vol. 49 no. 2 spring 2015 colorado birds vol 49/cb_2015… · vol. 49 no. 2 spring 2015 the...

Vol. 49 No. 2 Spring 2015

The Colorado Field Ornithologists’ Quarterly

Colorado Birds

Georg StellerMagnificent HummingbirdBirding Salida

46 Colorado Birds Spring 2015 Vol. 49 No. 2

Colorado Field OrnithologistsPO Box 643, Boulder, Colorado 80306

cfobirds.org

Colorado Birds (USPS 0446-190) (ISSN 1094-0030) is published quarterly by the Colo-rado Field Ornithologists, P.O. Box 643, Boulder, CO 80306. Subscriptions are obtained through annual membership dues. Nonprofit postage paid at Louisville, CO. POST-MASTER: Send address changes to Colorado Birds, P.O. Box 643, Boulder, CO 80306.

Officers and Directors of Colorado Field Ornithologists: Dates indicate end of cur-rent term. An asterisk indicates eligibility for re-election. Terms expire at the annual convention. Officers: President: Bill Kaempfer, Boulder, 2015; [email protected]; Vice Presi-dent: Christian Nunes, Longmont, 2015*; [email protected]; Secretary: Larry Modesitt, Greenwood Village, 2015; [email protected]; Treasurer: Tom Wilberding, Boulder, 2015*; [email protected]

Directors: Christy Carello, Golden, 2016*; Lisa Edwards, Palmer Lake, 2017; Ted Floyd, Lafayette, 2017; Mike Henwood, Grand Junction, 2015*; Joe Roller, Denver, 2015; Da-vid Gillilan, Littleton, 2016*.

Colorado Bird Records Committee: Dates indicate end of current term. An asterisk indicates eligibility to serve another term. Terms expire 12/31.

Chair: Doug Faulkner, Arvada, 2016; [email protected]

Committee Members: John Drummond, Colorado Springs, 2016; Bill Schmoker, Long-mont, 2016; Glenn Walbek, Castle Rock, 2015; Mark Peterson, Colorado Springs, 2016* Colorado Birds Quarterly:

Editor: Peter Burke, [email protected]

Staff: Christian Nunes, photo editor, Christy Carello science editor

Contributors: David Dowell, Dave Leatherman, Tony Leukering, Bill Schmoker

Annual Membership Dues (renewable quarterly): General $25; Youth (under 18) $12; Institution $30. Membership dues entitle members to a subscription to Colorado Birds, which is published quarterly. Back issues/extra copies may be ordered for $6.50. Send requests for extra copies/back issues, change of address and membership renewals to CFO, P.O. Box 643, Boulder, CO 80306; make checks out to Colorado Field Ornitholo-gists. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

COPYRIGHT © 2015 by Colorado Field Ornithologists. Reproduction of articles is permitted only under consent from the publisher. Works by U.S. and Canadian governments are not copyrighted.

The Colorado Field Ornithologists’ Quarterly Vol. 49 No. 2 Spring 2015

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE .........................................48Bill Kaempfer

ABOUT THE AUTHORS ...........................................49

CFO BOARD MEETING MINUTES ...........................51Larry Modesitt

THE 71ST REPORT OF THE CBRC ...........................53Doug Faulkner

GEORG STELLER ....................................................58Robert Righter

FULLY EXPOSED: WORK THE SHOT ......................62Bill Schmoker

NEWS FROM THE FIELD: FALL 2014 .....................65David Dowell

BIRDING IN AND AROUND SALIDA .......................83Emily Latta

A MAGNIFICENT EXPERIENCE .............................86Adam Jack

CFO FIELD TRIP REPORT ......................................89Ted Floyd

CFO FIELD TRIP ANNOUNCEMENTS ......................90

IN THE SCOPE: SOFT PARTS: FEMALEDABBLING DUCKS, THE ANSWERS .......................92Tony Leukering

THE HUNGRY BIRD: WOODCOCKS ........................95Dave Leatherman

Baird’s Spar-row, Dren-nen Rd and Hemmingway, El Paso County 31 August 2014. Photo by Janeal W. Thomson


Salida BoundBill Kaempfer

“Now This is Colorado!” reads the sign you’ll pass as you enter Chaffee County in a few weeks, bound for Salida and the 2015 Colo-rado Field Ornithologists convention, June 4-8. It’s hard not to bubble with enthusiasm about this annual event. I think our annual gathering is one of the gems of the birding world.

Of course the field trips are the heart of the convention, and this year, for the first time in more than a decade, the location will be in

the center of the state, the heart of the Rockies. Our trips will take us across no fewer than six major passes, giving a whole new birding meaning to “Both Sides Now.” We’ll also visit deep canyons, mountain park wetlands, reser-voirs and gorgeous riparian areas.

Salida ’15 will feature all of the other activities that have become standards at our conventions. We’ll get started with an outdoor picnic on Thursday evening wel-coming birders to historic Salida. Saturday afternoon the spotlight will shine on several great research presenta-tions, many featuring students from Colorado’s esteemed colleges and universities. The banquet Saturday evening will be served in Salida’s beautiful Steam Plant Event

Center alongside the Arkansas River. And you won’t want to miss the newest CFO convention institution, “Jeop-birdy!”

But I must make two other Colorado connections here. I feel very fortunate to have secured the services of my long-time friend and col-league at the University of Colorado Boulder, Jeff Mitton, who will de-liver the keynote speech this year. One of the most fascinating biology faculty members at CU-Boulder, Jeff has had a long association with Browns Canyon (right at Salida’s doorstep). He’ll lead trips into this area and will share more of his experiences in his talk.

The second connection is with Salida’s Hutchinson Ranch, an op-erating ranch that dates back seven generations to the original home-stead in the 1860s. The ranch includes miles of undeveloped riparian habitat along the Little Arkansas River between Salida and Poncha Springs plus gently sloping hillsides of Pinyon-Juniper and Scrub Oak. This may be one of the richest spots that we have ever birded at a CFO convention. My unexpected connection to the ranch comes through another CU colleague of mine who happens to be a member of the sixth generation of Hutchinsons. Through her generosity we were granted access to this wonderful habitat and historical treasure.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Bill Kaempfer

Colorado Birds Spring 2015 Vol. 49 No. 2 49

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

News From the FieldDavid Dowell is an outdoor enthusiast based in Longmont. When he isn’t hiking or birding, he’s working as a meteorologist at the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, trying to make thunderstorm forecasts better.

The Hungry BirdDave Leatherman is a photographer, entomologist and expert on Colorado birds. He is a regular contributor to Colorado Birds as author of The Hungry Bird. His photographs of birds carry-ing food are of such high quality that many of the invertebrates can be identified to species. He obtained his B.S. from Marietta College and his M.S. from Duke University. When not birding, Dave has been known to occasionally enjoy a night on the town listening to live jazz.

In The ScopeTony Leukering is a freelance ornithologist currently based in Florida. His primary interest in birds is migration, and his work has included nearly 14 years at the Rocky Mountain Bird Ob-servatory. He is a recipient of CFO’s Ron Ryder Award and has authored virtually all of the In The Scope columns for Colorado Birds.

Fully ExposedBill Schmoker is a middle school science teacher, is extremely active in the birding community and is a frequent photo con-tributor to Birding and other ABA publications in addition to a wide variety of books, magazines and other media. HE au-thored the Geared for Birding column in the American Birding Association›s Winging It newsletter and contributes to birding blogs for both ABA and Leica. He is involved with the ABA Young Birders program as a Camp Colorado and Camp Avocet instructor and photo module judge for the Young Birder of the Year contest. Bill is an eBird reviewer and member of the Colo-rado Bird Records Committee and is a past president of CFO.

Contributors


Georg StellerRobert Righter is co-author of Colorado Birds, Birds of Western Colorado and author of Bird Songs of Rocky Mountain States. He has lived in Colorado for 47 years, 34 of them as a CFO member.

A Magnificent ExperienceOriginally from the United Kingdom, Adam Jack fell in love with Colorado and lives in the mountains southwest of Boulder. He develops software, recently for mobile devices, which allows him to enjoy the many critters around his home office. He vol-unteers for OSMP monitoring raptors and bats and is a lieuten-ant with the Coal Creek Canyon Fire Department.

Something for Everyone in SalidaWhen Emily Latta isn’t chasing White-tailed Ptarmigan for Colorado Parks and Wildlife as a wildlife technician, she is busy birding in her own back yard—the Upper Arkansas River Val-ley. Working for CPW during the summer of 2011, she had the opportunity to participate in the Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas in northwest Colorado. She studied Environmental Science at Metropolitan State University in Denver and plans to attend Regis University in fall 2015.

Featured Authors


CFO BOARD MEETING MINUTES

24 January 2015 Center for Innovation and Creativity, Boulder, CO

Larry ModesittPresident Bill Kaempfer called the January quarterly meeting to

order at 11:17 A.M. Other officers present were Vice President Chris-tian Nunes, Secretary Larry Modesitt and Treasurer Tom Wilberding. Directors Peter Burke, Christy Carello, Lisa Edwards, David Gilli-lan, Mike Henwood, Joe Roller and Ted Floyd were present. Director Doug Faulkner was present by Speakerphone from Ecuador. In addi-tion, Michael Kiessig and Christie Owens attended as invited guests.

Secretary’s Report: Larry Modes-itt. Directors approved the minutes of the 18 October 2014 board meeting.

Treasurer’s Report: Tom Wil-berding’s previously emailed financial statements for 2014 were discussed and approved. The deficit of approxi-mately $4,000 was planned, as more than $10,000 in grants were made in 2014, including a $5,000 grant for Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas II and $4,000 to upgrade the CFO websites. Thus, this was another good year for CFO. We devoted considerable dis-cussion to Tom’s budget, as we might have a small deficit for 2015, depend-ing upon convention revenues. Al-though we have additional expen-ditures required in 2015 for website design, we had been saving for this for several years. Since we have suffi-cient equity, we approved Tom’s bud-get without a dues increase. Tom also announced that people could choose their own merchandise with a CFO logo from www.Zazzle.com.

2014 Salida Convention Plan-

ning—Bill Kaempfer1. Facilities. Convention head-

quarters will be the Gateway Inn and Suites in Salida. The hotel does not sell alcoholic beverages, but we will be allowed to provide our own during afternoon social hours.

2. Field Trips will include many different mountain and high country habitats with varying difficulties. We will endeavor to communicate trip conditions to participants in advance as well as expected birds, so that peo-ple can select appropriate trips.

3. Registration process again will be online registration only.

4. Jeop-birdy again will be pro-duced by Christian Nunes. Prizes will be available at Zazzle.

5. T-shirts will be completed by Sherrie York.

6. Keynote speaker, Jeff Mitton, also will be a trip leader.

7. Brochures will be available in mid-February when online registra-tion begins.

Colorado Bird Records Commit-tee (CBRC)—Doug Faulkner sub-mitted his report by email. The com-mittee completed review of the last of the 274 submissions received in 2013, the highest ever received. The com-


mittee will review approximately 200 submissions from 2014. The Colorado State List remains at 498.

CFO Website—David Gillilan re-ported that Ann Johnson continues to make improvements as testing pro-ceeds. County listers now will update their county lists by themselves.

Proposed CFO-Western Field Or-nithologists (WFO) Partnership—Larry Modesitt reported that joint announcements were successful. Vari-ous board members have learned from their counterparts at each organization. WFO announced the Salida conven-tion on its website, and we hope that several WFO members will attend. Some WFO members already have be-come CFO members. It is possible that we will not be able to accommodate everyone for our banquet, so we advise people to register early. WFO members can join the CFO convention at CFO rates. We also hope that CFO members will want to attend the WFO Conven-tion June 10-14 in Billings, Montana.

Social Media Communications —Christian Nunes reported 941 Facebook followers, up 120 from last meeting.

Additional Committee Reports 1. Nominating & Awards—Joe

Roller made recommendations, which were accepted by the board.

2. Colorado Birds—Peter Burke. The spring issue is on schedule, and will con-tain additional convention information.

3. Publicity—Ted Floyd will pro-vide convention publicity.

4. Membership—Lisa Edwards re-ported that slow growth continues for a total of 488, the highest ever.

5. CFO Field Trips—Bill Kaemp-fer and Mike Henwood noted upcom-ing quarterly CFO Field Trips through August.

6. Project Fund and Scholar-ships— Christy Carello summarized five project requests, three of which were approved for funding.

7. Role of conservation in the mission of CFO—Larry Modesitt discussed his research into the large amount of past conservation articles in Colorado Birds and his discussions with Jon Dunn and Ken Able of WFO. He provided information for review toward the potential of form-ing a conservation committee, which will be discussed at the next board meeting. Board members agreed that conservation is a valid concern. The board agreed that CFO, as a scientific organization, desires to present science information of interest to the public without becoming an issue advocate similar to a conservation organization.

8. Future Convention Sites were discussed by the board and assign-ments for research given.

The next meeting will be at 11:00 on April 18, 2015 in the Center for Innova-tion and Creativity (CINC) in Boulder.

President Kaempfer adjourned the meeting at 4:05 P.M. for an Executive Session.

Respectfully submitted, Larry Modesitt, Secretary


The 71st Report of the Colorado Bird Records CommitteeDoug FaulknerChair, Colorado Bird Records Committee

IntroductionThis 71st report of the Colorado Bird Records Committee (here-

after CBRC or Committee) presents the results of deliberations of the CBRC involving 14 reports submitted by 13 observers and docu-menting 12 occurrences of 10 species from the period December 1997 to September 2013. Per CBRC bylaws, all accepted records received a final 7-0 or 6-1 vote to accept.

This report highlights species with 10 or fewer state records, in-cluding Colorado’s second Magnificent Frigatebird, fourth Curlew Sandpiper and Harris’s Hawk, fifth Cerulean Warbler and sixth Painted Redstart. No new species have been accepted since publica-tion of the 70th CBRC Report (Faulkner 2014) and the Colorado state list remains 498.

Committee members voting on these reports were John Drum-mond (Colorado Springs), Doug Faulkner (Arvada), Brandon Per-cival (Pueblo), Mark Peterson (Colorado Springs), Bill Schmoker (Longmont), David Silverman (Rye) and Glenn Walbek (Castle Rock).

Committee NewsThe CBRC thanks David Silverman and Brandon Percival for

their years of service to the Colorado Field Ornithologists as mem-bers of the CBRC, and we wish them continued success birding the Rye and Pueblo areas. The pool of potential Committee members is strong in Colorado, and typically we would seek new volunteers to fill in for members rotating off. However, the CBRC has experienced persistent periods of transition and currently faces a backlog of re-view work. In light of this, we have asked two former members, Peter Gent and Tony Leukering, to serve again and ensure that Committee functions continue to operate smoothly in 2015 and beyond.

