Well, Bonnie, today (the 13th) there was 1 peregrine falcon on the fence just after sunrise.

Then I was gone thru the middle part of the day. Nearly sundown and I haven't seen one other bird back there. Those guys could sure make counting easy . . .

Steve's digits

Steve, how many birds I see will depend on where I do the counting. If I really stay in my backyard, I wouldn't have any to count either, but they give you quite a few options to choose from. The Colorado River is only a mile or so from my house, so if I go there I will at least see some geese, maybe a magpie, and a few redwing blackbirds. Today on the side of the highway, there were 15 or 20 of the redwing blackbirds on the cattails. Also, the last few days there have been a half a dozen huge, what I think are ducks, some white, some brown along that stretch too. Not sure what they are doing there. These are very large, domestic looking birds. This year, I will be sure to bring my camera, so that I can identify what I see. Who knew there were THAT MANY different kinds of geese. LOL?!

Bonnie

thx for the reminder, Bonnie. Gotta get new batteries for the camera!

I went for a walk along the river with my boys this afternoon, and this is what we saw:

Unfortunately, we only saw a couple of birds, and they flew away before we could get a photo, or a positive ID, though I believe one of them could have been a red tailed hawk.

What we saw plenty of is this:

It was everywhere along the river, and it was WAY bigger than deer or rabbit poop. Anyone know what animal produced this?

So after deciding that we should have worn our snow boots, we got back in the car and drove around looking for birds. We saw the usual Red Winged Blackbirds hanging out on the cattails. Then, driving to higher ground we found these:

I'm sorry I couldn't get a closer shot. Can anyone tell me what these are? They are too big to be European Starlings, and according to the official Great Backyard Bird Count website, the Brewer's Blackbird is only in my area in the summer. So are these American Crows? Their color is throwing me off. These were more brown than black. I'll try and get better pictures tomorrow.

On our drive back home we saw four of these:

So, anyone else see anything interesting today???

Bonnie

OMG, Bonnie, I want to be there! To bad we cant all live "in" a postcard!

DonÂt have a clue whoÂs been pooping out there, and I canÂt really identify your birds either, but they sure do look like some kind of a blackbird to meÂand the fact that thereÂs a whole flock of them would seem to indicate that too. Maybe somebody else will know, but donÂt let the fact that theyÂre not on the list convince you that thatÂs not what they are. Robins arenÂt on my list for where I live, and I have (a few of) them here all winter every year. If they were crows, IÂm sure you would have heard them cawing!

Well I just looked in my bird book, and of everything I can find, they look the most like the BrewerÂs Blackbird you mentionedÂbut you sure canÂt see any of the iridescence in your picture. (Actually they look more like the Rusty Blackbird, but they shouldnÂt be around there at all!) Check out the link below to see if it looks right to you. (Check all the tabs on that site for lots of info.) And I donÂt have time to direct link it, but hereÂs a link to a pretty good online identification site: http://whatbird.wildbird.com/mwg/_/0/all.aspx
My North American Bird book indicates that they could possibly be in your area in winter, and my Denver Bird book says they're in the Denver area all year, but fewer at this time of the year.

I decided to wait till tomorrow to count the birds in my backyard Âcause we were supposed to get a little bit of snow tonite, and I get a LOT more when itÂs snowy outside, but now it looks like we might not get any after all, so I guess IÂll just count them tomorrow, whether thereÂs many out there or not.

You sure the poop isnÂt from those deer?

Happy bird watching,
Skybird

Wow, Bonnie, that was food for the soul this morning. Thank you for sharing. No, don't know what the poo is. ;)

Those look like starlings to me....bleck!

Jtcm, the starlings we had when I was in Tennesse were MUCH smaller and more iridescent. These may not be crows, but they are the same size as one.

Skybird, we didn't see the deer at the river, we saw them in the hills behind where we live. Plus, the poops were over an inch across, and I've never seen deer poop that big.

Gotta run. I'm going to try and get out again this afternoon, so I'll report back later.

Happy bird watching everyone,
Bonnie

The ferruginous hawks were out yesterday as they have usually been thru the seasons and years. I am so encouraged by their persistence locally. It almost makes me tolerant of the ground squirrels, which are evidently their primary food source. I hope the hawks are picking off a few rabbits at this time of year.

It was easy to see 40 years ago that they preferred very open country. Well, there's less and less open country down on the valley floors where they hang out. The hawks seem to be adapting and the human population is adapting, as well. I think the human adaption amounts to a willingness to see these big hawks without grabbing a gun and shooting them. This is a small step by comparison to the birds' struggle for survival.

The naming of the ferruginous hawk might be an example of the old way of killing the critter and then deciding what it was. The "rust coloring" of this bird is very difficult to see from a distance. They usually have a good deal of white on their undersides (the parts that can be seen by us ground-dwellers). The rusty feathers are more on the top-sides of the birds.

