North Park Highlights

I trekked up to North Park a couple of weekends ago with my dad. Despite lots of wind, rain, and even a bit of snow, we had gobs of cool birds. If you've never been you should go! Here are a few of my pictorial favs.

Sage Thrasher:
Tree Swallow (one of the few out of 100+ that was sharp enough to keep...)
Western Grebe:
Greater Sage-Grouse: Got better display pics last year in sunny weather, but kind of neat to see 18 males and 4 females despite the lateness of the season and wetness of the day...
Cassin's Finch:

Pine Grosbeak:


Brown-capped Rosy-Finch: At least 100 at the Moose Visitor Center.
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch: One lurking among the Brown-capped Rosies.
Black Rosy-Finch: Two in the flock made for a most pleasant surprise! One had a little albinistic patch on its crown. These always get me excited- one of my to 10 favorite birds!

Save Our Boreal Birds

From David Childs:

The Boreal Songbird Initiative, along with other environmental groups like Bird Studies Canada, Nature Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation, among others created a petition called “Save our Boreal Birds” a little over a year ago. This petition will be sent to the Prime Minister of Canada and many provincial leaders, and asks that vital bird habitat be kept intact despite the fact that over 30% of the Boreal Forest has already been designated for development. As you may know, many migratory birds that travel through the US and other countries breed in the Boreal Forest to the north.

We’re launching the petition on May 12^th, and are currently at about 60,000 signatures. We’re trying to get up to 70,000 before the launch.

Take a moment to sign the online petition, won't you?

Bluebirding

A strong spring storm blasted through Colorado last Friday and Saturday, bringing lots of much-need moisture in the form of rain and snow. In some areas the snow piled up by the foot, especially in the elevations where Mountain and Western Bluebirds were already on territories. In April storms like this, the early-arriving bluebirds retreat back down to the plains to ride out the weather. Birders visiting Chatfield Reservoir SW of Denver on Saturday reported seeing thousands of bluebirds, so when the weather cleared out on Sunday I went down to check it out.
Sadly, the storm had been too much for some bluebirds, and I found some where they had perished looking for shelter in the lee of buildings or at the base of vegetation. But there were lots of bluebirds still around, and I'd estimate I saw at least 1000 throughout the park on Sunday. Most were Mountain Bluebirds but perhaps 1 in 3 were Westerns. Eventually, I found an Eastern Bluebird, too. At that point all three bluebird species were visible from the same place- the first time I've ever been able to claim that! In contrast to the soggy, miserable birds that I saw in the rain and snow the day before, these birds were dry, fluffy, and gorging on worms creeping along the soggy ground and torpid insects melting out of the snow. So like lots of things in the natural world, the storm wasn't really all good or bad- while it cut down some birds it provided a feeding opportunity for survivors.
By the afternoon the snow was fast receding and so were the bluebirds- many were heard or seen flying north and west to head back up towards their breeding grounds. Another storm (probably mostly rain this time) is predicted for the weekend so we'll see what drops out in that one!

Sky View Pillow

As migration gets into full swing, many birders deal with "warbler neck" from craning up towards the canopy while slinging bins.

Along comes an interesting product to support your neck- the Sky View Pillow! Looks like a great idea- check it out!

From their web site:

Whether you are searching the treetops and mountains for birds, viewing airplane acrobatics at an air show or identifying constellations and planets on starry nights, "warbler neck", plane pain, and constellation cramping can be behind you...in the past...instead of behind your head.

Welcome to the world of the Sky View Pillow (Patent pending) where providing cushioned, heads-up experiences is our goal.

Made from high quality Lycra (stretchable material), this pillow will help alleviate pain in the neck. The pillow, double hemmed for added durability, is generously stuffed with a hypo-allergenic polyester fiberfill. Two Velcro straps provide a convenient, easy attachment.

New Equipment

A lot of the discussion on the Digiscoping Birds list for the past couple of months has been about a new camera, the Panasonic Lumix G1 DSLR. Neil Fifer broke the ice, finding that the camera's included kit lens works well for digiscoping, and he has continued to refine the use of the camera for digiscoping purposes along with several other active members of the list. For me, the most attractive digiscoping features are a mirror-free design, filter threads on the lens for attachment, a humungous swiveling LCD monitor, fast internal lens autofocussing, and reasonably small size.

The mirror-free design of the camera means that there is no mirror slap, a vibration-inducing downside to using DSLRs for digiscoping. This camera instead has another small monitor in the viewfinder, eliminating the need for a mirror to reflect the light away from the sensor plane into the viewfinder as on regular SLRs. There is still a shutter curtain that gives a little snap with each shutter release, but it doesn't seem to be introducing enough vibration to cause problems there. Having filter threads allows the use of threaded digiscoping adapters (a very secure way to attach a camera to a scope that most point-and-shoots lack.) The back monitor is bright and monstrous, allowing easy viewing even in bright light, and swivels to almost any angle for viewing on the scope. The internaly-focussing lens won't bump the eyepiece or adapter as it focusses. The focus is also very fast, and at least in my early trials, very sharp. All of this is in a package that is quite small (it is being billed as the smallest digital interchangable lens camera yet produced.)

