bar-headed goose at Confluence

Check out these pics of a bar-headed goose seen today at Confluence!  Jason Beason gets the credit for spotting it.  This goose is from Asia, although it is a common zoo bird.  Might it be a wild bird?  Or is it an escapee?

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk296/Paoniabirds/P1000579lc.jpg

http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk296/Paoniabirds/P1000603lc.jpg

Dennis Garrison

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Birds & Brews, Delta

Birds & Brews Colorado! An informal gathering of birders of all abilities - if you're interested in birds, you're invited!

It's a time to meet other birders, maybe find a carpool or birding buddy, ask about where to find target birds, share cool research projects you might be working on, ask a bird feeding question, share life lists, a great new book,  project ideas, digiscoping tips, promote your blog--the sky is the limit!

(I stole this idea from Sharon Stiteler at birdchick.com who has a successful and fun "Birds & Beers" in Minnesota and various other places she travels, with her approval.) My hope is to host these throughout the state. (and beyond?)

DETAILS:
Thursday, August 6th, 6:00 p.m. at the Stockyards Restaurant & Lounge, 1205 Main St. Delta, Colorado.

Hosted by  myself (Connie Kogler) and my sister, Lauren Burke.

RSVP is helpful for the restaurant staff, so if you know your coming, let me know. If you don't know, but find you can, come anyway!

If you have any questions, feel free to email me, and feel free to pass this email on and here is a link for reference: http://birdsothemorning.blogspot.com/2009/07/birds-brews-colorado-delta.html


Connie Kogler
BirdsOTheMorning.com
AslansOwn.com
Loveland, Colorado.

Plateau Field Trip

Following is Pam Motley's description/invitation to a cool UP field trip:

*The Uncompahgre Mesas Forest Restoration and Demonstration Project *

The UP Project (www.UPProject.org <http://www.UPProject.org>), US Forest
Service, Colorado Forest Restoration Institute –Colorado State
University (CFRI)
(http://welcome.warnercnr.colostate.edu/cfri-home/index.php), local
conservation groups and interested members of the community have come
together to enhance the resiliency, diversity and productivity of the
native ecosystem in the Uncompahgre Mesas area of the Uncompahgre
Plateau, CO using best available science and collaboration. The first
phase of this comprehensive restoration effort will focus on a
17,000-acre landscape. The area is comprised of aspen, mixed conifer and
ponderosa pine forest types.

* *

*July 29 – 30 Field Trip/Camp Out*.

This event will be an excellent opportunity for community members to
learn multi-party ecological monitoring data collection techniques. Dr.
Jessica Clement and Mica Keralis from the Colorado Forest Restoration
Institute-Colorado State University will conduct a training session for
workgroup members and volunteers. They have developed a 'citizen
scientist' ecological monitoring protocol for our project to measure the
following indicators:

1. Surface Fuels (including coarse woody debris)
2. Tree Characteristics (Diameter at Breast Height DBH, Height,
species, age, composition)
3. Canopy Cover and base height
4. Tree Density
5. Photo Points
6. Understory vegetation (abundance and composition including noxious
weeds)
7. Willdlife indicators
8. Disease, pathogens and insect indicators

After the training session, we will begin to collect
pre-treatment/baseline data within the project area. We will camp at the
USFS 25 Mesa Guard Station on the Uncompahgre Plateau on July 29^th .

* *

*RSVP*

Please join us for all or part of the field trip. New comers are welcome
and you do not need to make a long-term commitment to the project to
participate in this training session. RSVP to Pam Motley at 970-209-9087
or UPProject@UPProject.org <mailto:UPProject@UPProject.org>. Because the
UP will be providing meals, I'll need to know by */Friday, July 24^th /*
if you are planning to attend.

Pam Motley

Education Coordinator

Uncompahgre Plateau Project

www.UPProject.org <http://www.UPProject.org>

970.209.9087

Field Trip - Atlas Blockbuster

July 16‒19 – Blockbuster on the Uncompahgre Plateau, Region 7

Coen Dexter will lead this weekend-long blockbuster in the Starvation Point and Moore Mesa priority blocks, located near Columbine Pass and Campground on the Uncompahgre Plateau.  These blocks are between 8,000 and 10,000 feet in elevation and are mostly on U.S. Forest Service land.  Participants should be able to find Flammulated Owl, Williamson's Sapsucker, Grace's Warbler, and many, many more species.  Twenty years ago, atlasers reported nearly 70 species in the Starvation priority block, the highest species total of any block on the plateau.

Anyone who wants to learn about COBBAII or wants to do some birding on the plateau is invited to participate in some or the entire weekend.  Pick which days you want to come─one, two, three, or all four.  We are tentatively planning a campfire and barbeque Friday night.  Over a beer or glass of wine, we can share some tales dating back to the first atlas.  This will be a great opportunity to pay tribute to those atlasers who contributed so much during COBBAI.

Contact Coen Dexter for details — coenbrenda@yahoo.com.

