Birds and Nature

Like most bird species the male Evening Grosbeak are much more colorful than the females. Their gold overall plumage and large size make them stand out.   Birds of North America online notes, "Irruptions often include other fringillids, such as Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus)...."  And interestingly the other bird in the pic above is a Pine Siskin, one of a number that have come in at the same time as the Evening Grosbeaks. They most often seen in flocks and so they can empty feeders quickly. An 'irruptive' species, they wander in search of food resources (for the whole flock, not just feeders in one yard) showing up irregularly. In a couple of past years Evening Grosbeak stayed in my area until around May when they moved to breeding areas (they breed in conifers and spruce forests which are at higher elevation than Canon City). And they even returned a couple of years with their offspring and fed the kids in my feeders, funny looking as the offspring ar...

Almost 2 weeks ago while I was in the grip of a bad bout of acute bronchitis I heard some bird calls that are distinctive and belong to Evening Grosbeaks. I was really frustrated because this species hasn't visited my yard in over a year but I didn't feel well enough to put out bird food for them. Fortunately my neighbor had put out a number of feeders and the birds were well fed so have stayed around. And a flock of these big birds, they are about the size of robins, can go through a lot of black oil sunflower seeds. And finally I started feeling well enough to put out seed so they are also frequenting my feeders. While the Evening Grosbeak in the bottom pics were at my feeders those in the top 2 pics were loafing in one of my pine trees. While all these are pics of the girls, I will post pics of the boys next. SeEtta

This is an immature Rufous Hummingbird that stays in my neighborhood and feeds daily on pollinator plants in my yard. All the hummers really like this Sunset Agastache rupestris (Licorice Mint Hyssop) that has trumpet shaped flowers.  In the top pic this hummer was perched on a leaf on the Agastache plant then just leaned over to sip the nectar from flowers nearby.

This morning when I stepped out my back door I heard the distinctive call of Evening Grobeaks. I abandoned my plans to start watering my yard to put out some tray feeders as these guys are so large they do not fit well on feeders with perches. It took only a few minutes after I set out the first feeder for a male and 2 female Evening Grosbeak to start feeding. They fed off and on today so hope they will be staying in the neighborhood for awhile. Many springs I have had them as regular visitors to my feeders right up until time to go to nesting territories. SeEtta

Some years montane birds that normally reside a higher up in elevation in the foothills or mountains engage in an attitudinal migration and visit lower elevation areas of Colorado. I have had two of another montane species, Red-breasted Nuthatches, visiting my yard for more than a month. I spotted this single female Cassin's Finch on Christmas Day. It has been several years since I have seen a Cassin's Finch in my yard. I didn't see it visit my feeders but I have not had the time to watch lately. While these female Cassin's are just brown and white I think their crisp streaking is attractive. Some females have a more distinct pale eyebrow and submoustachial stripe than this bird though these pale areas do show in a few pics. SeEtta

Earlier this past week I was delighted to find my first yard bird White-throated Sparrow species and not just one but two. And to top that off, one was a white morph and the other a tan morph. I learned from some research I did that birds of this species typical mate with a bird of the opposite morph-that is called "negative assortative (disassortative) mating" according to Birds of North America online. While this species is known to use urban areas during migration and to come to feeders, I only observed them using my bird bath--and they used it often but only for drinking when I was observing. I do have feeders that they may have fed from or beneath when I was not observing. I found them by hearing their 'seep' calls, used for contact, which were different from birds I was familiar with-and while they were hear they gave the seep call often. They stuck together, coming to the bird bath together and perched in a large shrub near each other. Since this s...

Both a male and female Rose-breasted Grosbeak, first of the year birds, flew between my yard and my next door neighbor's yard. Here is the male eating at one of my neighbor's feeders. I didn't photos of them but my neighbor and I both had Black-headed and Evening Grosbeaks in our trees also--three grosbeak species not just in one day but all three were present between 6 and 7:30 pm when a rush of birds came through. Last year we had a pair of Rose-breasted Grosbeak that spent the summer so I am hoping this pair chooses to stay with us this year too. These Rose-breasted Grosbeaks really like chokecherry trees, a wonderful native species, in my neighbors' yards and that is what it is perched in. A number of warbler species worked their way through my trees including several Yellow as well about 30 Yellow-rumped, and 3 Orange-crowned Warblers. And all of these warblers came through my yard and my neighbor's yard between 6 and 7:30 pm yesterday. I really...