Committee FunctionsThe Committee solicits documentation of reports in Colorado for

all species published in its Main Review List (coloradobirdrecords.org/ReviewList.aspx), species with no prior accepted record in Colo-rado and sightings of regularly occurring species that are considered

CBRC REPORT


out-of-range or out-of-season. Documentary materials should be sub-mitted online at the CBRC website (coloradobirdrecords.org). Al-ternatively, one can fill out the form printed on the dust jacket of this journal and mail it to the CBRC Chair, or request an electronic document from the Chair or Secretary (see this journal’s inside front cover for contact information).

Report FormatThe records in this report are arranged taxonomically follow-

ing the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) Checklist of North American Birds (AOU 1998) through the 55th Supplement (Chesser et al. 2014). We present the initials of the contributing observer(s), the official accession number and the vote tally in the first round and, if relevant, the second and third rounds (with the number of “accept” votes on the left side of the dash). The total number of state records is given in parentheses after the species scientific name.

The initial observer of the bird is underlined, if known, and is pre-sented first only if that person contributed documentation; additional contributors’ follow in alphabetical order by last name. If the initial observer is known with certainty, but did not submit documentation, those initials are underlined and presented last. Observers submitting a photograph or video capture are indicated with a dagger (†) and those who submitted a sketch by a lower-case, italicized “sk” (sk). In this report, county names are italicized. Abbreviations are used for the following: reservoir (Res.), state park (SP), and state wildlife area (SWA).

ACCEPTED RECORDSMagnificent Frigatebird – Fre-

gata magnificens (2). The surprise of 2013, not only did an individual of this majestic species find its way to Colorado, but it was photographed in two different counties one week apart (MV†, AM†; 2013-166; 7-0). The bird was first observed on 5 June 2013 by Mark Vaughn while fishing at North Delaney Buttes Lake, Jack-son. Fortunately, Mr. Vaughn was familiar with the species from time spent in Mexico and along the U.S. Gulf Coast, knew it must be rare in Colorado AND happened to be car-

rying a camera in a waterproof bag. His documentation includes an ac-count and photos of the frigatebird being chased away from North Del-aney Buttes Lake by several nest-ing American Avocets. In a bizarre twist, later that fall Mike Henwood mentioned a second-hand report of a frigatebird at Highline Lake SP, Mesa, 12 June 2013. The park man-ager photographed this bird during its brief stay at the lake. Both sets of photographs show an immature Mag-nificent Frigatebird with a unique tail pattern—the left fork was about 80% the length of the right fork – clearly


establishing that both sightings were of the same individual.

Now then, one wonders about the bird’s origin and where it wandered to during the intervening days between 5 and 12 June. Vagrancy of this spe-cies into the U.S. interior is typically associated with tropical storms or hur-ricanes, however, no named storms, ei-ther in the Eastern Pacific or Atlantic basins, came anywhere close to Colora-do during the days preceding this bird’s discovery in Colorado (accuweather.com/en/hurricane/tracker). I am un-aware of any reports of this species in Utah or Wyoming the states closest to its occurrence in Colorado, further deepening the mystery of this bird’s travels within the region.

White Ibis – Eudocimus albus (8). An adult was documented for the Alamosa area, Alamosa, 28 July 2013 (PN†, BH; 2013-182; 7-0). This bird was present for several days and the CBRC welcomes additional docu-mentation supporting its extended visit. This is Colorado’s sixth White Ibis record since 2000 and the first for the San Luis Valley.

Curlew Sandpiper – Calidris fer-ruginea (4). An adult in transitional plumage was documented for Jackson Res., Morgan, 30 August 2013 (JD†; 2013-192; 7-0). This is the second consecutive year that a Curlew Sand-piper was observed at Jackson Res. In 2012, Steve Mlodinow found a juve-nile (2012-103) on 23 August. It is conceivable that these records pertain to the same individual given the rarity of this species in Colorado.

American Woodcock – Scolopax minor (10). The CBRC received docu-

mentation of one seen in flight at Valco Ponds in Pueblo, Pueblo, 15 Dec 1997 (BKP; 2013-102; 6-1). Chronologi-cally, this is Colorado’s fifth woodcock record. Of the state’s ten records, four were discovered from mid-November to mid-December. The dissenting Committee member felt that while the orange underparts were suggestive of American Woodcock, the report did not sufficiently rule out Wilson’s Snipe. The reporting observer noted that a lack of white on the upperwings should rule out Wilson’s Snipe. As the dis-senting member pointed out, however, Wilson’s Snipe does not have a white trailing edge to the upperwing. Instead it is the palearctic Common Snipe (split from Wilson’s Snipe as a separate species in 2002) that shows a white trailing edge to the wing’s secondary feathers (Chandler 2009) and could be eliminated as a potential contender.

As an aside, although this sight-ing was 16 years old, the observer had notes that were used to write the docu-mentation. The CBRC is receiving more documentations of “historical” observations than in years past. This is likely the result of eBird editors requir-ing rare species be documented to the CBRC as part of the validation process for that website. The Committee re-ceived 25 documentations of sightings more than five years old (from the sub-mission date) in 2013. The number of such submissions was nine in 2012, six in 2011, and 27 in 2010. From 2005 to 2009, the CBRC received just one documentation of a sighting (exclud-ing museum specimens or special re-quests) that had occurred at least five years prior to submission.


Yellow-bellied Flycatcher – Empi-donax flaviventris (8). The Committee accepted two more records of this spe-cies in 2013 bringing the total for the state to eight with four of those since 2011. A singing Yellow-bellied Fly-catcher at the Lenz Farm shelterbelt, Yuma, 25 May 2013 (SM†; 2013-161; 7-0) was the first recorded for that county. Steve Mlodinow followed that sighting up with another during the fall. He found one at Jackson Res., Morgan, 10 September 2013 (SM; 2013-203; 7-0). That record is the first for Morgan.

Pacific Wren – Troglodytes pacificus (8). With the acceptance of two more records of Pacific Wren, it appears that Colorado may be on the fringe of the species’ regular wintering range. Six of the state’s eight accepted records are of individuals occurring in Colorado since Pacific Wren was elevated to full species status in 2010. The Committee has been very conservative in its eval-uation and acceptance of documented Pacific Wrens. It’s possible that some documentations not accepted as re-cords pertain to this species.

One long-staying individual near the Environmental Learning Cen-ter in Ft. Collins, Larimer, 4 January 2011 – end of February 2012 (JM†; 2012-77; 7-0) represents that county’s first record. Another Pacific Wren at Greenhorn Meadows Park, Colorado City, Pueblo, 22-31 December 2012 (DS; 2013-11; 7-0) provided that county with its fifth record.

Smith’s Longspur – Calcarius pic-tus (5). A Smith’s Longspur, either a female or transitionally plumaged male, was briefly seen on the ground

and in flight within a mixed flock of Horned Larks and other longspurs near Boulder, Boulder, 16 April 2013 (BK, PG; 2013-121; 6-1). This indi-vidual showed the buffy underparts and white outer tail feathers typical for Smith’s Longspur. The dissenting Committee member was concerned that a Chestnut-collared Longspur in delayed molt, which would have buffy underparts similar to Smith’s, was not sufficiently ruled out. Also of con-cern was the apparent lack of white wingbars. Two Committee members in favor of this record were also con-cerned about the lack of wingbars, al-though one noted that a review of on-line photos revealed that some birds showed little to no wingbars. This re-cord is notable in that it is the first for spring migration (the other four re-cords were during fall migration from mid-September to mid-October), it is the first for Boulder, and it joins the record from Park (2012-154) as the only records away from the far eastern plains.

Swainson’s Warbler – Limnothlypis swainsonii (9). With the exception of one found in July, all of the previous Colorado Swainson’s Warbler records have been of birds discovered in May during spring migration, so the appear-ance of one at Barr Lake SP, Adams, 7 September 2013 (CS† sk; 2013-198; 7-0) was a bit surprising. However, Swainson’s Warblers typically initi-ate their southward migration in mid-August so this individual’s timing in early September fits with that of a fall migrant – one perhaps suffering from a faulty internal compass.

Cerulean Warbler – Setophaga ce-


rulean (5). Proving once again that it’s never too late to join the party, the CBRC received documentation of a male at Two Buttes SWA, Baca, 4 May 1999 (BKP, TD; 2013-103; 7-0). This bird represents the second record for Baca. Although the sample size is quite small, this is the earliest date of occurrence for Cerulean Warbler in Colorado. The two other spring re-cords are from 16 May and 25-26 May. Colorado also has two fall records, both from September.

Painted Redstart – Myioborus

pictus (6). What may have been the bird highlight of CFO’s 2013 conven-tion in Cortez, a Painted Redstart was found during on a fieldtrip near Bauer Lake, Montezuma, 17 May 2013 (NK†; 2013-148; 7-0). Komar found the bird flitting around in a Ponderosa Pine and quickly alerted others in the group before the bird moved on. Sev-eral chase trips that day and the next were not able to re-find the bird. This is the third record since 2005 and the first for Montezuma and southwestern Colorado.

REPORTERS AND CITED OBSERVERSThe CBRC thanks the following individuals for submitting records of or dis-

covering and reporting the rare species in Colorado discussed in this report: Todd Dilley, John Drummond, Brian Harmon, Peter Gent, Bill Kaempfer, Nich-olas Komar, Joe Mammoser, Alan Martinez, Steve Mlodinow, Polly Neldner, Brandon Percival (BKP), Cathy Sheeter, David Silverman and Mark Vaughn.

LITERATURE CITEDAmerican Ornithologists’ Union. 1998. Checklist of North American Birds. Lawrence,

KS: Allen Press.Chandler, R. 2009. Shorebirds of the Northern Hemisphere. A&C Black Publishers,

Ltd., London.Chesser, T.R., Banks, R.C., Cicero, C., Dunn, J.L., Kratter, A.W., Lovette, I.J., Navarro-

Siguenza, A.G., Rasmussen, P.C., Remsen, Jr., J.V., Rising, J.D., Stotz, D.F., and K. Winker. 2014. Fifty-fifth Supplement to the American Ornithologists’ Union Check-list of North American Birds. Auk 131(4): CSi-CSxv.

Doug Faulkner, [email protected]


Georg Wilhelm Steller (1709–1746)by Robert Righter

In 1682, at the age of 10, Peter the Great was named Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia. He would later become Emperor of all Russia, and is credited with initiating and leading the mod-ernization of his country. He introduced many post-enlightenment reforms, among them the founding of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. At this time, many German scientists were dissatisfied with the scientific bureaucracy and lack of opportunity in Germany. Peter the Great encouraged them to come to Russia to study at the Academy with the expectation they would explore, catalogue and delineate Russia’s vast unknown territory. Several jumped at the op-portunity to fulfill their ambitions and consequently made the trek to St. Petersburg. Among them was Georg Wilhelm Steller.

Steller was a gifted scientist, trained in the natural sciences in-cluding botany and medicine, but also the study of minerals and the biology of fish, mammals and birds. Above all Steller was ambitious and considered fearless—the more dangerous the unknown, the more he wanted to be a part of it, regardless of the consequences. Steller was meticulous in his scientific descriptions about the flora and fauna he discovered. Years later, scientists studying Steller’s original notes discovered new species and even used Steller’s descriptions in their papers introducing those new species to science. For example in 1739, while dissecting birds collected in eastern Russia at Lake Bai-kal, which is longer than Lake Michigan, he took extremely detailed physical measurements and wrote exacting descriptions including notes about their sex organs, air-sacs and muscle structure. He also investigated and described the parasites attached to the bird, know-ing they could provide useful information about the bird’s ecology. Given the date, this level of information was remarkable.

During the early 1700s little was known about the lands north of Japan and east of Russia. Fur trappers provided some of the earliest accounts, just enough to capture the imagination of Peter the Great. After his death in 1724, his niece, Empress Anna, commissioned an expedition, instructing the Academy of Sciences to mount, explore and document Russia’s vast eastern territories. The commission in-cluded building ships to be sailed eastward until new lands were dis-covered. Vitus Bering was appointed Captain of the St. Peter as well as commander of the expedition, and Steller joined the expedition as its physician.

On June 4, 1741, Bering launched the St. Peter from Avatcha Bay,


on the eastern side of the Kamchatka Peninsula, dreaming of finding new lands across the ocean. On July 16, at 58 degrees and 14 minutes north, a “large snow-covered mountain” was spotted through the fog. The moun-tain is now known as Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. And just a short distance away, Steller stepped ashore onto what is known today as Kayak Island, thus becoming the first white man to visit present-day Alaska. Ber-ing allowed Steller only a few hours on land to collect specimens before sail-ing on. It was then that Steller heard a raucous-sounding bird in the spruce forest, and after collecting the bird he noted that it looked like the Blue Jay first described by Mark Catesby (1682–1749), who authored Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands in 1732. Forty-seven years later, reading Steller’s description of the “Blue Jay,” Johann F. Gmelin realized that Steller was in fact describing a new species of jay. Gmelin re-classified a previous description of the jay, naming it Steller’s Jay, Cyannocitta stelleri.

With several of the crew suffering from scurvy, Bering opted to head home as soon as possible and gave orders to sail northwest, par-allel to the Aleutian Islands. This meant rough seas for the return to the Kamchatka Peninsula, bucking the westerly winds. Nakita Shu-magin was the first to die from scurvy. He was buried on a group of islands now appropriately named the Shamagin Islands, located on the far eastern part of the Aleutian Islands, close to mainland Alaska.

By November first, more men were dying of scurvy and the St. Peter was taking on water and in need of repair. With just six bar-rels of drinking water remaining, the decision was made to land on the nearest island, now known as Bering Island. Situated 300 miles east of the Kamchatka Peninsula and a thousand miles west of Attu Island, a familiar name to birders, the island was infested with Arctic Foxes. Keeping the foxes away from the dead and dying would occupy the remaining crew night and day. Steller, being a physician, vigi-lantly cared for the ailing men. His cheerful humor and enthusiastic optimism contributed to a feeling of solidarity for a crew struggling

Although it is unlikely that Colorado will be graced by a Steller’s Eider, we are contented with another of Georg’s namesakes, the Steller’s Jay. Photo by Bill Schmoker


to survive. Bering, who was 60 years old, died due to complications from scurvy and was buried on the island that carries his name. Of the surviving crew, Steller was regarded as a sensible and trustworthy leader. He gathered herbs high in vitamin C such as gentian and spoonwort to ward off the effects of scurvy. His previous attempts to convince Bering and the crew to use herbs as an antidote to scurvy had been flatly rejected.

The crew constructed a new ship from the wreckage of the old St. Peter, and after living for nine months with the foxes on Bering Island, they set sail on August 8, 1742 not knowing if they would ever set foot on Russian soil again. But thirteen days later land was in sight, and soon they were moored in Avatcha Bay, Kamchatka Peninsula again.

