11-06-13 Bird Field Note

11-06-13 Bird Field Note

November 6, 2013

The bird crew shares observations of snow buntings, Merlins, and sandhill cranes.

11-06-13 Bird Field Note

A lone lupine emerges in the herbicide-treated crested wheatgrass. Though this landscape appears lifeless, hundreds of Horned Larks gather here to forage. Many show the light plumage of arctic breeders. Soil and dead vegetation conceal their colors.

Large flocks of overwintering birds make great targets for raptors like this Merlin.

Birds detected in shrubby draw surveys 10/14, 10/22, and 10/28.

133 41 19 19 40 46 44 398 Strong winds knocked most leaves off trees, except for those sheltered by topography. More birds gathered in dense ninebark and hawthorn than cottonwoods and aspens.

American Tree Sparrows don’t seem to mind the snow. We typically see them in small groups in the shrubs. Sometimes they mix with other species like Dark-eyed Juncos.

Compilation of autumn shrubby draw data begins in the next few weeks. A preliminary figure shows highest numbers in the second half of September. Songbird migration ended abruptly the first week of October. We mapped a total of 3,258 birds.

A young golden eagle showed white underwing patches.

patches. A smudgy tail band identified a young rough-legged hawk.

hawk. A flock of Sandhill Cranes migrated during the cold front. We also counted 1500 gulls, 2200 Snow Geese, and 100 American White Pelicans when raptors were scarce.