More Cooper's

The dogs and I went back to that same section of my development where the Cooper's had been frequenting and explored the area more thoroughly.  I had actually noticed a decent amount of feathers around lately, but now I realized there were some feathers scattered under almost every tree.  So many in fact, that it makes me wonder if there are more than one using this spot as a home or hunting ground.  There were even the remnants of a few pellets I believe the young hawk(s) had regurgitated. Sure enough, the juvenile accipiter was perched in one of the same trees I had seen it hidden in previously, in the middle of a small courtyard with numerous trees for perching, hunting or eating.  More feathers here, but the bird spooked to a different tree so I decided to let it be.  We circled around the nearby house to go home, spotting feathers under basically every tree we passed.  Coming around the corner, the bird flew down into the first tree I had gotten a good look and caused it to lose its dove lunch.  I felt as if it was watching us now.  I dropped off the dogs and when I drove out in my car shortly afterwards and slowed down through the dip, it flew out of that tree and right in front of my car. Could it actually be observing me now? Or is it just another silly juvenile playing in our shared neighborhood?

Goofy Juvies

This can be a fun time of year to observe raptors as many species' young are nearing full grown physical size and are venturing out and exploring their surroundings.  A number of local juveniles have been active in my neighborhood, doing some uncharacteristic things as they try and figure out the world around them.  You can often quickly identify a juvenile, even without a good view of markings, solely based on their behaviors, especially perching in unusual places, trying to catch prey unsuccessfully or sometimes just flying in a strange manner and/or rhythm.

I have noticed one (or maybe it has been more) young Red-tailed hawk frequently in the area, playing alone in the wind, or sometimes with one or even two other birds, likely its parents.  I am assuming they are from the nearby nest on Simpson and Michigan. You can just tell it's a juvenile because it does not fly with the same confidence, more jerky in motion, sometimes with uncertain direction and will land on the flimsiest of branches that can barely support its weight, bending the poor branch down like when Snoopy would pretend to be a vulture. They will go after prey clumsily and miss much more often than have success. I once saw a young RT somehow actually catch a snake, but then try to land and balance on a pointy stovepipe chimney to eat the still live and flailing reptile-wish I had a video of that!

I think the cemetery Swainson's hawks have fledged as well.  There also seems to be at least one silly, dark Swainson's flying around the open space and displaying similar antics to the Red-tail, missing prey and landing on skinny weak perches.  I saw one circle low above the Outdoor Classroom behind Escuela Bilingue Pioneer, dive down and disappear into the tall grass for a few seconds.  When it emerged empty handed, it landed on a nearby willow-like branch, which immediately sagged and bounced, but he stayed there.  Again, I am not sure if I have seen more than one, but a very dark one also appears to really like sitting on the telephone posts north of the cemetery along 111th, on the western edge of the baseball fields (where I have never really seen raptors before), watching the traffic and people go by.

The local Cooper's Hawks have even been active in the area.  I saw one futilely chasing some LBJs, who almost seemed to be toying with it, along the edge of the open space . The next day, I encountered a young one a block away while walking my lazy dogs under all the shade inside the neighborhood.  It came suddenly from down the street with a small grey bird in its talons, landing almost directly above us in a maple tree.  It was definitely a juvenile Cooper's, pretty big, flattish head, and very streaked without full adult markings yet. I stepped forward to get a better view and as I not so slyly took my phone out to snap a picture, I must have spooked it as it hopped (not flew, so another telltale juvie sign) to another branch and proceeded to drop its dove lunch.  I felt awful and hurried away, hoping it would feel safe enough to retrieve its lunch but I don't think it ever did.  I have since twice seen what I think is the same bird in the same vicinity, once eating what looked to be a roadkill dove, which it then carried into a nearby tree as I drove by, then again later that day it was sitting on the grass and flew in front of my car to then hide in a pine tree (it actually appeared to be hiding from sitting on a low branch, behind another, but still able to see me).  Silly Cooper's Hawk!  I won't be surprised if I see it again tomorrow, nor if I don't see another one for a long time.

The most entertaining of the juvenile raptors are often visible and audible as dusk or dawn approaches during the late summer.  Juvenile Great-horned Owls can be very curious and will also perch and hang out in unusual places, even more apt than usual to sit on a house or near human activity. Once I awoke to two different high-pitched screechy hootings and went outside to see two young GHOs on our roof, taking turns at unsuccessfully swooping down on some young bunnies peeking out from under a tree.  One night recently, as we ventured out for our evening walk, we were greeted to a strange, not so deep hooting.  There was a GHO perched on one of the neighbor's houses, looking out over the fields.  We were able to watch it for a time as we walked along the eastward path, swiveling its head (not 360 degrees, but rather more like 220 degrees in either direction).  At one point it was suddenly accosted by another owl, fluttered it wings and hopped up into the air, landing back on its same perch as its sibling(?) flew away.  The darkness grew and as we got farther and farther away we could still make out the silhouette on the roof.

