Parasitic Jaeger at Blanca Wetlands

[mvjo...@gmail.com]

Last week out at Blanca Wetlands I found a dark phase adult Parasitic Jaeger on one of the ponds. It was a bird I have expected in my 40 years of birding here and it finally came to fruition. The bird was close and gave many opportunities to photograph it. I based my call on the bill length and tip (Kauffman guide), and the white primary shafts on 4-6 primary feathers. I knew what to look for since in 2020, I submitted a report for the San Luis Valley first Long-tailed Jaeger (approved). This will be the first SLV Parasitic Jaeger, pending approval of CBRC. I ran the pics by others who confirmed my ID. You can view pics in eBird, Blanca Wetlands post. 

John Rawinski

Monte Vista, CO

[mvjo...@gmail.com]

To our surprise, Lisa spotted the bird on the same pond #157 yesterday. Never thought it would stick around now for a week!

John Rawinski

Monte Vista, CO