Fwd: Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch flock in Westcliffe & Brown-capped too

[SeEttaM .]

Yesterday I drove up to Westcliffe in hopes that the snow in that area the day before had held the flock of Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches that Jane Pederson was nice enough to note in her CBC report from Sunday.   I was delighted to find more than a hundred Rosy-Finches at the St. Andrew Golf Course just out of Westcliffe, a real treat as I have not seen any for some years.  I got a lot of good photos of them that I have uploaded them to my Birds and Nature blog.

I thought I saw one or more Brown-capped Rosy-Finches in that constantly moving flock.  Fortunately I got one reasonably good and a second less good photo of a Rosy-Finch that I believe is a female.  It does not show any pink but Birds of North America online states that the females may have little or no pink in their plumage.  I have also uploaded those photos for *constructive* comment by those who have more experience in separating these similar species.

I was surprised to find only one Red-tailed Hawk in a short raptor tour I took around Westcliffe and not one Rough-legged Hawk--I don't remember ever going there in the winter without seeing multiple birds of this wintering species.  I was pleased to see good numbers and largish flocks of magpies--southern Colorado really saw numbers plummet when West Nile virus hit some years ago and they have been slow in recovery.

SeEtta Moss

Canon City

http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com