen a Red-tailed Hawk that was not the usual light morph seen in this area. Today I spotted this Rufous morph (Western) Red-tailed Hawk perched off the road in a difficult to see location. Had to turn around and go back to refind and photograph it. Not easily seen is the whitish (could be light gray) underside of it's tail. Though I was a good hundred feet away and stayed in my car, the hawk likely heard the sounds of my camera and flushed. As it flew off I could see the reddish coloration of the uppertail feathers. SeEtta

Yellow-rumped Warbler, fence sitting

Yellow-rumped Warblers are well known for their 'generalist' abilities-feeding at the top to bottom of a tree canopy, sallying out after a flying insect or foraging on the ground, they are everywhere. However I am used to seeing them in fairly close proximity to trees when not in them: "During winter, Yellow-rumped Warblers find open areas with fruiting shrubs or scattered trees, such as parks, streamside woodlands, open pine and pine-oak forest, dunes (where bayberries are common), and residential areas."

This one was out in the middle of some fallowed agricultural fields perching on a fence near the Mountain Bluebirds-maybe an example of the old saying 'birds of a feather stick together.' SeEtta

Mountain Bluebirds

Mountain Bluebirds are resident in much of Colorado in open areas though they may be wide ranging. In the past week I have seen small flocks of this species in a number of locations around the Canon City area. I photographed these near my friend's organic farm where there are lots of insects for the taking. SeEtta

One of 3 Willliamson's Sapsuckers in Canon City today

In addition to the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker today I found 2 male and 1 female Williamson's Sapsuckers. This male was feeding actively at The Abbey. Some of the sapwells he has recently drilled are visible. SeEtta

First Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Canon City this fall/winter

Not a great shot as this sapsucker was 30-40 feet up a deciduous tree (with lots of leaves still on it blurring the focus) in a private yard today in Canon City. Not easy to see but it is a male of this species with a red throat that looked completely bordered by the black border. This is the first of this eastern species that I have found so far this fall/winter season when sapsuckers from 3 species either stop-over or spend the fall-winter season. SeEtta

'Autumn Loons' (well, Common Loons in their autumn transitional plumage)

These are photos of 4 Common Loons I saw yesterday at Trinidad Lake that were all actively feeding not far from each other.

These loons (As they were diving frequently and popping up in different locations I do not know if photos are all of the same loon or different ones) were in transitional plumage-transitioning from breeding to winter plumage. As it is autumn, and there is a moon named for this season, I think these should be named 'Autumn Loons'. SeEtta

'White crane still at Bosque del Apache NWR and still 'hooked up'

I saw the white crane, identified by National Wildlife Refuge regional staff as a leucistic Sandhill Crane, on my return trip when I stopped at Bosque del Apache NWR. And it is still associating (most would call it consorting) with a typical Sandhill Crane.

The white on this crane really stands out both in daytime but especially at dusk when I took these photos.

Though this white crane stands out like a sore thumb, I saw it and it's partner often in the company of other typical Sandhill Cranes. SeEtta

White geese at Bosque del Apache NWR

A few hundred Snow Geese along with a lesser number of Ross's Geese as well as hundreds of various duck species have arrived at Bosque del Apache NWR, though many more will arrive in the next month to spend the winter at this excellent National Wildlife Refuge. SeEtta