Birds and Nature

I found this male American Redstart in a Colorado hotspot called Tempel Grove located just south of Negronda Reservoir and along a major irrigation canal. Unlike much of this and other irrigation canals there is a lot of vegetation, both trees and shrubs, that the Tempels had to fight the canal company to keep (irrigation companies routinely destroy vegetation along canals to reduce water loss). Melody Temple, who is now deceased, loved birds and her husband has dedicated the birding trail area along the canal that is generously open to birders in her memory. This male American Redstart in his striking breeding plumage was feeding in some of the trees just off the canal (currently empty). It has what looks like a fly in it's beak in the top pic. The only other warbler I found there was a Hooded but I only heard it sing twice and did not find it visually. SeEtta

While looking for spring migrants at Tempel Grove north of Lamar, Colorado on Sunday I spotted a pair of Eastern Phoebes building a nest--well, actually building at least two and possibly more nests on ledges under a small vehicle bridge over the Ft Lyon Canal. I observed a phoebe work on each of two nests and I saw more partially built nests that they might also be working on. This type of behavior has been observed before as reported by the Vermont Center for Ecostudies : "females were seen attempting to build as many as 15 nests in a season before completing one (Smith 1942)." All of these nests were 'statant' nests; that is, they were built on supporting ledge as opposed to 'adherent' nests that are 'plastered to a vertical surface.' One of the pair was a first spring bird and the other appeared to be in adult plumage. I do not recall seeing any Eastern Phoebes building nests when I frequented the Tempel Grove area last spring. SeEtta

Yesterday I drove 150 miles to a migrant trap in Bent County, CO. The winds were strong and gusty so birding was challenging. This hotspot had it's usual good numbers of resident Gray Catbirds and American Goldfinch plus several Swainson's Thrush that are common migrants through here. At least one Warbling Vireo serenaded in competition to the sound of the winds. Several of each Yellow and Yellow-rumped Warblers foraged with the latter working the ground out of the winds. I spotted a warbler with white on it's tail but did not refind for identification until later when a female Hooded Warbler popped up briefly. The only other rarity was this Summer Tanager which can be seen in the lower photo as bright red but having greenish feathers on wings and tails which identifies it as a first spring/summer male. A very slow day for this location during spring migration. SeEtta

Yellow-rumped Warblers can have such bright colorful plumage during spring as this Audubon's sub-species has. This is one I saw at Tempel Grove in Bent County,CO. SeEtta