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.)

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 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*

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*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.*

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*Bill Heddles Recreation Center*

*530 Gunnison River Drive *

*Delta, CO*

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*Free Admission*

*Refreshments provided*

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*For more information call: *

*527-4082 or 872-3216*

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*Sponsored by Black Canyon Audubon Society*