Cheryl Day

Atlas in Aspens

Breeding Birds in the Aspens

Thanks to Dennis for another good post. This is also an opportunity
to remind all of us that trips like his are good sources of info for the
Breeding Bird Atlas. You do not have to be the official owner of the
block in question, or any block, to contribute to the atlas. I think
you just need to register at the atlas website at
http://bird.atlasing.org/Atlas/CO/Main . It is not considered
poaching to add a few cool birds to someone else's block.

We finally went up to my Spruce Mountain block, which sounds like
one of the places Dennis was just at, today. As usual, the pure aspens
in our area are just about the best birding you can find anywhere. We
had a new Purple Martin location, but, like Dennis said, there were a
few old martin sites with few or no martins. We also heard Willow
flycatchers in two blocks, and had Red tailed and Swainson's hawks,
Wilson's and Mac warblers, and huge numbers of Robins, Yellow warblers,
VG swallows and House wrens. As always, anyone is welcome to add
Swainson's thrush or Fox sparrow-two of today's targets- to my block.

BD

Purple martins are back in the hills

I have been eyeing several known martin locations during my travels and have noticed they have been mostly absent from the usual haunts.  Today, however, I found a male and two females at a single cavity in the middle of an aspen stand, much annoyed at my presence.
 
A good loop drive for martins is from Paonia north on the Stevens Gulch road, then east to 133 along the Buzzard Divide road, then back to Paonia along the highway.  Lots of other things to see along there as well, from tree and violet-green swallows to house wrens to hawks to blue herons.
 
Dennis Garrison

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There are baby grebes at Fruitgrowers!

Take your spotting scope.  Still a wide variety of birds to be seen, from clouds of swallows to a raft of pelicans.  The bald eagles down below Delta appear to have produced at least one chick, as well.

Dennis Garrison

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Annual Picnic June 25

Join us on June 25 for our annual dinner in Montrose. This year we'll
get together for an outdoor potluck at the home of Alan and Susan Reed,
2705 Stellar Court. (Take Vega Drive west from 6700 Road to reach
Stellar Court.) Bring a dish to share and your own service. The chapter
will provide a beverage. fIn addition to dinner we'll have officer
elections, a silent auction, and program by Doug Oren of the U.S.
Geological Survey.
Doug Oren is studying how elk movement in the Crawford area is
affected by human traffic. In the same area, the BLM has begun to
monitor potential traffic impacts on Gunnison Sage-grouse. Funds are
being sought to expand the study to include GPS/radio transmitters for
Sage-grouse, in order to get a better understanding of the interaction
between humans, elk and Sage-grouse.

Bluff Birds

I can't put out state stuff on COBIRDS but I think I can post it
here. I just returned from three and a half days in rainy Bluff, Utah
birding the San Juan River tams, olives and cottonwoods, and it is
highly recommended. Right now it is fairly easy to find Lucy's Warbler
and I think there could be cuckoos in a couple of weeks. Lucy's can be
heard from patches of dead cottonwoods-for instance where the channel
has moved, leaving them suddenly too dry. Good river birding spots
include the southeast edge of town and the BLM land, south of the
airport. A Summer Tanager pair is reportedly nesting in town as we
speak, although I didn't see them. Of course the area also has
Moab-like scenery, but with surprisingly few tourists, and doesn't seem
to have grown that much over the last twenty years.

BD

Riparian Restoration - Volunteers needed!

Volunteers Needed to help with Riparian Restoration efforts along the
Gunnison River .  The BLM will be planting cottonwoods along the Gunnison
River on May 19, 20 and 21 to improve the riparian habitat.  Help is needed
to complete this project and can be anywhere from half-day to all three
days.  This would be a great opportunity for Black Canyon Audubon members
to improve important habitat for birds.  If interested, please contact
Amanda Clements (970-240-5306; amanda_clements@blm.gov).

Cheryl Day

International Migratory Bird Day

Just a reminder that International Migratory Bird Day is coming up.  Typically celebrated the second Saturday in May, the single date has been emphasized less in recent years to accommodate a wide variety of projects and activities that were difficult to fit into a single weekend day.

This year's theme is "Celebrating Birds in Culture".

Information on IMBD can be found at the official IMBD website at www.birdday.org or at the US Fish and Wildlife Service website at http://www.fws.gov/birds/imbd.html

To see what migratory birds are passing through these days, keep an eye on the slideshow to the right.  Photos get added regularly, often daily.  Click on any thumbnail to access the full sized image.  Many of the photos are also available in slightly larger formats as well. If you can't click in time, buttons appear over the thumbnail which allow you to scroll back into the slide show, or forward if you are searching for a particular photo.  If you have need of bird or other photos for non-commercial purposes, contact dennisgarrison@hotmail.com

 

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River Ecology Day in Hotchkiss

Today all the third graders from Hotchkiss Elementary School spent the
afternoon by the North Fork River, the final project for the ecology
unit the third grade has been studying. Among other things the kids
learned about birds from Black Canyon Auduboners Dennis Garrison and me.
We had a ton of fun with these bright children. Dennis shared pictures
and posters about Bird Migration Day (coming up), and taught the kids
how to look at birds' bills to learn what kinds of food they eat. We
brought along BCAS's wonderful bird skins collection, and the kids loved
touching the feathers, beaks, and feet of preserved birds like the great
horned owl, black billed magpie, and red crossbill. We talked about
common birds in the area and watched swallows and Say's Phoebes. Dennis
designed a great game that had kids hunting for food cards to match bird
cards. He set up his scope and we all got a good look at fuzzy yellow
goslings swimming behind the big Canada geese.
Maybe your school needs a river ecology day? Maybe you'd like to
borrow the bird skins to share with children? We would be happy to share.
Jane McGarry

Poem by Jim Harrison

Age Sixty-nine

I keep waiting without knowing
what I'm waiting for.
I saw the setting moon at dawn
roll over the mountain
and perhaps into the dragon's mouth
until tomorrow evening.

There is this circle I walk
that I have learned to love.
I hope one day to be a spiral
but to the birds I'm a circle.

A thousand Spaniards died looking
for gold in a swamp when it was
in the mountains in clear sight beyond.

Here, though, on local earth my heart
is at rest as a groundling, letting
my mind take flight as it will,
no longer waiting for good or bad news.

Often, lately, the night is a cold maw
and stars the scattered white teeth of the gods,
which spare none of us. At dawn I have birds,
clearly divine messengers that I don't understand
yet day by day feel the grace of their intentions.

Jim Harrison <http://poems.com/feature.php?date=14363>

In Search of Small Gods
Copper Canyon Press <http://www.coppercanyonpress.org>

fowarded by Jane McGarry

Coen and Brenda's Ecuador presentation

Western Colorado bird gurus Coen Dexter and Brenda Wright spoke to a crowd of about 50 birding enthusiasts last night at Memorial Hall in Hotchkiss.  They had a wonderful slide show and narrative of birds, bird habitats, lodges, and various icky creatures from their recent trip to Ecuador.
 
Thanks to Coen and Brenda for taking two months to travel to go get the photos (sigh), Jason for technical support, Jane for bringing them to Hotchkiss, and everyone else who lent a hand last night.

 

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Talk at Paonia River Park today

Above:  Jane McGarry and Dennis Garrison describing how to find birds.
 
One of the groups watching tree swallows foraging over the North Fork of the Gunnison
 
 
Jane McGarry and Dennis Garrison gave presentations today at Paonia River Park on how to find birds.  The event was part of the Earth Day celebration sponsored by the North Fork River Improvement Association www.nfria.org .   About twenty children and a mixed bag of teenagers and adults listened to a variety of talks, including the birding talk, a presentation on how to identify tracks and scat, a Leave No Trace talk, and a riparian demonstration put on by NRCS.
 
Cedar Keshet of NFRIA, with help from some BCAS folks, put together a handout of birds likely to be found at the park, which Dennis (wearing his Forest Service hat) laminated so they can be reused.  The birds, however, did not read the handout, and the ones which showed up at the park today were not the ones that were picked for the handout, with the exception of a mallard and a magpie.
 
Other birds seen during the talks and brief walks included:
 
tree swallows (many)
red-winged blackbirds
ravens
crows
a falcon (prairie or peregrine, not close enough to identify)
a golden eagle
a turkey vulture
a red-naped sapsucker
 
Birding was tough, with a gravel pit next door, a highway across the river, and the North Fork in full runoff mode.  All the kids had fun, though, which is all that matters.
 


 

 

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BCAS business

I hate to interrupt enjoyable wildlife posts with organizational
news, but I can see that this can be a good place to keep everyone up on
BCAS happenings.

One thing Cheryl and I have been working on - with Missy and April
Montgomery of the Uncompahgre Project- is a grant to hire a Crawford
GUSG Working Group Coordinator. This has worked out so well with Leigh
Robertson as the San Miguel Basin Coordinator, we would love to have
another one. I don't know how likely it is, but April is working on the
grant application.

Another thing that has taken up a lot of Cheryl's time is the
Ridgway Bird Banding project. It finally looks like it is a go for the
forth year, and we were able to get the dates we wanted, in early
September. Thanks to RMBO, Ridgway State Park and Grand Valley Audubon
for helping with the scheduling.

I hope everyone can make it to Coen and Brenda's Ecuador
presentation Thursday. And on a fun/birding note, we did have our first
black chinned hummer yesterday.

Bill Day
Hotchkiss

Of Frogs and Foxes . . .

Every day brings new discoveries in the new neighborhood (from "As You
Like It": "What's the new news in the new court?"). This morning it was
foxes, at least three young foxes cavorting on the hillside while two
adults both played and seemed to stand vigil while the fun went on. The
little foxes were about half the size of the adults, with one juvenile
significantly smaller, perhaps the runt of the litter. They scampered
madly in the sage and were a delight to observe. I've been watching the
neighborhood fox all winter as it passes by our place and hunts the
fields for rodents. Today, finally, I saw the den site and watched the
young! Hope to have pictures soon.
Frogs: at five tonite while Chuck and Steve and I stood around
chatting out in the shop, the frog chorus began from a nearby pond. It
is spring! Do frogs hibernate in the mud below the ice all winter? Then
there are polliwogs, then there are frogs. Now to determine what
particular frogs they are . . . and this explains the frequent flight of
great blue herons over our place.
Jane McGarry, Paonia

Confluence birding and conservation outing this morning

At 7 a.m., Jason and Rick and I made up the sum total of the early morning BCAS birders at Confluence.  I leave the overall birding report to Jason, the record-keeper, since I am usually unable to recall everything I see.  I did attach a few photos above.
 
