I'd like to share a couple recent photos of Cooper's Hawks in the yard. Cooper's are among the three species of forest flying hawks that we can see here. Accipiter genus hawks include the smaller Sharp-shinned Hawk, the large Cooper's Hawk, and the much larger Goshawk. Not the high flying soaring hawks like our local Red-tailed, Accipiters have long tails which allow them to maneuver very fast through the trees to capture birds on the wing. Many of you who have bird feeders have seen Sharp-shinned and Cooper's stalk or capture birds in the yard. The magnificent Goshawks might also be seen but are more rare.
Last summer we had at least two Cooper's Hawks frequent the yard. The first was a local adult that we caught swooping at hummingbirds more than a few times. Hardly a morsel compared to a deer mouse that weighs 6 times as much as a 3.7 gram hummer. Later in summer, a juvenile Cooper's was seen often, and I got some decent photos of it on August 24th.
On Christmas morning, a near-adult Cooper's showed up at the farm outside Palisade. Two days later we watched as the bird drove a Gambel's Quail
into the dining room window 3 feet from us. The hawk caught it on the bounce and flew off with it.
Notice that the August juvenile has yellow eyes, and the older December bird has orange eyes. By March as full adults, both will have red eyes going forward, a pattern that is true of all US Accipiters. Also, by late fall, these birds begin a gradual molt to adult plumage. Officially and for data purposes, all young of the year, or hatch year birds are considered adults on January 1st.
So, mountain folk, what has everyone been seeing lately?
I love the big snow days! Not so much for the seemingly endless snow removal chores, but for the great birds that visit. Throughout winter, one or a few Pine Grosbeaks stop in for sunflower seed. But when the ground and trees get covered with fresh snow, larger flocks of Pine Grosbeaks numbering from 15-40 or more birds arrive. The Pine Grosbeak is our largest finch. It's fun to watch these beautiful, cheery birds hold their own against the bossy Steller's Jays. Recently, a few Gray-crowned Rosy Finches have joined the crowd.
Another favorite is the Clark's Nutcracker which comes for peanut, sunflower and suet. The Clark's, unlike the Steller's, has strong legs and feet which enables it to hold upside down to feed. Clark's Nutcrackers are year around residents but they only come to my feeders in the snowy months.
Other good birds now are the White-winged Junco along with the Oregon Junco, and the ever present Mountain Chickadee and Black-capped Chickadee, the White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches, and the Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers. I also see the mostly solitary Townsend's Solitaire singing from the tree tops. They don't come to the feeders but sometimes they'll come down to drink from open water on the river.
Following the recent small snowfall, we trekked up to Peaceful Valley to catch a view of the Pine Grosbeaks Steve has shown here. We were delighted to see the higher elevation birds both he and his neighbor draw in to their feeding stations.
The female Pine Grosbeaks are golden-colored, while the males boast the red feathers.
In reverse of what we are used to, the Red-breasted Nuthatches were more common than the white-breasted.
And it was a real treat to see a Clark's Nutcracker up close!
Laurel, it was a real pleasure having you and Bill visit yesterday. Next time, we'll try to get views of the Pygmy Nuthatches and Townsend's Solitaires.
The White-winged Juncos that were here all winter, have departed, now replaced by many more Oregon and Gray-Headed Juncos. The White-winged Juncos would be arriving on their breeding grounds in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
A few of the local male Red-winged Blackbirds have shown up, presumably to stake out breeding territories in the mid-elevation willow carrs such as the one between Camp Dick and the PV campground, and those in the South St. Vrain and Beaver Creek drainages. "Carrs" are a type of wetland dominated by shrubs, and a willow carr is dominated by....willow. In most years, I see small flocks of red-wings return to the mountains by mid-February, sometimes in early January. They move back and forth to wetlands on the plains in response to weather events until they begin nesting here.
At Pella Crossing in Hygiene off 75th Rd., an all white, near-albino red-winged can now be found about 200 yards east of the parking lot. Take the southern most trail. It's always a treat to see a leucistic or a full albino bird.
Here's a pair of male Red-winged Blackbirds that came to the feeder on Monday. One is using a dominance display but both are able to display the orange-red lesser coverts of the shoulder.
Okay, not really a bird but every time I've spotted a mink here they are flying up or down the riverbank over the snow, and always across the stream. This time I was able to snap a quick blurry photo from 40 yards as it ran away. I include it to remind everyone to be on the lookout for mink or otter along the streams. The last time we saw a mink here was running up the snowy river bank on April 28, 2022. Previously on May 13, 2021, and March 27, 2019. When the snow disappears, they would be much harder to see.
We saw our first hummer of the season last Wednesday, April 17, at 7:15 a.m. It was a male Broad-tailed Hummingbird visiting our feeder. It was windy and cold and he left soon after. I don't think he would have liked the 13" of snow that fell here on Saturday. They can brave the snow and freezing conditions but they need lots of calories.
No other hummers were detected again until this morning at 7:15, when a male Broad-tailed Hummingbird came to a kitchen window feeder. It could be the same bird but there's no way of telling. He has returned several times today and he could stay for the summer. We do know that during cold, wintry conditions, some early birds will come to check out their territory, then head down-elevation for milder weather and more insects. Soon, many birds will stop in, some stay and others will move on to points farther north.
