Boulder County: leucistic Sandhill Crane and Franklin's Gull
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Sandra Laursen
Apr 30, 2013, 2:01:43 PM4/30/13
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A couple of sightings this weekend that reminded me to always think outside the box about birds:
Sat. AM 4/27/13 - a large and lone circling bird, not vocalizing, on the former gravel pit turned open space at US 36 and S Boulder Creek. Pale colored with dark wing tips, trailing legs, outstretched neck and straight beak ruled out Ibis and Heron species. It looked like a Whooping Crane more than anything else- but how could this be? Thanks to the Skunk Canyon birders this morning for solving the puzzle with their suggestion of a leucistic Sandhill Crane. An internet photo search showed the range of coloring of such birds so a good match.
Mon. AM 4/29/13 - doing my Burrowing Owl survey (no owls spotted) out on county open space grasslands/ag property north of Broomfield off Dillon Rd. A couple of good-sized birds flapped over the prairie dog colony -- my brain started through the list of local raptors, then one let out a raucous call that required rapid mental recalibration to the gull part of the bird book. Black heads, pale breast, grey wings with black tips and a brilliant orange beak enabled us to recognize a pair of Franklin's Gulls. The rest of our sightings were more typical prairie species: Horned Lark, Say's Phoebe, and abundant Western Meadowlarks among the highlights.
- Sandra Laursen, Boulder County
Sat. AM 4/27/13 - a large and lone circling bird, not vocalizing, on the former gravel pit turned open space at US 36 and S Boulder Creek. Pale colored with dark wing tips, trailing legs, outstretched neck and straight beak ruled out Ibis and Heron species. It looked like a Whooping Crane more than anything else- but how could this be? Thanks to the Skunk Canyon birders this morning for solving the puzzle with their suggestion of a leucistic Sandhill Crane. An internet photo search showed the range of coloring of such birds so a good match.
Mon. AM 4/29/13 - doing my Burrowing Owl survey (no owls spotted) out on county open space grasslands/ag property north of Broomfield off Dillon Rd. A couple of good-sized birds flapped over the prairie dog colony -- my brain started through the list of local raptors, then one let out a raucous call that required rapid mental recalibration to the gull part of the bird book. Black heads, pale breast, grey wings with black tips and a brilliant orange beak enabled us to recognize a pair of Franklin's Gulls. The rest of our sightings were more typical prairie species: Horned Lark, Say's Phoebe, and abundant Western Meadowlarks among the highlights.
- Sandra Laursen, Boulder County
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