If you were stymied on Monday, now can you name this bird? The photo was taken in Colorado in May. The answer will appear at the end of next Monday’s post.
Category: Birds
May Bird Quiz
Can you identify this bird? The photo was taken in Colorado during the month of May. The answer will appear next week.
Tiger Beetles, Take 2
We may not live in the deepest, darkest jungle, but that doesn’t stop me from hunting tigers—tiger beetles, that is. Last year, I wrote about my first tiger beetle hunt. Earlier this month we repeated the adventure.
Neither snow nor rain…
Last Saturday promised to be a great day. We were heading to Chico Basin Ranch. The ranch describe itself as a:
… 87,000-acre family-run, working cattle ranch that operates on the high prairie 30 miles southeast of Colorado Springs, Colorado. Its sprawling ranges of shortgrass and sandsage prairie, spring-fed lakes, creeks, and pools are home to diverse populations of birds, pronghorn, deer, fish, prairie dogs, coyote, badgers, and much more. … In addition to our cattle business, the Chico offers education, farming, recreation, sporting, arts, and hospitality programs.
It’s one of the best birding sites in our area, well worth a trip any time. In addition, they were hosting a “Birder Brunch” on Saturday, a free breakfast for those of us who bird there. I was eagerly anticipating good food, good company, and a day of exceptional birding. However…
A Different Kind of Birding Blog
Birding travel. Recent sightings. Ornithological news. Most birding blogs cover these and similar topics. That’s fine—it’s always enjoyable to hear about someone else’s birding adventures. But Birder’s Rules, written by Nicholas Lund, takes a totally different approach.
Birds Are Smarter than I Thought
We ooh and aah over their colorful plumage. We adore their antics. We marvel at their ability to soar, turn, and plummet. But how often do we admire birds for their intelligence? Read The Genius of Birds, and you’ll realize that being called a “bird brain” can be quite a compliment.
From fascinating behaviors to the minutest details of neurophysiology, author Jennifer Ackerman takes us on an incredible adventure into how birds think. Meet Alex, the African Grey Parrot who had a vocabulary of hundreds of English words, and knew how to use them. What’s more, he understood the concept, not only of numbers, but of zero.
April Quiz: Uncropped Photo
If you were stymied on Monday, now can you name this bird? The photo was taken in California in April. The answer will appear at the end of next Monday’s post.
April Bird Quiz
Can you name this bird? The photo was taken in California in April. I will post the uncropped photo on Saturday, giving you one more chance to identify this bird. The answer will appear at the end of next Monday’s post.
Birding Pueblo
For years, whenever I’ve gone to Pueblo to go birding, I’ve headed to Lake Pueblo state park. How can any place else compete with a large reservoir surrounded by arid open space, watered picnic areas, and, along the Arkansas River below the dam, a birdy stretch of riparian trees and bushes. Pueblo Reservoir gets its share of rarities as well—out-of-state gulls in particular. I’ve picked up a number of lifers there.
This time, however, we went to Pueblo and didn’t go to the state park! I’d heard that there are other places in Pueblo where you can find birds. Well, maybe.
Four Helpful Letters
Here’s a little quiz with two questions.
- What do ARLO, LEVI, ROSA, WILL, GREG, and CORA have in common?
- What do the following words have in common? MALL, HOME, LIMP, KILL, SURF, SAND, LIST, UNDO, WILL, DOVE, LITE, COTE, SATE, MASH, GLIB, HASH, SNOW, BARS, VEER, CORE, HASP and LISP
Mountain Plover 