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The Meadowlark Times The Official Newsletter of The Front Range Birding Company
Winter 2009

Greetings!

THE FRONT RANGE BIRDING COMPANY - FRBC: A Nature Center For You and Your Family

in this issue
  • Birding Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
  • FRBC AND WILD DELIGHT ANNOUNCE the 2008 PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS
  • 20% OFF FALL SEED SALE IS ON FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH OF FEBRUARY
  • SIGN UP FOR A FALL BIRD WALK OUTING
  • The 2008 Christmas Bird Count
  • FRONT RANGE SPECIES PROFILE: THE JAYS OF COLORADO

  • FRBC AND WILD DELIGHT ANNOUNCE the 2008 PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS
    photowinners08

    Pictured left -right: Tom Bush, Robert Larson, Lee Farrell, Darin Ziegler, and Mat Safranski of Wild Delight Birdseed

    Congratulations to Lee Farrell, Darin Ziegler, and Robert Larson, the top three entrants in our 2008 backyard nature photo contest sponsored by the Wild Delight Birdseed Company and the Front Range Birding Company. The annual contest continues to grow in popularity with our supporters and customers.


    farrellgreebs

    Lee Farrell's 1st Place Family of Grebes Photo

    Lee and his wife Linda are avid birders regularly combining weekend health walks with their love of wild birds and photography. While searching out some of the less traveled birding spots in Colorado last summer they were fortunate to discover a group of nesting Eared Grebes at the Arapahoe National Wildlife Refuge. Observing the natural interaction between wild animals and their surroundings is something that Lee and Linda really enjoy and the Grebes did not disappoint. Both parents took turns, one carrying the young chicks on its back while the other foraged and fed them damsel flies.


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    Darin Ziegler's 2nd Place photo of an immature Red Tail with Northern Flicker

    Darin Zigler is an enthusiastic amateur photographer of all subjects with birds and wildlife being high on his list of favorites. Recently, while Darin was in his front yard laying on the ground taking pictures of White-crowned sparrows, a juvenile red- tailed hawk appeared with a live shrieking northern flicker in its talons. A unique once in a lifetime shot! Nature in its rawest form!


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    Robert Larson's 3rd place young Great Horned Owl

    Robert and his wife love the outdoors and on one of their frequent nature walks along the crest of the Chatfield Lake dam, a young Great Horned Owl came out of nowhere.


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    SIGN UP FOR A FALL BIRD WALK OUTING
    birding group

    Sunday Feb 1 9am-Noon Chatfield St Park

    Sunday Feb 8 9am-3pm Raptor Road Trip in Weld and Boulder Counties. Call the store for details.

    Sunday Feb 15 8am-11am The Carson Nature Center and South Platt River Park. Join us for a brisk walk in the South Platte Park area. Recently seen water birds include Gadwall, Goldeneyes, Mallards, Canada Geese, American Dippers and coots. We may even find a rare bird - a Dunlin has been seen in the area recently. Please call the store at 303.979.2473 to register and for more info.

    Friday Feb 20 - Sunday Feb 22 Bosque del Apache trip Join us and Nestling Tours for a weekend trip to Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. Please see this special website for more info. http://www.nestlingtours.com/Bosque2009-1.html

    Sunday March 1 9am-noon Chatfield State Park.

    We plan on doing 3 walks in Roxborough State Park this spring and summer. We'll team up with a naturalist from the park and combine birding with such topics as wildflowers, geology, and park history. These walks were very popular last year and filled up fast.


    The 2008 Christmas Bird Count
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    Thousands of volunteers nation-wide participated in this years Christmas Bird Count (CBC) sponsored by the Audubon Society. The count is now over 100 years old and occurs each year between mid December and early January . The information gathered has helped scientists learn how birds fair year to year throughout North America. The citizen scientists who participate in the holiday count play a critical role in establishing the state of all avian species that share the space in which we live. In addition to giving back to the community, CBC volunteers greatly expand their own personal knowledge of local birds and wildlife while having simply a blast in this outdoor adventure.

