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Greetings!
THE FRONT RANGE BIRDING
COMPANY - FRBC:
A Nature Center For You and Your
Family
| WILD DELIGHT DOUBLES AWARD FOR THE FRBC FRBC 2009 PHOTO CONTEST |
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The 1st place winner will now get $200
worth of premium Wild Delight seed!
We are extremely pleased to again have
the Wild Delight Company of
Greeley,
Colorado partner with us to sponsor the
2009 Front Range Birding Photo Contest.
This is our 4th year to enjoy all the
incredible wildlife photos that people who
visit our nature store provide us. Each one
seems to tell a story of life in the wild
outdoors. We think it is a great hobby to
be "Always birding." I think you will find that
whenever and wherever you are, if it is
outside, you can be birding. Take
advantage of the opportunity and have at
least a pocket binocular and a small point
and shoot camera available. Of course
with feeders and wildlife friendly
landscapes, all of nature is invited to your
backyard and it is here that photographic
opportunities will abound for you
The contest rules remain essentially the
same.. We want to see who visits your
backyard or who you run across while
birding on the trails. Simply let us know
when and where you took your best shot.
Many of you continue to give us the wildlife
photos you take in and around your
backyard. We really appreciate you
sharing your joy of nature with us and the
many customers who visit the store.
Thanks so much as the pictures are great
educational tools!
The photo contest will be all yours and no
purchase is necessary. Visitors in the store
will be given the opportunity to judge and
rank the top 3 entrants. Remember picture
quality, subject uniqueness, and creative
talent all count in the voting process.
The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners
will
receive $200, $100, and $75 worth of
premium Wild Delight birdseed
respectively.
Contest Rules:
- 4" x 6" photos of birds & wildlife
only
- Accepting photos from Oct 1 till Nov
30
- Voting done in store by customers
Dec 1 till Dec 31
- Winners will be announced January 5,
2010
- All species count (even squirrels,
bears & raccoons!)
- 1st place gets $200, 2nd place gets
$100, & 3rd gets $75 of premium Wild
Delight Bird food
Good luck and good shooting (photos that
is!) Sharpen your skills and join us at our
Wildlife/Digiscoping Workshop on October
10 & 11. See the details in our event
calendar.
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| FALL SEED SALE ON FOR ENTIRE MONTH OF OCTOBER |
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Anything birds eat will be on sale at 20
percent off regular price for all of
October.
You can use our Seed Vault program and
save for months to come. Buy as much as
you like and we will keep it at the store
fresh.
You can pick up your seed anytime you like
as you need it.
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| SPORT BIRDING WITH THE FRONT RANGE BIRDING COMPANY |
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We at FRBC love our backyard habitats. In
fact we have many customers whose
backyards support lists that often exceed
60, 80, and in some cases 100 bird
species. It is a great source of personal
pride for those who experiment, change,
and tweak their native landscapes in order
to attract multiple and rare visitors. Adding
to the highly rewarding backyard bird
watching pastime is the equally rewarding
adventure of birding in the field. We
welcome all who join us on our Front
Range hikes, seminars, workshops, and
tours. Many of these outings are free.
We believe birding is beyond the hobby
definition. Birding is a sport. If you want to
see every bird all it takes is some
patience, an understanding of nature, and
a willingness to get out there and "bird" in
multiple seasons, habitats, elevations, and
weather conditions. It is a wonderful natural
world to explore and we can help to make
it fun and easy for you to do.
Come bird with us! It is a great
sport for all ages. Here is a
review of upcoming birding events we
support at FRBC.
WALK THE CHATFIELD STATE
PARK "WETLANDS"
- Sunday, October 4, 2009, 9:00 am -
Noon
- Sunday, November 1, 2009, 9:00 am -
Noon
- Sunday, December 6, 2009, 9:00 am-
Noon
LEADERS: Hugh & Urling Kingery
(303-814-2723) and other
Master Birders
Pre-registration is NOT required. Meet in
the parking lot at the Audubon Center at
Chatfield. The Audubon Center is
located on Waterton Road, 4.4 miles south
of C-470 and Wadsworth.
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DIGISCOPING/WILDLIFE
PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
Saturday, October 10 & 11, 2009, 9 am till
1 pm and 2 pm till 6 pm
Half-day wildlife photography/digiscoping
seminar and workshop at Denver's South
Platte Park. On hand will be the latest and
the hottest equipment from Swarovski,
Leica, Zeiss, Vortex, and Nikon at a
minimum. . Last chance to register for this
all star event hosted by Clay Taylor,
Jeff Bouton, and Bill Schmoker. Call
for registration info 303-979-2473
Co-sponsored by FRBC, S&S Optika, and
Mike's Camera.
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| OUT REACH WITH FRONT RANGE BIRDING TO GREAT BIRDING SITES |
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January 22-27 or February 5-10 2010
Bird the northwest states of Oregon and
Washington
Call for details. Check out the Northwest
Trip here. A couple of spots are
available for both trip dates.
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June 11 to 17, 2010 Bird North
Dakota and Boreal Forest in Minnesota
See a Great Grey!
photo by Bill Schmoker
Call for details. Check out the North Dakota
Trip here. This will be a great
summer
adventure!
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Can't make one of these?
Check out Tours by Turner.
