I will be interested to know if Michelle or anyone has yet seen dippers active at the nest box in Jamestown this spring.
A few minutes ago I heard another songster in the yard with the arrival of three Brown-capped Rosy Finches. This is only the second time we've ever seen them come to our feeders. As we've removed hundreds of spruce and fir from the around the cabin it is now more attractive to open country birds like Rosy Finch, Red Crossbill and Horned Lark.
Brown-capped Rosy Finches nest in the rocky cliffs and tundra along the top of the Continental Divide in Colorado. Like other finches they're sometimes seen along roadsides consuming sand and salt which helps them digest seeds and insects. But the salts can slow their metabolism and reaction time making them more vulnerable to being hit by passing vehicles. Last January and February I watched large flocks of Brown-capped and Gray-crowned Rosy Finches flying and feeding along the Overland Road switchbacks. When you see them on the road it's important to slow and give them time to move.
Here are Brown-capped and Gray-crowned Rosy Finches that visited our feeders a year ago.
Steve
A few minutes ago I heard another songster in the yard with the arrival of three Brown-capped Rosy Finches. This is only the second time we've ever seen them come to our feeders. As we've removed hundreds of spruce and fir from the around the cabin it is now more attractive to open country birds like Rosy Finch, Red Crossbill and Horned Lark.
Brown-capped Rosy Finches nest in the rocky cliffs and tundra along the top of the Continental Divide in Colorado. Like other finches they're sometimes seen along roadsides consuming sand and salt which helps them digest seeds and insects. But the salts can slow their metabolism and reaction time making them more vulnerable to being hit by passing vehicles. Last January and February I watched large flocks of Brown-capped and Gray-crowned Rosy Finches flying and feeding along the Overland Road switchbacks. When you see them on the road it's important to slow and give them time to move.
Here are Brown-capped and Gray-crowned Rosy Finches that visited our feeders a year ago.
Steve