Several more people showed up for the beaver-proofing of the trees.  We managed to wrap a couple dozen trees before running out of both materials and time.  The beavers continue to chew their way through the forest there, although there are signs they are eating some of the exotic trees (Russian olives, Siberian elm, tamarisk) as well as the cottonwoods.
 
I only got one photo of the work, in which Jason, our fearless leader, appears to be distracted by something flying overhead...
 
More work to be done there in the future.

Dennis Garrison

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Confluence outing tomorrow morning

Saturday, April 18, Confluence Park Birding and Conservation Field Trip  
 
Birding: meet at 7 a.m. in the Confluence Park parking lot that is to your right as you enter the park.  We will walk the trails in search of spring migrants, and we will check the lake for migrating waterfowl and shorebirds. Bring binoculars and spotting scopes if you have them.
 
Conservation: Meet at 9 a.m. in the same parking lot described above. We will be wrapping trees with chicken wire so that the beavers don't cut them all down. Bring gloves. Tools will be provided. We will work until about noon.

 

 

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Jane and I went birding!

Jane McGarry and I have been playing tag for a couple weeks, trying to get out birding.  Yesterday's sapsucker sighting made me feel a bit guilty, since it was there for twenty minutes and I neglected to call her and let her know.
 
So after work, I gave her a call, she cleared her schedule, and we went birding.
 
First, she showed me the breat-horned owl nest near her house.  One bird on the nest, too low to see clearly, but a second owl sleeping in a neaby tree, in plain sight!  Camera time (you know me).  Unfortunately, as dark as it was with the impending storm, 1/40 of a second and my camera's autofocus managed to blur most of the pics. The best one is below.
 
Cassin's finches objectied to me standing too near her feeder.
 
She also showed me the red-tailed nest two blocks from my house (I don't wander the neighborhood much), which might explain the hawk that took a pass at one of my landlady's small, brown, furry dogs a few weeks ago.  The dogs now wear orange bandanas that say Peace and Love.  Maybe that will help.
 
We drove through Hotchkiss and looked at a couple more red-tail nests, then decided to see if the barn owl was home.  No luck, although the signs certainly point to it being there.  Lots of fresh pellets, feathers, and whitewash, although it seems to be sharing the grove with EC doves and magpies.  The pheasant right down the road seemed to me to be handy food for an owl.
 
We wandered down to the hatchery, where we were mostly skunked, although we saw a few waterfowl.
 
Back towards Hotchkiss, we found another red-tailed nest in a fencerow cottonwood.
 
We headed south onto Scenic Mesa, where we encountered a loggerhead shrike in a roadside bush.  By the time I stopped, it had taken off, but Jane relocated it in another bush, where it appeared to have some small, meaty food item.  When it flew off again, we checked the bush and found the remains of a small mammal, possibly a meadow vole, impaled on a stick.
 
A few more pheasants two golden eagles, and one small band of vesper sparrows completed our Scenic Mesa side trip.
 
We stopped at the cemetery and looked around.  While the wind had stopped, the birds were not out and about in great numbers, and the highlight was a small band of a dozen or so yellow-rumped warblers headed NE.
 
We stopped to look at the golden eagle nests off of K50 road, and saw one on a nest and another in a nearby tree.
 
Home and darkness came next, but it was fun to finally get out with a neighbor (all of six blocks, maybe.  Sigh.) and see some sights.
 
Don't forget the BCAS Confluence birding and beaverproofing trip tomorrow!

Dennis Garrison

Paonia 

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In search of...the red-naped sapsucker

I have sapsuckers.  They wander the neighborhood, drilling into anything they can and announcing their presence at all hours of the day.  I have tried numerous times to get a good photo, always without success.
 
At 6:55, when I leave for work, they are usually on one of the utility poles across the street, where they hide just out of the light, and my desire for a photo clashes with my desire for a photo in a somewhat more natural setting.
 
Most mornings, between 7 and 8, one shows up on the roof of one of the buildings at work.  A metal roof.  I can hear it tapping from inside the office.  I have photographed it on the roof, sitting on steel and silhouetted against blue sky.  Not the best photo in the world.  Nor the best habitat for a management indicator species.  I thought this was an aspen species.  Hmmm.
 
Last summer, it showed up on the juniper outside the window above the sink at work.  I don't even recall taking a photo of it, but there it is, slightly blurry, bad light...
 
The other day it showed up on the juniper, where it stayed until I made it back to the office, got the camera, and came back to the window, at which point it flew across the creek into the park.  I managed a few less-than-wonderful shots across the creek, then realized that if I could just get a bit east of it, I would have a perfect side shot with the sun behind me.  So I raced around to the park, and began to sneak up on it past the people walking their dogs.  I never even got close.
 