On September 23, 1743, the second Kamchatka Expedition was officially declared completed. Steller used the free time to do what he liked the best, scouring the landscape and cataloging every natural history item that caught his eye. He was happiest in the field, loath-ing the requisite time spent indoors at the “bureaucratic“ Academy of Science. Probably no scientist of his era contributed more to the understanding of Russia’s natural history along its eastern boundary than Steller. Instead of appreciation for his accomplishments, Steller was mistakenly arrested and ordered to return to St. Petersburg. Upon his return he found that many of his friends and associates were no longer at the Academy, and that a new order of ambitious scientists with their own agenda viewed his work with skepticism. Although he was later acquitted, the ordeal no doubt affected his spirit and may have contributed to a decline in his health. He died not long after.

Steller discovered three new species of birds, and two mammals, while marooned on Bering Island (November, 1741–August 1742).

Polysticta stelleri. Steller observed immense flocks of this eider either on Bering Island or floating offshore. From Stell-er’s notes, Peter Pallas was able to describe this eider as new to sci-ence in1769:

Peter S. Pallas was another German scientist who worked at the Acad-emy of Natural Sciences in St. Petersburg, arriving there in 1767. While in Russia he described countless new flora and fauna that he had collected or he had written accounts from other scientists, including Steller.

Phalacrocorax perspicillatus. Another of Steller’s spectacular discoveries, this flightless cormorant went extinct in the 1850s, and just six specimens are in existence today. Steller was the only white man known to have seen this cormorant alive while on Bering Island.

Haliaeetus pelagius. In 1811, Pallas described


this eagle based on Steller’s original documentation. Since the Sea-Eagle was not known to have occurred in the Aleutian Islands, it was presumed that Steller’s notes referred to somewhere in the Ka-mchatka Peninsula; however, recent observations of several Steller’s Sea Eagles from the eastern Aleutians Islands lend credence to his claim.

Hydrodamalis gigas. Steller saw “...herds of Sea Cows grazing on the extensive pastures of seaweed.” This mam-mal weighed three tons and is thought to be related to the manatee family. Their range was confined to Alaska’s Komandorski Islands and was exterminated by 1768. Unfortunately for the sea cow, it was very tasty.

Eumetopias jubatus. On June 20, 1742 Steller wrote the first description of a sea lion that included details about the mammal’s morphological and anatomical features. Because of Steller’s careful notes the sea lion was later named Steller’s Sea Lion.

NotesMost of the place names in this article can be viewed on Google

Earth.For this paper I used the newer spelling “Kamchatka” Peninsula

which in older publications was spelled “Kamtchatka” Peninsula.

For Further ReadingStejneger, Leonhard. 1936. Georg Wilhelm Steller: Pioneer of Alas-

kan Natural History. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massa-chusetts.

Mearns, Barbara and Richard, 1992. Audubon to Xantus. Academ-ic Press, San Diego, California.

Robert Righter, [email protected]


Work the ShotBill Schmoker

As anyone who has undertaken wild bird photography can attest, our subjects of choice are often challenging. Frequently small, often active, generally skulky and just plain wary, it’s challenging enough just getting one in focus! But if you want to take your photography to the next level, then it’s time to talk composition.

Let’s say you’re in the field and you have a “good bird” in your sights. Go ahead and snap a few frames. Pfew! Got it, right? Now that you have those initial shots, assuming the bird is still there, I’d chal-lenge you to think about a new angle or other strategy to improve the frame. Playing with various compositional or photographic elements while shooting the same subject is sometimes called “working the shot.” Simple techniques like slowing the shutter speed, which can produce a motion blur effect, offer a simple way to capture a different perspective. Changing the aperture, for example selecting a higher f-stop to generate more depth of field, or varying the lighting, ei-ther in natural light by shifting your position or by introducing flash, are other techniques to consider. For now though, let’s consider the backdrop behind the bird.

In the heat of the photographic moment, I find it can be challeng-ing to keep the subject, often flitting about and partially concealed, separate in my mind from the background. Staring through the view-finder, evaluating focus or watching for a cool action or expression is a lot to process without having to consider all the variables of what’s around the bird. Following are a few things to think about the next time you have a bird in your sights.

FramingSometimes just inching a wee bit to one side or another can make

a world of difference. For example, if a stick seems to be growing right out of a bird’s head, then slightly shifting can create a much better looking image. Birds in heavy cover can be really frustrating for pho-tographers, but if you work the shot enough you’ll often find a lane to shoot through without excessive distraction. Birds photographed in urban or other human-influenced environments can be your little secret if you frame your shot without any signs of humanity. Warblers and the like foraging above you in trees might look rough against bright sky but brilliant when backed by some green vegetation higher above them. In general, cleaner backgrounds help you feature the bird more prominently as opposed to shots with busy, distracting

FULLY EXPOSED


This well-fed Sharp-shinned Hawk was content to hang around my back yard for a while, giving me time to work the shot. My initial shots had a busy, twiggy back-ground. Changing perspective to get a blue spruce behind the bird provided a darker, simpler background. Digiscoped with Leica APO-Televid 65mm + iPhone 5s & Phone Skope adapter. Boulder County, January 2015.

I was pretty excited to get backyard redpolls in the big irruption of late 2012 so I set up a portable blind to shoot the birds near my thistle feeders. Note the two shots both show a spanking male Common Redpoll, but one has wires from a trellis prominent in the background along with photo bombing goldfinches while the other has a simple perch (that I earlier wired to the trellis) and clean background. Nikon D7100 + 200-400mm f/4 VR, Boulder County, December 2012.


backgrounds. In any of these situations and countless others, it is best to see both your bird and the background as you shoot, so you can adjust on the fly by working the shot, instead of wishing you’d done so later.

Set-upsSome bird photographers go a step further when it comes to work-

ing the shot, setting up perches in an area frequented by birds such as around feeding stations or water sources. Careful attention is paid to the background, ideally with plenty of space behind perches to create bokeh. Bokeh results from a shallow depth of focus, which is easy to create through a combination of high focal length and low f-stop. It yields pleasingly blurred background elements that enhance the photograph without distracting from the subject. Neutral or compli-mentary colors are ideal, with photographers sometimes even plac-ing backdrops beyond placed perches, essentially creating an outdoor bird portrait studio. This offers the advantage of setting up the shot beforehand, taking light, camera angle and framing into consider-ation before a bird arrives on the scene.

Putting it TogetherEven if you don’t see yourself placing backgrounds, setting up

perches and shooting in a controlled environment, attention to com-positional elements such as your subject’s background when shoot-ing in the field will pay big dividends in the quality of your shots. There’s plenty more to say on composition, such as changing your perspective, experimenting with spacing guidelines like the rule of thirds, etc., but those will have to wait for another column. For now, practice developing a mental division in your mind’s eye, paying at-tention to both your subject and your background as you compose shots. I think you’ll be very pleased with the results when you work your shots this way!

Bill Schmoker, [email protected]


NEWS FROM THE FIELD

Fall 2014 (August–November)David Dowell

“News from the Field” contains reports of rare birds found in Colorado. These reports are compiled from the COBirds listserv ([email protected]), eBird (ebird.org) and the West Slope Birding Network ([email protected]). The reports contained herein are largely unchecked, and the editors do not necessarily vouch for their authenticity. Species in capitals are those for which the Colorado Bird Records Committee (CBRC) requests documen-tation. Please submit your sightings of these “review” species through the CFO website at coloradobirdrecords.org.

Overview of the SeasonAs is often the case, summer and autumn rain totals varied greatly

across the state. In western Colorado, rainfall was below average dur-ing the summer and fall. In contrast, rain fell consistently in north-eastern Colorado from June to September, and totals ended up well above normal for the summer and for the year overall. Southeastern Colorado continued to experience harsh extremes, with locally very heavy rain in June, July and October contrasting with dry weather otherwise during the year.

The above-normal rainfall in northeastern Colorado and the epi-sodes of heavy rain in June and July in southeastern Colorado clearly affected the distribution of birds found in the fall. Vegetation was lush, and insects numerous, thus migrating birds found widespread food sources. During the course of the fall, Colorado birders reported many of the typical migrating passerines, both common and uncom-mon, but these migrants seemed to be spread out rather than concen-trated in “migrant traps,” with rarities reported one or two at a time rather than in bunches.

During the fall, birders commented on unusually high numbers of Red-breasted Nuthatches, Red Crossbills and Cassin’s Finches. The number of Cassin’s Finches reported on the eastern plains was particularly noteworthy. Birding was consistently good in the mild September weather and into November. By mid-November, snow and record-breaking cold temperatures arrived suddenly, and great movements of geese, ducks and passerines were reported.

Above-normal summer rainfall throughout northeastern Colo-rado led to unusually high reservoir levels there. Most notably, tra-ditional fall shorebird “hotspots” such as Jackson and Prewitt Reser-voirs had almost no open mud this fall, which challenged birders to


find significant concentrations of shorebirds elsewhere. Participants in the CFO Convention trips to Riverside Reservoir in Weld County, a private lake that did have mudflats in late summer, were treated to good numbers and diversity of shorebirds. Water level at John Mar-tin Reservoir dropped rapidly during late summer, exposing miles of mudflats and attracting staggering numbers of shorebirds, particularly in September.

One of the fall highlights was the discovery of up to five Baird’s Sparrows in tall grasslands along Drennan Road, southeast of Colo-rado Springs, during the last week of August and the first week of September. This Ammodramus sparrow breeds in a small range from the Dakotas and Montana into southern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, wintering in southern New Mexico, southern Arizona and northern Mexico. Previous Colorado records of Baird’s Sparrows were presumed spring and fall migrants, but the behavior of this year’s Baird’s Sparrows on Drennan Road spurred discussions on COBirds about the possibility that the species may have bred nearby. In par-ticular, the presence of so many birds for such an extended period at one location, plus indications of juveniles begging from adults, suggested likely breeding. As described in The Sibley Guide to Birds, Baird’s Sparrows are typically secretive and found singly in tall grass, so the opportunity to study these birds was an unexpected treat for Colorado birders.

Fall 2014 will also be remembered for rare, long-staying hum-mingbirds: an adult female Magnificent Hummingbird in Coal Creek Canyon, Boulder County, and an adult female Costa’s Hummingbird in Grand Junction, Mesa County. Birders greatly appreciate the hos-pitality of homeowners Adam Jack (Boulder County) and Larry and Twanna Cooksey (Mesa County) who provided opportunities to view these rarities.

Other fall highlights included the September jaeger invasion, with at least three Long-tailed Jaegers and two Parasitic Jaegers ob-served by many birders. Large numbers of Sabine’s Gulls were also reported during roughly the same period and in October, Ted Floyd reported the discovery of several African Collared-Doves near Lafay-ette, Boulder County, generating discussion on COBirds about the identification, origins and possible hybridization with Eurasian Col-lared-Doves. Finally, up-close views of Black, Surf and White-winged Scoters at locations such as Memorial Park in Colorado Springs (El Paso County), Rifle Gap Reservoir (Garfield County) and Colorado River State Park (Mesa County).

In the list of reports below, county names are italicized, and the following abbreviations are used: CFO – Colorado Field Ornitholo-


gists; CG – campground; CR – Coun-ty Road; m.ob. – many observers; NF – National Forest; NP – National Park; NWR – National Wildlife Ref-uge; Res. – Reservoir; SP – State Park; SWA – State Wildlife Area.

Red-throated Loon: 1 at Chatfield SP, Douglas, 25 Oct (JK, TR, MF, MB, JS) and 3 Nov (DSu). 1 at Jackson Res., Morgan, 8 Nov (JK, KMD). 1 at Union Res., Weld, 9-10 Nov (DB, SM). 1 at Lake Trinidad SP, Las Ani-mas, 22 Nov (RM).

Pacific Loon: 1 at Holbrook Res., Otero, 7 Nov (SO); rarely seen in southeastern Colorado. 1 at Sweitzer Lake, Delta, 13-27 Nov (AR, JTr); rarely seen in western Colorado. Sev-eral reports in central, northern, and northeastern Colorado.

Red-necked Grebe: 1 at Mira-monte Res., San Miguel (first county record), 29 Oct – 17 Nov (GS, m.ob.). 2 at Jumbo Res., Sedgwick, 8 Nov (LE, JK, JD, KMD). 1 at North Gateway Park in Lamar, Prowers (probably a first county record), 15 Nov – 14 Dec (JTh, JS). 2 at Lathrop SP, Huerfano, 21-24 Nov (RM). 2 at Lake Trinidad SP, Las Animas, 22 Nov (RM). 1 at Pueblo Res., Pueblo, 2 Oct - 22 Nov (BP, m.ob.). Several reports in north-ern Colorado. The total number of re-ports was unusually high this fall and also in fall 2013.

LEAST BITTERN: 1, possibly 2, near Eads, Kiowa, 3 Aug (MP).

Great Egret: 2 at Fruitgrowers Res., Delta, 9-14 Nov (EH, m.ob.). This species is uncommon in western Colorado, and rare in November any-where in Colorado.

REDDISH EGRET: 2 white-

morph adults at John Martin Res., Bent, 6 Aug (DN). 1 white-morph ju-venile at same location, 8 Sep (SM).

LITTLE BLUE HERON: 1 juve-nile at Alamosa NWR, Alamosa, 29 Aug (JRa).

Cattle Egret: 115 at Lower Latham Res., Weld, 5 Sep (SM).

YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON: 2 at Prospect Ponds Natural Area, Larimer, 19-20 Sep (DWa, AB, NK). 1 juvenile at Neesopah Res., Kiowa, 24 Sep (NM, SM).

Glossy Ibis: 1 adult at Smith Res., Costilla, 3 Aug (SM).

Trumpeter Swan: 2 adults at Pueb-lo Res., Pueblo, 17 Nov (BP). The small population of captive origin in Archuleta continues (m. ob.).

Tundra Swan: 1 at Highline SP, Mesa, 16 Nov (BoM). A state-record high count of 35 at Elevenmile Res., Park, 16 Nov (DSh, JK). Other re-ports in Adams, Boulder, Douglas, El Paso, Fremont, Jefferson, Larimer, and Park.

Swan sp.: 2 at Lagerman Res., Boulder, 15 Nov (SF). 1 juvenile at Confluence Park, Delta, 24 Nov (AR).

Tundra Swans, Boulder Reservoir, Boul-der County, 16 November 2014. Photo by David Waltman


Snow Goose: 120,000 at John Martin Res., Bent, 30 Nov (SM, DD).

Cackling Goose: 75,000 at Wind-sor Res., Weld, 28 Nov (SM).

Mallard × Mottled Duck: 1 male at Stewart’s Pond, Weld, 17 Oct (SM).

EURASIAN WIGEON: 1 at Barr Lake, Adams, 21 Sep (SHo).

Eurasian × American Wigeon: 1 male at Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR, Adams, 2 Nov (CS).

Green-winged Teal: 3,500 at John Martin Res., Bent, 3 Nov (SM).

