12-09-2022, 11:34 PM
Some good birds have been around the cabin lately that I'd like to share. It is along the river in primarily spruce-fir forest with components of aspen, willow, alder and mountain mahogany.
It would be great for this to become an open and ongoing thread or sub forum for anyone to contribute their sightings, photos or questions about birds on their property or in the mountain areas around us.
The kinds and numbers of birds can vary dramatically at different elevations and habitats. Folks in Jamestown, Bar-K, Ward and Peaceful Valley will often see very different regular species and numbers of those birds. Rare birds can show up most anywhere. Note the Blue-footed Booby that landed in Lefthand Canyon! Or, the Magnificent Frigate at Granby Reservoir! Please feel free to post your observations so we can all learn.
Here at the cabin, in addition to the regular year-round wintering birds like chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, Steller's Jays and Clark's Nutcrackers, I've seen some relatively rare birds around the house. They include:
Two Red (aka Eastern) Fox Sparrows that arrived together and remained for three days.
A juvenile White-crowned Sparrow that stayed for a few days.
A male American Goldfinch in winter plumage that made a a quick stop.
A female type Cassin's Finch that visited briefly, a bird that's been rare here over several years.
Two female Evening Grosbeaks, another species that's been rare here for some years.
A Sharp-shinned Hawk blasted through a few times, and last Sunday, one minute later a....
Northern Shrike came in an attempt to take birds coming to feeders. Some visiting birders were here when we spotted the shrike on Dec. 2. I saw it again trying to take small birds outside the dining room window. I snapped a few pics as it was watching birds from below the feeders and again hunting around the yard.
It would be great for this to become an open and ongoing thread or sub forum for anyone to contribute their sightings, photos or questions about birds on their property or in the mountain areas around us.
The kinds and numbers of birds can vary dramatically at different elevations and habitats. Folks in Jamestown, Bar-K, Ward and Peaceful Valley will often see very different regular species and numbers of those birds. Rare birds can show up most anywhere. Note the Blue-footed Booby that landed in Lefthand Canyon! Or, the Magnificent Frigate at Granby Reservoir! Please feel free to post your observations so we can all learn.
Here at the cabin, in addition to the regular year-round wintering birds like chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, Steller's Jays and Clark's Nutcrackers, I've seen some relatively rare birds around the house. They include:
Two Red (aka Eastern) Fox Sparrows that arrived together and remained for three days.
A juvenile White-crowned Sparrow that stayed for a few days.
A male American Goldfinch in winter plumage that made a a quick stop.
A female type Cassin's Finch that visited briefly, a bird that's been rare here over several years.
Two female Evening Grosbeaks, another species that's been rare here for some years.
A Sharp-shinned Hawk blasted through a few times, and last Sunday, one minute later a....
Northern Shrike came in an attempt to take birds coming to feeders. Some visiting birders were here when we spotted the shrike on Dec. 2. I saw it again trying to take small birds outside the dining room window. I snapped a few pics as it was watching birds from below the feeders and again hunting around the yard.