Welcome to "Boulder Backyards"
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bird watchers (that's us)
Wild Bird Center Saturday Walks:
From 7:30 am (promptly)
to 9:45 am (approximately)
Every Saturday year-round.
Every last Saturday of the month we travel further afield than normal
and return a little later.
Call for more info: 303-442-1322
Birdwalks
"Blue on Blue" - great blue heron
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Wild Bird Center
of Boulder
Quick Links
Xcel Energy BirdCams
One fun way to participate in the lives of local birds is by viewing Xcel Energy's
Web Cams
owl cam
eagle cam
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Nature Photography
by
Wendy Marie Stuart
"Mates" - wood ducks
Visit our store to see a gallery of Wendy's matted and framed prints
and greeting cards for all occasions or
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Photo Credits
"Blue on Blue" by Wendy Marie Stuart
"Barn Swallow" by Wendy Marie Stuart
"Mates" by Wendy Marie Stuart
"Goldfinch" by Wendy Marie Stuart
"Peregrine Falcon" by Wendy Marie Stuart
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Feed Calcium
in the Spring
oyster shells
Birds need more minerals, especially calcium, in the spring
to produce eggs. We sell crushed oyster shells which you can mix in with bird
seed to provide this extra calcium boost. Oyster shells also provide grit which
helps the birds grind up food. A 2.5# container of Oyster Shell costs $5.99.
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Bird Surfing
Here are some neat web sites to investigate:
This Website has a lot of good hummingbird information. It shows a migration map for ruby-throated hummingbirds which is the
eastern counterpart of our broad-tailed hummingbird.
Check out these migration maps for two of our long distance
migrators-the peregrine falcons and Swainson's Hawk.
peregrine falcon
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Thank you!
on our
20th Anniversary
from all of us at YOUR
Wild Bird Center! We couldn't have done this without you! Twenty years is a long time in anyone's book and we owe our success to you -- our customers, compatriots, fellow birders, and friends. A hearty thank you to you all!
Steve, Wendy, Marlene, & Bill
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International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) May 9, 2009 7:30-11:00am
Walden Ponds Open Space-Cottonwood Marsh Picnic
Shelter
The Wild
Bird Center
and Boulder Bird Club will celebrate IMBD this year on May 9th. This
year's theme for IMBD is 'Birds in Culture' which gives us an opportunity to
reflect on how important birds and bird symbols are to us. We have several
things planned for the morning. As always, we will be providing shade grown coffee
and both wholesome and naughty treats for the morning. Groups will head out
birding about every hour and we will be involved in a big sit at the picnic
shelter. We will also have IMBD educational materials available and sell
coffee, books, and IMBD shirts. Please join us some time during the morning for
this great spring event and please carpool if possible. Call the store at
303-422-1322 if you have questions. To find out more about the significance of IMBD go to the IMBD Website.
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Dawn Chorus Walk May
9th 5:30-8:00am
Walden Ponds Open Space-Cottonwood
Marsh
Before IMBD enjoy a spring tradition-a Dawn Chorus Walk.
There are some birding experiences you just can't experience unless you get up
early in the spring. Join Wild Bird Center Staffer Marlene Bruning on this
unique and magical experience. After the walk enjoy the IMBD celebration (and
its coffee). Call the Wild
Bird Center
at 303-442-1322 if you have any questions about Dawn Chorus.
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----- Coupon ----- Coupon ----- Coupon -----
Wild Bird Center
Spring Sale
April 21 - 30
Progressive Coupon
This year's Spring Sale is an exclusive offer to our
newsletter subscribers. Please forward it to a friend if you think they might
be interested. The coupon below applies to any variety of prepackaged seed in
5-50# bags. Frequent Feeder Credits will also apply to your sale
purchases.
- 5% Off 1 Bag of Seed
- 10% Off 2 or 3 Bags of Seed
- 20% Off 4 or More Bags of Seed
Also- 10% Off any One Bird Feeder
Mention CODE WBC0421. Call (303) 442-1322 or bring in to redeem. Some restrictions may apply. Not valid in combination with other promotions. Expiration date: 4/30/09
----- Coupon ----- Coupon ----- Coupon -----
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Do you have nesting flickers or barn swallows?
Please consider being part of a local scientific study
Dr. Maren Vitousek at CU is conducting research on barn
swallow and northern flicker nest site and sexual selection. So if you have
either of these birds nesting on your property, she would love to hear from
you. Dr. Vitousek can be reached at 609-468-5443 or by email at vitousek@colorado.edu.
barn swallow
 Dr. Vitousek's
work is funded, in part, by the National Geographic Society and the National
Science Foundation. To read more about the barn swallow research at CU, click here.
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The Water Witch
The first time I saw the water witch, I almost drove my car
off the road. I had just moved to Colorado and
was driving along a country road outside of Fort Collins. As I passed a farmer's pond I
looked, as I always do, to see what was there. This time, in addition to seeing
the usual assortment of mallards and northern shovelers, I saw western grebes,
or water witches. And as if that weren't enough to get my attention, two of
them were "rushing". Western grebes have an elaborate breeding display (which
includes rushing) during which birds dance erect across the water with their
long necks extended and bills held high, and then plummet into the water. I had
read about rushing and even seen it on nature shows, but had never seen it
myself. Instead of calling grebes water witches, I thought a more appropriate
name would be water ballerinas. One colloquial name for the western grebe that
seems to fit is swan grebe. I still think I'm lucky that I didn't end up in the
ditch that day.
