ID help and a great day - Larimer

[David Wade]

Greetings birders. Where to start?...I had an incredible day of birding today. I saw Scarlet Tanager, Black-Bellied Plover, Whimbrel, American Bittern and a raven in and around Ft Collins today. I added 3 county firsts and a lifer (or two?) to my lists. The tanager, my lifer, has been reported and I heard many people got to see it, includng Josh Bruening. I helped him find the tanager and he returned the favor by tipping me off to the plover and Whimbrel at Cobb Lake on Co Rd 56. Topping that all off, I saw an American Bittern trying to poke  some blackbirds in the playa to the west of Cobb Lake, also on Co Rd 56. The raven... I had a pair of ravens land on rock prominence right in front of me today at Watson Lake in Belvue. The wind was blowing pretty hard at the time and I realized their necks were exposed. I jumped behind the camera and shot away until they flew off. I really try to be cautious and careful about identifying Chihuahuan Ravens and kept telling myself "don't miss-call gray feathers as white".  Fearful of making a mistake, I ticked them as Common Ravens in ebird. Now, after looking at the photos, I still find myself hesitant to pull the trigger...Is this a White-necked Raven? Let me know what you think?

David Wade

Ft Collins, CO

[David Suddjian]

Common Ravens also have rather pale bases to those neck feathers, as evident when the wind is blowing them. That alone does not indicate Chihuahuan. This is a fairly common pitfall...esp here in windy CO!

David Suddjian

Littleton, CO

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