I tried mounting it to my Leica APO-Televid 77mm scope with both my 20X and 32X wide-angle eyepieces using a Swarovski DCA adapter (Ben Lizdas of Eagle Optics had generously made me a shim to make up the eyepiece diameter difference of the Leica eyepieces vs. the slightly larger Swaro's.) Everything went together well and was super easy but even at the idealized zoom setting I was getting some vignetting. So I tried the camera without the adapter- lo and behold, the rubber eyepiece cup snugged about perfectly into the recess at the front of the G1 lens! So the camera was centered, secure, lens close but no glass on glass, and vignetting was gone with a little zoom applied to the lens. More zoom brought back vignetted tunnel-vision, which was a bit dissapointing, but I think this will be a very easy, usable combination to use in the field. I found that I could look through the viewfinder of the camera, left hand wrapping the camera lens/eyepiece in a monkey grip to keep them together and move the scope, while my right hand worked the shutter.

In some ways, it brings back the "good old days" of the Nikon Coolpix 990/995/4500 series, cameras that could easily be handheld to scope eyepieces for good results or mounted using filter threads for more serious applications. What I don't miss about those Coolpix models (I used the 995 and 4500) is their agonizingly slow focus searching, shutter lag, tiny dim LCDs, and noisy images. Now, with the G1, all of the power, speed, and functions of a prosumer DSLR (like 12 MP images, low-noise sensor, fast autofocus, and about non-existant shutter lag) can be easily harnessed for digiscoping. This summer, look for the G1H which will also have HD video capability! Do we have a new heir-apparent for top digiscoping camera? Perhaps so.

Of course, since the package arrived a couple of days ago I've been mostly at work and for much of my remaining daylight free time it has been raining and/or snowing. Yesterday, a storm hit and it rained all afternoon (and is snowing now), but the evening before I had about 40 minutes before sunset to mess around with it. Clouds prevailed sight wasn't great and the birds weren't super cool, but here are a few samples of hand-held images taken at high ISOs (400 and 800). Not bad for right out of the box, hand-held to the eyepiece! I'll post more when I figure out more about this combo- hopefully I'll have sunny weather, time, and fun birds to play with soon.

Black-winged Redbird

I headed over to Barr Lake State Park today, just north of Denver International Airport. I was meeting my parents Jim & Karen and my niece Abby, with my little guy Garrett in tow. He idolizes Abby and was pretty psyched to see Grandpa and Grandma, too. I was anticipating a pretty mellow outing, birding a little but mostly wrangling the kid and just enjoying a nice day in the sun. We were about 5 minutes from the rendezvous when my phone rang- my dad was calling. I figured he was just calling to say he was there, which was half right, but he also mentioned that they were looking at a Vermilion Flycatcher out their windshield at the Nature Center parking lot!! Bonus!!! Abby had seen the red dart fly into a tree right in front of their parking spot- serendipity, baby! Here's the spotter and spottee, respectively:

The bird was quite cooperative, offering great looks as it dived on small moths on the ground from mullein and cottonwood perches. I hope it fully topped off the tummy- a foot or more snow is forecast for tomorrow. It is only the second VEFL I've seen in the state (indeed, it is a review species here), and my reel of pics from the day has better shots than any I've gotten before in TX & AZ. As a birding companion from Australia once commented, What A Crippler! My retinas are blistered by that unbelievable red, a most welcome focal point on a stage of browns and grays.

Hawk Watching

Over the weekend I went to the Dinosaur Ridge Hawkwatch, located near world-famous Red Rocks Park west of Denver. Sadly, the count there has seen a gradual decline in recent years, and this year there is no funding for a permanent hawkwatcher. Still, it is a nice place to hang out, tune up on on raptor ID a bit, and see what else is around in the rocky, scrubby foothills habitat. Plus, you never know what else you'll see up there- we tallied one crunching car wreck below on highway C470 and two paraglider flybys from Lookout Mountain to the north- they hardly ever make it this far down but conditions were right to ride the wind kicking up the ridge from the east that day, I guess.