Bird Costa Rica
Feb. 23-
March 8, 2010
Led by Bill
Turner
View the spectacular resplendent quetzal
in the secluded Savegre Valley cloud
forest. Visit the renowned La Selva
Biological Station where 400 bird species
have been recorded. Enjoy exploring the
trails and watching the teeming bird
feeders at Rancho Naturalista, one of the
best birding lodges in Central America,
and marvel at scarlet macaws in the
lowland rainforest at Carara. Jabirus,
ducks, shorebirds, motmots, trogons, and
much more await in the Tempisque River
wetlands.
Noted Costa Rican birder/naturalist, Max
Vindas, will guide the group throughout the
tour. We'll be visiting many diverse
habitats on this grand birding circuit of
lovely, biologically diverse Costa Rica.
The price of $3795 per person double
occupancy includes all meals,
accommodations, guiding, park fees, and
transportation in a comfortable, private
coach with large viewing windows. The
current roundtrip airfare Denver/San Jose,
Costa Rica is currently a rockbottom
$387.42, subject to change until ticketed.
Maximum group size is l6. For more
information, contact Bill Turner at (303)
795-5128 or e-mail
[email protected].
Bill will also be offering birding trips to
Brazil's Amazon and Pantanal regions July
6-21, 2010 and Australia in October this
coming year.
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| HOGBACK HONEY HARVEST IS IN! |
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Pure raw local honey.
The bees produced over 200 pounds of
honey this year. The honey tastes great!
We are also in contact with other local
beekeepers for access to their honey
crops as well. Check with us for availability.
Bee there!
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| From all the crew at Front Range Birding - Thanks for your support of our nature store. |
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Enjoy all nature has to offer!
Tom, Sara, Diane, Shannon, Dave, and
Jennifer.
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FRONTRANGE SPECIES PROFILE: THE AMERICAN CROW AND THE COMMON RAVEN |
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The American Crow Corvus
brachyrhynchos and the Common
Raven
Corvus corax are both large
passerine
birds that are but 2 of 43 worldwide
species from the genus Corvus in the
family Corvidae. Both of these extremely
intelligent and unique North American birds
are highly adaptable to a wide range of
habitats and food sources. They are
omnivorous and have learned to take
advantage of dietary opportunities both in
urban and agricultural environments. It is
because of this, they have often crossed
paths with farmers and home owners and
have become pests in many cases. There
is no escaping them as both species
range continent wide. There is an
estimated 31,000,000 Crows in North
America.
The Crow and Raven's unmistakable
profile is readily recognized by us humans;
however it is sometimes difficult to
distinguish between the two. Behavior,
size, shape, and call differences often are
an aid to solving this dilemma. The
American Crow is more gregarious than
the Common Raven and is more oft than
not seen in small to large flocks'. The
Raven is more of a loner or hangs out with
just a few friends. Ravens, at about 24
inches in length, are significantly larger
than crows, which average about 17 inches
long. The Raven's bill is much more
massive and they sport a shaggy feathered
beard. In flight look for the wedge shape of
the Raven's tail and it's out-stretched
wings. The Crow will display a much more
squared shaped tail and has a more v-
shaped wing pattern. Each is very
territorial and will mercilessly mob
intruders, especially any raptor such as a
Red Tailed Hawk or a Great Horned Owl
that may come in range. They don't even
like each other and crows will equally
harass a wandering Raven in their
territories.
A listening watch will also help distinguish
the two as you can hear the "caaw, caaw,
caaw" of the crow and a more
guttural "croak" from the Raven. Outside
these signature calls each have a wide
repertoire of mimicking calls that they
perform with highly developed vocal cords.
I once observed a Raven perfectly mimic
the Rock Pigeons he was spending way
too much time with. The crow is more likely
to nest on the large limbs of mature trees
while the Raven seems more comfortable
on rock cliffs and ledges. Each will use
jumbled twigs, mud, and sticks to build a
platform style nest and will lay from 3 to 8
eggs which hatch in about 18 days. Young
Crows will fledge in about 35 days while
Ravens may take as long as 44 days.
Both the Crow and the Raven engage in
complex courtship rituals and mate for life.
Crows may roost in large extended
families where unmated members known
as "helpers" aid in raising the young.
The most remarkable attribute of each is
their incredible level of intelligence.
Ornithologists have long confirmed in
laboratory experiments that Crows and
Ravens are capable of insight learning as
well as reinforcement learning. Their
deductive and adaptive reasoning in using
and even making tools to obtain food have
impressed many researchers. Each also
will engage in playful activities. Ravens
have been observed sliding down snow
banks and teasing dogs with "catch me if
you can games."
Do you have a good Crow or Raven story?
Come in and share it with us.
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The Front Range Birding Company - A Proud Corporate Sponsor of the Audubon Society of Greater Denver
CORINTHIAN BELLS WINDCHIMES BY QMT ASSOCIATES: The folks at QMT of Manassas Park, VA are committed to providing the best chimes on the market, all proudly made in the USA.
Great Optics are here at FRBC. Leica, Swarovski, Vortex and now Zeiss are offering exceptional deals on their high quality products.
THE TILLEY ENDURABLES AT FRBC: TILLEY HATS GREAT GIFTS FOR MEN AND WOMEN
PARASOL HAND-BLOWN GLASS HUMMINGBIRD FEEDERS
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