This morning, heavy snow, horrible light, a few juncos shivering on the ground under the junipers.  About ten a.m. I walked past the sink and glanced out the window to see the sapsucker casually drilling on the juniper right outside the window.  Once again, I jogged to the office, grabbed the camera, and came back...
 
and it was still there.  It stayed there while I pried open the window, set up the tripod, and took a series of photos.
 
It stayed there while I downloaded the camera, looked at the shots, and decided I could do better.
 
It stayed there while I eased open the back door, carried the tripod and camera outside, and set up for some shots.
 
It stayed there when I eased a bit closer and around to one side to get the sun behind me.
 
And it stayed there after I had frozen and given up and gone inside.
 
The photos still are not perfect.  They never are.  Better light, better poses, no branches in the way, darker background...a better-trained wild bird that will let you get within ten feet some days?
 
Whine, whine.
 
Dennis Garrison

Paonia 

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COEN DEXTER TO PRESENT "BIRDS OF ECUADOR"

Coen Dexter and his wife Brenda Wright of Nucla will show slides and
talk about their winter 2009 birding trip to Ecuador next Thursday,
April 23 in Hotchkiss. Coen is a field ornithologist and wildlife
biologist and retired teacher who coauthored "Birds of Western
Colorado." He and Brenda have traveled to more than 25 countries in
pursuit of birds. Join us at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 23 at Hotchkiss
Memorial Hall for this fascinating show. (This program replaces the
previously announced David Keegan slide show, canceled due to a
scheduling conflict.)

Gunnison Sage Grouse Update

Below is some info from sagebrushsea.org regarding grouse, the lawsuit, and sage wildlife.

Bill Day Hotchkiss

March 24, 2009

Gunnison Sage-grouse May Get Federal Protection Interior Department Calls for New Decision following Latest Investigation of Bush Administration's Interference in Species Conservation

Telluride, Colo. - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has filed a notice with the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, stating that, in light of the latest investigative report on the Bush administration's misapplication of the Endangered Species Act, the agency will reconsider its decision to deny protection to the Gunnison sage-grouse rendered in April 2006. The report, released in December, was the second by the Inspector General for the Department of the Interior that found that former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior Julie MacDonald and other Bush Administration officials interfered with federal biologists' decisionmaking for multiple endangered species, including the Gunnison sage-grouse. The Fish and Wildlife Service has indicated that it will confer with plaintiffs concerning next steps for the Gunnison sage-grouse.

"We are eager to secure protection for the Gunnison sage-grouse as soon as possible. Long term viability of the species is unquestionably at risk now, and every additional delay decreases the likelihood of full recovery," said Commissioner Joan May of San Miguel County, Colorado.

San Miguel County led a coalition of conservation and government accountability organizations to sue the Fish and Wildlife Service over its denial of Endangered Species Act protection for the Gunnison sage-grouse in November 2006. Significant evidence was already available that Julie MacDonald and other officials had interfered with the agency biologists' findings. The latest report by the Inspector General confirmed previous information that Bush Administration appointees pressured Fish and Wildlife Service biologists and other staff to avoid protecting endangered species.

"I am not surprised that the Service will reconsider the earlier decision by officials in the Bush Administration stripping 'candidate' status from Gunnison sage-grouse," said Dr. Clait Braun, former Avian Research Program Manager for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. "It is time to move forward to benefit Gunnison sage-grouse and the habitats they depend upon before it is too late for some populations to recover."

Audubon has identified Gunnison sage-grouse as among the ten most endangered birds in the United States. The Endangered Species Coalition also released a report in December identifying Gunnison sage-grouse as one of the most imperiled species in the country. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar released another report last week, The State of the Birds 2009 that found that western deserts and grasslands -- home to Gunnison sage-grouse and other sensitive species -- are among the most degraded habitats in the country.

"Endangered wildlife like Gunnison sage-grouse deserve a fair chance at protection," said Erin Robertson, Senior Staff Biologist for Center for Native Ecosystems in Denver. "After years of political interference, it is time for a speedy, unbiased decision that will provide the Gunnison sage-grouse the help it needs."

In addition to San Miguel County, plaintiffs in the current litigation include (in alphabetical order) Audubon, Black Canyon Audubon Society, Center for Biological Diversity, Center for Native Ecosystems, The Larch Company, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, Sheep Mountain Alliance, and WildEarth Guardians. Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys with the Center for Biological Diversity, San Miguel County, and Western Environmental Law Center.

"The Fish and Wildlife Service has recognized its error," said Mark Salvo, Director of the Sagebrush Sea Campaign for WildEarth Guardians. "The next step is to protect the Gunnison sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act."

The Gunnison sage-grouse is distinct from greater sage-grouse, identified by researchers as early as the 1970s and recognized as a new species by the American Ornithologists' Union in 2000. While its historic range may have included parts of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona, the species now occurs only in eight small populations in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah. Gunnison sage-grouse have experienced significant declines from historic numbers and only about 4,000 breeding individuals remain. Livestock grazing, oil and gas drilling, motorized recreation, and urbanization have contributed to the long-term decline of Gunnison sage-grouse.

