Birds and Nature

I found two more pics of the male Hooded Warbler that were of such good quality that I could crop them for even a little more close-up views than those I posted yesterday. I believe that the feathers that look somewhat silvery/gray (see on cheek and at margin of chest) are likely being molted off the bird. The lore feathers (described in Birds of North America online as 'tipped in black') are usual male plumage. It is amazing that these birds retain this very colorful plumage year round. SeEtta

The only pics I got of this male Hooded Warbler out in the open were when it was on the move, flying into a thicket of vegetation that was so dense that it just disappeared into it. In the top pic, the bird just landed very briefly. I got the bottom pic just before it disappeared in the thick undergrowth. SeEtta

Today I returned to Pueblo Mountain Park to look for the rare Hooded and Grace's Warblers that had been reported there but I had given little time or energy to find during the past visits while concentrating on the Acorn Woodpeckers. Well, I bombed on the Grace's Warbler, either too late in the morning to hear it singing (the only way I have found them before is by their singing) or they may no longer be singing. Also did not hear this male Hooded Warbler sing either but did hear it's loud 'chink' calls that gave it's general location away; however, I had to 'dig' it out of the thick undergrowth that is it's preferred habitat. Though the top two pics give some notion of how I had to take photos of this bird through the twigs and leaves, the bottom pic shows what I was often tracking in hopes of a clear shot. More pics to come. SeEtta

I also found this bird, a very blackish phoebe, at the Holcim Wetlands. It had mostly black feathers on head, back and wings with white throat, yellowish underparts and smudie sides. Holcim Wetlands is in Fremont County, Colo where I have followed a number of nestings of mixed Black and Eastern Phoebes. SeEtta

I spotted this Ash-throated Flycatcher carrying this grasshopper, presumably to feed young, at Holcim Wetlands. Since I followed it to a tree about a hundred feet from where I first saw it (and several minutes later while I hiked around to where it landed) and it still had the food in it's bill. This is a late nesting for this species. The first Colo Breeding Bird Atlas shows them feeding young from May 27 to July 24, a full three weeks earlier than this bird. SeEtta

I drove through Beulah,CO looking for Lewis's Woodpeckers, a species I have found in very good numbers in this foothill town. I didn't find any but did find a small flock of Band-tailed Pigeons, a species I have never seen in Beulah. Though Band-tailed Pigeons are often found where there are feeders, these were in a tree in a field a good distance from any residence. SeEtta