The Colorado Red Rocks GTG that didn't happen.

05/20/2007 02:38:22 AM · #1

I went on my own, as I said I would!

If anyone knows what the birds are, let me know. I was excited to finally have a camera cool enough to catch them!

EDIT: I know what the little one is now, he's a ~~Blue Gray~~ Black-Tailed Gnatcatcher!

Message edited by author 2007-05-20 03:10:08.

sabphoto

Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+

05/20/2007 02:51:04 AM · #2

did the speckled b/w one come around you a lot? It looks a lot like what we called a camp robber when I was growing up there. They were mostly b/w with a tail like that. They had no worries about coming in and taking food right from you. I remember once my little brother and I were outside eating balona sandwiches and one came down and took most of his sandwich right out of his hand lol...he was mad.

You got some really nice images, makes me home sick :( I'll see if I can find out more about the birds. I remember the other but can't think of its name...edit to add...might be tree swallow

I guess the "camp robber" of my days is most likly the black tailed magpie.

Message edited by author 2007-05-20 03:07:48.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 ED

05/20/2007 02:53:46 AM · #3

No, the birds at Red Rocks aren't tame enough for that. This was shot at 135mm and then cropped a bit.

BeeCee

Nikon D40

05/20/2007 02:59:35 AM · #4

I'm almost positive the first is the western race of rufus-sided towhee, the second might be a blue-gray gnatcatcher, but I won't swear on it.
Lovely shots :)

eta; lol, okay, now I can swear on it?

Message edited by author 2007-05-20 03:00:40.

05/20/2007 03:01:17 AM · #5

Originally posted by BeeCee:

I'm almost positive the first is the western race of rufus-sided towhee, the second might be a blue-gray gnatcatcher, but I won't swear on it.
Lovely shots :)

eta; lol, okay, now I can swear on it?

I've been looking at photos on Google... it's definitely some kind of gnatcatcher, though the blue-grays still don't look exactly right.

Sigma 15-30mm f/3.5-4.5 EX Aspherical DG DF for Minolta

05/20/2007 03:02:51 AM · #6

Aha! Black-Tailed Gnatcatcher!

Though by the habitat descriptions, he's slightly off course. They're supposed to be in the Sonoran and Colorado deserts. Denver is a bit too far north, but not so much as to disqualify the sighting since it's so clearly the right bird!

Message edited by author 2007-05-20 03:12:01.

MrEd

Sony DSLR-A100

05/20/2007 09:00:28 AM · #7

Originally posted by Rebecca:

I went on my own, as I said I would!

Well dang....when was this posted? If it was on a Saturday, I couldn't go anyway.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

05/20/2007 10:28:14 AM · #8

Originally posted by MrEd:

Originally posted by Rebecca:
I went on my own, as I said I would!

Well dang....when was this posted? If it was on a Saturday, I couldn't go anyway.

It was about two weeks ago, and turned into last week's Roxborough trip.

wavelength

Nikon D300

05/20/2007 10:42:34 AM · #9

Those are beautiful becky! Wish we could have come out there a bit later in the season :(

05/20/2007 10:50:15 AM · #10

Originally posted by wavelength:

Those are beautiful becky! Wish we could have come out there a bit later in the season :(

The hike would have killed the kiddos. It damn near killed me this time out, and I'm very experienced with Red Rocks! Seriously, it's about six miles, lots of switchbacks, to gain a lot of elevation very quickly. I think you and Erin would have loved it, though. It's one of my favorite places to visit in the summer.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 ED

05/20/2007 10:51:29 AM · #11

Since it's so far off track if true, I submitted my gnatcatcher sighting to a local birding group. We'll see what they have to say.

I think the other one might be a Spotted Towhee.

Message edited by author 2007-05-20 10:54:04.

BeeCee

Nikon D40

05/20/2007 02:36:16 PM · #12

Originally posted by Rebecca:

Since it's so far off track if true, I submitted my gnatcatcher sighting to a local birding group. We'll see what they have to say.

I think the other one might be a Spotted Towhee.

Had to look that up, as it's not in my guide (older version) and found it's the same thing as I'd suggested :) Glad I got one right!

05/20/2007 08:35:51 PM · #13

An update on my possible black-tailed gnatcatcher:

I fired a note off to the Colorado Birding Society with this photo plus two more that were too blurry for my display standards, but that have different views and offer a bit more detail about plumage and confirm that the cap on his head isn't just a shadow.

The birders have been in a tizzy over it all day. They already had two people out at Red Rocks this morning looking for him, though they apparently didn't find him. They wanted more detail about where along the trail, so I narrowed it down for them and even checked the time on my EXIF data so they could pinpoint it more precisely.

I also found out from them that there's only one black-tailed gnatcatcher sighting on record in Colorado, and that was over in Grand Junction. Grand Junction, while highly unusual, isn't such a stretch since sightings in Utah are unusual but not unheard of. So if this little guy really is a black-tailed, then it's a sort of big deal. For the birders anyway.

It'll be interesting to see what they ultimately have to say about it!

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