"It is promising that the Department of Interior has apparently realized that defending Julie MacDonald's antics in this matter would be a waste of resources, and has voluntarily gone back to the drawing board," said Amy Atwood, senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity and one of the attorneys in the litigation.

Gunnison sage-grouse inhabit sagebrush steppe, among the most threatened ecosystems and avian habitats in the United States.

Nesting Great Horned Owls

For months now we've been hearing and, occasionally, seeing the Great Horned Owls in our new neighborhood east of Paonia. We moved into this small, one-acre farm last September, and month by month we've met the residents, including a fox that hunts rodents in the adjoining field, and a pair of mallards who seem to have set up housekeeping on the pond nearby. We knew that Great Horned Owls nested upstream a mile or so, in years past, and also just up the lane, and it was with interest this winter that we heard their distinct calls (songs, actually, that hoo hoo hoo hoo hoo) and watched them swoop across the yard at dusk in January. Today we went for a stroll midday down the lane and through our friend Perry's yard, heading for the ditch road and the bike trails beyond. Perry, in his eighties, was in his yard, puttering, as he often is, and we stopped to chat. He had some chokecherry wood he'd taken down from a fence line and wondered if we wanted it for our stove. We did. We stood and chatted and I looked around with my binoculars, field glasses Perry calls them, and then suddenly, three o'clock in the afternoon, a Great Horned Owl hoots, and there, thirty feet away, we see the nest, and the owl on it, in a conifer (a scraggly spruce?) in the yard. There is mama owl, and we watch her, but glimpse no babies. Great to have the nest site determined after hearing them all these months! While we stood and talked with Perry, the neighborhood redtail circled, and a kingfisher made a few circuits around the yard. Juncoes are singing and singing, robins are rendezvousing, the redwinged blackbirds are creating a din, and spring is going full bore on Harding Lane. We'll keep you posted. I am dying for a glimpse of those fuzzy little owls. Jane McGarry Paonia

Crane flight, 10/22 a.m.

Several BCAS members showed up to help with the morning flight at Fruitgrowers today, and we all got to show off our new hats.  Several hundred people showed up to watch the flight, which had an early peak around 10 a.m., and then a steady trickle of small groups leaving for an hour after that. 
 
Other birds seen in and around the area included:
 
ringnecked pheasant (two east of the reservoir on the way in)
red-winged blackbird
yellow-headed blackbird
killdeer
mallard
gadwall
shoveler
ring-necked duck
Canada geese
coot
great blue heron
gulls (no idea)
kingfisher
mourning dove
kestrel
golden eagle (perched and on the ground near a group of cranes)
 
Dennis Garrison

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Sandhill Cranes Arriving

The other night a friend and I stopped at Hart's Basin on our way home from skiing on the Grand Mesa. It is quite the contrast in environments right now, from the snow-packed mesa at 11,000 feet to low-lying Fruitgrower's Reservoir at 5,200 or so. As we watched pintails, a few cinnamon teal, and many mallards ducking about, we heard the distinctive bugle sound of the cranes. Within a few moments we watched them parachuting down out of the sky like so many exhausted paratroopers after a long day's migration. Forty or fifty cranes dropped down onto the field west of the lake, one by one, as the sun sank and a deeper chill returned. Eckert Crane Days is this weekend and next, March 20-22 and 27-29. Check out the website, Eckertcranedays/events.com Jane McGarry Paonia

a lucky sighting on friday the 13th

"What bird is that?" asked my wife, Elaine.

It was the morning of Friday, the 13th (of March), about 9:30, and we were standing behind our Sable wagon, looking down the drive about 75 feet at a game bird on the other side of our gate. We grabbed binoculars and should have figured out at that point that it was a Chukar, but we had only seen them twice before -- in Escalante Canyon a couple years ago and, sometime in the 1990s, on the Big Island of Hawaii.

There we were, in plain sight, and that bird appeared bothered not one bit. Under the gate it squeezed, sauntered up the driveway to within a few feet of us and strolled past unfazed, by now having chosen the flagstone path that leads to our feeding station. Not hungry enough for niger or black-oil sunflower, it proceeded along the path and onto the lawn beyond. Soon it reached the neighbor's fence but stayed on our side, strutting along our gated irrigation pipe.

How long it hung around, I can't say. We had been headed out, and on we went, pausing first to check a field guide.

The habitat is not prime-Chukar territory. We live in a rural subdivision on Spring Creek Mesa west of Montrose, surrounded by irrigated pastureland. If anyone in the area is raising Chukars, we aren't aware of it. As the Chukar flies, there would be dry, rocky habitat within half a mile, though we aren't aware that Chukar have been introduced there. Escalante Canyon is more than 20 miles to the north of us.

