Cassin's Finches abundant in Jefferson and Park counties over recent weeks

[David Suddjian]

This is more of a contextual comment than reporting new sightings. I had posted a couple weeks back about large numbers (300) of Cassin's Finches at Bergen Park JeffCo. With the varied reports of Cassin's over the last few days from varying areas, I wanted to share that several widely dispersed birding efforts in the forested areas of Jefferson and Park County over the last 4 weeks found Cassin's to be widely abundant in those counties, more numerous than I had ever seen in my (yet limited) 7 years birding in CO. Most places that were checked had them, and many places had *lots* of them. I'd have wagered the aggregate number in those counties was many 1000s of Cassin's Finches. They were observed most abundantly in Ponderosa pine forest, where cones are abundant now, and also (in Park) feeding in bristlecone pines, which also have a strong cone crop.

Type 2 Red Crossbills were common (though on the whole less numerous) in these same areas, and Evening Grosbeak was encountered each effort, but less common as sporadic flocks here and there. 

David Suddjian

Ken Caryl Valley

Littleton, CO