Morning Birding Species List | August 28, 2018

---

Tuesday, August 28, 2018, 7:30AM – 10:30AM
Weather: Sunny
Location: Hallam Lake and Aspen Community Garden/Marolt Open Space

Species Identified

Canada Goose Mallard Black-chinned Hummingbird Broad-tailed Hummingbird Rufous Hummingbird Belted Kingfisher Western Wood Pewee Flycatcher (species) Warbling Vireo Steller’s Jay Black-billed Magpie American Crow Black-capped Chickadee Mountain Chickadee House Wren Ruby-crowned Kinglet American Robin Cedar Waxwing House Finch Pine Siskin Lesser Goldfinch American Goldfinch Green-tailed  Towhee Chipping Sparrow Song Sparrow Lincoln’s Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow MacGillivray’s Warbler Yellow Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler Wilson’s Warbler Lazuli Bunting

Comments:

Today’s mini lesson was about an unusual call that American Robins make, a very high-pitched, even seeeee, that is an alarm call specifically indicating an aerial predator such as a hawk. This information comes from Birds of North America Online (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) and What the Robin Knows by Jon Young. Learning about such vocalizations and their meanings can enrich birders’ experiences with a deeper understanding of bird behavior. Outside, the theme of the day was fall flocking and feeding! More than 100 Cedar Waxwings were active in a number of loose flocks in treetops around Hallam Lake where they were feeding on aerial insects using hawking techniques. We were able to observe the plumage differences that identify adults and juveniles.  Fruit-bearing shrubs and seed heads of giant angelica, thistle, and other flowering plants were alive with foraging Pine Siskins, chickadees, warblers, sparrows, and Warbling Vireos. A Belted Kingfisher fished in Hallam Lake and gave us excellent opportunities to observe its flight style, field marks, and flight calls. At the Marolt Open Space and community garden, a species of mystery sparrow continued to stump us (we will figure it out – stay tuned to future blog entries!), three species of hummingbirds were present (mainly females and/or hatch-year birds), four species of warblers foraged in dense vegetation, and both species of goldfinches focused on seedheads. A female Lazuli Bunting was fun to study for her subtle field marks, and it was interesting to note that House Wrens have not yet migrated. Next week Morning Birding shifts to a new time for the month of September: 8AM – 11AM. See you then!

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide 

 

Photo by Dale Armstrong