    There are many sponsored CBC counts throughout our Colorado area. For the past three years I have had the privilege of leading the count in the Ken-Caryl Valley area to include the Jefferson County open space of South Valley Park. We had seven volunteers in our party on December 18 who took in the brisk 15 degree mourning and trekked about 5 miles through pristine scenery the flat iron, scrub oak, prairie, riparian , and sub alpine habitats that the area offered. The trails of Ken-Caryl and South Valley offered unique access to viewing foraging birds in each of these habitats. The accent from the historic Shaffer Manor House in lower Ken-Caryl valley into Massey Draw and the Rocky Mountain foothills, produced a count of 29 observed species and the sighting of over 370 individual birds!

    Join us next year on a CBC count and take part in this noble and thoroughly enjoyable community effort. You won't be disappointed with this great excuse to get outside.

    Pictured above is the 2008 group in Ken-Caryl Valley. From left to right is: Fran Haas, Tom Bush, Linda Farrell, Jean Eddins, R.D. Ginn, and our photographer Mark Chavez.


    FRONT RANGE SPECIES PROFILE: THE JAYS OF COLORADO
    stellersjay

    By Sara Nelson

    Photo of a Steller's Jay by Lee Farrell

    Jays are a familiar visitor to our backyards and feeders. We are lucky to have 6 of the 11 jay species found in North America. Jays are members of the Corvid family, which include magpies, crows and ravens. Corvids are known for their intelligence, with cognitive abilities rivaling even that of primates. Here is a quick review of the six jays in Colorado, see how many you recognize.

    Western Scrub-Jay - Aphelocoma californica

    Scrub-Jays have a sky-blue head, wings and tail, with a white-gray throat and breast. Their long tail is a distinguishing characteristic. Scrub-Jays live in the scrubby habitats that give them their name, as well as brushland and riparian woodlands.

    Steller's Jay - Cyanocitta stellerie

    Stellar's Jays have a dark blue body and a blue-black crest, throat and back. They live in forest areas, and often scavenge for food in campgrounds and picnic areas.

    Gray Jay - Perisoreus canadensis

    Predominately grey, these jays have a dark gray cap and white forehead, face and throat. Grey Jays are commonly seen in campgrounds and picnic areas, their aggressive behavior has earned them the nickname "Camp Robbers."

    Clark's Nutcracker - Nucifraga columgiana

    Clark's Nutcrackers are also predominantly gray, but have dark black wings with white patches. The tail is white, with black central feathers. They are found in high coniferous forests, and mountains near timberline.

    Pinyon Jay - Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus

    Pinyon Jays are grayish-blue overall, with white streaks on the throat. Their preferred habitat is pinyon woodlands, pine forests and lower mountain ranges

    All six jays are similar in size, the Clark's Nutcracker is the largest at 12.5 inches, the Blue Jay is 11.5 inches, the Pinyon Jay is 10.5 inches, and the other three are 12 inches. All are considered to be commonly abundant except the Pinyon Jay which is considered uncommon. The Blue Jay is found at the lowest elevations, though all jays will move to lower elevations in the winter depending on food supply. So how many jays did you recognize? We love to hear great stories about jays visiting your yard!

    Sara


    Correction:
    bills woodduck
    The wood duck photo included in our Bosque del Apache trip published on January 19, 2009 by the Front Range Birding Company was not taken by Bill Eden, nature photographer. Pictured here is a photo of a wood duck by Bill Eden. We expect to see several of these exquisite birds on our trip February 20th.


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    Birding Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
    Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese in the Bosque

    Join us to observe the many wintering birds of South- Central New Mexico

    John Drummond Joins Front Range Birding and Nestling Tours as guide for Bosque del Apache.