Farther up the trail, another owl (or one of the same ones) was sitting on a post not ten feet from the trail just nonchalantly staring at the seven of us-three humans and four dogs-never so much as flinching, except to nod slightly from side to side, listening as one of us spoke. The seven of us stood there for a few minutes staring back before going on our way. The next night, just 100 yards or so down the path, we saw the silhouette of huge, round figure with pointy ears bobbing on a narrow branch, a perch upon which I never had before seen nor would I expect to see a large raptor.  It casually watched over the field, once again it appeared to be completely unconcerned with us as we ambled underneath it and continued home.

Always keep your eyes open and happy raptoring!

More Osprey

We took the dogs for a romp with some friends to Coot Lake and the backside of the Boulder Reservoir and were treated to an Osprey hunting.  We might have seen more than one, or possibly the same bird fly back around a few times, checking out its favorite coves, searching for dinner.  We never actually saw it catch anything but were witness to some impressive flying displays.  The Osprey would slowly circle overhead and when it spied something below would stop in a mid-air hover for a few seconds, with wings flapping overhead, almost looking like a kite, before it continued on, or, a few times, gracefully dove down toward the water.  If it had been able to grasp onto a meal, its perfectly evolved eyes would have spotted it and adjusted its vision to judge the distance and depth, using uniquely designed talons with bumpy spicules arranged all over it to cling onto the slippery fish, while its specially coated feathers would have kept the moisture from soaking in so the bird could carry its (relatively) heavy prey out of the water.  However, this probably young bird only skimmed the surface of the lake and rose up and away empty-taloned.  It or its friend or family member came back over numerous times but never did we see one with dinner.

The Amazing Osprey

     The osprey is certainly one of the most intriguing and observable raptors around.  They are a Darwinian dream bird, evolved exclusively to hunt fish, with specialized eyes, talons, feathers.  They are able to thrive in almost any environment all over the world.  Sometimes called "fish hawk" or "fish eagle" for its preferred  and basically only food source, the birds have prospered in recent years in Colorado with the numerous ponds, lakes and reservoirs that exist and have been created all over the state, not to mention an extensive river system.  Locally, the birds have taken especially well to man-made nesting platforms as if they were part of the natural habitat.  If we build them, they will come. They have popped up all over the Boulder area, anywhere near a body of water, on farms, public utility lands and even in the middle of the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont. And, they are almost always occupied from April through the summer, even when they are relatively close to each other.
     I recently stopped by the Legion park overlook to check out the Osprey nest there and was pleasantly surprised to find out I had been mistaken in my previous visit (and blogpost).  Then, I had observed three bodies on the eastern nest and a fourth bird fly up to and perch on the more central platform.  I much too quickly assumed that the last bird was just stopping for a break and actually "belonged" to the other nest. As I checked out the area this time, I immediately saw there were two heads on that eastern nest, without much white, probably juveniles, correlating with that first visit.  However, as I scanned left to the water and the other platform, I was stunned to see three more heads poking out of the nest there, realizing I had indeed been wrong before.  As I continued my scan west I spotted two more flying over the water. The Osprey's wings are narrow and slightly pointed, in between a hawk and falcon, and have distinct flying style as they pass over the water searching for fish below.
     So, there are two full families and at least seven osprey between the two nests.  I wonder what would happen if they built a third platform down there as well.  There is actually another platform fairly closeby at the back of Walden Ponds, not to mention many north and east of town and I might need to get out and look at some more of them.
     Another great area to spot Osprey is actually along I-70 between Glenwood Springs and Fruita.  If you are driving that way in the late spring through summer, keep your eyes peeled.  There are a lot of ponds along the way, great fishing spots along the Colorado River and numerous platforms visible from the highway.  Also, especially earlier in the summer, it can be a great section for Bald Eagles as well, because of the same habitat and food source reason.

Happy Returns

Upon my return from a three week trip to Brasil I was greeted by a series of local birding sights and signs that assured me all was "normal" around here.  First, as we were driving home from DIA on C-470 we noticed an adult and a juvenile Bald Eagle on the prominent nest along the way, which I thought was a good start, especially considering the mountains were very hazy.  Then, that afternoon, the first time I took the dogs out, I was greeted by both a pair of Swainson's Hawks (likely from the nearby cemetery nest) and a pair of Red-tails (likely from the Michigan/Simpson nest) soaring over Rothman Open Space.

