Sunday, May 4, 2008

Yard Birds

During the last couple of days, I’ve logged several more ‘Firsts’ in the birding department. First birds period…first time I’ve ever really seen them at all and firsts for my ‘Yard Bird’ list (it's a birder-thing...track all the birds you can see in (or from) your own yard.) For one, I finally saw a Black-headed Grosbeak here. Unfortunately, the first few pictures were through glass and of a puffy, sick-looking bird. Finally, a beautiful, health male showed up and let me photograph him through an open door. That makes three [species] Grosbeaks that I’ve found in my yard…apparently there are three more. Oh, and the Evening Grosbeaks seem to be visiting again...

This afternoon, I observed the male Hummingbird again, but didn’t get pictures. I did, however, get one of a female. A friend says it is likely a Broad-tailed Hummingbird, though the male I’ve watched seems to be the tiniest thing I’ve ever seen…I just assumed it is a Ruby-throated Hummingbird; but have since heard it is unlikely I'd see one here. The suggestion is it might be a Black-chinned Hummingbird. Based on size alone…I might guess the thing is a Calliope, but truth be told, I’m not at all sure I’d be able to tell the difference in a Calliope, a Broad-tailed, a Black-chinned or a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. [Addendum: it is not likely to find a Ruby-throated Hummingbird in this part of the country...though it has happened.] Later in the day, I discovered a female hummer trapped in my garage…beating herself silly at a window. It took several tries, but I finally caught her in a fish-net; poor thing was trying to bite the broom I tried first. When I finally caught her, she made a high-pitched call which drew in a male who hovered in my face for several minutes. At that time his neck looked purple, rather than red. Sheeshhhhh, how does one learn to tell colors that change in the light? Since I had feeders handy, I tried to get the little female to take some sugar-water before I let her go…I am not used to handling such tiny birds and sure do hope I didn’t hurt her when I caught her. While she wouldn’t drink, she seemed to fly just fine; fast and away. Part of me wished I’d had the nerve to more thoroughly examine her. BirdChick is my inspiration.

The other day I got a nice photo of the Turkey Vultures in the tree in my front yard. I understand such a gathering is called a wake of vultures; too funny! Hopefully I won’t have the issues some people have had with Vultures, but I will say, I’ve never seen them sitting on a car, much less pulling rubber pieces off of one.

Just as I was finishing up a late lunch, I noticed a blue dot at a feeder and grabbed my binoculars. It was a small bird, long though, and it flew when I moved too quickly. Patience prevailed though, I found the tree it flew to and got a photo through a screened window…enough for a friend to tell me what I was seeing. The bird has a blue head, an orange breast and a creamy belly…and a beak more like a seed-cracking Finch than a bug-eating Bluebird. At first I wondered if it was a Grosbeak, but it was so tiny; only a bit over 5” or so…about the same size as the Pine Siskins sharing the feeder. I had no idea what it could be. I looked all through a field guide, but couldn’t discover it. It had very dark eyes and finally I noticed the bars on the wings. I don’t even know how to pronounce this bird’s name, but it’s a Lazuli Bunting; I’m not at all familiar with Buntings. Thanks again, Gary.

9 comments:

Bosque Bill said...

On your hummingbirds, if you saw purple under the beak, then that is a Black-chinned. A red "gorget" is probably a Broad-tailed. It would be extremely rare to get a Ruby-throated in your area. You probably won't see Calliope or Rufus until around July when they begin migrating south after breeding.

Beverly said...

Wow, who knew? As I said, I've been here 7-8 years now...but only just started actually looking at/for birds. I was going by the information I found on http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/checklists/checklist.php?name=Huerfano (Colorado Birds of Huerfano County)

Who knew...I think there ten or twelve hummers listed!

I appreciate your help! Thanks!!!
Beverly

Anonymous said...

The female hummingbird in the photo, looks like a female Calliope Hummingbird, which would be a very rare spring find for Colorado.

Beverly said...

Wow...I have no idea HOW you can determine that; the females look sooooo similar, for the most part.

Anonymous said...

The female hummingbird seems to have a short tail and short bill. Should be smaller than the Broad-tailed Hummingbirds, without any rufous in the tail. I think the photo is good enough to tell that it is a female Calliope Hummingbird. Maybe some expert hummingbird people should look at the photo to see if they agree or not.

Anonymous said...

Several other expert Colorado birders (current and former members of the Colorado Birds Records Committee) are currently looking at your photo of the female hummingbird. If they agree that it is a female Calliope Hummingbird, it would be the 1st Pueblo Area Spring Record. This is a great find, if it is a Calliope Hummingbird. It is a great idea to photograph any bird that seems interesting, so others can figure out what the bird is. Rare birds can show up anywhere and can be found by anyone.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to bother you again. People are agreeing your female hummingbird is indeed a female Calliope. This is a great find. The Colorado Birds Records Committee, would like you to submit the photo and details to them. www.cfo-link.org go to the Colorado Birds Records Committee page, sign in, and enter the record of the bird. The 7 members of the CBRC will vote on your record, and should accept it. You can download the photo as well. There are very few accepted records for Calliope Hummingbird in Colorado during spring, so this is a very important sighting.

Beverly said...

Hmmmmm...I don't know what to say. I wish you had left a name, Anonymous comments sort of takes the wind out of what you are saying. I'll ask around, too. Thank you, for your interest.

Beverly said...

Let me say thank you, Anon… I followed your suggestions and indeed discovered folks are interested in the bird. I wish you had left your name, though… I have record #964…pending.

I continue to have hummers around, perhaps I'll get a better photo...or one of the male.

Beverly