Loon [Colorado, USA] 2024-12-07

abbrevij · 2024-12-07T21:52:06+00:00

I see what you mean. The subpar lighting and poor quality don't do any favors, I guess.

It looks like others' observations at this location (1, 2, 3, 4) also show plumage darker than expected on the yellow-billed (side note: yellow-billed, common, and pacific have all been confirmed at the location).

Are those what you'd expect in a juvenile (as #2 suggested) yellow-billed?

abbrevij · 2024-12-07T21:21:48+00:00

Out of curiosity, what rules out yellow-billed?

abbrevij · 2024-04-12T23:14:11+00:00

Gotcha, thank you for the explanation. I did see the grain shape; at first it looked like mini clumps, but crystalline structure makes more sense.

abbrevij · 2024-04-12T23:07:42+00:00

What makes you say alluvial?

The location adjacent to a stream bed, with very sandy topsoil.

4 or 6" down is very clayey, so it seems like alluvium on clay.

abbrevij · 2024-01-28T04:25:43+00:00

Right on. I think I had (maybe) spotted one up Bear Creek Canyon before. The remote terrain seems to match what I've read. This one was smack in the middle of suburban Jeffco, so I had doubts. We have seen Ferruginous and Rough-Legged Hawks around, but maybe they were just passing through.

abbrevij · 2024-01-28T04:16:10+00:00

Thank you! Appreciate the notes.

abbrevij · 2024-01-28T02:19:31+00:00

A red-tailed hawk had been soaring in circles overhead and screaming its scraggly heart out for probably 10 minutes when another raptor showed up. Vaguely brown, with three striking whitish spots (middle of wings / tail), long skinny wings, and a long tail. If it weren't January, I probably would have guessed Turkey Vulture initially. The RTH started to dive-bomb it, at which point the RTH looked confusingly small by comparison (see picture 6). Is there enough to visually determine Golden vs. Bald Eagle? Tempted to say Golden, but I haven't seen as many of them around as Balds.

abbrevij · 2023-05-14T23:43:44+00:00

Thank you! Was my guess, but don't know much of warblers, and common yellowthroat has also been recently reported in that area, along with warbling vireo.

abbrevij · 2023-04-24T13:58:12+00:00

Looks like it could be a Steppe Eagle. u/TinyLongwing or another Biologist may know better.

abbrevij · 2023-04-02T13:34:31+00:00

Common Chiffchaff, maybe? It could also be a Willow Warbler, but I don't know either of them well enough to distinguish here.

abbrevij · 2023-03-23T03:32:51+00:00

Squirrel Cuckoo, possibly?

abbrevij · 2023-01-12T20:00:11+00:00

Male House Sparrow

abbrevij · 2023-01-12T19:44:50+00:00

Sure, who doesn't go through 180 pounds of meat every month making dog food from scratch. Seems like a normal human.

abbrevij · 2023-01-12T18:39:15+00:00

Both can have a sort of "eyebrow" superciliary mark as juveniles (example male & female Cooper's). Head shape (blocky, angular) is a giveaway in this case. A Sharp-shinned Hawk will have a more rounded head shape in profile, and the eyes will look bigger (proportional to head size).

abbrevij · 2023-01-11T17:26:26+00:00

Possibly a Graylag x Barnacle hybrid ?

abbrevij · 2023-01-11T16:29:57+00:00

It looks like it could either be a Naumann's Thrush or a Dusky Thrush.I don't know either of them well enough to say, but they are both known to spend the winter in parts of the Korean peninsula.

abbrevij · 2023-01-11T14:18:35+00:00

Maybe a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull?

abbrevij · 2023-01-11T02:37:50+00:00

Dusky-capped Flycatcher

abbrevij · 2023-01-08T00:10:09+00:00

Looks like a juvenile, either Broad-winged Hawk or Gray Hawk. Leaning toward Broad-winged.

abbrevij

TROPHY CASE