No matter. It was a Project FeederWatch count day for us, and we could list a Chukar. Now we're waiting for a Chachalaca.

herb probasco montrose, co

Watching Birds

Even in a busy weekend teaching skiing to five-year-olds at Buttermilk, springtime for birds was much in evidence. This sunny morning in the west end of Aspen the songs of house finches filled the quiet neighborhood. On the mountain, a hairy woodpecker called from the spruce trees below the chairlift. As we neared the top of the Tiehack lift, my friend Suzanne looked down to the slope dusted with an inch of new snow, and said, "Look, the wing marks of a bird," and there below us was the beautiful, symmetrical mark of a raptor's wings brushed into the snow like an elegant Chinese painting. What is the name for that, that mark in the snow of the wings of an owl or a hawk, made when it swoops down and grabs its prey? Many days on the sundeck atop Ajax mountain or at the picnic tables at Gwen's High Alpine at Snowmass or at any mountain restaurant, the camp robbers or gray jays patrol the lunch area, scavenging for stray french fries and grilled cheese crusts. I like them for their handsome plumage, their robust size, and because they seem to like us just fine. I didn't see them today; are they busy nesting? The magpie I saw with a long twig in its beak, flying across the highway as I drove down valley, certainly had nesting on its mind. It takes a lot of twigs to make a magpie nest. A redtail flew overhead as I got into my car at the Tiehack lot to head home; and another redtail flew over the yard, at home in Paonia, a few hours later. Perhaps it was trolling for prairie dogs in the nearby field. There is a pair of redtails that patrols our neighborhood here at home, roosting on this tree, that telephone pole. I wonder if they are siblings; they have very similar markings, including identical dark heads. It is satisfying to recognize individual birds. Meanwhile the Say's Phoebes keep singing, singing, as they flit and fly around our barn. We look forward to their nest and their success. Then, the red-winged blackbirds. Many dozens of then along Minnesota Creek are singing lustily, proclaiming it is spring! spring! and there's a world of work to do. Jane McGarry, Paonia

Red Crossbills

Did you know that what we now consider one species, the Red Crossbill, may soon be divided into eight different species? This "species" is currently composed of several types that, according to the experts that have studied them, are potentially different species. These different types of Red Crossbills have evolved to feed upon a specific species of coniferous tree cone (or the seeds taken from the cones). In other words, some Red Crossbills have beaks that are more efficient at extracting seeds from englemann spruce and some are better at removing ponderosa pine seeds. Distinguishing the different Red Crossbill types visually is extremely difficult, if not impossible. The best method for distinguishing the different types is by their vocalizations. Identifying Red Crossbills may become one of the "hot topics" in bird identification soon if the split occurs. Stay tuned! Jason Beason Paonia - Delta County (Crossbill photo taken on Grand Mesa by Jacob Cooper)

The EIGHTH  ANNUAL ECKERT CRANE DAYS 

Saturday, March 21 and Saturday, March 28, 2009

Sponsored by Surface Creek Winery & Gallery 

and Co-Sponsored by The Black Canyon Chapter 

of the Audubon Society.

PLEASE NOTE:

THIS YEAR WE ARE SCHEDULING CRANE DAYS EVENTS A WEEK LATER THAN WE HAVE IN PAST YEARS.  IN RECENT YEARS WE  HAVE  EXPERIENCED SEVERE WINTER WEATHER THAT HAS DELAYED THE CRANES' MIGRATION  THROUGH HART'S BASIN.   

THERE IS ALWAYS UNCERTAINTY WHEN PREDICTING WILDLIFE BEHAVIOR. IF THIS SPRING'S WEATHER IS MILD, MANY CRANES MAY PASS THROUGH BEFORE OUR FIRST OFFICIAL PROGRAMS ON MARCH 21ST.  PLEASE CHECK OUR CRANE COUNTS PAGE AFTER MARCH 1ST TO SEE HOW THE MIGRATION IS ACTUALLY PROGRESSING.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Saturday, March 21, 2009

LIFTOFF  9:30 a.m.  to 10:30 a.m. (approximate Mt Daylight Savings Time)

One mile east of Eckert (Highway 65) on North Road at Fruitgrowers Reservoir.

Black Canyon Audubon Society (www.blackcanyonaudubon.org) will host a Sandhill Crane "Liftoff".  Please meet on the east side of the Fruitgrowers Reservoir from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. to observe Sandhill cranes and other Water birds.  BCAS members and others will share their knowledge and scopes with those who come for the experience.  If you do not want to miss the takeoff, we strongly recommend that you arrive at the Reservoir before 9 a.m. 

MORNING PRESENTATION  11:00 a.m.

John Vradenburg, Senior Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,  Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro, NM 

Many of the Sandhill Cranes that we see at Fruitgrowers Reservoir spent their winter months at the Bosque del Apache NWR.  John's presentation will cover crane ecology from breeding through wintering, highlighting some of the RMP crane hotspots people are familiar with, like Grays Lake ID, San Luis Valley CO, and the Middle Rio Grande Valley of NM.  John willI have some information from Mexico that he will also discuss.  (The program will start at 11:00 a.m.  (or later, if  the Cranes are late taking off) at Surface Creek Winery & Gallery, 12983 Highway 65, Eckert, Colorado. )

AFTERNOON PRESENTATION  2:00 p.m.  

