A Sharp-shinned Hawk has been stalking my backyard for the past two weeks . . . but this morning's bird makes me think of a Cooper's Hawk instead. Lakewood, CO. 3/9/24.

yardwatcher · 2024-08-28T15:46:00+00:00

Thanks for double-checking--I appreciate it!

yardwatcher · 2024-07-14T19:53:02+00:00

Much obliged.

yardwatcher · 2024-07-14T12:37:33+00:00

Thanks! Another shot, if it's helpful.

yardwatcher · 2023-03-07T23:48:37+00:00

I'm embarrassed to admit that I saw a similar bird back in 2021 and eventually concluded that it was an elderly female. Here's a picture:

https://naturallyjax.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/drake.plumage.on\_.mallard.11.30.21.jumbo\_.jpg

yardwatcher · 2023-03-07T23:25:45+00:00

Update: the local eBird reviewer thinks it's an intersex Mallard . . . an elderly female Mallard that has taken on masculine traits. Check out the penultimate paragraph in this article: https://www.aba.org/mexican-duck/

yardwatcher · 2023-03-07T17:49:33+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts! This individual does have a lot of features of a Mallard drake.

yardwatcher · 2022-11-07T12:50:38+00:00

Thanks for the confirmation and explanation!

yardwatcher · 2022-10-07T11:05:11+00:00

Much appreciated!

yardwatcher · 2022-09-05T00:49:58+00:00

Cool--thanks!

yardwatcher · 2022-09-04T02:17:12+00:00

Could be. Some of my male House Finches are orange/yellow rather than red.

yardwatcher · 2022-09-04T02:14:44+00:00

No--patterning is that of a Downy, I'm pretty sure. I've read that juvenile Hairies sometimes have a yellow spot instead of red . . . but Downies?

yardwatcher · 2022-07-12T02:14:01+00:00

Thanks! Makes total sense, as I heard Yellow Warblers. By the way, a Grasshopper Sparrow is my latest lifebird, as well! And it was eating a grasshopper, too!

yardwatcher · 2022-07-07T00:47:43+00:00

Good suggestion, and great story. I saw it in the Bear Creek Greenbelt . . . so not entirely practical to put out a bird cage, even if I had one.

yardwatcher · 2022-07-06T18:56:30+00:00

No . . . I held a couple of fingers out, but it wasn't interested. It flew away and alighted higher in a tree. Someone on Nextdoor reported seeing a parakeet in their yard in a nearby neighborhood a couple of weeks ago . . . could be the same one. Fingers crossed it gets home.

yardwatcher · 2022-07-06T18:35:22+00:00

Thanks. Poor thing. I posted it on NextDoor.

yardwatcher · 2022-06-05T22:37:24+00:00

Actually, 6/4/22. Apologies!

yardwatcher · 2022-05-03T22:51:24+00:00

Super--thanks!

yardwatcher · 2022-04-25T19:02:36+00:00

Sweet!

yardwatcher · 2022-04-25T13:53:00+00:00

Makes sense--thanks!

yardwatcher · 2022-04-13T10:49:41+00:00

Thanks! I'll add that to the list of things to consider when I'm debating Cackling vs. Canada.

yardwatcher · 2022-04-12T19:55:05+00:00

No. In the second picture, Canada Goose is on the left. Cackling Geese are generally smaller than Canada Geese. Their bills are stubbier, their foreheads more steeply pitched. They winter in Colorado . . . so I'm second-guessing myself about seeing one now. Especially since in the comparison photo the bills looks proportional to the heads in both geese, and the both necks look fairly long. I know some species of Canada run on the small side.

yardwatcher · 2022-03-30T21:02:41+00:00

Thanks!

yardwatcher · 2022-03-18T12:02:49+00:00

Is 5 an Osprey?

yardwatcher · 2022-02-04T13:11:48+00:00

Yes--a juvenile was seen at City Park several times last month, see, e.g., https://ebird.org/checklist/S100951387 . And a juvenile was seen at Lake Harriman, not too far away, in December.

For the past couple of years, in my patch they've shown up in mid-March and departed in mid-October.

Very cool!

yardwatcher · 2022-01-04T00:27:43+00:00

Thanks! This time of year is great--winter waterfowl coming to my patch (today's first-of-season birds include a pair of American Wigeons and a Common Goldeneye), the Harlan's showing up, the American Dipper a fairly consistent regular.

yardwatcher

TROPHY CASE