Long-tailed Duck: 1 female at

Rifle Gap Res., Garfield, found on 14 Nov and remaining through the end of the month (D&MV, m.ob.). 1 male at John Martin Res., Bent, 17-18 Nov (DN, JS). 1 at Lathrop SP, Huerfano, 21 Nov (RM). 1 at Lake Trinidad SP, Las Animas, 22 Nov (RM). Long-tailed Ducks are rarely seen in these regions of the state. Several reports in central and northern Colorado.

Surf Scoter: 2 at Colorado River SP near Fruita, Mesa, 5-24 Nov (MH, RR, m. ob.); rarely seen in western Colorado. 1 at Holbrook Res., Otero, 9

Surf Scoter, Prospect Lake, El Paso County, 17 November 2014. Photo by Bill Maynard

Black Scoter, Prospect Lake, El Paso County, 22 November 2014. Photo by Bill Maynard

White-winged Scoter, Prospect Lake, El Paso County, 21 November 2014. Photo by Bill Maynard

Black and Surf Scoters, Prospect Lake, El Paso County, 18 November 2014. Photo by Bill Maynard


Nov (SO). 1 at Lake Trinidad SP, Las Animas, 22 Nov (RM). Many reports in northern and central Colorado.

Black Scoter: 2 in Pagosa Springs, Archuleta (second county record), 4-9 Nov (DKn). 1 at Memorial Park in Colorado Springs, El Paso, 7-29 Nov (BC, m. ob.). 4 at Jackson Res., Mor-gan, 8 Nov (JK, KMD). 1 at Union Res., Weld, 8 Nov (B&IP). 2 at Spin-ney Res., Park, 11 Nov (DSu). 3 juve-niles at Rifle Gap Res., Garfield, found on 14 Nov and remaining into Dec (D&MV, m.ob.); rarely seen in west-ern Colorado. 2 at Dillon Res., Sum-mit, 16 Nov (JK, DSh). 1 at Douglas Res., Larimer, 17-23 Nov (DWa, m. ob.). As many as 3 at Aurora Ram-part Res., Douglas, 17-25 Nov (DKi, DSu, m.ob.). Black Scoter is the rarest of the scoters, so the unusually high numbers of reports in fall 2014 and fall 2013 are noteworthy.

White-winged Scoter: 1 at Colo-rado River SP near Fruita, Mesa, 5-23 Nov (MH, m. ob.); rarely seen in western Colorado. 3 at Jumbo Res., Sedgwick, 8 Nov (LE, JK, JD, KMD). 1 at Lake Trinidad SP, Las Animas, 22 Nov (RM). 2 males at John Mar-tin Res., Bent (first county record), 30 Nov (DD, SM). Several reports in northern and central Colorado.

BLACK VULTURE: 1 south of Riverside Res., Weld, 10 Nov (GR).

Broad-winged Hawk: Sightings in Adams, Bent, Boulder, Denver, El Paso, Jefferson, Kiowa, Larimer, Phil-lips, Prowers, and Weld between 27 Aug and 22 Oct. Crow Valley CG, Weld, was a particularly good location for Broad-winged Hawks in late Sep-tember, with as many as 5 seen (SM),

including one dark morph (DD, SM, ACF, BF).

Swainson’s Hawk: 266 west of Cope, Washington, 13 Sep (DD, SM).

American Golden-Plover: 6 at Jumbo Res., Logan, 19 Sep (KMD, CO, DSh, JK). 9 at John Martin Res., Bent, 24 Sep (SM, NM).

American Avocet: 630 at John Martin Res., Bent, 8 Sep (SM).

Upland Sandpiper: 33 near Lamar, Prowers, 21 Aug (JS, JTh).

Whimbrel: 1 on 14 Sep (AHu) and then 2 on 17 Sep (CS) at Barr Lake SP, Adams. 1 near Lower Latham Res., Weld, on 20 Sep (GM).

Long-billed Curlew: 1 near Delta, Delta, 17 Oct (CA); a late sighting for anywhere in Colorado.

Sanderling: 1 at McPhee Res., Montezuma, 6 Aug (JBe). 1 at Ridg-way Res., Ouray, 8 Sep (CD, BW, JAR). This species is rare in western Colorado.

Dunlin: 1 at Jett Res., Kiowa, 3 Oct (SM). 3 at John Martin Res., Bent, 28 Oct - 3 Nov (DN, DL, JTh, SM). 1 at Pueblo Res., Pueblo, 19 Nov (BP, GW).

Dusky Grouse, south of Buford, Rio Blanco County, 9 August 2014. Photo by David Leatherman


Stilt Sandpiper: 1,740 at John Martin Res., Bent, 17 Sep (NM, SM).

Short-billed Dowitcher: 1 at Pre-witt Res., Washington, 20 Aug (SW, NM, SM). 3 juveniles at Red Lion SWA, Logan, 22 Aug (GW, LE, JK, SL, KMD), 1 of which stayed through 19 Sep (m. ob.). 2 at Riverside Res., Weld, 30 Aug (m.ob.). 1 at Lower Latham Res., Weld, 31 Aug (TD) and another at the same location 20 Sep (GM). 2 or more at Elevenmile SP, Park, 2 Sep (DSu). 2 at Loloff Res., Weld, 5 Sep (SM). 1 at Adams and Bunker Res. in the Pawnee National Grassland, Weld, 9 Sep (TW). 1 at Barr Lake SP, Ad-ams, 14-17 Sep (AHu, CS). 1 at John Martin Res., Bent, 17 Sep (SM). 1 at Neesopah Res., Kiowa, 3 Oct (SM). The number of sightings this fall was unusually high.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper: 3 at Jett Res., Kiowa, 30 Aug (SM). 1 near Briggsdale, Weld, 6-7 Sep (MaM, KMD, CO, DSh, JK). 1 at John Mar-tin Res., Bent, 17 Sep (SM, NM). 1 at Blue Lake, Kiowa, 27 Sep (TD).

Red Phalarope: 1 and then 2 at Chatfield SP, Jefferson, 18 Sep – 4 Oct (JK, DSu, m.ob.). 1 at Cherry Creek SP, Arapahoe, 19 Sep (GW). 1 at Union Res., Weld, 27 Sep (TF). 1 at John Martin Res., Bent, 3 Nov (SM). 1 at Elevenmile Res., Park, 3 Nov (SM, NM).

LONG-TAILED JAEGER: 1 dark morph juvenile at Pueblo Res., Pueblo, 5 Sep (BP, JD, JR, GW). 1 adult at Timnath Res., Larimer, 15-20 Sep (AB, m.ob.). 1 intermediate ju-venile at Boulder Res., Boulder, 16-23 Sep (DD, CN, m.ob.).

PARASITIC JAEGER: 1 adult at

Timnath Res., Larimer, 13 Sep (AB, NK, DWa, GD, DL). 1 light morph adult at Antero Res., Park, 16 Sep (DSu).

Jaeger sp.: 1 at Timnath Res., Lar-imer, 1 Sep (GL).

Little Gull: 1 juvenile at Cherry Creek SP, Arapahoe, 14-21 Aug (GW, LE, m.ob.).

Franklin’s Gull: 885 at John Mar-tin Res., Bent, 3 Nov (SM); unusually high count for this location and also for this date.

Laughing Gull: 1 at Stewarts’ Pond, Weld, 31 Aug (CS).

Mew Gull: 1 at Cherry Creek SP, Arapahoe, 19 Sep (CS). 1 juvenile at Timnath Res., Larimer, 29 Sep (SM). September sightings in Colorado are rare. 1 at Horseshoe Res. and Boyd Lake SP, Larimer, 16-22 Oct (NK, AB, GD). 1 and then 2 at Union Res., Weld, 20 Oct – 10 Nov (SM, DD, MML). 1 adult at Chatfield SP, Douglas, 21-22 Oct (DSu, SMa). 1 at Neesopah Res., Kiowa, 3 Nov (SM). 1 at Lake Henry, Crowley, 5 Nov (SM). 1 at Barr Lake SP, Adams, 9 Nov (DD, TS). 1 adult at Horseshoe Lake North, Larimer, 16 Nov (NK). 1 at Pueblo Res., Pueblo, 22 Nov (SR, GM, WK, TD). 1 at Big Johnson Res., El Paso, 26 Nov (MP). 1 at Memorial Park, El Paso, 28 Nov (MP, m.ob.). 1 at Cherry Creek SP, Arapahoe, 28 Nov (GW). The number of sightings this fall was unusually high.

Glaucous Gull: 1 immature at Union Res., Weld, 17-28 Nov (SR, CS, m. ob.). 1 at Cherry Creek SP, Arapahoe, 25 Nov (DSu). 1 adult at Lake Henry, Crowley, 30 Nov (SM, DD).


Herring × Glaucous-winged Gull: 1 at Lake Henry, Crowley, 30 Nov (SM, DD).

WESTERN GULL: 1 adult at Big Johnson Res., El Paso, 30 Nov (MP, JD).

Lesser Black-backed Gull: 1 im-mature at Jumbo Res., Logan, 16-31 Aug (SM, m. ob.), presumably the same one found 12 Jul (WK, GM). 1 adult at Barr Lake, Adams, 27 Aug (SM), continuing into September (m. ob.); rare in summer in Colorado. 1 third cycle at Ridgway Res., Ouray, 17-20 Nov (CD, BW), the fourth in western Colorado. 1 at John Martin Res., Bent, on 8 Sep, 15 Nov, and 30 Nov (SM, DN, JS, JTh, DD). 1 at Lake Henry, Crowley, 30 Nov (SM, DD). This species is uncommon in southeastern Colorado. Many reports in southern, central, northern, and northeastern Colorado.

Great Black-backed Gull: 1 at Jackson Res., Morgan, 9 Nov (DD, TS). 1 at Pueblo Res., Pueblo, 17 Nov into December (BP, m. ob.). 1 at Au-rora Res., Arapahoe, 26 Nov (DD).

Sabine’s Gull: Colorado birders enjoyed a surplus of Sabine’s Gulls this fall. Sightings were reported from Ad-ams, Alamosa, Arapahoe, Bent, Boul-der, Costilla, Crowley, Denver, Doug-las, El Paso, Jefferson, Kiowa, Larimer, Logan, Morgan, Otero, Park, Pueblo, Sedgwick, Washington, and Weld. As many as 8 were found at Cherry Creek SP, Arapahoe, 19 Sep (GW), and num-bers reached 12 on 17 Sep and then 13 on 25 Sep at Chatfield SP, Douglas (GW, DSu).

Black-legged Kittiwake: 1 juvenile at McIntosh Res., Boulder, 8 Nov (DD).

Caspian Tern: 1 at Smith Res.,

Costilla, 3 Aug (SM). 1 at John Mar-tin Res., Bent, 5 Aug (KMD, GW). 1 at Pueblo Res., Pueblo, 5 Sep (JR, JD). 1 at Pastorius Res., La Plata, 10 Sep (SA). 2 at Confluence Park, Delta, 13 Sep (RMo). Many reports in northern Colorado.

ARCTIC TERN: 1 at Big John-son Res., El Paso, 8-10 Sep (MP, BiM, m. ob.). 1 at Boyd Lake, Larimer, 14-17 Sep (NK, m. ob.). 1 at John Martin Res., Bent, 17 Sep (NM, SM).

Boreal Owl: 1 in Roosevelt NF, Larimer, 13 Aug (DKi, GN, LM, HS, MR). 1 in White River NF, Pitkin, 22 Sep (BS). 2 in Rocky Mountain NP, Larimer, 24 Sep (NK, WL). 2 below Rollins Pass, Gilpin, 25 Sep (JC, MB, MiM); though resident, the species is rarely reported in fall.

MEXICAN WHIP-POOR-WILL: 1 near CO-NM state line, La Plata, 16 Aug (SL, VR).

LESSER NIGHTHAWK: 1 near Nucla, Montrose, 10 Sep (CD).

MAGNIFICENT HUMMING-BIRD: 1 adult female near Coal Creek Canyon, Boulder, 27 Oct – 11 Nov, banded on 10 Nov (AJ, SB, m.ob.).

ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRD: 1 immature male in Montrose, Mon-trose, 22-25 Oct (PT, SB) would provide, pending acceptance by the CBRC, the fifth western Colorado re-cord.

COSTA’S HUMMINGBIRD: 1 adult female in Grand Junction, Mesa, 1 Nov continuing into December, banded on 6 Nov (L&TC, SB, m.ob.). Pending acceptance by the CBRC, this would be the third record for western Colorado and the sixth for Colorado.


Red-necked Grebe, Lamar, Prowers County, 21 November 2014. Photo by Janeal Thompson

Surf Scoter, Washington Park, Denver, Denver County, 1 November 2014. Photo by Janeal Thompson

Broad-winged Hawk, dark-morph, Crow Valley Campground, Weld County, 28 September 2014. Photo by David Dowell

Black-bellied Plover, West Jett Reservoir (private), Kiowa County. Photo by Ja-neal Thompson

Sanderling, Ridgway Reservoir, Ouray County, 8 September 2014. Photo by JoAnn Potter Riggle

Upland Sandpiper, Tamarack State Wildlife Area, Logan County, 2 August 2014. Photo by David Dowell


Red Phalarope, Chatfield State Park, Adams County, 4 October 2014. Photo by Peter Burke

Long-tailed Jaeger, Pueblo Reservoir, Pueblo County, 5 September 2014. Photo by Brandon Percival

Long-tailed Jaeger, Boyd Lake, Larimer County, 17 September 2014. Photo by David Leatherman

Lesser Black-backed Gull. Ridgway Res-ervoir, Ouray County, 17 November 2014. Photo by Brenda Wright

Mew Gull, Prospect Lake, El Paso County, 29 November 2014. Photo by Bill Maynard

Sabine’s Gull, Boyd Lake, Larimer County, 17 September 2014. Photo by David Leatherman


Sabine’s Gull, Six Mile Reservoir, Boul-der County, 16 September 2014. Photo by Peter Burke

Arctic Tern, Big Johnson Reservoir, El Paso County, 5 September 2014. Photo by Bill Maynard

Magnificent Hummingbird, Jack resi-dence, Coal Creek Canyon, Boulder County, 28 October 2014. Photo by Peter Burke

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Willow Valley Drive, Lamar, Prowers County, 22 September 2014. Photo by Janeal Thompson

Merlin, Ish Reservoir, BoulderCounty, 6 September 2014.Photo by David Waltman


Williamson’s Sapsucker, Lamar Com-munity College, Prowers County, 7 September 2014. Photo by Janeal Thompson

American Three-toed Woodpecker, south-ern Grand Mesa, Delta County, 8 Au-gust 2014. Photo by David Leatherman

Great Crested Flycatcher, Melody Tem-pel Grove, Bent County, 27 August 2014. Photo by Janeal Thompson

Cassin’s Kingbird, Norma’s Grove, CR 57 and CR 100, Weld County, 22 September 2014. Photo by David Leatherman

Bell’s Vireo, Arkansas River, Pueblo County, 24 September 2014. Photo by Brandon Percival


White-eyed Vireo, Pueblo City Park, Pueblo County, 8 November 2014. Photo by Brandon Percival

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Nuncla, Mon-trose County, 4 August 2014. Photo by Brenda Wright

Chestnut-collared Longspur, Chico Ba-sin Ranch, El Paso County, 25 October 2014. Photo by Bill Maynard Winter Wren, Morgan County, 11 No-

vember 2014. Photo by David Dowell

Tennessee Warbler, Pioneer Park, Ster-ling, Logan County, 1 September 2014. Photo by Andy Goris

Pine Warbler, Denver West, Jefferson County, 30 November 2014. Photo by Mark Chavez


Blackpoll Warbler, Crow Valley Camp-ground, Weld County, 5 September 2014. Photo by David Leatherman

Wilson’s Warbler, Crow Valley Camp-ground, Weld County, 5 September 2014. Photo by David Leatherman

Baird’s Sparrow, Drennen Road, El Paso County, 27 August 2014. Photo by Bill Maynard Bobolink, Drennan Road, El Paso

County, 27 August 2014. Photo by Bill Maynard

Black-throated Sparrow, Knaus Open Space, Gunbarrel Hill, Boulder County, 15 September 2014. Photo by Peter Burke

Purple Finch, Longmont, Boulder Coun-ty, 12 November 2014. Photo by John Vanderpoel


RUBY-THROATED HUM-MINGBIRD: Singles in Lamar, Prow-ers, 9 Aug and 22 Sep (JTh). 1 in Holy-oke, Phillips, 30 Aug (DD, LAG, EI, CB, BoM, DoS). 1 at Stulp Farm, Prowers, 27 Sep – 2 Oct (JS).

