Birds and Nature

Hundreds of Franklin's Gulls are feasting on worms and anything else they eat brought up by flood irrigation in this field. This is an unusually large flock of these gulls that are stopping over to eat here in Canon City during their migration. Their loud calling alerted me to part of the flock that flew high over my house, making the species a 'yard bird' for me.SeEtta

Today was a overcast and cold day with a lot of snow still on the ground from snowstorm the prior 2 days. This is my first of the season Red-naped Sapsucker which seems likely to be here for the winter season. In the top pic it is clear that the red throat feathers invade the black frame substantially-one of the distinguishing field marks for differentiating Red-naped from Yellow-bellied (which I also found today and will post later) Sapsuckers. The red throat identifies it as a male. While barely visible in top pic it's good sized patch of red on it's nape is clear in the bottom pic. Note the very dark back. SeEtta

The Green Heron in the top pic was feeding at the outfall of a stormwater pipe where it flows into the Arkansas River across from the Canon City, CO Riverwalk. There were also several Yellow-rumped Warblers feeding by sallying and even picking insects from the rocks at this same outfall. The Olive-sided Flycatcher was next to the Riverwalk bluff trail. And the Indigo Bunting was in the same area. It is always good to see Olive-sided Flycatchers as their numbers are dwindling. It was very overcast when I photographed the flycatcher and bunting so their pics are darker than the heron which had some sunlight to brighten that pic. SeEtta

This is the time of year when baby birds are everywhere--in nests, learning to fly and falling on the ground. These pics are of a Western Kingbird nestling that left it's nest prematurely, whether by falling out or being pushed out of the nest. It was an older nestling that is fully feathered (it even looks like a W Kingbird) but check out the very short tail. I spotted it as I drove down a country road and stopped to put it in a less hazardess location. Though it was just mostly a ball of fluff, it had a good size beak that it used to protect itself with quite well. I had to get an old sweatshirt out of my car to pick it up in so as to avoid being pinched. Both pics are of good quality, especially the bottom pic which has excellent resolution, so do double-cick on them for a great super close-ups. SeEtta

Today I found a Western Kingbird nesting above an old oriole nest. This pair of kingbirds lost a prior nest a few weeks ago when it was blown off a utility pole, a common location for their nests in this area. They apparently built their new nest on top of the old oriole nest that has not been occupied by Bullock Orioles this year. This may be a good strategy since the old nest has survived a year in good condition. The top pic shows the full oriole nest made with some colorful string, a common thing with Bullock Oriole nests. I think the kingbirds may have enlarged the top of the oriole nest to better accommodate their nest. The kingbird's bill is prominent in the pics. Her white throat and her left eye can also be seen. And her tail is visible sticking out of the nest to the left side. Very innovative birds. SeEtta