Black Phoebe Bonanza

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(please note that this replaces part of the post I did late last night when I was tired, a time I am prone to making errors, in which I mistakenly identified the bird in the top pic as one I saw without a parent bird)This is another banner year for Black Phoebes in Fremont County, Colo. Yesterday I found the Black Phoebe in the top 2 pics in the Canon City area. It and 2 siblings were being fed by a parent bird as they perched in the overhanging branches, a favorite Black Phoebe habitat.
Although the bottom pic isn't as sharp as the top pic, I have included it as it shows the features of fledglings in this species including creamy yellow bill flanges, orange gape, short wing and tail feathers.

The bottom pic shows a nest with at least 2, likely more, nestlings that I found under a bridge. The nest is attached to the bottom girder on this large bridge that is located in eastern Fremont County. There appears to be at least two nestlings though the head of only one nestling is visible. Note the bright orange gape on that nestling which is less than 8 days old (Birds of North America online notes that on Day 8 these birds have their eyes one forth open and the eyes on this bird are closed tightly). These pics enlarge by double-clicking for super close-up views. SeEtta

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