Now, this all points to an obvious conundrum: are these really Ferruginous Hawks I've been looking at all these years? Well, probably - after all, I've had decades to try to get it right. But, perhaps not, this little population shouldn't really be here thru the Winter. And, the rough-legged hawk, a more northern species and close relative, might be here at this time of year. The problem with that identification is that these hawks are here year around and the darker rough-legged should be breeding in northern Canada thru the Summer.

There's a real difficulty in identifying birds. All of 'em change a bit in appearance season to season and even by the temperature and quality of light during a day. Hawks are often described as "polymorphic" in that they vary by sex, life-stages, and individually. I've even used bird names as passwords to accounts because I've figured that if they are difficult for me to figure out, it must be the same for others. (May have confused the terrain on this one . . . ;o)

digitS'
who thinks that it may be mule deer taking up residence in Bonnie's neighborhood

We're about to go out for another look around, but I thought I would mention that on the way home from lunch today, we passed a huge herd of elk, less than a mile downstream from where we were yesterday.

Bonnie

Whoda thunk thered be lots of pictures of moose poop on the WWWbut there it is! How does this measure upso to speak, Bonnie?

Poop, poop de doo,
Skybird

Well, Skybird, I think I can say with some certainty that it wasn't moose scat, LOL! However, when I did a search for elk and deer scat, the photos look so similar that I think it could be either one.

Todays outing was interesting, even though we didn't see much variety. First, we went to a nearby reservoir called Harvey Gap. I'm thinking we'll see birds there for sure. There weren't any birds around, probably because the lake was frozen solid. I asked my son what the little structures were out on the ice, then it dawned on me, there were people out there ice fishing!!! I have to admit I was surprised. For some reason I think of that as a northern activity, like Minnesota, or Wisconsin.

We left there, and headed to the river down in Rifle, and saw a few of these:

Then we headed back closer to home, and passed the elk herd again. This photo was taken right next to where the river goes under I-70. There were at least 20 of them, but they were pretty spread out, so I couldn't get a shot of the whole herd.

Then we went back to where we were on the river yesterday, and saw some birds flying into a dead branch. They appear to have made a nest inside. I couldn't get close enough to be sure what they were, but I am guessing they may be some kind of Flicker. Can anyone make out the bird in this shot?

If you look close at the dead branch, you can see the nesting material hanging out.

That's about it for me. Anyone else get any photos, or just a good story to share?

Bonnie

LOL! Moose! Elk! Ya mean they're different? I think it's the head thing! I got moose in my head and never even went back to see if I was right! At least I got a good endorphin laugh out of it when I just saw your post.

Your bird is so far away its hard to get any scale. Heres some pictures of the Northern red shafted flicker I have in my backyard (not my pictures!). These things are all over Colorado, year around, and theyre about a foot or a little bit longer. When theyre in flite, the red under their wings and under their tail is quite obvious. My male (red mustache) was at my suet feeder a few times this afternoon.

{{gwi:1189651}}

---Can't seem to make the third link work here---see it down on the bottom!

My big-time count today included up to 20 House Finches at one time, 2 Hairy Woodpeckers (named Harry & Harriet), about 16 Brewers Blackbirdsglad you brought that up, cause I had never taken the time to figure out what kind they were, and today I actually saw one of them in the right light and the iridescence was obviousits not usually visible. (I chase the blackbirds away when they show up since they show up in huge flocks, eat ALL my store bought seed, and scare away all the small birds), and my flicker, of course. I think there might have been a nuthatch on my peanut feeder, but it came and went too quickly to figure out what it was for sure. And none of my Robins showed up today. So it was a pretty feeble day! Sure wish we would have gotten that snow last nite!

Im surprised youre not spotting any eagles out there, Bonnie. Let us know if you ever figure out what either of those two types of birds are.

Skybird

Ive searched the posts and maybe Ive missed it but is there a good book for identifying birds in Colorado specifically?
Id love to learn more about the birds that visit my garden.
Thanks :)

Hi Azura,

I have the book Birds of Denver and the Front Range that was given to me by my brother who owns a Wild Bird Supply store in Illinois, but I find I use my original book far more often. Sometimes I use the Denver book, but its more for a cross reference to compare pictures. My "main" book is A Guide to Field Identification Birds of North America by Golden Press, New York and I like the pictures and the way its set up better. That book was also given to me by my brother when I first started bird watching (now called birdingbut I still prefer bird watching!)

There are other Colorado birding books available, but I dont know anything about them.

Heres a list of the Most Frequently Seen Birds of the Denver Area which can be really helpful when youre first starting to identify them and trying to eliminate all the ones in the "complete" bird book that arent even a possibility.

