Wildlife Sightings for the 2nd Week in April

First Gnat of the season (4/11/17)

First American Robin of the season (4/12/17)

Mule Deer (5) at Skyline and Majestic in Woodland Park (4/12/17)

Mule Deer (6) on Highway 67 and Research Drive (4/12/17)

Evening Grosbeak female(4/13/17)

The first Gnat of the season was hovering over my bananas in the kitchen, this means the insect eating birds will be coming soon and so will more gnats.

The first American Robin of the season was singing it's spring song.  The distinctive song of Cheerio, Cheerio, Cheerio, Cheerio caught my attention.  This bird has about 126 different songs in his repertoire. This bird is not for the beginner when learning to bird by ear, unless of course its spring!

The Mule Deer seen in Woodland Park are the locals that like to hang out in these neighborhoods.  This is one reason why we love to live here.

A female Evening Grosbeak came to my feeder and it was a lovely sight to see.  She was very cautious as she fed, looking around for any predators and spilling seed along the way.  Even though the female is more drab than the male, she still has the lime green beak and black wings with white.

Hope you enjoy next week.  I will be watching for wildlife, stay tuned!

Wildlife Sightings for the First Week of April

Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep (3/30/17) - From last week
Turkey Vulture (4/2/17)
Western and Mountain Bluebirds (All week)
Black-tailed Prairie Dogs (All week)
Williamson’s Sapsucker (4/7/17)

The Bighorn Sheep were down by the road just west of Dome Rock on CR1 (about a mile south of Evergreen Station). A Male with a huge rack was surrounded by females and youngsters. The young ones were jumping up and over hay bales, it was a great thing to see.

A Turkey Vulture flew in the Florissant valley, it was the first of the season for me.

The Western and Mountain Bluebirds are everywhere in the mountain area and will be here from now until the cold comes again. Such a beautiful sight to see the color of blue in all the brown and green!

The prairie dogs are out and they are hungry! The towns are very active and some have come down to the roads to see what they can find. Please be careful as you drive the mountain roads.

I woke up yesterday to my “nature” alarm. The Williamson’s Sapsuckers are back and their distinctive drumming sound was unmistakable. Check out this fabulous summer bird and be sure to listen to the last drumming sound to experience it for yourself.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Williamsons_Sapsucker/id

Williamson's Sapsucker

Learn how to identify Williamson's Sapsucker, its life history, cool facts, sounds and calls, and watch videos. A handsome woodpecker of the western mountains, the Williamson's Sapsucker, like other sapsuckers, specializes in drilling sap wells in trees.

allaboutbirds.org

Wildlife Sightings - Last week in March

Wildlife List

American Goldfinch (3/26/17)

"Weather Deer" on Tuesday (3/28/17)

Pair of Red Fox (3/28/17)

Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (3/29/17)

American Crows building nests in Pine Trees (All Week)

Red-tailed being mobbed by American Crows (All Week)

Last week was a great wildlife sightings week and all of them let us know that spring is here.

The American Goldfinch (AMGO)* is in this area all year round but the winter coloring is very drab.  This bird showed up with mostly breeding plumage of yellow, black and white, a nice change.

We had a storm front come through on Tuesday and the Mule deer told us it was coming.  Despite my activity only yards away from them, they stayed put under the cover of trees.  Within an hour the snow was falling. Because of the deer I got my outdoor chores done before it moved in.

With a  break in the storm and closer to dusk, my dog let me know that our resident Red Fox was around.  I was pleasantly surprised to see a second fox run after the first, there will be kits in the future!

A special sighting this week and probably all year, was the Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (BCRF)*.  The winter storm probably brought him in to feed on the hanging seed feeders.  The last time I saw this bird was above 10,000 feet, eating insects out of the snow.  During winter they can make their way to lower elevations and to see him in my territory was fantastic!

Another big sign of spring was the behavior of the local American Crows.  These birds have been very vocal calling to each other everyday and have been flying over with nesting material.  I have observed at least five nests being made in the pine trees.

The Red-tailed Hawk has noticed the activity too and comes in for a peek now and then.  The crows give chase and 3-4 mob him, there way of saying, leave.

I hope you have a chance to notice the signs of spring near your place, enjoy!

*Four-letter (English Name) Alpha Codes in accordance with the 57th American Ornithologists' Union (AOU).