Birds and Nature

On my drive to SE Arizona I stopped at Caballo State Park in New Mexico. There was a recent report that a birder saw a Blue-footed Booby fly towards the lake in the park so I thought I would stop and take a look for it since I was driving by on I-25. I didn't see any bird that looked like a booby but was delighted to find this male Black-throated Sparrow singing his heart out in the desert scrub in this park. Like many male passerines this species sings mostly in association with breeding or territorial behavior. It seems a little late for breeding behavior but I did watch this bird engage in some chasing behavior with what looked like another Black-throated Sparrow. They do have a second nesting in association with monsoonal rains which Birds of North America online states, "Common in years of adequate rainfall and prey items." Though this is later than their documentation, there has been significant monsoonal rains in the area recently. I also saw another...

I continue to see Black-throated Sparrows in a small canyon just south of Canon City,CO. And they continue to sing intermittently (video soon). I saw 3 Black-throated Sparrows in the same deciduous shrub yesterday and without obvious hostility-not sure how that can be as they are supposed to be protective of territories. SeEtta

This morning I was able to watch 3 Black-throated Sparrows as they either foraged (only one agonistic interaction), or possibly looked for nesting material inside/under deciduous shrubs but I believe there may be more birds in this area. I heard at least one singing again this morning but only a few times so the birds may already have nested. I watched the one in the bottom 2 pics as it loafed for more than 5 minutes in the shade and it might have continued except that it was hot so I started walking back to my car which appeared to prompt it to start moving again. SeEtta As noted in the pics, these birds were located in Williamsburg which is a very small town a few miles south of Canon City. Though these birds are located within the town limits that is only a technicality as the area is actually quite rural with only one house within a mile of this location. SeEtta

I was very pleased to find Black-throated Sparrows in one of my Colo Breeding Bird Atlas priority blocks just a few miles south of Canon City,CO. In July, 2009 I found 5-6 Black-throated Sparrows, including several juveniles, in this area. Though I believe this species likely nested here I was unable to find any evidence beyond finding this apparent family group during breeding season and did not find any last year. Yesterday morning I first spotted two Black-throated Sparrows flying down a dry gulch very near where I first spotted one two years ago. They 'disappeared' after flying into some cholla cactus. Then last evening when I was in that area watching to see if a reluctant young Common Raven would finally fledge, I spotted a Black-throated Sparrow and it was singing (I got some video but haven't uploaded it). The light was poor so I didn't get any still pics until this morning when I took these. More follow. SeEtta

This morning I looked and listened at the location I have seen the Black-throated Sparrows for an hour to no avail. As I started to leave, I spotted two sparrows several hundred yards further east and they were Black-throated Sparrows. I subsequently saw at least 5, of which two were adults and at least 2 were in juvenal plumage, and possibly 6 Black-throated Sparrows at this new location. I have updated the google map to show the new location (link in post below). The top pic is of an adult bird in flight showing it's brownish back and wings nicely. The other two pics are of a bird in juvenal plumage (both of the bird) showing it's brownish back with coverts and tertials edged in buffy brownish as described in Sparrows of the United States and Canada by Beadle and Rising. SeEtta

I couldn't help but to put up a few more pics I got today of the Black-throated Sparrows since they came out pretty darn good, especially as they are all hand-help pics with the birds more than 50 feet away (and sparrows are small objects at that distance). The top pic is an adult bird and this pic shows nicely the brownish back feathers over the grayish crown, ear coverts, sides and flanks. I'm not sure if this is the same adult as in the pic in the post below, or possibly the female. This bird was in a snag that the young bird in juvenal plumage in the bottom two pics flew into. Both of these bottom pics are of the same bird in juvenal plumage, with it's white chin, streaked breast, white eye-crescent and white supercilium. A juvenile chased an adult bird several times, possibly trying to get fed? SeEtta

This morning I went back to see if I could refind the Black-throated Sparrows I saw yesterday just south of Canon City,CO. It took less than 5 minutes and I heard one singing--a very tinkling but varied song. Birds of North America online states that females have never been observed singing so apparently this is a male. His very black throat stands out nicely in this frontal-view pic. Not a bad pic for hand-held with bird over 50 feet away. SeEtta

As I drove down a gravel road a few miles south of Canon City this morning, I heard some chirping coming from a dry gulch near the road. I stopped and was delighted to see 4-5 Black-throated Sparrows in a small deciduous tree. At least one was an adult and several were in juvenal plumage with a streaky breast but with a bold white supercilium as shown by the two different birds in these pics (while pics not the best, they will enlarge to show very close-up views--just double-click on each pic). Birds of North America online notes that Black-throated Sparrow adults " feed young for at least 2 wk after nest departure." So I think there is a very good possibility that this is a new Fremont County breeding location for this species. This is a very nice find as there have only been a few locations in southeast Colorado where this species has been documented breeding and most have been quite far south. I will try in the next day or so to refind them in hopes of obtaining more e...

I had arranged to meet Bob Rasa, who leads tours around the famous Neal's Lodges on the Frio River in Concan, TX. Bob graciously offered to work me in to his schedule and I spent the day benefiting from his experience with the birds in this area. We birded around Neal's Lodges in the morning which is where I photographed this Black-throated Sparrow. I also saw this Long-billed Thrasher at the Neal's. This species has a fairly limited range, mostly in Mexico but coming into south and central Texas. SeEtta