    John Drummond could be described as an avid bird watcher as he is approaching 6,500 bird species on his world bird list and has birded in 25 countries (including Sri Lanka and South Africa) covering 6 continents. John has been a leader, co-leader or has advanced a number of international trips covering Australia, Jamaica, Japan, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

    John has a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Southampton University, England, has extensive field experience on a number of bird studies, and has spoken to a number of Audubon and other ornithological groups.

    We are extremely fortunate to have John join us on the trip to New Mexico. His expertise will add a great deal to the overall quality of the birding experience.

    Here is a synopsis of the trip .

    We will leave the Denver Metro area at 6 AM on Friday February, 20 for New Mexico. At 6 AM, We will enjoy a few select 10 to 30 minute bird- watching stops along the way to allow for brief stretch of legs and hopefully a few trip birds. These will often include a bathroom break as well (or primarily for that purpose). We will need to make fairly decent time to arrive in the Albuquerque area by about 2 PM.

    By about 2 PM, we will begin the drive up to Crest House in the Sandia Crest National Forest area. We will have some good birding along way through forest area (maybe Red Crossbills, Pine Grosbeaks, and certainly other mountain species, such as Pygmy Nuthatches, Stellar's Jays, Mountain Chickadees, maybe Evening Grosbeaks). Sandia Crest is the "High Point on the Turquoise Trail". The magnificent summit of the Sandia Mountain has an elevation 10,678 feet. The view from the observation deck is awe-inspiring. Information and refreshments are available. Venture into the Sandia Mountain Wilderness to hike through aspen glades and across flowering meadows on a well-marked trail system. From mid November through March three species of Rosy Finch call Sandia Crest home, making the area an ideal destination for bird-watchers.

    After supper, we will drive another 60 to 90 minutes to Socorro. We should arrive at the hotel by about 9 PM. We will have two hotel options (see trip budget) in Socorro for the night.

    Saturday, February 21, 2009:

    We will leave the hotel at about 7:30 AM after we have had breakfast. A smaller group may want to leave earlier to catch the Sandhill Cranes as they fly out in the morning (likely leaving at 5:50 AM). We should arrive at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, recognized on several lists as one of the top 20 birding hot spots in the United States, at about 8:00 AM. During a full day, you can nearly bird the entire area. Bosque del Apache is Spanish for "woods of the Apache," and is rooted in the time when the Spanish observed Apaches routinely camped in the riverside forest. Since then the name has come to mean one of the most spectacular national wildlife refuges in North America. Here, tens of thousands of birds--including sandhill cranes, Arctic geese, and many kinds of ducks--gather each autumn and stay through the winter. Feeding snow geese erupt in explosions of wings when frightened by a stalking coyote, and at dusk, flight after flight of geese and cranes return to roost in the marshes

    Sunday, February 22, 2009:

    Some of the group may want an early start back at the Bosque to catch the Sandhill Cranes as they fly out in the morning. At 5:50 AM, the Crane enthusiasts will need to start the 30 minute drive and to catch the Cranes as they fly out at about sunrise (6:45 AM). The rest of the group may choose to stay at the hotel (and catch up on their sleep). By 8:30 AM, we will head back towards Albuquerque and the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park. We expect to get easy viewing of the beautiful woodduck and New Mexico's State Bird the roadrunner.

    After spending the rest of the morning birding at the Rio Grande Nature Center, we will have lunch just around noon. By 12:30, we will continue our drive back to Colorado. We will have time for a few short bird watching stops along the way (10 to 30 minutes) with the goal of arriving back in Denver between 8 PM and 9 PM.

    Click Here to learn more about our Bosque del Apache trip!
    Quick Links...

    Cornell Lab of Ornithology

    North American Bluebird Society

    Audubon Society of Greater Denver

    The Plains Conservation Center

    Audubon Colorado

    Colorado Field Ornithologist

    Denver field Ornithologist

    The Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory

    Red Rocks Park

    THE FRONT RANGE BIRDING BLOG

    The Captain Jason Dahl Scholarship Fund

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