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Colorado Birds the Colorado Field Ornithologists’ Quarterly Vol. 48 No. 4 Fall 2014 Colorado Birds The Colorado Field Ornithologists’ Quarterly Loggerhead Shrikes The Five Seasons Double Clutching Wrens Colorado Field Ornithologists PO Box 643, Boulder, Colorado 80306 cfobirds.org Colorado Birds (USPS 0446-190) (ISSN 1094-0030) is published quarterly by the Colo- rado Field Ornithologists, P.O. Box 643, Boulder, CO 80306. Subscriptions are obtained through annual membership dues. Nonprofit postage paid at Louisville, CO. POST- MASTER: Send address changes to Colorado Birds, P.O. Box 643, Boulder, CO 80306. Officers and Directors of Colorado Field Ornithologists: Dates indicate end of current term. An asterisk indicates eligibility for re-election. Terms expire 5/31. Officers: President: Bill Kaempfer, Boulder, 2015; [email protected]; Vice Presi- dent: Christian Nunes, Boulder, 2015*; [email protected]; Secretary: Larry Modesitt, Greenwood Village, 2015; [email protected]; Treasurer: Tom Wilberd- ing, Boulder, 2015*; [email protected] Directors: Jim Beatty, Durango, 2014; Christy Carello, Golden, 2016*; Lisa Edwards, Falcon, 2014*; Ted Floyd, Lafayette, 2014*; Mike Henwood, Grand Junction, 2015*; Brenda Linfield, Boulder, 2016; Joe Roller, Denver, 2015; David Gillilan, 2016*. Colorado Bird Records Committee: Dates indicate end of current term. An asterisk indicates eligibility to serve another term. Terms expire 12/31. Chair: Doug Faulkner, Arvada, 2016; [email protected] Secretary: Rachel Hopper, Fort Collins Committee Members: John Drummond, Monument, 2016; Brandon Percival, Pueblo West, 2015*; Bill Schmoker, Longmont, 2016; David Silverman, Rye, 2014; Glenn Wal- bek, Castle Rock, 2015. Mark Peterson, Colorado Springs, 2016* Colorado Birds Quarterly: Editor: Peter Burke, [email protected] Staff: Christian Nunes (Photo Editor), [email protected]; Tony Leukering (In the Scope Editor), [email protected]; Ted Floyd (Conversations Editor), tfloyd@ aba.org; Peter Gent (News from the Field Editor), [email protected]; Christy Carello (Sci- ence Editor), [email protected] Annual Membership Dues (renewable quarterly): General $25; Youth (under 18) $12; Institution $30. Membership dues entitle members to a subscription to Colorado Birds, which is published quarterly. Back issues/extra copies may be ordered for $6.50. Send requests for extra copies/back issues, change of address and membership renewals to CFO, P.O. Box 643, Boulder, CO 80306; make checks out to Colorado Field Ornitholo- gists. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. COPYRIGHT © 2014 by Colorado Field Ornithologists. Reproduction of articles is permitted only under consent from the publisher. Works by U.S. and Canadian governments are not copyrighted. 258 Colorado Birds Fall 2014 Vol. 48 No. 4 The Colorado Field Ornithologists’ Quarterly Vol. 48 No. 4 Fall 2014 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE ....................................... 260 Bill Kaempfer ABOUT THE AUTHORS ......................................... 261 CFO BOARD MEETING MINUTES ......................... 263 Larry Modesitt MOVEMENTS, MIGRATION AND BREEDING BY LOGGERHEAD SHRIKES IN EL PASO COUNTY .... 266 Susan Craig THE FIVE SEASONS .............................................. 272 Ted Floyd MALE ROCK AND CANYON WRENS EVINCE THEIR FITNESS AS SINGLE PARENTS ................... 276 Nat Warning NEWS FROM THE FIELD: fall 2014 ................... 282 Peter Gent CFO BIRDING TRIP REPORT ................................ 294 Ted Floyd IN THE SCOPE: IDENTIFYING CURVE-BILLED THRASHER SUBSPECIES: WHY AND HOW .......... 296 Tony Leukering THE 70TH report OF THE CBRC ......................... 305 Doug Faulkner THE HUNGRY BIRD: Canyon Wren, WHITE-LINED SPHINX MOTH ............................. 312 Horsetooth Dave Leatherman Reservoir, Lar- imer County, 30 May 2014. BOOK REVIEW: THE SIBLEY GUIDE Photo by Dave TO BIRDS SECOND EDITION ............................. 316 Leatherman Christian Nunes PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE My Patch Bill Kaempfer We all enjoy the birding tales and reports we hear from colleagues about familiar and not-so-familiar birding spots; for instance, Dave Leatherman’s ongoing exploration of Mountain View Cemetery in Ft. Collins, Ted Floyd’s frequent reports on the Greenlee Preserve near his home in Lafayette or Brandon Percival’s monitoring of Chico Basin Ranch just outside Colorado Springs. More recently, we’ve learned quite a bit from David Suddjian’s reports from Park County. Dave, Ted, Brandon and David have all discovered that a long standing, frequently repeated birding experience is yet another way to maximize one’s birding experience. You may recall that last year I reported in this col- umn my New Year’s Resolution to report all of my ob- servations to eBird; and since January 1 I’ve kept that Bill Kaempfer up. This year I’ve picked a patch! As parks go, Smith Park on Gilbert Street (aka 5th Street) between Euclid and Aurora in Boulder is not much of a park. While it is an official Boulder City Park, complete with