Morning Birding at Rock Bottom Ranch Species List | July 23, 2019

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Tuesday, July 23, 2019, 7AM – 10AM
Weather: Sunny
Location: Rock Bottom Ranch

Species Identified

Canada goose Mallard Rock Pigeon Eurasian Collared-Dove Mourning Dove Broad-tailed Hummingbird Wilson’s Snipe Great Blue Heron Turkey Vulture Osprey Belted Kingfisher Lewis’s Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker American Kestrel Western Wood-Pewee Cordilleran Flycatcher Black-billed Magpie American Crow Tree Swallow Violet-green Swallow Barn Swallow Chickadee sp. House Wren American Robin Gray Catbird Cedar Waxwing Song Sparrow Brown-headed Cowbird Red-winged Blackbird Yellow Warbler Western Tanager Black-headed Grosbeak

 

Comments:

Families of birds are out and about at this peak time in the breeding season. We saw families of downy woodpeckers, northern flickers, American kestrels, and Canada geese. Behaviors are pretty simple to notice, such a youngsters begging vigorously for food, sometimes even nearly attacking their parents, and adults stuffing food into fledglings’ bills. This is the most vulnerable stage of life for most birds, as the young of the year learn the ropes of life. It is an important time to keep dogs on leashes and cats indoors. Other highlights were many observations of Lewis’s woodpeckers in various light conditions, and a wonderful view of a belted kingfisher. Non-bird highlights today included a young mink that we watched for a full 5 minutes while it curiously checked into vegetation along the cattail trail, working its way toward our group. We were able to see the mink’s weasel family characteristics including its bounding locomotion as well as its white chin spot. We also saw muskrats, rock squirrels, and voles, including one vole that ended up as prey for the kestrel family we were watching. Join us tomorrow evening at 7PM at Hallam Lake for a free public lecture about birds by Ted Floyd.

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide 

 

Photo by Dale Armstrong