Calliope Hummingbird: 20 near Du-rango, La Plata, 16 Aug (VR).

Acorn Woodpecker: As many as 4 at long-term colony site west of Durango, La Plata, 6 Aug – 11 Sep (CE, BE, VR, SL, LH, SLe). 2 at Pueblo Mountain Park, Pueblo, 16 Aug – 28 Sep (LB, RM, CK), previously reported in July (BP).

Ladder-backed Woodpecker: 1 near Ken Caryl, Jefferson, 23 Sep (DSu); out-side normal range.

EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE: 1 at Tamarack Ranch SWA, Logan, 2-6 Aug (WK, SS). 1 at Crow Valley CG, Weld, 5 Sep (SM).

YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCH-ER: 1 in Alvin, Yuma, 29 Aug (SM).

Willow Flycatcher: 1 in Grand Junction, Mesa, 23 Sep (MH), a re-cord-late date for western Colorado.

Alder Flycatcher: 1 at Neenoshe

Res., Kiowa, 30 Aug (SM). 1 at Hale Ponds, Yuma, 31 Aug (SM).

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher: 2 near Wetmore, Fremont, 8 Jul – 10 Aug (RM, m.ob.). 1 in Nucla, Montrose (first county record), 4-5 Aug (BW, CD). 1 immature male at John Martin Res., Bent, 2 Sep (DN).

Red-eyed Vireo: 1 at Monte Vista NWR, Rio Grande (probably a first county record), 21 Sep (ChR, SD). 1 at Loudy-Simpson Park in Craig, Moffat, 3 Oct (JL); this species is rarely seen in western Colorado, and the date is late.

Philadelphia Vireo: Singles at La-mar Community College, Prowers, 30 Aug (SM), 6 Sep (JS, JTh), and 16 Sep (DR). 1 at Thompson Ranch, Lincoln, 7 Sep (MC). 2 at Brett Gray Ranch, Lincoln, 21 Sep (MP). 1 at Last Chance Rest Area, Washington, 28 Sep (MC, SR).

White-eyed Vireo: 1 in Holyoke, Phillips, 19 Oct (DD). 1 at Pueblo City Park, Pueblo, 8 Nov (BP, CK).

Plumbeous Vireo: 20 at Bobcat Ridge Natural Area, Larimer, 2 Aug (DBr, GD).

Blue-headed Vireo: 1 at Akron golf course, Washington, 5 Sep (GW). 1 in Karval, Lincoln, 7 Sep (GW, SL). 1 at Neenoshe Locust Grove, Kiowa, 8 Sep (SM, JS). 1 at Chico Basin Ranch, El Paso, 12-13 Sep (NG, JD). 1 at Golden Ponds in Longmont, Boulder, 10-13 Sep (SM, LH, SF, AC). 1 at Crow Val-ley CG, Weld, 14 - 21 Sep (DD, MHa, JM, TJ, CR, OJ, RT). 1 at Pueblo Res., Pueblo, 25 Sep (BP). 1 in Nucla, Montrose, 26 Sep (CD). 1 at Melody Tempel Grove, Bent, 29 Sep (DN). 1 at Fountain Creek Regional Park, El Paso, 1 Nov (LF).

Black-chinned Hummingbird, Willow Valley Drive, Lamar, Prowers County, 22 September 2014. Photo by Janeal Thompson


Clark’s Nutcracker: 1 at Two Buttes SWA, Baca, 5 Oct (GW, MP); outside normal range.

Purple Martin: 18 at Fruita Res. No. 2, Mesa, 10 Aug (JTr, JC)

House Wren: 1 at Prewitt Res., Logan, 11 Nov (DD). 1 near Nucla, Montrose, 26 Nov (CD). These are late dates for anywhere in Colorado.

PACIFIC WREN: 1 in Estes Park, Larimer, 5 Sep (JN). 1 at Brett Gray Ranch, Lincoln, 21 Sep (MP).

Veery: 1 near Basalt, Eagle, 1 Aug (TG). 1 near Como, Park, 4 Aug (SM). 1 near Aspen, Pitkin, 25 Aug (JE). 1 each at Crow Valley CG, Weld, 1 Sep (DD) and 12 Sep (CO, KMD, LE, JK); rarely seen in fall.

Wood Thrush: 1 at Stulp Farm, Prowers, 27 Sep (JS).

Sprague’s Pipit: 1 at Lagerman Res., Boulder, 6 Sep (SS). As many as 4 at “Pipit Hill” near Hale, Yuma, 27 Sep – 25 Oct (m. ob.).

Bohemian Waxwing: 5 near Estes Park, Larimer, 24 Aug (LS). 9 near Gunbarrel, Boulder, 14 Nov (CN).

Northern Parula: 1 at Crow Val-ley CG, Weld, 28 Aug (MSM). 1, pos-sibly 2, at Spring Canyon Community Park in Fort Collins, Larimer, 9-25 Sep (BB). 1 in Trinidad, Las Animas, 20 Sep (MP). 1 at Stulp Farm, Prowers, 20 Sep (JS). 1 at Lake Hasty, Bent, 4 Oct (CK, BP).

Orange-crowned Warbler: 123 at Neenoshe Locust Grove, Kiowa, 24 Sep (NM, SM).

Chestnut-sided Warbler: 1 im-mature female at Lamar Community College, Prowers, 21 Sep (JTh). 1 in Parker, Douglas, 21 Sep (TR). 1 male at Loudy-Simpson Park in Craig, Mof-fat, 28 Sep – 1 Oct (FL); rarely seen in western Colorado.

Magnolia Warbler: 1 at Barr Lake, Adams, 11 Sep (IS). 1 at Chico Basin Ranch, El Paso, 13 Sep (JD). 1 at Bob-cat Ridge Natural Area, Larimer, 14 Sep (SMi, m.ob.). 1 at Lamar Commu-nity College, Prowers, 16 Sep (DR). 1 at Crow Valley CG, Weld, 28 Sep (DD).

CAPE MAY WARBLER: 1 at Pueblo City Park, Pueblo, 8 Nov (BP).

Black-throated Blue Warbler: 1 immature male at Barr Lake, Adams, 19 Sep (MMc). 1 at Rocky Mountain Ar-senal NWR, Adams, 1 Oct (KS).

Blackburnian Warbler: 1 at Prewitt Res., Washington, 31 Aug (JK, DSh). 1 near Loveland, Larimer, 9 Sep (SW). 1 in Fort Collins, Larimer, 9 Sep (RS). 1 at Fox Ranch, Yuma, 13 Sep (DD, SM).

Black-throated Green Warbler: 2 at Melody Tempel Grove, Bent, 5 Sep (DN, JTh, JS). 1 at Crow Valley CG, Weld, 11 – 13 Sep (NM, FS, AHe). 1

Bushtit, Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins, Larimer County, 16 November 2014. Photo by David Leatherman


in Estes Park, Larimer, 18 Sep (DWe). 1 in Holyoke, Phillips, 19 Oct (DD).

Palm Warbler: 1 at Last Chance, Washington, 29 Sep (JB). 1 at Eaton Cemetery, Weld, 17 Oct (SM). 1 at Teller Farm and Lakes, Boulder, 1-5 Nov (SF, SMa, SR).

Pine Warbler: 1 at Pueblo Res., Pueblo, 13 Sep (BP, SR). 1 in Colorado City, Pueblo, 13 Sep (DaS). 1 at Jack-son Lake SP, Morgan, 1 Nov (DD). 1 at Denver West office park, Jefferson, 30 Nov (MC).

Bay-breasted Warbler: 1 at Barr Lake SP, Adams, 9-10 Oct (MMc, GW, LK, MP).

Blackpoll Warbler: 1 at Last Chance Rest Area, Washington, 1 Sep (DKi, MG, JTi, JDa, DBe, GN, JV, JTr). 1 at Crow Valley CG, Weld, 5 Sep (DL). 2 at Brett Gray Ranch, Lincoln, 21 Sep (MP). 1 near Estes Park, Larimer, 23 Sep (CR, OJ, TJ, JM, MiM, JC). 1 at Lake Estes, Larimer, 25 Sep (JeT).

Yellow-throated Warbler: 1 at Ev-ergreen Cemetery, El Paso, 6 Sep (MP).

Prothonotary Warbler: 1 at Mat-thews-Reeser Bird Sanctuary in Estes Park, Larimer, 10 Sep (JN). 1 at Pueb-lo Res., Pueblo, 7-10 Sep (DC, GW).

Ovenbird: 1 in Grand Junction,

Mesa, 29 Sep – 2 Oct (AW); rarely seen in western Colorado and ob-served on a rather late date for any-where in Colorado.

Northern Waterthrush: 1 at Loudy-Simpson Park in Craig, Moffat, 5 Oct (FL). 1 at Lamar Community College, Prowers, 15 Oct (DR). Late dates for Colorado.

MOURNING WARBLER: 1 im-mature female at Neenoshe Locust Grove, Kiowa, 8 Sep (SM, JS).

CANADA WARBLER: 1 at Prewitt Res., Washington, 27-31 Aug (SM, JK, DSh). 1 at Barr Lake, Ad-ams, 28 Aug (NG). 1 at Cañon City Riverwalk, Fremont, 30 Aug (RM). 1 at Crow Valley CG, Weld, 13-14 Sep (AB, GW, SL, DD). 1 at Clear Springs Ranch, El Paso, 22 Sep (SBr).

Western Tanager: 1 male at Ridg-way SP, Ouray, 6 Nov (SH); a very late date for Colorado.

Scarlet Tanager: 1 at Brett Gray Ranch, Lincoln, 21 Sep (MP). 1 at Brett Gray Ranch, Lincoln, 11 Oct (MP, SM, GW).

Painted Bunting: 1 at Neenoshe Locust Grove, Kiowa, 8 Sep (SM).

EASTERN TOWHEE: Singles at Tamarack Ranch SWA, Logan, 30 Aug (TD, LyE, GD), 30 Aug (GW), and 31 Aug (MP, PB). 1 at Fox Ranch, Yuma, 13 Sep (SM, DD).

Black-throated Sparrow: 1 near Gunbarrel, Boulder, 15 Sep (CN, PB); outside normal range.

BAIRD’S SPARROW: As many as 5 along Drennan Road southeast of Colorado Springs, El Paso, 26 Aug – 8 Sep (AD, m. ob.). 1 at Fox Ranch, Yuma, 13 Sep (SM).

LE CONTE’S SPARROW: 1 at

Prothonotary Warbler, Arkansas River, Pueblo, Pueblo County, 10 September 2014. Photo by Brandon Percival


Brett Gray Ranch, Lincoln, 28 Sep (MP, GW).

Lark Bunting: 1 in Dry Creek Ba-sin, San Miguel, 14 Aug (BW, CD); rarely seen in western Colorado.

Golden-crowned Sparrow: 1 im-mature at Peoria, Arapahoe, 4 Oct (GR). 1 juvenile at Hale Ponds, Yuma, 25 Oct (LE, MP). 1 adult, re-turning for its fifth consecutive win-ter, at Teller Farm and Lakes, Boulder, 30 Oct into December (DD, m.ob.). 1 adult, returning for its sixth winter, along with an immature (seen 1 – 11 Nov), at Red Rocks Park, Jefferson, 1 Nov into December (CyJ, m.ob.). 1 adult near Ken Caryl, Jefferson, 4 Nov (DSu).

White-throated Sparrow: 1 near Morapos Creek, Rio Blanco, 8 Oct (JL); rarely seen in northwestern Col-orado.

Fox Sparrow (Red): 1 on Colo-rado State Univ. campus, Larimer, 28 Oct (SBa). 1 at Red Rocks Park, Jef-ferson, 14-19 Nov (TM, m.ob.).

Lapland Longspur: Approximately 6,000 near Sheridan Lake, Kiowa, 23 Nov (CW, JBa).

EASTERN MEADOWLARK: 1 at Crow Valley CG, Weld, 29 Sep (SM).

Yellow-headed Blackbird: 4,300 at Union Res., Weld, 10 Sep (SM). 1 at Merrill Ranch in Hayden, Routt, 27 Nov (NaM); very late date for west-ern Colorado.

Rusty Blackbird: 2 at Stulp Farm, Prowers, 1 Oct (JS). 1 at Brett Gray Ranch, Lincoln, 19 Oct (MP). 2 at Red Lion SWA, Logan, 2 Nov (SL). 1 at Holbrook Res., Otero, 5 Nov (SM). 1 at Pueblo Res., Pueblo, 6 Nov (BP). 1

in southeast Colorado Springs, El Paso, 15 Nov (GN). 1 at Highline Lake SP, Mesa, 20 Nov (MH, NKor), providing only the fifth western Colorado record. 1 at Chatfield SP, Douglas/Jefferson, 21 Nov (DG, SP). 1 at Two Buttes SWA, Baca, 24 Nov (CW, JBa).

Black Rosy-Finch: 180 at Douglas Pass, Garfield, on 17 Nov (JTr).