Rich Durnan, Photographer, Ridgway, Colorado. (www.richdurnanphoto.com)
Rich is an accomplished photographer and photographic educator.  Rich will talk about photographing wildife with special attention to photographing birds generally and, more specifically, the Sandhill Cranes at Fruitgrowers Reservoir.  (The afternoon program will start at 2:00 p.m. at Surface Creek Winery & Gallery, 12983 Highway 65, Eckert, Colorado.)

AFTERNOON LANDING OF CRANES AT FRUITGROWERS RESERVOIR   4:30 – 5:00 p.m. until Dusk

The next wave of migrating Sandhill Cranes typically land at the Reservoir from 3.30 to dusk.   Watching the Cranes land is a much different experience than watching them take off in the morning! (Black Canyon Audubon Society members will be available the next morning (Sunday) 8:30-10:00 a.m., if a sufficient number of cranes land Saturday afternoon.)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 Saturday, March 28, 2009

LIFTOFF  9:30 a.m.  to 10:30 a.m. (approximate Mt Daylight Savings Time)

One mile east of Eckert (Highway 65) on North Road at Fruitgrowers Reservoir.

Black Canyon Audubon Society (www.blackcanyonaudubon.org) will host a Sandhill Crane "Liftoff".  Please meet on the east side of the Fruitgrowers Reservoir from 8:00AM to 10:00AM to observe Sandhill cranes and other Water birds.  BCAS members and others will share their knowledge and scopes with those who come for the experience.  If you do not want to miss the takeoff, we strongly recommend that you arrive at the Reservoir before 9:30 AM Mt Daylight Time . 

Today  we are offering  a special theme - 

WILDILIFE AND OUR SCENIC BYWAYS

Colorado's Scenic Byways offer a broad opportunity to see birds and other wildlife while viewing stunning scenery.

Delta County is blessed with the Grand Mesa and West Elk Loop Scenic Byways within its borders.  Nearby we have the Unaweep/Tabeguache, San Juan Skyway, and Silver Thread & Alpine Loop Scenic Byways that add to the diversity of our experiences.

MORNING PRESENTATION  11:00 a.m


Trina Romero, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Watchable Wildlife Coordinator for the Northwest Region

The Grand Mesa and Unaweep/Tabeguache Byways offer very different wildlife habitats and wildlife watching opportunites.  Trina will talk about both byways and the numbers and types of different species that we might expect to see in each location.  Trina's talk will be supplemented by a variety of  informational handouts.  (The program will start at 11:00 a.m.  (or later, if  the Cranes are late taking off) at Surface Creek Winery & Gallery, 12983 Highway 65, Eckert, Colorado.)

AFTERNOON PRESENTATION  2:00 p.m.

John Spurgeon, Author of "Irrigating the Surface Creek Valley"
   
In addition to the wildlife watching and other recreational opportunities available to the public, the Grand Mesa provides the water that we rely on for irrigation and domestic use.  Water from the Mesa also fills Fruitgrowers Reservoir, which has become one of the most important bird watching spots in Colorado.  John will discuss the history of  the water system that is the lifeblood of the Surface Creek Valley.  John will also have autographed copies of his book, "Irrigating the Surface Creek Valley" available for sale.  (The afternoon program will start at 2:00 p.m., at Surface Creek Winery & Gallery, 12983 Highway 65, Eckert, Colorado.)

AFTERNOON LANDING OF CRANES AT FRUITGROWERS RESERVOIR  4:30 – 5:00 p.m. until Dusk

The next wave of migrating Sandhill Crane typically land at the Reservoir from 3.30 to dusk.   Watching the Cranes land is a much different experience than watching them take off in the morning! (Black Canyon Audubon Society members will be available the next morning (Sunday) 8:30-10:00 a.m., if a sufficient number of cranes land Saturday afternoon.)

 

Theo Colborn to Speak on Natural Gas

*What You Need to Know About Natural Gas Production*

* *

*Thursday March 12, 2009 7-9pm*

*Dr. Theo Colborn, former advisor to the EPA and winner of the Lifetime
Achievement Award from the National Council for Science and the
Environment will speak on the health effects of the chemicals and
products used in natural gas production in Colorado.*

* *

*Bill Heddles Recreation Center*

*530 Gunnison River Drive *

*Delta, CO*

* *

*Free Admission*

*Refreshments provided*

* *

* *

*For more information call: *

*527-4082 or 872-3216*

* *

*Sponsored by Black Canyon Audubon Society*

Golden Eagle vs Fox

Why aren't there any birds coming to my feeder?

I bet this Prairie Merlin has something to do with it!!

Jason Beason
Paonia - Delta County

Confluence Park

Confluence Park near Delta, Colorado is a great place to view geese!  On February 14th, 2009 I was able to see five species there (Canada, Cackling, Ross's, Snow, and Greater White-fronted).  On some days there can be thousands, yes THOUSANDS, of geese on the lake.

Jason Beason
Paonia - Delta County

Welcome to the BCAS Blog!

Welcome birders to this blog for news and information from the Black Canyon Audubon Society on Colorado's Western Slope!