Larimer - Fort Collins - Chihuahuan Ravens???

[John Shenot]

I am realizing this morning with almost a sick feeling in my stomach that I may have seen ~12 Chihuahuan Ravens last weekend (January 31), but didn't consider that possibility at the time and didn't make the effort to be sure. So take all of this with a grain of salt. I am not a beginning birder but I always say (without modesty) that my identification skills are not very good.

I was walking my dog at the flat part of Reservoir Ridge Natural Area in Fort Collins. The habitat is grassy/brushy and just a quarter mile or so from the first of the foothills. I had binoculars but also had a dog tugging at the leash. On the far side of the small pond south of the trail I saw large black birds on the ground. More flew in. Then they took off to the north, flying over my head. Looking through the bins while holding onto my dog, I was frustrated with my ID skills because I couldn't tell if they were American Crows or Common Ravens, two species I thought I could distinguish most if not all of the time at this distance. The dog kept tugging, and I moved on, feeling incompetent.

It was only yesterday when I first thought (briefly) about the possibility of a third option. This morning I pulled out my Sibley guide and listened to some recordings, and I find myself leaning toward an ID of Chihuahuan Raven. The sense I had at the time, and the reason I struggled with the ID, was that the birds didn't have textbook wedge-shaped tails, making me think crow. But they seemed large for crows, the head and bill seemed to stretch out too far in front of the wings, and they soared a little bit (not much) in flight, making me think raven. I was also thinking at the time that their calls didn't sound quite "normal" for crow or raven. I listened to a recording of CHRA this morning, and it seems like that is what I heard - but I don't trust my memory of a call I heard more than a week ago.

Bottom line: I don't expect confirmation and I don't think anyone could chase an observation from a week ago. But to the birders of Larimer County, especially anyone birding around the foothills, I wanted to post this reminder to keep in mind the possibility of CHRA so you don't find yourself in my shoes, a week after the fact, wondering...

John Shenot

Fort Collins, CO