The ones youll see most often around here are House Sparrows (not really sparrows!), House Finches, Black-capped Chickadees, Pigeons & Doves, Blackbirds, Blue Jays, several different Juncos when theyre migrating thru in spring and fall (and sometimes in winter), and, especially if you put suet out, Flickers, Hairy Woodpeckers, and Downy Woodpeckers. Oh, and Robins, of courseI have them all winter.

If you put out some feeders youll see a lot more birds than if you just watch for them, but I recommend staying away from millet or "all purpose" bird seed as it just attracts dozens and dozens of House Sparrows that will keep many other birds away. I recommend safflower seed, thistle seed, black oil sunflower seed and suet. That will get you at least all of the birds I mentioned above (except the House Sparrows), and many more, but just not as many of each. I love to watch the chickadees, but still havent attracted much of a following at this house, which is only a couple miles away from my last house where I had lots of them. But little by little theyre showing up. If you put the feeders near deciduous trees, thatll help even more.

Heres a link to the best online bird identification site Ive found. Click on "all birds."

AND, if youve never heard of it before, heres a link to Bird Cam where you can watch Eagles, Falcons, Kestrels, Ospreys, and Owls laying their eggs and raising their young. Its fascinating to check in on them every now and then. Check out the Eagle Cam. They should be laying their eggs pretty soon. Just in case all you see when you go there is an empty nest, remember that these are live cams, and the Eagles come and go!

Enjoy our feathered relatives,
Skybird (without the feathers!)

I meant to do the backyard bird count, but watching my toddler through the weekend I never actually started a list and now I can't remember which birds I saw during that timeframe and which were before or since. I put up new feeders, but they're just starting to attract some birds. (I got a red-breasted nuthatch today!)

Azura, I think there's enough migrants through Colorado that you're probably best off with a book like Sibley's "Guide to Birds" for the whole country. I do have a small photo guide to birds of Colorado (I think Audubon prints those state-by-state) but I've already found birds that aren't in the book.

Bonnie, what are you basing your size estimate on for those birds? The only thing close to a crow in size that I could think of would be a grackle, and the tail and bill don't really look right for that. (The bill doesn't look right for a crow either.) I couldn't tell starling from Brewer's blackbird from those photos, but I would be reluctant to write off starling based on sizing them at a distance.

Foxes, my sister said they were Starlings too, but since I wasn't sure, I just didn't include them in my count. Where I grew up, we would get literally hundreds of Starlings in our yard this time of year, but they were no bigger than a robin. It was kind of creepy, like something out of that movie "The Birds". Anyway, the tree these birds were in was a small tree, and we were standing right next to it. The birds were at least as big as a Magpie if that helps any. I'm sorry I don't have anything in the photo to give you a point of reference. Maybe the Starlings in this part of the country are just bigger than the ones in the east. Anyway, I felt if I couldn't positively ID them, I thought it best to just not report them at all.

It would have been helpful if I had one of the books Skybird was recommending with me at the time. I'll have to pick one up before I go birding again.

Thanks for your help!

Bonnie

Ooooh! I just checked the Bird Cam and the owl (nesting box has a light in it!) was gone and there are two eggs in the nest already. Let the games begin!

Skybird

Bonnie, I gotta say something about bird guides for the field: They are sure easy to lose!

I used to have a good Golden guide, Skybird . . . once upon a time. When I tried to find a replacement, only the simple guides were at the bookstore. I wasn't at all happy with an Audubon guide (drawings work better for me than photo's) but I don't know where I left it.

Still have the old pair of Bushnell binoculars. The "extra wide field" helps keep the tiny critters in view. But, I need to keep the things tied to me or I'd probably wonder off and leave 'em on some comfortable log or rock outcropping somewhere.

I don't get far afield anymore so this Peterson guide to "Western Birds" may be here right behind me in the south window for quite awhile. I keep carrying it back to a book shelf but the guide migrates right back here every time.

digitS'

I need to pick up some of those books! I counted one day and there must have been at least 50 of one type of bird out in the horse paddock, picking at the ground. I don't know what they are, maybe some type of sparrow? There are quite a few Jays (I think that's what they are, bigger than Robins, with lots of blue). I'm still waiting to see the Robins. While riding on Saturday down the road, we saw about 8 blue birds! Some Chickadees.

I need to sit on the deck with my camera.

Oh, and I cannot wait to see and hear the Meadowlarks!

Oh, bluebirds!! Did you know that the Mountain Bluebird is Idaho's state bird?

There used to be some to be seen every year. They like to sit on the edge of the woods and drop down in the nearby grassy areas to catch butterflies. How 'bout that? No wonder they are so pretty, they eat butterflies!

The Western Bluebird seemed to replace the Mountain Bluebird and it continued to show up until about a decade ago - I haven't seen a bluebird for years and years! Sick to death of this sort of thing! As the housing developments are built right up to the forests and the forests trees themselves are cut for building sites - these birds are lost in what was until 2007 "Idaho's fastest growing county!" Oh, we are so proud . . .

digitSteve