Feeder tips: Mix 1 part plain table sugar to 4 parts water, nothing else, ever. Make sure the feeder and sugar water are squeaky clean! Use a dish detergent, hot water and a bottle brush or foam mop at every refilling. Clean any crud or mold using a long soak in vinegar, or a 5% chlorine solution for 10 minutes. Scrub and rinse. Refill sugar water every 3-5 days. Refrigerate any leftover sugar water. Sanitize the sugar water container every couple of weeks. Don't leave feeders out for the birds if you wouldn't want to drink it.
Done properly, sugar water feeders benefit the birds. If you feed them, they will come. More feeders = more birds. Sucrose is what they naturally get and digest from flowers. Nectar flowers won't be out for a month but there are plenty of insects available. Be consistent and enjoy these awesome little birds. I've been teaching about birds for 40 years and enjoy sharing.
Yay for the return of the hummers! Thanks for sharing this Steven, I will now officially start putting out my feeders and extending my welcome.
I also appreciate the care instructions for keeping the feeders healthy for our wee friends.
Where do you teach? Should there ever be opportunities for any of us JT folks to join a class of yours, I would love to know about it.
04-22-2024, 07:23 PM (This post was last modified: 04-23-2024, 05:42 AM by Steven B in PV.)
Karla, I teach, sometimes preach, about birds wherever I go to anyone who is interested. I give PowerPoint talks to local clubs, birding groups, Audubon societies, etc. We have hosted some 24 birding and nature groups for seminars and banding in Peaceful Valley and at the Palisade farm.
In July, I'll talk about the results and discoveries of banding at the Sedona Hummingbird Festival since 2012. There, my banding team has given demonstrations to as many as 800 people in three mornings. In Sedona, we have banded hundreds of hummingbirds of seven species, plus a first of it's kind Rivoli's x Black-chinned hybrid. One of our site hosts attracts some 5000-6000 individual hummingbirds daily to their garden. It's awesome. https://sedonahummingbirdfestival.com/ This year, we begin a new study of Rivoli's Hummingbird nesting in Oak Creek Canyon, AZ.
In Colorado, I've banded 11 hummingbird species including several state record birds. Only two species normally breed in CO, the Broad-tailed and the Black-chinned. If anyone sees anything different before the southbound Rufous and Calliope come through in July, please let me know. Accidentals can happen at any time, and one of our goals is to document rare and accidental species in CO.
Last summer, I wanted to invite the JT-BarK bird folks to see our hummingbird meadow, but time gets so tight in the peak of season. I'll schedule something soon and post to this thread.
Being surrounded by these bright lil beings sounds like a very magical kind of work, Steve. Thanks for sharing. I hope I can visit your hummingbird meadow when the time is right! Thanks for sharing
05-02-2024, 07:02 PM (This post was last modified: 05-02-2024, 07:03 PM by Steven B in PV.)
We had a new bird for our Peaceful Valley property! A White-throated Sparrow showed up Saturday morning and stayed through Tuesday. White-throated Sparrows breed from the upper Great Lakes north across the northern boreal forests of Canada. They are very rare spring and fall migrants and winter residents in Colorado with only a few records in the mountains. There are few records from western CO, and I've seen them three times at the Palisade farm. What a privilege to see one in PV.
This is an exciting time to see spring migrants moving into and through the state. In the past week at the cabin, I've seen a Song Sparrow, a Common Grackle, a male Cooper's Hawk, the first pair of summer resident Band-tailed Pigeons, a Tree Swallow, and two hardy male Broad-tailed Hummingbirds.
Here are photos of the White-throated Sparrow. Note the distinctive yellow patches in the lores above the eyes.
Just spotted a brilliant, male Western Tanager here on Spruce Street in JT!!! Such amazing, bright beauty! Maybe someone else will spot one and have a good camera to get a photo to post.
This afternoon, my first southbound migrating Rufous Hummingbird of the season showed up at our feeders. I'm a bit late though because a close neighbor saw their first on June 28. Over the next two months, thousands of Rufous will move through our area. The hummer activity is really picking up now as the Broad-tailed females are feeding young in the nests, and competition with the Rufous will stir the scene to a crescendo.
I just returned from a two-week project in Sedona where my team began a long awaited study to confirm nesting of Rivoli's Hummingbird in Oak Creek Canyon. We were delighted to capture 3 females in breeding condition, but we want to gather more evidence later this month, and next year. Working with 3 beginning hummingbird banders and several volunteers, we also caught Anna's, Black-chinned, Broad-tailed, and recaptured a single male Costa's that we banded at the Sedona Hummingbird Festival in July 2023. Costa's were largely unknown in Sedona until we began catching them a few years ago. We now believe that small numbers of Costa's are breeding there in an expanding population due to climate change.
Rivoli's Hummingbirds are native to Mexico and SE AZ. They are known to pioneer in more northern mountain areas, and individuals have nested in CO during some years. There are 25 accepted records in Colorado, including the 2014 female I banded in Coal Creek Canyon, Boulder County. We could see them here anytime from April thru November.
The Costa's Hummingbird is a tiny desert bird generally found from Phoenix into Mexico. There are 9 accepted records for Colorado including one banded at the CSU Pingree Park environmental center on the north end of Rocky Mountain National Park. I banded 3 female Costa's wintering in Grand Junction. While likely to be more rare here than Rivoli's, birds have wings and can show up most anytime.
Rivoli's are a large hummingbird, about twice the mass of our local Broad-tailed, and 3 times the mass of the Costa's and our southbound Calliope. For comparison, here is the male Costa's, and a female Rivoli's in the hand of one of our site hosts as it is being released.
