CSR Wednesday: a busier day; Golden-crowned Sparrow

[Steven Brown]

Hey COBirders,

Yesterday was busy, with 34 birds banded at Clear Spring Ranch. Today was surprisingly even busier - with waves of sparrows hitting the nets at 930, but also several cool arrivals. 75 today!!!

I don’t know why - it always mystifies me when the numbers are so different between Chico Basin banding, and here, 15 miles away, especially when mine were so much higher. Go figure.

Birds today:

Black-chinned Hummingbird, M, F, not banded, FOS (FIrst of Season)

Ruby Crowned Kinglet, SYF (Second-year Female) (FOS)

2 N House Wren

Brown Thrasher

AM Robin M

27 Chipping Sparrow (I band the first 10, they were hitting the nets at the same time - like machine gun bullets!)

Clay-colored Sparrow  (FOS)

24 White-crowned Sparrow (Gambel’s) (also hammering the nets at the same time (and as the CHSPs))

Mountain White-crowned Sparrow

***Golden-crowned Sparrow, Very bright head, but very frayed tail, so guessing SY (photos available) (FOS)

3 Spotted Towhee

3 Orange-crowned Warbler (2 orestera ssp, 1 celata ssp)

Com Yellowthroat M

Audubon’s Yellow-rumped Warbler (ASY M) (FOS)

Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warbler (ASY M) (FOS)

And a few Red-winged Blackbirds and Brown-headed Cowbirds that I don’t band

All but about 5 of these birds were caught up and parallel to the service road, where nets are close to brush across the road from the new fields.

Only a few down in the willows of the marsh area. This is more a “fall pattern of arrival than usual fos spring. Again, go figure.

Happy Migration (whew it was fun today)

Steve Brown

Colo Spgs