PURPLE FINCH: 1 at Fairmount Cemetery in Lamar, Prowers, 4 Nov (SM). 1 female type in Longmont, Boulder, 12 – 15 Nov (BG, m.ob.). 1 at Pueblo Res., Pueblo, 15 Nov (BP). 1 female type in Steamboat Springs, Routt, 23 Nov through 3 Dec (T&DM); this species is very rare in western Colorado, and the sighting would provide a first county record, pending acceptance by the CBRC.

Cassin’s Finch: 1 at Lake Hasty, Bent, 5 Oct (DN, BP, CK). 1 at Brett Gray Ranch, Lincoln, 11 Oct (MP, GW, SM). 3 at Crow Valley CG, Weld, 18 Oct (DD). 1 at Sandy Bluffs SWA, Yuma, 19 Oct (DD). 1 at Stulp Farm, Prowers, 22 Oct (JS). 1 at Bon-ny SWA, Yuma, 25 Oct (LE, MP). 1 at Cottonwood Canyon, Baca, 26 Nov (CW, JBa). 1 at Merino, Logan, 29 Nov (DD, TS). This species is rare on the eastern Colorado plains, and this showing was unprecedented there.

Red Crossbill: 200 in Pike NF, Park, 11 Nov (DSu).

White-winged Crossbill: 50 north-west of Louisville, Boulder, 12 Nov (SM). 3 at Eden Valley Institute, Lar-imer, 22 Nov (SW, MW). 5-10 at Mon-arch ski area, Chaffee, 27 Nov (CJ).

Common Redpoll: 1 in south-ern Larimer, 27 Nov (PP). Several in Golden, Jefferson, 30 Nov (IS).


ACKNOWLEDGMENTSMany thanks to the volunteer regional compilers: Coen Dexter (west), John Drummond (southeast), and Forrest Luke (northwest). Ted Floyd, Peter Gent, Steve Mlodinow, Joe Roller, and Scott Severs contributed to this report through their posts on COBirds. Tony Leukering and Peter Gent provided helpful comments on a draft of this report.

CONTRIBUTING OBSERVERSSA: Susan Allerton, LAG: Linda Andes-Georges, CA: Cary Atwood, AB: Andy Bankert, SBa: Scott Baron, JBa: Jessie Barry, MB: Martin Beal, DBe: Diana Beatty, JBe: James Be-atty, BB: Brad Biggerstaff, CB: Chris Blakeslee, DB: David Blue, SB: Steve Bouricius, JB: John Breitsch, DBr: Denise Bretting, LB: Linda Broeren, SBr: Steve Brown, MB: Mary Burger, PB: Peter Burke, DC: David Chartier, MC: Mark Chavez, AC: Al Clark, L&TC: Larry & Twanna Cooksey, JC: Jacob Cooper, BC: Bob Craven, JDa: Jeff Dawson, TD: Todd Deininger, CD: Coen Dexter, DD: David Dowell, GD: Georgia Doyle, SD: Steve Drilling, AD: Aaron Driscoll, JD: John Drummond, JE: Jeff Earls, LE: Lisa Edwards, LyE: Lynda Elkin, BE: Bob Ellis, CE: Chad Ellis, LF: Lee Farese, TF: Ted Floyd, MF: Mike Fos-ter, ACF: Alexandra Class Freeman, BF: Benjamin Freeman, SF: Steve Frye, TG: Thom-as Gaines, Jr., DG: David Gillilan, NG: Nancy Gobris, MG: Mackenzie Goldthwait, BG: Bryan Guarente, LH: Laurens Halsey, MHa: Michael Harvey, MH: Mike Henwood, AHe: Austin Hess, SH: Sue Hirshman, SHo: Steve Hodges, EH: Evelyn Horn, AHu: Art Hudak, EI: Edie Israel, AJ: Adam Jack, CyJ: Cyndy Johnson, OJ: Oscar Johnson, TJ: Tom Johnson, CJ: Clark Jones, WK: William Kaempfer, JK: Joey Kellner, DKi: Doug Kibbe, LK: Loch Kilpatrick, DKn: Dale Knapp, CK: Chris Knight, NK: Nick Komar, NKor: Nick Korte, SL: Steve Larson, DL: Dave Leatherman, GL: Gary Lefko, JL: Jan Leonard, SLe: Sherry Leonardo, WL: Will Lewis, FL: Forrest Luke, SMa: Scott Manwaring, BiM: Bill Maynard, MMc: Meredith McBurney, MiM: Mike McCloy, NaM: Nancy Merrill, KMD: Kathy Mihm Dunning, LM: Lynne Miller, MaM: Mark Miller, RM: Rich Miller, SMi: Sol Miller, MML: Mark Minner-Lee, JM: John Mittermeier, TM: Tim Mitzen, SM: Steve Mlodinow, GM: Gwen Moore, NM: Nick Moore, RMo: Riley Morris, BoM: Bob Moston, T&DM: Tresa & David Moulton, DN: Duane Nelson, JN: Jim Nelson, GN: Gloria Nikolai, CN: Christian Nunes, SO: Stanley Oswald, CO: Chris Owens, SP: Su-san Pellegrini, BP: Brandon Percival, MP: Mark Peterson, PP: Pam Piombino, B&IP: Bill and Inez Prather, JRa: John Rawinski, VR: Van Remsen, MR: Marilyn Rhodes, SR: Sue Riffe, JAR: JoAnn Riggle, AR: Andrea Robinsong, JR: Joe Roller, DR: Dorothy Rus-sell, GR: Gene Rutherford, ChR: Christopher Rustay, CR: Cameron Rutt, RR: Robert Ruvolo, TR: Tim Ryan, LS: Laurie S., MSM: Michael San Miguel, IS: Ira Sanders, SS: Scott Severs, CS: Cathy Sheeter, DoS: Doug Shoffner, DSh: Dean Shoup, DaS: Dave Silverman, FS: Fawn Simonds, TS: Tim Smart, BS: Bruce Snyder, RS: Rob Sparks, GS: George Steele, HS: Harriet Stratton, JS: Jane Stulp, KS: Kimberly Sucy, DSu: David Suddjian, RT: Ryan Terrill, JTh: Janeal Thompson, PT: Paul Tickner, JTi: Jane Tillman, JeT: Jeremiah Trimble, JTr: Jackson Trappett, JV: John Vanderpoel, D&MV: Denise & Mark Vollmar, DWa: David Wade, GW: Glenn Walbek, MW: Meghan Walters, SW: Sean Walters, DWe: Dawn Wellington, AW: Amber West, TW: Thomas Wilberding, CW: Chris Wood, BW: Brenda Wright

David Dowell, [email protected]


Birding In and Around SalidaEmily Latta

The Upper Arkansas River valley lies nestled between the Sawatch Range and the Mosquito Mountain range in central Colo-rado. Home to many different habitats and a corresponding variety of wildlife species, this mild valley is a birder’s delight and recreational hotspot. The local area offers access to a variety of habitats including riparian, aspen, ponderosa pine, pinyon-juniper, high meadows and alpine tundra. When venturing out of the valley into the nearby San Isabel National forest, one can find mature stands of spruce-fir, lodge pole and alpine habitats that boast an exciting diversity of bird spe-cies. Some of the local favorite birding opportunities involve simul-taneous execution of both recreation and birding. Whether hiking through the pinyon juniper hills near the town of Salida or floating the upper Arkansas River, the valley and surrounding areas are sure to deliver some heavy hitters for the “listers” and some friendly favor-ites for the budding birder.

The Arkansas River Valley, sometimes referred to as a “Banana Belt” due to its mild winters, benefits from the warming affect of adia-

Mount Shavano rises above the Arkansas River Valley west of Salida, Colorado, as viewed from the Hutchinson Ranch. Photo by Peter Burke


batic winds and the subsequent rain shadow effect is the cause of the valley’s mild winter climate. Locals revel in the opportunity to ski in the surrounding mountains and then descend to the valley to ride mountain bikes or fish the often snow-free banks of the Arkansas River.

A summer float down the upper Arkansas River is an excellent way to bird the valley, with opportunities to see Spotted Sandpipers, Common Mergansers and possibly a Belted Kingfisher scoping the gold-medal fishing waters below. If you forgot to bring your boat or just don’t feel like getting soaked by the chilly whitewater, the river walkway through the town of Salida and numerous pull-outs along the river provide great and easy access to riparian birding. American dippers and kayakers are sure to be surfing the waves near the Salida “F” Street bridge that features a kayaking play hole nearby. A great spot for warblers is the walkway along the river where both Yellow and Yellow-rumped Warblers, and who knows what else, haunt the brushy thickets.

Further upriver from downtown Salida is the Sands Lake SWA, considered one of the best birding lakes in Chaffee County. The wa-ter in Sands Lake remains open throughout the winter and the sur-rounding willows provide habitat that attracts some exciting migrant waterfowl. Keep an eye out for Ospreys that have nested on one of the nearby ball field lights.

Another great stop in the Salida area is the Hutchinson Home-stead Ranch. Donated to the Town of Poncha Springs by Dr. Wendell F. Hutchinson, the property has become a museum and learning cen-ter. Guidestone Colorado offers educational programs for youngsters focused on the cultural history as well as current farming and ranch-ing practices for growing and raising food. This historic site offers terrific opportunities for birders with a creek running through the site and cottonwood trees providing a unique ecotone.

The Tenderfoot Hill trails, a.k.a. S-Mountain, offer extensive pinyon-juniper stands. Bird species that breed almost exclusively in or near pinyon-juniper in Colorado include Black-chinned Hum-mingbird, Cassin’s Kingbird, Gray Flycatcher, Gray Vireo, Pinyon Jay, Bewick’s Wren, Juniper Titmouse, Bushtit, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Black-throated Sparrow, and the rare but spectacular Scott’s Oriole. In addition, this habitat may host Common Poorwill, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Plumbeous Vireo, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Western Scrub-Jay.

Another local birding favorite is the Mount Shavano State Fish Hatchery and Frantz Lake SWA. The ponds are adjacent to the Ar-kansas River and the hatchery is open to the public. Frantz Lake may


deliver some waterfowl birding opportunities, and the boardwalk is a nice place to take a quick walk.

If you’re feeling adventuresome, the surrounding mountains pro-vide great access to the high country. From the Continental Divide Trail, head south from the top of Monarch Pass or north from the top of Marshall Pass to access some great alpine habitat and the chance to find White-tailed Ptarmigan, Brown-capped Rosy Finch or American Pipit. The mature spruce-fir forests at either access point should hold Pine Grosbeak and Cassin’s Finches. The Continental Divide Trail from Marshall Pass is the quickest way into the alpine but it requires longer access on a gravel road. If you’re an experienced mountain biker and are looking for a combination biking and bird-ing experience, take the High Country mountain bike shuttle to the top of Monarch pass and follow the Monarch Crest trail. Both hik-ing and cycling the Continental Divide trail requires a high level of physical fitness due to the altitude. As of last summer, White-tailed Ptarmigan were consistently found between the trail intersections of Green’s Creek and Agate Creek. If you’re up early, you can hear the male Ptarmigan’s territorial breeding calls.

If it’s (birding) nightlife you’re after, head south of town on CR 101 to the Bear Creek Trailhead. Once at the trail, a mixed conifer stand could possibly offer a Boreal Owl. A Northern Goshawk often patrols this location during daylight hours.

The Salida area has a variety of birding opportunities that are rela-tively quick access and many of them are close to town. The town itself provides a great jumping off point for the numerous recreational activities that the upper Arkansas River Valley provides. Whether you are interested in taking a quick walk around the pinyon-juniper hills or headed towards Sands Lake SWA, the bird life and recre-ational options are a nice compliment to the stunning landscape and a perfect way to get to know the diversity of species in the area.

Emily Latta, [email protected]


A Magnificent Experienceby Adam Jack

It was yet another glorious morning last October 27. In fact it had been a spectacular fall, and as I paused to appreciate the warmth of the morning sunshine, in broke a distinctive sound. There’s nothing all that unusual about the whiz of a hummingbird’s wings where I live. Each year the first hummers arrive in mid-to-late April, staying until the first cold nights of September drive them south. The fall

of 2014 was perhaps a bit mild, but by October I’d taken down all but one of my feeders for the winter. Hummers were long gone by then, or so I’d thought. Still, there was no denying that sound… Intrigued by the pres-ence of the unusual, I stopped what I was doing and focused on that one feeder I maintained for laggardly strays…

She visited.My first impression of the

bird was the size. It was big. Had it really been that long since I saw a hummer? But it was clear there was something out of the ordinary about this bird. My next thought was to grab the camera. What a wonderful wildlife start to the day! It was a female, and she was wary. Slow to move in, she didn’t stay long and was easily spooked. And it wasn’t so much that she was un-willing to sit at the feeder, she barely fit…yes this was a large hummingbird!

By now my mind was racing nearly as fast as her wing beats. She was bigger and altogether different than any hummer I’d ever seen, and a female, further

Magnificent Hummingbird, Coal Creek Can-yon, Boulder County, 1 November 2014. Photo by Janeal Thompson

Magnificent Hummingbird, Coal Creek Can-yon, Boulder County, 28 October 2014. Pho-to by Kathy Mihm Dunning


complicating identification. Time to seek some help. I reached out to Drew Weber who publishes Nemesis Bird Blog. We concluded that the bird was likely a female Magnificent Hummingbird. Drew sug-gested, in an understated way, “I think your local birding community would be interested in knowing about her...” I posted the sighting on CFO’s COBirds listserv, not sure if anyone would even get the chance to see her.

They came.Over the ensuing days and weeks I settled into a new routine.

First I’d wake to greet my newfound bird guest, filling the feeder and enjoying the crisp mountain air. Next I’d greet what became a steady stream of newfound birder-guests. Altogether we had between two and three hundred birders visit. Courteous, considerate, enthusias-tic, excited, some traveled far, many were accompanied by friends, spouses even young kids, all were wonderful visitors. Some made it despite handicaps, one despite surgery. Each was a joy to share with. I enjoyed viewing the critters that I live with through their eyes, and also listening to their insights and tales.

Most mornings the bird would arrive soon after dawn, not pre-dawn, as mornings were now much colder. She’d work the trees, presumably consuming insects, while visiting the feeder each hour. As the temperatures climbed, she would visit the feeder less often. I’ve read that Magnificent Hummingbirds are such insectivores that they are possibly capable of surviving without nectar. She’d generally hawk from the tops of trees, but picked her perches lower, and deeper, perhaps seeking shelter from the elements. I wondered what effect the cold weather would have on her behavior? As far as I could see she appeared quite comfortable. My wife and daughter were very un-derstanding, happy to help so many enthusiastic people. My daughter nicknamed the bird “Maggie.”

And then she stayed.Day after day she stayed. My situation was starting to sink in. Was

she lost? Was her migration instinct defective? Was she destined to stay until too late? Would she stay all winter, as some suggested? Would I feel compelled to intervene? If so, to what length? Why me? I am no hummer expert. My feeder, my problem…was that it?