While Lincoln's Sparrows are not rare in south central Colorado, the are not very common with reports more of one or two birds seen more often than multiple birds. I usually find them skulking in vegetation near the Arkansas River as do others who report them on ebird . While I haven't done a thorough search, most of the reports seem to be from parks, ponds, reservoirs and rivers. So I was quite surprised this afternoon to spot one under my nyger feeders and it appeared it was eating nyger seeds spilled on the ground. I watched it off and on for about 20 minutes as it foraged on the ground then retreated into the thick vegetation I provide near these feeders. I would note that I do have White-crowned Sparrows eating this nyger seed both on the ground under the feeders and also perching on the hanging feeders. Of relevance Birds of North America online states, "Can be attracted to ground feeders during breeding, where both mealworms (Tenebrio spp.) and millet are ...

Last week while I worked in my backyard I kept hearing a soft bird call with which I was unfamiliar. I looked all around and could not locate the bird. Then I heard the distinctive high pitched 'zee-zee' trill call of a Cedar Waxwing and I located it high in one of my large deciduous trees. The other call I was unfamiliar with continued and came from the same area as the adult Cedar Waxwing . Finally I located the source of the unknown calling--it was clearly a fledgling Cedar Waxwing. It had a head that looked like an adult Cedar Waxwing except the mask was abbreviated. And it had a broad streaking on it's underparts that is not found on adult birds. It didn't have a crest, at least not one that was visible. And it's tail was even shorter than the usual short tail of adult birds. I watched as one or both parent birds would fly in to the tree to bring food for their offspring. I don't think they nested in my yard as I believe I would have heard the adult...

I recorded the Gray Catbird fledgling that I have heard a number of times giving the begging call (ie, parents, please feed me). It took me awhile to figure that this was actually the Gray Catbird fledgling calling and not an American Robin or other bird but I watched it as it gave this call on several occasions. Today it was back in my yard and giving it's begging call repeatedly and I got the following recording. SeEtta

My neighborhood Gray Catbirds have been visiting me for a long time. It started a number of years ago when a pair of Gray Catbirds nested right under my dining room window–what wonderful intimate views I had. Unfortunately I had to clean up the very overgrown shrub in which they nested so they haven’t nested in my yard since; but they do come to visit–well, they come to eat here anyway. They like insects as well as small fruit and berries so planting those and avoiding the use of pesticides is important in having a catbird-friendly yard. And the male, or males, engage with me in duetting–or I engage them. They have also brought their offspring back to my yard each year–though I like to think they bring them to show them to me, it is most likely for the food and safety that is provided in my bird-friendly yard. Two days ago I was visited by one or both adult Gray Catbirds and at least one fledgling. Both the male and female adults look alike so I don’t know if only one or both pa...

I usually get Evening Grosbeaks at my feeders in the spring while many lowland areas only see them in the winter. This year was a big year for them with hundreds around Canon City and Florence including several dozen at least in my neighborhood. They were going through a lot of seed (I only feed safflower when the bears are out but they seem to love it) so I was buying it by the 25 lb bag at a feed store. Fyi, that is a Pine Siskin sharing the feeder in the top pic demonstrating how large these Evening Grosbeak are (which translates into how much they eat especially when there are 6-10 of them at your feeders at a time). The number of Evening Grosbeaks has steadily decreased in the past 10 days as birds have presumably moved into their upland coniferous habitats documented in the Colo Breeding Bird Atlas I as preferred by them in this state. For the past 3 days including this morning I have only seen 2 birds, a male and female, at my feeders. It is time for them to be in the...

This is one of the two male and one female Lazuli Buntings that have been singing in trees in my yard and several several adjacent yards for over a week. Hopefully one of the males will pair up with the female and nest in one of our neighborhood trees. Have also had a male Indigo Bunting during the same time period, also singing, but haven't spotted any females for him. In this photo the male Lazuli is eating at Sean and Melanie's feeder. SeEtta

The Northern Parula I found in my yard this afternoon was kind enough to show off it's very yellow throat and black band across it as shown in top pic. In the bottom pic the bird was going after the fat worm seen in the photos on the previous post and what a very yellow mouth it has. His green back shows well in this photo as do his white eye crescents.  The other field marks--bluish gray hood and wings plus white wing bars are visible in all pics. SeEtta