Clay-colored sparrows., Eastern and Western Kingbirds, Boulder County

[Paula Hansley]

Hi all,

In the pouring rain I saw dozens of sparrows along So. 66th St. west of Superior late this morning.  I had great looks at individual sparrows when they landed on one of the fence lines or on a tree near the road. 

An Eastern and a Western Kingbird were sitting together in a ponderosa pine on the west side of 66th about a mile south of Marshall Rd.

Sparrows included many Vesper, Chipping, and smaller numbers of Clay-colored Sparrows, which were constantly moving in large flocks on the ground in the pouring rain, so there may have been other sparrow species in with the more common ones.  I did not see any Sagebrush Sparrows, but one could easily have been in one of the flocks.

I watched three Clay-colored sparrows sing their soft, buzzy trills in a small tree. One is shown below:

Paula Hansley

Louisville