Birding 202 at FCNC 9/15/12

I didn't much in the way of my own pictures while birding today - so these are not mine above, but these are two new birds for me from our trip today - the orange-crowned warbler and the Townsend's warbler.  There were many Townsend's to see and they were very beautiful to see.   There were also many goldfinches both lesser and American and we spent a lot of time trying to sort them out as their plumage this time of year is mostly not that brilliant breeding plumage that is easier to recognize.  A new call I learned that I think I have a fair chance of remembering into the future is that of the blue-gray gnatcatcher - we had several of those but no real good looks.

FCNC 9/8/12 evening

I think the above are three different black-crowned night herons?

Not sure what kind of duck this is?

I think this is a tree swallow but not sure - it was pretty far off....

It was getting dark so these pictures are pretty bad, but I believe this is a great egret, which kind of surprised me.  It was similar in size to a great blue heron and had black legs.

Labor Day Muscoco Mountain 2012

Muscoco Mountain is a North Cheyenne Canyon favorite of mine - lots of people go up Mt. Cutler, but many do not know of the turn-off to Muscoco - it does require a bit of climbing so people do not know the trail is there unless they've done some research with maps or Internet.  The one downside to this hike is that you have to either make it out and back, or you have to walk on the road back to Mt. Cutler's lot - we've always opted for the road, which is not ideal, but shorter and more appealing than out and back.

Chico Basin Birding 202 9/1/12

New birds:  Blue Grosbeak, Scaled Quail, Lark Bunting, Cedar Waxwing, Loggerhead Shrike, Sora,  Sage Thrasher, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs