Yard lists

[Mary Kay Waddington]

This has been fun to see what's shown up in yards.  I do this daily by participating in the e-bird yard tallies, but I've noticed that many of these fantastic lists people have been sending in, are not included!  I'd like to recommend that people go to eBird, click "explore", go down to "yard birds"  then click "add a yard".  Put in the location name you use for your yard.  Then at the top where it says "region", click that and enter Colorado.  It's fascinating to watch what different people have seen.  You can even follow a bit of migration patterns by seeing who has seen what, where.  There are rules to follow -- any bird you see while in your yard.  Don't cheat!  I've often seen a bird while outside the yard and had to see if I could still see or hear it when I'd crossed over my property line back into my own yard. If no, it doesn't go on the list.  Of course if some of these wonderful yards that you've all posted here are included in eBird's yard list, my ranking will go way down!  But that's ok.  

My own stats:

How long have you been keeping your list?  Have lived here 60 years but only birded a lot here for 25.  Then discovered during the pandemic that exploring my own yard daily was really as exciting as driving around chasing birds in different places.  

What's your style of yard listing: I'd have to say obsessed -- a minimum of 3 trips around the property every day, often more.

How many species? 139

Rarest, or favorite species? The Bobwhite was unexpected (escaped?) and the Snipe that blew in after a storm and let me walk right up to it.  Northern Parula and Chestnut-sided are the rare warblers.  The 200 Bohemian Waxwings were definitely exciting, but I actually prefer the Cedars and love seeing them.  Just yesterday had a pair of Hooded Mergansers in the Creek.  But I actually love being able to show people my Eastern Screech Owls.  Many people got a lifer seeing them peek out of their holes.  Birders always welcome.

Most memorable experience?  Maybe it was watching a Bushtit hung up on a twig 20' up and hanging by its tail.  Other Bushtits tried to free it but couldn't, so a Chickadee finally came over and snipped off the twig, freeing the Bushtit.

Location/habitat: suburban.  Lucky enough to have 2.5 acres with big trees and a bit of creek.  And I let it go completely wild. 

Other location in foothills above Westcliffe:

species:  105

The Saw-whet was pretty special, and a 5-woodpecker day (can't compete with Duane!). but nothing could beat the 3,000 Sandhills flying over in one day.

[Courtney R]

Well. I should not have waited to reply until after Mary Kay’s list 😄. 

My list will definitely not address any species gaps, but this is a fun activity, and at least some of the more interesting and memorable accounts are a delight to share to fellow bird lovers. I live in a condo complex in Lafayette, so it’s quite urban, but at least has several older trees and backs up to an open space. I’ve definitely bordered desperate bird lady with the variety of feeders and foods that I keep out for our flighted friends; but one can only do so much with a tiny and mostly concrete backyard. 

• How long have you been keeping your list? On eBird, since late 2023 but I’ve been attentive of rarities since moving here about 2.5 years ago. 
• What's your style of yard listing: Obsessed when home (I work remotely and specifically placed my desk next to the sliding glass door to be able to watch outside at all times. If you have seen the movie “Up”, I embody the dog character, except I react every time there’s a bird rather than a squirrel; although, to be honest, I react to squirrels too) 
• How many species? Literal yard—40; with condo complex backing up to an open space, the broader open space list increases to over 100. 
• Rarest, or favorite species? Literal yard: lazuli bunting pair in summer 2022, one pine siskin, one leucistic common grackle, intergrade northern flickers, and yesterday a red winged blackbird male with AKD (avian keratin disorder); open space: common nighthawks, swallows, flyover sandhill cranes, male NOHA, Merlin, bats. 
• Most memorable experience? So many! Seeing a flicker’s full tongue extend to reach seed (image below), GHOW pair duetting then copulating on my chimney, blue Jay attacking a GHOW just hanging out on the fence ( https://www.facebook.com/share/v/GHjz2JByVtsivh1r/?mibextid=K35XfP). Also, while I’m not a morning person, hearing a Cooper’s hawk in an argument with blue jays will wake me up in the best mood possible—it happened a few times last summer. Lastly, I love how often the blue jays mimic either red tailed hawks, Cooper’s hawks, or something that sounds more Phoebe like. 

• Location/habitat: Urban. In a condo complex near open space and with aged trees  (back yard is a small fenced in one, mostly concrete)

Some pics! (Pardon any door distortion—the glass has had a rough life since the late 80s) 

NOFL tongue 

RWBL with avian keratin disorder of upper mandible/maxilla

COGR with leucism

Thank you,

Courtney

Courtney Rella, PhD

dr.ca...@gmail.com

On Mar 14, 2024, at 13:36, Mary Kay Waddington <waddin...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Marty W]

Courtney speaking of intergrade Northern Flickers, spurs me to comment that, not for the first year (maybe the third?) I've had several male intergrades around the neighborhood, yard & feeders (along with at least three female Red-shafteds) during the late fall & winter (this fall/winter without any Red-shafted males). But then once "spring"/March comes along the male intergrades all disappear. This week their disappearance coincided with the sudden appearance of a very vocal, drumming male Red-shafted Flicker, and typically now I won't see any more intergrades until the fall...

1) Has anyone else noticed this pattern? 

2) Are the male intergrades unable to reproduce, and/or might they have lower levels of male hormones, causing them to vacate when a "robust" Red-shafted male shows up? 

3) Or has anyone actually observed successful nesting/clutches from pairings of intergrade males and Red-shafted females?

I didn't see anything about it in the Birds of the World entry for Northern Flicker (Geographic Variation section). For what it's worth, the intergrade males (& one female) I've had around here over the years have all been individuals with varying degrees of red napal crescent (from the Yellow-shafted genes) but otherwise having Red-shafted features/phenotype. Maybe the particular visible/phenotypic trait of the given intergrade individual (e.g., the red napal crescent in otherwise Red-shafted features in this case) might correlate with decreased fertility?

Or just coincidence? I'm just curious.

Marty Wolf

NW Colo. Spgs.

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/7704A150-F5D0-4414-8A9F-D5EAB622A691%40gmail.com.

[David Suddjian]

The intergrades presumably originate from an area of the species' range that is to the east of the Colorado Springs region and more in the zone of overlap between the core ranges of the two forms. I include here a map of this zone from the Birds of the World species account (Fig 2. in the systematics section) If indeed they are departing your area at this time, perhaps they are making a seasonal movement to another part of the species' range. 

The intergrades can indeed reproduce successfully, which is a big element in considering the Yellow-shafted and Red-shated flickers to be  one species.

David Suddjian

Littleton, CO

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CADoSYTOnTFF2z7sbwoz6sq3E2hcJ_nAu2F3Ym5AbcvfG0bT2Zg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Chip Clouse]

CoBirders,

I haven't commented because I've moved all over from Boulder to Nederland, to Boulder, to Longmont, back to Boulder, to Ft Collins to CO Springs to Arvada, to Lakewood, to Golden, to an RV during my impromptu 2021 big year, to Erie, back to Arvada, to Denver, and finally back to Lakewood with lots of yards and lots of yard lists over the last 28 years in CO.

I did want to comment about intergrade flickers as I had a breeding male in my Olde Town Arvada yard for 3 years from 2012 through 2015. I had a pole-mounted nyjer feeder with Finch mix that included fine sunflower chips and a flat plastic squirrel baffle that doubled as a tray feeder where the intergrade would bring the fledglings to feed them. They all lined up and Dad would stick that long tongue through the tiny slits in the thistle feeder and then feed each kiddo in succession. It was really fun to watch! 

That same yard had a spanking male Rose-breasted and Black-headed grosbeak on the sunflower feeder at the same time during migration one year. In Golden, I'd get entire families of Bullock's orioles feeding (and fighting) at the same time all summer and remember counting 15 Western Tanagers during a May snowstorm. All four expected late summer hummers were regulars in the 3 years I lived there plus the occasional Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay and Lazuli Bunting. I remember looking out to find a Palm Warbler at my Fort Collins bird bath while in Grad school in 2001.

This has been a fun thread to read. I've got paper yard lists somewhere in a box for the early years and eBirded checklists at many more recent places, but without using the 'yard list" protocol. I don't currently have feeders at a 2nd story apartment and am seldom home anyway but will make sure to use the yard list protocol if I find myself in a place to do so in the future.

Cheers and good birding,

Chip Clouse

Lakewood

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAGj6RorfdVu5S-riNCh3Dta5%3DGmiiFojsFXwNzJyM1ZrwKFmRw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Marty W]

Beautiful shot, Daniel! And thanks David & Chip for your information and input about the N. Flicker intergrades!

Marty Wolf

NW Colo. Spgs 

On Fri, Mar 15, 2024, 11:20 AM Daniel O'Donnell <dj...@me.com> wrote:

The last intergrade that I saw was in 2017 in my back yard. It was a dramatic fight over a bird house neither one of them could use!

Dan O'Donnell
dj...@me.com

On Mar 15, 2024, at 08:25, David Suddjian <dsud...@gmail.com> wrote:

The intergrades presumably originate from an area of the species' range that is to the east of the Colorado Springs region and more in the zone of overlap between the core ranges of the two forms. I include here a map of this zone from the Birds of the World species account (Fig 2. in the systematics section) If indeed they are departing your area at this time, perhaps they are making a seasonal movement to another part of the species' range. 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAGj6RorfdVu5S-riNCh3Dta5%3DGmiiFojsFXwNzJyM1ZrwKFmRw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Daniel O'Donnell]

The last intergrade that I saw was in 2017 in my back yard. It was a dramatic fight over a bird house neither one of them could use!

Dan O'Donnell
dj...@me.com

On Mar 15, 2024, at 08:25, David Suddjian <dsud...@gmail.com> wrote:

The intergrades presumably originate from an area of the species' range that is to the east of the Colorado Springs region and more in the zone of overlap between the core ranges of the two forms. I include here a map of this zone from the Birds of the World species account (Fig 2. in the systematics section) If indeed they are departing your area at this time, perhaps they are making a seasonal movement to another part of the species' range. 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAGj6RorfdVu5S-riNCh3Dta5%3DGmiiFojsFXwNzJyM1ZrwKFmRw%40mail.gmail.com.

[tom none]

I had one day where I had three different intergrades at the same time. One female and one male each of which had strong red red chevron on the nape.  Another male had a weak red chevron.  I've always wondered if they were siblings.