Grebes are
among the oldest birds and their closest relatives are loons. They are adapted
for life that will be almost exclusively on and in the water. For example,
their feet are placed far back on their bodies, making land travel almost
impossible, but giving them greater efficiency in swimming and diving. Unlike
ducks, which have webbed feet, grebes have separate but lobed toes, which work
well in the water. Most bird bones are hollow (so they will weigh less and can
fly more efficiently), but grebe bones are almost completely solid. This gives
them less buoyancy but makes diving easier. When observing grebes you will
notice that they ride much lower in the water than ducks. When threatened,
grebes can make themselves sink by "squeezing" the air out of their feathers
and reducing the amount of air in their air sacs. Grebes are generally a
short-necked group of birds, but the western grebe has a long neck. The length
of its neck, combined with its size and black and white plumage, give the
western grebe a striking appearance. western grebe
Western
grebes are famous for their elaborate courtship rituals. The rushing display is
the most dramatic and may be a test of fitness. Another fascinating element of
western grebe courtship is the weed dance. In this dance, courting pairs dive
and surface with weeds in their bills. They spin slowly with their breasts
touching and eventually rise out of the water with their necks and bills
pointed skyward, pressing the weeds together. Two other phases of the courtship
are dip-shaking and bob-preening.
After
courtship, a pair will build a floating raft nest which is attached to some
reeds or other living vegetation. They are not highly territorial and will nest
close together. When the nest is complete, the female will lay 3 to 4 biconical
eggs in the raft nest which will be incubated for about 23 days. Grebes are among
the few birds that cover their eggs when they leave the nest for short periods
of time. Ornithologists speculate that the rotting vegetation grebes use to
cover the eggs help keep them warm. Of course, it would also serve to hide the
eggs. The attached raft nests need consistent water levels to be successful.
Unfortunately, most of the reservoirs appropriate for western grebe nesting in
eastern Colorado
have greatly fluctuating water levels, which lead to nest failure. Often the
local populations do not even attempt breeding.
Newly
hatched western grebes are at home in the water immediately, although they do
hitch rides on their parents' backs. When the adult dives for food, the chicks
are left floating and when the adult returns to the surface the chicks climb on
board again. Western grebe are precocial (they can feed themselves) when they
are four days old. They will stay with their parents for about 65 more days,
but the adults won't have to feed the young except for feathers. Yes, feathers.
When the young are three days old, the parents begin feeding them feathers. In
two recorded cases, one chick ate 238 feathers and another ate 331. What could
possibly be the value of feather eating?
Feather
eating, which is also practiced by adults, is thought to help grebes digest
their sometimes bony diet of fish. Sharp fish bones may be encased by the
feathers, thus protecting the birds' stomach lining.
The genus
name for western grebes is aechmophorus which is Greek for spear bearer.
Western grebes spear fish to eat, and then return to the water surface to
swallow them. They supplement their mostly fish diet with aquatic invertebrates
and amphibians. Western grebes only dive about 20 feet below the surface in
search of food, a depth much more shallow than where the loons dive. This difference
in foraging preference is called resource partitioning. Loons and grebes eat
many of the same things, but they hunt for them at different depths, thus
avoiding direct competing.
Western
grebes usually hunt for fish on larger bodies of water. This spring they will
be migrating through our area in large numbers on the reservoirs of the eastern
plains in Colorado.
In Boulder County,
good places to look for them would be Baseline, Valmont, Union and Boulder
Reservoirs and MacIntosh
Lake. Western grebes are
truly elegant birds to see and even more fascinating to watch. Just make sure
that you park the car before you start looking for them.
More info:
Cornell Lab of Ornithology: All About Birds - Western Grebe
Encarta: Western Grebe Courtship Video
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Ask Steve
Q: When will the goldfinches be coming through?
A:
Late April and the beginning of May are ou r best times to
have goldfinches in the yard. Some folks don't realize that we have
goldfinches year-round in Boulder
County. You may have had
goldfinches in your yard all winter long, but just did not realize it because
they aren't very gold in winter. The goldfinches in my yard are now turning
gold, but during the winter they are mostly gray. These once drab goldfinches
that over-wintered are now greeting the returning and migrating birds. All of
them are now in the process of molting into breeding plumage. Goldfinch
breeding time is later than most other songbirds so their change into bright
breeding plumage is a much slower process.
Goldfinches
are concentrated more in the eastern part of the County both in winter and summer.
Folks in Longmont and Louisville
are more likely to attract large numbers of goldfinches compared to those in Boulder or Lyons.
I have about 30 in my yard in Longmont
right now. If you live in the mountains you may only see American Goldfinches
in migration during the late fall/early winter and early spring.
For people
living in the foothills, you may have both American and lesser goldfinches.
Lesser goldfinches are also colorful and live in the foothills of Boulder County during the summer.
To attract
more goldfinches to your property consider having a weedy patch where you plant
a lot of seed producing flowers that you let go. The goldfinches love that.
Also, you can put out feeders. Sunflower chips are their favorite food, but
often they can't compete with the other birds for it. That is why so many
people use nyjer seed to attract the goldfinches. They like nyjer a lot, but
most of the other birds don't really care for it. Then the nyjer feeder is left
primarily for the goldfinches. Goldfinches also love to bathe so a bird bath is
a great way to keep them coming around. Your goldfinch reputation will build
over the years so keep it up and you'll be rewarded. I once visited a customer
in north Boulder
who had been attracting goldfinches for years. He had a small backyard, but I
could count over 200 goldfinches in his yard at once!.
No matter
how hard you try however, the goldfinches will probably abandon you in the
summer. Even at my house, I hear them almost every day in the summer, but they
don't come into the yard. Goldfinches are fickle, but when they're around it's
heaven.
goldfinch
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Contact Info:
Steve Frye, Owner (303) 442-1322
Wild Bird Center of Boulder
1641-28th Street Boulder, CO 80301
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