I remembered having received a message while I was gone that my binoculars (which were actually just old and falling apart) were ready at Mike's Camera, so I went in.  I had originally brought them in to see if they could be repaired; they weren't sure but could send them out to a Nikon place in Longmont and it would cost me $25 plus any parts needed.  When they brought up a brand new pair of Nikon Monarch 3s, I was quite surprised but overjoyed.  I had done a little research and they were probably the pair I would buy (that is could actually kind of afford) if I had actually needed a new pair.  My old ones were 10X35 (I think), easy to use/focus and a very comfortable size and weight.  The new pair are a little heavier and I am still getting used to the feel and vision, but they are certainly more powerful and much clearer once sighted and focused.

The next day on the way back into Boulder I stopped at the Legion Park overlook to check out the Osprey platform(s). The new Monarch 3s worked great and I quickly sighted an adult and two juvenile Osprey on the eastern nest and platform.  As I scanned the water and area, I noticed another adult fly up from the water's edge to the more central platform that doesn't appear to have a nest, meaning it probably was the mate from the first family.

Since then I have frequently observed the Red-tails (as many as three flying together), the Swainson's, some American Kestrels and a couple of Turkey Vultures over Rothman, plus a lone adult Osprey on Valmont, likely one of the Legion Park family, so all appears to be well in the local raptor front.

A little Brasil birding

When I arrived at our hotel in Salvador, Brasil, my eyes were immediately drawn to a "Birds of Brazil" tome on the bookshelf in the lobby and knew I would have to peruse it.  Outside, I was immediately stuck by the constant presence and sometime huge numbers of Black Vultures everywhere in Brasil.  I do mean everywhere, even in downtown Rio, you can rarely go more than a minute without seeing at least one soaring overhead or perched on a high up spot, and often it was many, dozens, often interspersed with Frigate birds (especially above Copacabana Beach in Rio) and occasionally a couple of Turkey Vultures.

My first chance to look at and utilize the book was sitting out by the pool when what appeared to be a Caracara-like bird flew over the hotel.  I thought I had seen something similar previously and now I had the time so I ran inside to grab the book and brought it out to my chair.  I flipped through it was amazed at all the colors and different birds that can be seen in this huge and diverse country.  The raptor section was many pages and I was fascinated by all the varieties of hawks, falcons, kites, eagles, harriers and others, including numerous caracaras, although none appeared to be my rather plain sighting, which could have either been a juvenile of some sort, or maybe just a Black Vulture at a strange angle.

A day or so later while walking through the local neighborhood I heard a high-pitched shriek that sounded very raptor-like and looked up to see one, then two, then a third small raptor flying among the trees.  My first impression was something along the lines of a Cooper's or Sharp-shinned, but certainly some interesting new tropical species.  Maybe  a Roadside Hawk or one of the many cool looking smaller accipiters from the book.  I got a decent look at one and immediately grabbed the book upon returning to the hotel.  I scanned all the small hawks, ruling out most and narrowing down the possibilities.  Not a Roadside.  Upon studying all the pictures and descriptions, of the wings, head, tails, habitat, voice, I am 99% I spotted a young family of South American Sharp-shinned hawks, just like the ones I occasionally see near my home.

Otherwise, I did not see a ton of spectacular birds to report.  They were many water fowl, egrets, herons, some smaller colorful LBJs in the bushes and trees, and maybe an Osprey or two flying over the ocean, but this trip was more about the soccer and the minimal birding was just an extra treat.

Here is one last short post of local raptor tidbits before I head to Brasil and the World Cup (see my blog here: http://copabound.blogspot.com/ ).  If I see any Brazilian raptors of note (although we are not going to the rainforest at all this trip) I will try to post.

The Swainson’s Hawks are definitely on the cemetery nest in Lafayette.  If I drive to work, I can usually see one of them atop the nest as I wait for the light on 111^th at Baseline. I often see one soaring in the afternoon as well.  I am curious to check this nest out and look for the babies after I get back.  There are a lot of other Swainson's in the area and probably a couple of nests along Arapahoe between Lafayette and Boulder.

Likewise, the Red Tail nest at Simpson and Michigan is very active.  Even with the leaves you can usually see an adult on the nest and often catch one flying into the nest.  The babies will be very visible as they grow.  I see one of the adults (likely the male) almost every morning and every evening sitting on the T-post in the middle of the prairie dog field on the southern tract of Rothman Open Space, east of the rec center and skate park.  I have often laughed at these posts, but this bird really likes it.  If it flies it is always coming from or going in the direction of Simpson/Michigan.  He also likes to sit in the trees by the bridge and makes runs over the prairie dog field.  Although I have seen him eating smaller things, I have yet to see him catch a prairie rat.

I never figured out where the Cooper’s nest is located and have not observed them flying around as much.  However, the Kestrels have been very active, and although I don’t know of any specific nests, I think there might be a couple close by.

I did see an eagle soaring high over Lafayette this week, but nothing else of note.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any updates on any of the GHO nests.

Happy Raptoring!