Birds and Nature

Since I thought this was a very unusual looking bird when I spotted it, I took a lot of photos (18 pics in less than 2 minutes per the data on my photos). Going back through them I found this one that shows more of a crest. SeEtta

Excerpted descriptions from noted sources with my response in {italics} Cornell Lab's 'All About Bird' webpage for this species states , "Adult Description   Large, stocky flycatcher. { YES }   Large head with slight crest. { YES, see photo below }   Drab gray plumage. { YES, on upperparts }   Faint wingbars. { YES }   No eyering." >>> { YES, see photo below } _________________ National Audubon Society description on AudubonBirds species website : "7-7 3/4" (18-20 cm) { ? } Large-headed flycatcher with slight crest. { YES } Olive-brown above, slightly lighter below.  { LOOKS MORE GRAY } Small light gray throat patch, { ? } yellow lower mandible, { YES , see photo below} and indistinct wing bars. { Probably, see photo below } Olive-sided Flycatcher is similar, but has olive-brown flanks, giving it a "vested" appearance. { NOT VESTED, see photo below } Wood-pewees are smaller and lack slight cr...

The Sibley Guide to North American Birds (p.322):  { with my comments in italics } "Differs from Olive-sided Flycatcher by longer tail, { YES,see photo below } rounder wingtips, { ? } thinner bill, { ? } and pointed crest." { YES, see photo below } Sibley also notes a "long notched tail" { ? } and "plain grayish" noting underparts { YES } plus he states at bottom of page "...so fall adults are very worn." { reason for lack of yellow on underparts } SeEtta

Ok, so now we are considering wood-pewee. Below is a Western Wood-Pewee I photographed this morning, actually within 50 feet of where I photographed the bird above yesterday. Birds of North America online describes W Wood-Pewee bills: "Upper mandible is black; lower mandible is mostly black, or black-tipped, pale toward base. Gape yellow". That is my experience and what the photo below of a Western Wood-Pewee shows. SeEtta

Bottom pic shows what appears to be a long primary projection on a long-winged bird.  SeEtta

I found this bird yesterday morning on the Canon City Riverwalk. I thought it might be a Greater Pewee but a Colorado birding hotshot shot that down. SeEtta

This photo shows the extensive red that extends from crown to nape of male Ladder-backed Woodpecker, the black stripes on it's face and black barring down it's back.  And it shows the broadly barred on 3 outermost tail feather plus some of the spotting/streaking on it's flanks show here too.  SeEtta

Ladder-backed Woodpeckers are rare in most of Colorado. Though this species is found occasionally around Canon City,CO where I live, they are hard to find. I spotted one last winter just southeast of Canon City but some years I don't see any around here. So I was delighted to spot this male, appears to be an adult, just southwest of town in some nice cholla cactus. SeEtta

This is one of the two male Williamson's Sapsuckers. I didn't see any sapsuckers this morning, but the cemetery employees were mowing and using noisy weed-eaters. So I returned early this evening and had a brief view of one of the male Williamson's. There is some ponderosa pine stands just over 5 miles from the cemetery so maybe this is not too far for this species to fly in to feed in this relatively lush environment. Though I have never found them migrating around Canon City before October, can't rule out that they are migrating through here early and stopped over to feed here. SeEtta

I decided yesterday to look in Lakeside Cemetery to see if any migrating landbirds might have decided to go through there since though there is no lake there is frequent watering of vegetation and lots of trees. I did see a Cassin's Vireo in the canopy of some mature cottonwoods, an insect eater I thought might find this area more productive during our continuing severe drought. However I also found this female plus 2 male Williamson's Sapsuckers, a species that comes to Canon City in fall and stays to late winter. I have never seen them this early here though Birds of North America online states, " In s. Colorado, birds move down-slope in late Aug and early Sep...." More to come. SeEtta

Though the surrounding vegetation made it dark, I don't like to use flash and these non-flash photos show what very bright eyes come out when using natural light as I did. SeEtta

I found this Northern Waterthrush in some vegetation a few feet above the water in the Arkansas River this morning. It appeared to be grooming while several other warbler species including the MacGillivray's Warbler actively fed around it. These photos show how much difference there is when the sun is shining on a bird. More pics in next post. SeEtta

Yesterday I spotted this female McGillivray's Warbler in the vegetation adjacent to the Arkansas River along the Canon City Riverwalk. Today I found a female MacGillivray's Warbler in the same location so I expect it is the same bird that is making a stop-over to fuel up on insects before continuing her migration. Yesterday she was alone but today she was actively feeding with several other warblers including the Northern Waterthrush in a post above. SeEtta