a picnic table and bench, it is actually just an old, overgrown house lot. I try to get up there a few times each month for a quick lunch break. As of Au- gust 17, I’ve tallied 22 visits and 41 species! I’ve seen first hand just how much vegetation can grow in a wet year, too. It’s a nice spot, nestled between pricy houses at the foot of Flag- staff Mountain. It has views of the Flatirons and the east side of the property is actually the bed of Gregory Creek flowing down from a more famous and popular birding site, Gregory Canyon in Boulder Mountain Parks. The location and extensive vegetation has made for quite a few pleasing and unexpected observations. In July there was a singing Red-eyed Vireo, and back in May I had a Broad-winged Hawk fly over. Now my patch is telling me that fall migration has be- gun with Western Wood Pewee, Black-headed Grosbeak and Yellow- breasted Chat among the new visitors popping in. Even more valuable and interesting is what I’ve learned through repeated visits. For instance, a Cordilleran Flycatcher didn’t show up until May 28, but it has been present and singing right here in Boul- der ever since, now joined by a couple of presumed youngsters. The Lesser Goldfinch pattern is just the same while Ruby-crowned King- let is just the opposite—one was singing away at Smith Park from 260 Colorado Birds Fall 2014 Vol. 48 No. 4 April 28 until June 13 after which it departed for its spruce breeding ground several thousand feet on up in the mountains. So that is my advice—find your own patch and bird it regularly. No matter what birds you discover, I suspect you’ll ultimately find that you’ve learned something new and enjoyed the experience. Bill Kaempfer, [email protected] ABOUT THE AUTHORS Loggerhead Shrikes in El Paso County Susan Craig received a Master Banding Permit in 1976. She learned to band raptors and owls, and worked as an owl bander at Whitefish Point Bird Observatory in 1988. She has published several pieces in Colorado Birds and North American Bird Bander. Currently she focuses on songbird and shrike banding. The Five Seasons Ted Floyd is editor of Birding, author of the Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America and serves as a director on the CFO board. He has a B.A. in Ecology and Evolutionary Bi- ology from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in Ecology from Penn State University. An expert in avian nocturnal flight calls, husband and father of two children, Ted gets very little sleep. News From the Field Peter Gent has lived in Boulder and worked at the National Center for Atmospheric Research since 1976. At NCAR, some people think his real job is birdwatching and going on birding trips. He has twice been the President of CFO, twice been the Chairman of the CFO Bird Records Committee and was a co- editor of the CFO Journal in the mid 1980s. Parenting Behavior in Male Rock and Canyon Wrens Nat Warning is an amateur birder, but has been privileged to study Rock and Canyon Wrens for the past three seasons (sup- ported by a research grant from CFO in 2012). He obtained his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin and his M.S. from the University of Northern Colorado. Before moving to Colorado, he worked as an aviculturist at the International Crane Founda- tion where he assisted with Whooping Crane reintroductions. He continues to study Rock Wren nesting behavior and current- ly is seeking gainful employment. Colorado Birds Fall 2014 Vol. 48 No. 4 261 Nora Covy is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Biology from the University of Northern Colorado. She obtained her B.S. from Miami University in Ohio and her NABC training and banding certification through Point Blue Conservation Sci- ence in California. She has worked at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, the Kalamazoo Valley Bird Observatory and most re- cently has worked with White-winged Swallows in Venezuela as part of the Golondrinas de las Americas Project. Nora currently studies cliffs, and the birds that climb around on them. Lauryn Benedict is an assistant professor of Biology at the Uni- versity of Northern Colorado. She obtained her B.S. from Cor- nell University, and her Ph.D. from UC Berkeley. Lauryn studies bird song and behavior. You can often find her in Colorado parks and natural areas tracking little brown birds. Dave Leatherman is a photographer, entomologist and expert on Colorado birds. He is a regular contributor to Colorado Birds as author of The Hungry Bird. His photographs of birds carry- ing food are of such high quality that many of the invertebrates can be identified to species. He obtained his B.S. from Marietta College and his M.S. from Duke University. When not birding, Dave has been known to occasionally enjoy a night on the town listening to live jazz. In The Scope: Identifying Curve-billed Thrasher Subspecies Tony Leukering is a freelance ornithologist currently based in Florida. His primary interest in birds is migration, and his work has included nearly 14 years at the Rocky Mountain Bird Ob- servatory.
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