I received advice. Some suggested I trap her and transport her to “sunnier climes.” Others urged me to, “care about the species, not the individual,” a sentiment I can relate to. I didn’t want to be a party to potentially introducing defective DNA back into the gene pool…but what to DO?

Further complicating matters, I’d grown to care about this individ-ual. I didn’t ask for this. I have neither training nor expertise to make


this sort of decision for a hummingbird, yet I was partly to blame, after all I was the one to put up a feeder. Now what? I hoped she’d fly away. I enjoyed her company, but I was ready to part ways. I’d been told that a hummingbird typically would feed heavily in the morning prior to departure. I watched. I waited. No departure. She wasn’t ready.

I began to fear she was “navigationally challenged,” and that I’d be destined to watch her diminish, eventually perishing, like other hummers that stay too long. It was around this time that I read on COBirds about a hummingbird that had been banded some years prior, but under similar circumstances. I contacted the bander and we agreed to meet. Then I learned that a cold front was forecasted for the region and my worries began anew. One thought I had was that perhaps the disruption of being trapped and banded would, along with the dropping barometer, persuade my long-staying guest to leave ahead the storm. But what if the experience were to harm her instead? Could the band interfere with her ability to migrate? This was no longer the fun it started out to be. Why did I leave that feeder out so late? Ugh!

As it turns out, the banding experience was fascinating. A cage was set up and my feeder placed inside, but the hummer was either too smart or too skittish to enter. After hours of waiting, a decoy hum-mingbird was produced and set up inside the cage. Presto! Instant behavioral change…she came right in. The banding went amazingly smoothly. The bander and his wife are a surgically precise team and were fascinating to watch. To top it off, my daughter was present to release Maggie, MAHU band number 5000-19192, a memory I’m sure she’ll treasure.

Temperatures dropped quickly that night, and snow was falling heavily. I was convinced the conditions would either trigger her in-stincts to migrate or cause her demise, yet next morning there she was looking no worse for wear. People I consulted were evenly split. Some suggested I should remove the feeder and let nature take over, others felt it was the feeders that attracted her in the first place, thus it was my duty to keep the nectar flowing. I was in a quandary.

And then she left. I observed her at the feeder the next morning, December 10, still

not showing much reaction to the extreme cold, but by afternoon she was gone. I spent the next week heating the solution and keeping an eye on the feeder, but she didn’t return. She’d proven herself to be a tough bird, and I’d not count her out. Hopefully she’d migrated. One thing is certain: next spring, I’ll be listening.

Adam Jack, [email protected]


A Tale of Two Field TripsTed Floyd

CFO field trips are notably diverse. Perhaps the “classic” offering is tinged with a bit of good old-fashioned field ornithology; expeditions to The Nature Conservancy’s Fox, Bohart and Brett Gray ranches come to mind. Other trips are of the “full chase mode” variety—for example, CFO’s multi-day, whirlwind tours of eastern Colorado’s birding hot spots. And then there are the trips that emphasize serious adventure and serious scenery; if you want that, try CFO director Mike Henwood’s West Slope excursions this summer (see p. 90 for details).

It’s okay for some CFO field trips to be light-hearted, and that’s how it was with two recent “capers” sponsored by CFO. We capered around eastern Boulder County on a brilliant, sun-kissed Black Fri-day, Nov. 28, 2014, and we did it again in the heart of Denver on a dreary, overcast day with snow flurries on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015. Different venues for sure, and largely different participants, but both CFO outings were wonderfully fun.

The Great Boulder Caper attracted more than 50 participants, in-cluding a number of out-of-staters (nine folks, from Wyoming, Iowa, New York and Vermont). We started out at Walden Ponds, where a Northern Shrike was enjoyed by all and a Swamp Sparrow by some. Then it was over to the Boulder Country Club, where Jane Baryames guided us to a preposterously attired and fully volant drake Mandarin Duck. The rest of the day was fairly slow bird-wise, but we did enjoy the beautiful Bonaparte’s Gulls at McIntosh Reservoir and a stun-ning display of anti-crepuscular rays at Teller Farms, not to mention wonderful company and glorious weather until and beyond sundown.

Our caper in Denver commenced under lowering clouds and the threat of snow at City Park. Two dozen participants got a goose ID primer from Branta fanatic Cathy Sheeter. After our interest in the geese had waned, we studied geographic variation in a mixed-spe-cies flock of nuthatches, creepers, woodpeckers and juncos. Then we went to the Denver Zoo, where we marveled at such oddities as “wild” Common Grackles in the Forest Aviary and “captive” Indian Peafowl roaming wherever they wanted to. After lunch we relocated to the Denver Public Library’s Eugene Field Branch library for a free-wheeling discussion about the birds and birders of Colorado.

Ted Floyd, [email protected]

CFO FIELD TRIP REPORT


CFO Field Trips

SE Colorado Migrant WeekendJoin CFO President Bill Kaempfer and Big Year veteran John Van-

derpoel for a weekend of birding in Southeast Colorado May 8–10. Last year’s trip list hit 130 species that included some stellar rarities like Zone-tailed Hawk, Gray Vireo, Painted Bunting and loads of

migrants such as Worm-eating Warbler, Oven-bird, Hooded Warbler (among 14 warbler species seen) and SE Colorado specialties like Canyon Towhee, Northern Cardinal and Ladder-backed Wood-pecker. This trip is lim-ited to 15 participants and only CFO members are eligible.

We will organize car-pools before heading to Lamar, Colorado, where we will stay on Friday night. Saturday we will continue south, birding at hot spots from Lamar

Community College Woods to Picture and Cottonwood Canyons in Baca County. We’ll overnight in La Junta and then work our way back home Sunday with stops at places like Lake Hasty/John Mar-tin Reservoir, Lake Cheraw and Adobe Creek Reservoir. To register, contact Bill Kaempfer [email protected].

Colorado’s Uncompahgre Plateau Camping Weekend

CFO Board Member Mike Henwood will lead a multi-day birding trip on the Uncompahgre Plateau in southwest Colorado June 12–14. This trip is limited to 10 participants and open to CFO members only. Target species will include Dusky Grouse, Northern Goshawk, Flammulated Owl, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Purple Martin, Grace’s War-bler and Slate-colored Fox Sparrow.

Columbine campground will serve as our base camp. From there

Northern Cardinal, Lamar Community College, Prow-ers County, 14 September 2014. Photo by Janeal Thompson


we will bird various locations on the Uncompahgre Plateau in-cluding an owling excursion Sat-urday evening. On Sunday we will bird in the morning, then return to the campgrounds by noon so folks can return home.

This is a DIFFICULT trip that requires hiking long distances above 9,000 feet and primitive camping with limited access to facilities. Participants are re-sponsible for their own gear, food and water. To register, contact Mike Henwood [email protected].

Day Trip to Divide RoadMike Henwood will also lead

a single-day trip to the Uncom-pahgre Plateau June 20, birding along the Divide Road. This trip will be limited to 15 participants and is open to CFO members only. Target species will include Dusky Grouse, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Purple Martin, Grace’s Warbler, Or-ange-crowned and MacGillivray’s Warblers and Slate-colored Fox Sparrow.

Participants will meet in Grand Junction at the City Market gro-cery store on Orchard Mesa at 7 A.M. and will return there by 8 P.M. After breaking into carpools, the group will make numerous stops along Divide Road in search of our targets. This is a MODERATE trip, with limited hiking along uneven trails, but much of the time spent will be above 9,000 feet. To register, contact Mike Henwood [email protected].

Northern Goshawk, North Boulder Foothills, Boulder County, 13 November 2014. Photo by David Waltman


IN THE SCOPE

Soft Parts: Female DabblingDucks, the AnswersTony Leukering

In the previous issue, Colorado Birds winter 2015, In The Scope dealt with the topic of “soft parts” and included a quiz testing read-ers’ abilities to identify some female dabbling ducks solely by the color of their beaks and legs. Following are the answers to that

quiz along with brief explanations, and if you are curious, have a look at the back cover to see images of the entire ducks whose parts were presented as the homework assignment (Fig. 1). All of the species presented occur regularly in Colorado.

Before getting to the answers, I wanted to point out that the plumages of female dabbling ducks differ dramati-cally from those of Colorado-occurring female diving ducks, which can be help-ful in field identification. Except for the four eider species and Masked Duck, none of which have been found in Colorado, females of the diving ducks species that occur regularly in the ABA area have solid-colored body feather-ing, while such female dabbling ducks have body feathers that are either dark with pale markings or pale with dark markings. Although the subject of that article was soft-parts coloration, pay attention to the differences in length and thickness of the legs as well as the length and shape of the bill in these species. And in particular, note that no two species of regularly occurring Colo-rado dabbling ducks share the same bill shape. Finally, unless otherwise noted, all comparisons are to females of regu-larly occurring Colorado dabbling-duck species.

Fig. 1. Legs in the left column and beaks in the right column of females of five species of dabbling ducks that oc-cur regularly in Colorado. Colorado Birds Spring 2015 Vol. 49 No. 2 95

A

B

C

D

E


Gadwall: item B from legs column, item C from beak col-umn (Fig. 1; top-left figure on back cover). While Gadwall, Mallard and Northern Shov-eler females share the orange-and-black color scheme for their beaks, the patterns are quite different. In female Mallards, the dark area is part of a blotch crossing the beak about midway between base and tip (a “saddle”). In female Gadwall and Northern Shovelers, the orange runs down both sides of the otherwise black maxilla (“upper mandible”). Gadwall is one of the three species with bright orange legs. If you confused the B legs with the E legs, you are probably not alone. However, other clues in the legs pictures provide the important differentiating factor: Gadwall has extensively pale underparts.

American Wigeon: item D from legs column, item D from beak column (Fig. 2; top-right figure on back cov-er). While one might think of the leg color of female American Wigeon as blah and uninformative, the color is actually fairly distinctive. The blue bill, with a wide black tip that invites comparison with scaup bills, is similar to the bill of just one other North American dabbling duck species: Eurasian Wigeon.

Blue-winged Teal: item A from legs column, item E from beak column (Fig. 3; middle-left figure on back cover). The leg color of female Blue-winged Teal is somewhat variable, but always includes an aspect of yellow—from the dull yellow-gray legs of the bird pictured here, to a fairly bright yellow with an orange cast. The range of leg color is similar to that of Cinnamon Teal, but different from all others. The black bill color is also fairly similar to that of Cinnamon Teal, but the latter species tends to have vague orange edges to the bill, similar to that of Northern Shoveler, but not nearly as distinct. Many birders find differentiating female


Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teal very difficult. However, close ex-amination reveals that bill shape, particularly bill length, typically is different, though there is some overlap. The obvious and large white subloral area, a feature that Cinnamon Teal lack, confirm our bird’s identification as a Blue-winged Teal. Northern Pintail and Green-winged Teal also have dark bills, but these species both sport dark legs.

Northern Shoveler: item E from legs column, item A from beak column (Fig. 4; middle-right figure on back cover). The bill selection was fairly ob-vious for this species, with its very long and spatulate shape. Selecting the correct legs may have been a bit more problem-atic given that two other spe-cies also have orange legs.

Northern Pintail: item C from legs column, item B from beak column (Fig. 5; bottom figure on back cover). The combination of dark legs and dark bill is matched only by Green-winged Teal. The key here is to note that a North-

ern Pintail’s legs have a strong blue aspect, and the bill has a vague, gray basal area.

Tony Leukering, [email protected]


THE HUNGRY BIRD

What kind of food would a woodcock find, if a woodcock could find food?Dave Leatherman

This essay will explore what a particular bird eats, or at least will guess about such, but it may take a while to get started.

Henry Paulsen, a friend of mine from Prowers County, who left us in the fall of 2014, was not normal. By that, intending nothing but praise, I mean he was not normal the way “Mona Lisa’s” smile is not normal, the rotation on a Tom Brady pass is not normal, or the way Garrison Keillor’s observations about the human condition in Lake Wobegon are not normal. To Henry a good book, worthy of months of concentrated perusal, was the dictionary. Henry had it right. Dic-tionaries are wonderful compilations. My trusty Webster’s New Col-legiate Dictionary inscribed with the words “To David, With Love, Mom + Dad, Christmas 1961” may be falling apart yet it’s still full of marvelous precision. About the simple, complex word “find,” among

even more things too involved to include here, it states the fol-lowing:

“1. To meet with, or light upon, ac-cidentally: hence, to fall in with, as a person. 2. To come upon by seeking or by effort: as: a To dis-cover by sounding: as, to find bottom. b To discover by study or experiment. c To gain, as the object of desire or effort. d To attain to; to ar-rive at; as, the bullet found its mark. 3. To learn by experience or trial; to perceive; feel. 4. To arrive at, as a conclusion; as, to

Fig. 1. American Woodcock along Buffum Creek near Bobcat Ridge Natural Area, Larimer County, 18 January 2015. Photo by David Leatherman


find a verdict. 5. To gain, or regain, the use of: as, to find one’s tongue. 6. To provide; supply; as, to find food for workmen…. To detect (a thief); discover (a secret); solve; understand.”

Well, all this seems to mush together in the muck of a stream known locally as Buffum Creek in Larimer County, near the parking lot of the City of Fort Collins’ Bobcat Ridge Natural Area, where on 15 January 2015 one Fawn Simonds found an American Woodcock (see Fig. 1). Beside an innocent lunchtime walk down a dirt road, Fawn’s find was a slightly off-course, presumably northward bound, very charismatic, plump woodland “shorebird” looking up at her with huge eyes from the leaves. What a find! The kind of find that keeps us looking out the window, or venturing day after day, year after year, engaged in the hobby, passion, obsession, profession we call “bird-ing.”

An “object of desire or effort” indeed. I’m not sure if anyone has an estimate of how many birders came to see that woodcock, but it must have been over 200. I was one of them. In 1990, after unsuccess-fully hunting a bird found west of Boulder by John Prather, I vowed I would not chase another woodcock, selfishly wanting the someday thrill of finding my own. Then Fawn finds her find 20 minutes away, and, well…you know. In all, I made four pilgrimages to the site, three to find the bird (“To come upon by seeking or by effort”), and one after it departed to find answers (“To discover by study or experi-ment”) as to why it was doing that distinctive dance; why it had clods of mud all the way to its gape (…”to find food for workmen”); why it repeatedly came back, after being flushed several times by its human admirers; why it stopped there in the first place (“as, the bullet found its mark”); why and how it managed to stay and prosper in that locale for more than 12 days.

The core answer to these questions, as in almost all such situations in which a bird frequents a site for an extended period, is food.

Before diving into the specifics of this particular case, some gen-eral discussion of the etymology of its name, anatomy, foraging be-havior and known dietary preferences of the American Woodcock are in order.