The raptor flight was pretty slow, but nonetheless my dad & I had nice looks at a Cooper's Hawk and a Prairie Falcon in addition to local & migrating Red-tailed Hawks (their status judged by behavior and northerly progress. For example, the local pair will often escort lone migrants along and then turn back. Sometimes they get more aggressive, dropping talons or diving on migrants exhibiting the bad manners of flying through their airspace.) I had hoped for a few more accipiters to do a little more comparison work (particularly that big gray one, but my new theory is that they don't really exist. I think photos of that unmentioned species are just Photoshopped Cooper's Hawks...) Still, this adult Coop spread out into the classic soaring pose above us, big head projecting beyond the straight leading edge of the wings and with nicely graduated tail feathers (longest in the middle) conspicuously arranged.
Similarly, I wouldn't have minded a bit more falcon variety in the mix, but this Prairie Falcon made a few lovely turns at about eye level as it made its way northward along the eastern margin of the ridge. It certainly had its eye on me- wondering what the big eye was looking back at it, I'd guess. A bit of tail molt going on there, too- R4 missing (the 4th tail feather out from the middle), creating a light gap near the outer edge on each side.
Still, I'd have to say the action that day was better in the non-raptor category. A few sorties of Mountain Bluebirds made their way along in migration, and Ravens rode the wind in hawk-like fashion, unlike the American Crows that also went by a few times, flying with a lot less panache. One raven made a couple of laps up and down the ridge, recognizable by the missing primary in the left wing and its very tattered plumage- looks ready for a new set of feathers ASAP!
I always like the songbirds that are on the ridge, and Saturday's visit (my first in this habitat this spring), brought me my year Bushtits, Western Scrub Jays, and Spotted Towhees, along with Canyon Wren. The Canyon Wren was feeling frisky, singing from near and far- often at the edge of earshot but sometimes choosing a conspicuous post on a rocks right in the hawkwatch area. There was a calling female around, too, no doubt encouraging her mate to show off. These are the best shots I've taken of the species, which is usually out of reach up on cliffs or in rocks beyond good photography range (especially since the bird is so small.) It is one of my favorite birds, always invoking memories of canyon country and western tableaus. I particularly enjoy the combination of their descending song bouncing off towering cliffs, accompanying the soft slapping of water on canoe hull and splash of paddle on river trips through Canyonlands. I hope you enjoy these pics as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Ducky Iridescence

Many ducks, especially drakes, have wonderfully iridescent feathers on their heads & wings. This type of coloration is not due to pigmentation. Instead, it is due to microscopic structures that cause constructive & destructive interference of light waves, creating the changeable metallic sheen of iridescent feathers. For more on multiple-beam interference and some great examples of iridescent structures (non-living & living), click here.

Many birds are well-known for their distinctive iridescent feathers, including hummingbirds and peacocks. But the reason I'm bringing this up with ducks is that their head colors don't always match what you'll find in field guides. A hallmark of iridescence is that the colors you see can change depending on the angle that the light is hitting in reference to your vantage point. For ducks with iridescent heads, the color(s) illustrated in field guides may be typical under most conditions, but you will see differences if you watch ducks long enough.

Take, for example, these nice male Northern Shovelers I saw last weekend. In situations where the bird is well-lit by sunlight from generally behind the observer, the nice metallic green head exhibits itself, matching my field guide illustrations.
But when the bird is backlit, the head looks about black. Iridescent feathers often have very dark pigmentation, and when sunlight is insufficient to create the wave interference patterns responsible for iridescence, the ground color shows through instead.
It gets fun when sunlight hits the shoveler at an obtuse angle (a nearly backlit bird), resulting in an intense purple iridescence where the bird normally would look black or green.

In some guides, our two scaup species are shown with different head colorations on the males. Lessers are painted with purplish heads while Greaters show greenish heads. Again, this may be the case in many light conditions, but either species can show plain black along with metallic green or purple sheens depending on the lighting. In other words, I'd rely on other field marks besides head color in Scaup. So why is this a Lesser Scaup? I first key in on head shape. While that, too, can vary depending on how the bird holds its feathers (relaxed vs. alert, for example), the peak of the crown is consistently behind the eye, often quite obvious as a little tuft vs. the subtler peak on Greaters. On a Greater, the peak is above or in front of the eye. Also, the nail (black tip area) on the bill of this Lesser Scaup is fairly small and parallel-sided, vs. the larger, wedge-shaped nail on a Greater. Greater bills also look bigger to me- more dramatically-schnozzed birds. Here's the same cooperative Lesser Scaup that I posted previously, in various poses showing purple, black, and green head aspects:

So keep an eye out on iridescent duck heads- even the classic "green head" Mallard can look black or purple instead.

Catch Me If You Can

I know it's short notice, but if you are in the Boulder area and want to catch my talk Out of Breath Birding: The Timberline & Tundra Ecosystems of the Central Rocky Mountains, I'll be presenting it tonight for the Flatirons Ski Club at the Boulder Best Western Inn. Social time starts at 7, business & announcements at 7:30, and my talk at 8. Hope to see you there!

A Simpler ID

After my adventures with the Slaty-backed-like Gull yesterday, I went to Belmar Park in Lakewood, which sports a lake that waterfowl (including divers) are fond of. The lake also has several good vantage points including several viewing decks, and some fairly tame birds. Much to my delight, a couple came along armed with a bag of bread and attracted this Lesser Scaup along with the usual Ring-billed Gulls, Mallards, and Canada Geese. The hilarious thing is that even though the scaup was picking up some bread, it kept diving while it fed- force of habit, I guess. The tricky part was getting the bird framed clear of the rest of the birds, but I stayed with it and got probably my best shots of this species, which I've usually found to stay frustratingly far out from shore.