American Woodcock, Scolopax minor, is a plump, short-legged member of the sandpiper family Scolopacidae. In fact, it was Aris-totle who assigned the name for the family to the woodcock, the generic Greek root word “skolopos” meaning “sword like” in refer-ence to the European Woodcock’s long bill. The specific moniker “minor” alludes to our North American species being smaller than its European relative (Terres 1980).

I experienced woodcocks as a beginning birder in central Ohio in


the late 1950s and early 1960s. My father used to take us neighbor-hood nature club kids to a field in April to observe their courtship flights at dusk. We thought if we noted exactly where they took off, and ran to those spots while the birds were silhouetted skyward, they would maybe, just maybe, land on our backs. They never did. We asked Dad why. He made something up, and we bought it, heading home satisfied we had “done” woodcocks. At Bobcat Ridge, mesmer-ized by the actions of that individual, I realized I had never really watched a woodcock. What a bill! What a prober! What camouflage! What a hider! What strange movements! What a dancer! What bul-bous eyes, big even on the side of a big head! What a finder of all things pertinent to its survival! What a perfect match of creature and habitat!

It is fitting that the words “woodcock” and “worm” begin with the same letter. Various studies have quantified the importance of worms in a woodcock’s diet, with the average being about 80 per-cent by volume (Sperry 1940). Worm-eating. First, there is finding. Second, there is getting. Depending on the species involved, their feeding ecology, moisture conditions, temperature and other factors, worms either can be above or below ground. Finding a surface worm by sight would seem a relatively easy task for a woodcock. But feed-ing on subterranean worms is a bit more complicated. To obtain such prey involves probing (Rabe 1983). Probing is done in two ways: 1) systematic, uninformed shallow probing, and 2) deeper, directed probing intended to capture a specific, detected worm. Method #1 is more or less trial and error. Method #2 almost assuredly involves clues gained from the bird’s curious dance. As if listening to a good groove through headphones, a foraging woodcock’s body moves in a steady back and forth bob, reminiscent of a rumba. The head is still. Apparently the body movements transfer through the feet, which firmly tamp the soil and leaves as the bird cruises slowly within the understory. This deliberate surface tremor is thought to startle worms and other prey into moving, which then is either heard, felt or both by the protagonist (Marshall 1982).

The woodcock’s anatomical probe is also special. Measuring 2.5-2.75 inches in length, it is long and stout. The distal third of the upper mandible is sensitive and flexible, functioning like tweezers to grasp detected prey (Terres 1980).

The following quotation introduces the “Food Habits” section of the Birds of North America account for American Woodcock: “Prin-cipally invertebrates, particularly earthworms (Oligochaeta); plant foods relatively minor. Similar diet for both sexes and similar across the species’ range. Diet breadth may increase in early spring owing


to soil frost and in summer if soil moisture low, making earthworms unavailable; perhaps greater diet breadth on winter range.” (Keppie 1994).

Many earthworm species found to be important in woodcock diets within its normal range, most of them exotic to North America, are also found in Colorado (Reynolds 1977, Reynolds 2011). However, to my knowledge nobody ever saw the Buffum Creek bird bring a big, terrestrial worm into view.

Other animal items mentioned in various diet studies as eaten on occasion by the woodcock include: Gastropoda (snails), Chilopoda (centipedes), Diplopoda (millipedes), Araneae (spiders), Lepidoptera (moths, butterflies), Diptera (flies, including Tipulidae (crane), Rha-gionidae (snipe), Tabanidae (horse), Stratiomyidae (soldier)), Co-leoptera (beetles, including Elateridae (click), Carabidae (ground) and Staphylinidae (rove)). Plant seeds occasionally eaten by the woodcock include: Graminae (grasses), Cyperaceae (sedges), Betula-ceae (alders and birches), Amaranthaceae (amaranth), Polygonaceae (smartweeds), Cruciferae (mustards), Rosaceae (roses, brambles), Violaceae (violets), Rubiaceae (gallium), Compositae (composites), Convoluvulaceae (morning-glories), Liliaceae (lilies) (Keppie 1994, Pettingill 1936, Sperry 1940, Dyer 1976). Given the lack of clichéd sightings of this woodcock with a fat night crawler dangling from its beak, and considering the above list of “other” items woodcocks sometimes eat, a logical question to ask would be, “On what did this particular bird in this location sustain itself for a minimum of a week and a half in the middle of winter?”

The general location of the woodcock’s visit is about 13 kilome-ters southwest of Fort Collins, less than a kilometer southwest of the community of Masonville. The specific site is centered on a 50-meter stretch of a spring-fed stream feeding into Buckhorn Creek just east of a section of the Rocky Mountain foothills called Bobcat Ridge. City Natural Areas Ranger Karl Manderbach, who literally lives across the road from the epicenter of the bird’s activity zone, and who once accidentally spooked it off his driveway, says he has never seen the stream frozen. This may indicate the spring is a warm one. This section of watercourse, characterized by a gentle but steady flow, is overtopped with a fairly open deciduous forest dominated by both Plains Cottonwood and Crack Willow. Leaf litter under the bare trees, including right along the stream, is at least several centimeters thick.

At midday on 26 January 2015, with the permission of Ranger Karl, I sampled the leaves and muck frequented by the woodcock, in an effort to discover and identify food items that may have been


important to it. These materials were immediately taken to the Colo-rado State University lab of Dr. Boris Kondratieff for examination by hand using trays, sieves of various sizes and a water flush. All solid material was retained and returned to the bucket. The entire sample was allowed to decant overnight, and sampled again the following day.

The following animal items were found (plant materials were ignored*):

swimming in the water)-

lus (moderate numbers)

Sonfilippodytes (1)

(moderate numbers)

(moderate numbers)

genus Limnephilus (2)Direct observations in the field totaling more than four hours

split between three different visits included no instances of seeing the woodcock bring an item above the surface, it therefore must be emphasized that the following is conjecture, based solely on results of the lab analysis of items found in the bucket. Based on a combination of 1) abundance, 2) size or other attributes that con-tribute to detection and/or 3) appear-ing to be within the range of the types of organisms documented for their diet elsewhere, I feel the aquatic worms, aquatic isopods and snails were what allowed a lengthy, productive stop-over during spring migration for the Bobcat Ridge woodcock.

My rationale is as follows:While not the lumbricid worms

(family Lumbricidae) woodcocks normally eat, the lumbriculid worms (Family Lumbriculidae) found at the site would seem to be a suitable substi-tute (see Fig. 2). These aquatic worms consume organic matter and microor-

Fig. 2. Aquatic worms, family Lumbric-ulidae, genus Lumbriculus, found in the area of streambed probed by the wood-cock. Photo by David Leatherman


ganisms in saturated soils or at the bottom of streams. Nutrition-ally, they probably differ from terrestrial worms that consume leaves or dryer soil, but perhaps not ap-preciably. Their small size and apparent modest abundance at this site might require s u p p l e m e n t a t i o n with other food items to meet a woodcock’s minimum require-ment of about 70kcal/day (Haegen 1992).

Snails are men-tioned as an impor-tant dietary compo-nent (17% of diet) in Louisiana only, but as much as any-thing, that would ap-pear to be an artifact of where woodcock diets have been stud-ied. The hardness of snail shells is condu-cive to detection, and the animals within are highly nutritious. Although the Physa snails present in Buf-

fum Creek were quite small (3-11 mm long), I found over 150 in one cubic foot of stream substrate (see Fig. 3).

Isopods (a.k.a. “sowbug,” “pillbug” or “roly-poly”) are mentioned in older, general accounts of woodcock diets (Terres 1980) but not in the table of “other items” within the Birds of North America account (Kep-pie 1994, Pettingill 1936, Sperry 1940, Dyer 1976). The aquatic forms (sometimes called “cress bugs”) at Buffum Creek were up to 15 mm long, and certainly appear suitable for woodcock consumption (see Fig. 4).

Fig. 3. Aquatic isopods, family Asellidae, genus Chae-cidotea, from along Buffum Creek. Photo by David Leatherman

Fig. 4. Snails in the family Physidae, genus Physa, from Buffum Creek. Photo by David Leatherman


Fig. 5. Amphipods or “scuds” in the genus Crango-nyx found in Buffum Creek. Probably not prey for the woodcock. Photo by David Leatherman

In my admittedly small sample, the wrig-gling red predaceous midge larvae seemed too small and sparse, the caddisfly larvae too encased in pith and sparse, the beetles too sparse, although those found were probably eaten and the amphi-pods, although abun-dant, were probably too small and difficult to detect (see Fig. 5).

How’s that for throwing darts? Only that woodcock, wher-ever it is today, knows what it ate after seeing (and/or smelling?) open water in riparian woods near northern Colorado’s Bobcat Ridge. Like so many observations, at least those that take longer than check-marking a list, there are more questions after the bird than before it. Among the many “jobs” that make birding fun is asking such questions. Oh sure, we think our Number One task is to find the bird, but finding should lead to asking ques-tions. And finding answers to those, or at least trying to, can be just as fun, and potentially just as important.

* The key plant present within the course of Buffum Creek is Nasturtium officianale (“watercress”). It is not listed as a food item for woodcock by Keppie in the BNA account, but in keeping with the spirit of this THB article, perhaps its seeds, which were probably abundant at the site, cannot be ruled out as woodcock-edible. However, since no type of plant seed ap-pears to be a staple of the woodcock, it is very doubtful that watercress seeds were central to this particular bird’s stay, which lasted many days.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTSI wish to thank City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Ranger Karl Mander-bach for his help with the entire situation of the woodcock’s visit, including permission to sample the stream. Dr. Boris Kondratieff provided materials for collecting, lab space for analysis and identifications. My debt to him for his constant assistance is on going and considerable. I thank Beth Dillon for loaning me a garden shovel at short notice on-site. Nat Warning was nice enough to help me with the sampling effort, including carrying that 25-pound bucket back to the car. Lastly, aquatic insect expert Chris Verdone helped extract creatures from the muck and mire in the lab.


LITERATURE CITEDDyer, J. M. 1976. An evaluation of diurnal habitat requirements for the

American Woodcock (Philohela minor Gmelin) in southern Louisiana. Ph. D. diss. Louisiana State Univ. Baton Rouge.

Haegen, W. M. Vander. 1992. Bioenergetics of American Woodcock during the breeding season on Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Maine. Ph. D. diss. Univ. of Maine, Orono.

Haegen, W. M. Vander, R. B. Owen, Jr., and W. B. Krohn. 1993. Effects of weather on earthworm abundance and spring food habits of American Woodcock. Pages 26-31 in Proc. Eighth Woodcock Symp. (Longcore, J. R. and G. F. Sepik, Eds.) Biol. Rep. 16, U.S. Fish Wildl. Serv. Washing-ton, D.C

Keppie, D. M. and R. M. Whiting, Jr. 1994. American Woodcock (Scolopax minor). In The Birds of North America Online, No. 100 (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/100

Marshall, W. H. 1982. Does the woodcock bob or rock-and why? Auk 99:791-792.

Pettingill, Jr., O. S. 1936. The American Woodcock Philohela minor (Gme-lin). Mem. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. 9:169-391.

Rabe, D. L., H. H. Prince, and D. L. Beaver. 1983. Feeding-site selection and foraging strategies of American Woodcock. Auk 100:711-716.

Reynolds, J. W. 1977. Earthworms utilized by the American Woodcock. Pages 161-169 in Proc. Sixth Woodcock Symp. (Keppie, D. M. and R. B. Owen, Jr., Eds.) New Brunswick Dept. Nat. Resour. Fredericton.

Reynolds, J.W. and G.A. Damoff. 2011. More earthworms (Oligochaeta: Lumbricidae and Sparganophilidae) from Colorado, USA. Megadrilogica 14(8):159-172.

Sperry, C. C. 1940. Food habits of a group of shorebirds: woodcock, snipe, knot and dowitcher. U.S. Biol. Survey, Wildl. Res. Bull. 1.

Terres, John K. 1980. The Audubon society encyclopedia of North Ameri-can birds. Alfred Knopf, New York.

Dave Leatherman, [email protected]


The Colorado Field Ornithologists’ Quarterly

Instructions for Contributors to Colorado Birds

Colorado Birds is devoted to the field study of birds in Colorado. Articles and short notes of general or scientific interest are welcomed; potential authors are encouraged to submit any materials that contribute to the enjoyment and understanding of birds in Colorado. The preferred submission format is electronic, via email attachment or on CD. However, typed or hand-written manuscripts are also accepted.

Photos or art: submit black & white or color material. Photos & graphics printed inside the journal will typically be printed in black & white; cover art is printed in color. Graphics can be submitted as prints, slides, or electronically. Electronic submissions can be sent in JPEG (*.jpg), PDF (*.pdf), PSD (*.psd) or TIFF (*.tif) format. Photos must be submitted in JPEG, PSD or TIFF; maps, tables and other non-photographic mate-rial may be submitted as PDF. Photos should be sent in their original format without editing, cropping or color correction. Cover art must be of the highest quality. Cover photos should be a minimum 5.75” wide by 8.75” tall at 300 dpi (1725 × 2625 pixels). Minimum size for interior photos is 3” by 2.5” (900 × 750 pixels or 750 × 900 pixels). For best reproduction, photos can be larger and higher resolution, but they cannot be smaller. Submit electronically via email or on CD. Include information about artist or photographer, subject, date, location and medium used.

Art and photos will be returned at your request; however, manuscripts and CDs will not, unless specifically requested. While your materials will receive the utmost care, the Colorado Field Ornithologists (CFO) or any representative thereof cannot be respon-sible for materials lost in the mail or due to other circumstances beyond our control.

Manuscripts reporting formal scientific research are sent out for peer review.

Contributors who are not members of CFO will, upon request, receive a complimen-tary copy of the issue of Colorado Birds in which their articles appear.

Send journal contributions to:

Peter Burke935 11th StreetBoulder, CO [email protected]

Submissions of photos or graphics not accompanied by articles are welcomed. Send these to Christian Nunes, [email protected].

In the ScopeSoft Parts: Female Dabbling Ducks, the Answers . . . 92

Fig. 1. Female Gadwall, northwestern Ohio, 31 March 2014. Photograph by Brian Zweibel

Fig. 2. Female and male American Wi-geon, Hamilton, Ontario, 14 March 2014. Photograph by Mike Moffat

Fig. 3. Female Blue-winged Teal near Brooks, Alberta, 16 May 2013. Photo-graph by Gerard W. Beyersbergen

Fig. 4. Female Northern Shoveler, Mountain View, Santa Clara Co., Cali-fornia, 18 October 2014. Photograph by Phoo Chan

Fig. 5. Female Northern Pintail, Beaumaris Lake, Edmonton, Alber-ta. Photograph by Don Delaney

vol. 49 no. 2 spring 2015 colorado birds vol 49/cb_2015… · vol. 49 no. 2 spring 2015 the...

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