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Old 06-15-2019, 04:31 PM
 
Location: colorado springs, CO
9,512 posts, read 6,014,765 times
Reputation: 28830

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Twice this last week I’ve seen birds that I have never in my life seen anywhere in Colorado before. I’m certain these are not Colorado birds.

The first one I must have been hallucinating because there is no way it was anything but a Pelican. In a golf course, flying out of a man made wetland with tall reeds. The only other person who saw it was my 15 year old autistic son who started yelling something that sounded like “Moa-bird”.

Turns out there actually is a bird called a Moa but it is flightless & looks like an ostrich. This bird was huge, definitely flying & had a large, cupped lower beak.

Then a few days later I saw a pair of birds; both white, large with very long white wings with black tips. Yellow beaks. I swear at first I thought they were a seagull species but that can’t be possible. Right? The only potential factor I can think of is that for the first time in many years; Colorado is out of a drought. We have had above average snow & therefore runoff.

Obviously, neither seagulls or pelicans belong in Colorado. Of course, seven years ago I saw two birds & immediately after I looked them up, I actually called a couple of serious birdwatching organizations because I just knew I had seen a pair of Magnificent Frigates & they both poo-poo’d me.

Reading a website that next month, I found out that there had been a confirmed sighting in Denver, so ...
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Old 06-15-2019, 05:52 PM
 
Location: Approximately 50 miles from Missoula MT/38 yrs full time after 4 yrs part time
2,308 posts, read 4,099,618 times
Reputation: 5025
.......


..............a pair of birds; both white, large with very long white wings with black tips.......
.....WHOOPING CRANES ...[/quote]
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Old 06-16-2019, 10:39 PM
 
9,868 posts, read 7,592,348 times
Reputation: 22118
Quote:
Originally Posted by coschristi View Post
Twice this last week I’ve seen birds that I have never in my life seen anywhere in Colorado before. I’m certain these are not Colorado birds.

The first one I must have been hallucinating because there is no way it was anything but a Pelican. In a golf course, flying out of a man made wetland with tall reeds. The only other person who saw it was my 15 year old autistic son who started yelling something that sounded like “Moa-bird”.

Turns out there actually is a bird called a Moa but it is flightless & looks like an ostrich. This bird was huge, definitely flying & had a large, cupped lower beak.

Then a few days later I saw a pair of birds; both white, large with very long white wings with black tips. Yellow beaks. I swear at first I thought they were a seagull species but that can’t be possible. Right? The only potential factor I can think of is that for the first time in many years; Colorado is out of a drought. We have had above average snow & therefore runoff.

Obviously, neither seagulls or pelicans belong in Colorado. Of course, seven years ago I saw two birds & immediately after I looked them up, I actually called a couple of serious birdwatching organizations because I just knew I had seen a pair of Magnificent Frigates & they both poo-poo’d me.

Reading a website that next month, I found out that there had been a confirmed sighting in Denver, so ...
There are indeed white pelicans in CO. I used to see them often at Chatfield Reservoir. Have also seen them elsewhere in CO. What we do not get are BROWN pelicans.

White pelicans fish differently from the way brown pelicans do. They are not just the same bird in different colors. The only places I’ve seen brown pelicans is along sea coasts.

We also do get several kinds of gulls in CO. They are definitely in Rocky Mountain states. Some people think they first came inland to Great Salt Lake and then never went back to the coast.

During long stretches of odd weather, we get various species that normally don’t come here. Sometimes they stray very far from their usual course. I’m not going to name what I saw back in 2002, a drought year following a couple of other drought years, including dry winters. I looked it up as soon as I got home...couldn’t believe it but the outrageously exotic look was unmistakeable.

The day I see something like a Longtailed Duck (formerly known as the Oldsquaw) or either of the puffin species in CO, I swear I will drop dead from shock. That said, I recently read that there had been a confirmed sighting in CO years back of a Surf Scoter, and of a Greater Roadrunner on Monarch Pass, a mere 11000’ or so altitude. Birds really get around!

Last edited by pikabike; 06-16-2019 at 11:15 PM..
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Old 06-17-2019, 12:19 PM
 
Location: NW Nevada
18,126 posts, read 15,515,021 times
Reputation: 17108
Have quite a few ravens hanging around. They are picking on the pigeons which is fine but they pick on the hawks and owls to which is not cool. There's plenty of pigeon to go around. Ravens go way out of their way and are pretty vicious picking on raptors. They will gang up and kill hawks , owls and even eagles.


Seen quite a few Shrikes. There's good hunting for these little badasses herebouts. I love watching the Shrikes. They keep mice on their toes. They have been hanging around the frog pond up the way a bit too. Them and a slew of various snakes go grocery shopping at the pond.


I've seen some really cool snakes there. Black and yellow, red and black even emerald green. I just call them all water snakes. The Shrikes pick off some of the smaller snakes as well as frogs. I think they actually prefer the snakes as they can catch them on drier ground.


For as small as they are Shrikes are very effective hunters. They can just zip in bing bang boom and be done. They come in low and level and then dive really sharp like. End of story. LOL, they are to cool for school.
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Old 06-17-2019, 12:24 PM
 
Location: San Diego
50,060 posts, read 46,570,390 times
Reputation: 33896
Quote:
Originally Posted by coschristi View Post
Twice this last week I’ve seen birds that I have never in my life seen anywhere in Colorado before. I’m certain these are not Colorado birds.

The first one I must have been hallucinating because there is no way it was anything but a Pelican. In a golf course, flying out of a man made wetland with tall reeds. The only other person who saw it was my 15 year old autistic son who started yelling something that sounded like “Moa-bird”.

Turns out there actually is a bird called a Moa but it is flightless & looks like an ostrich. This bird was huge, definitely flying & had a large, cupped lower beak.

Then a few days later I saw a pair of birds; both white, large with very long white wings with black tips. Yellow beaks. I swear at first I thought they were a seagull species but that can’t be possible. Right? The only potential factor I can think of is that for the first time in many years; Colorado is out of a drought. We have had above average snow & therefore runoff.

Obviously, neither seagulls or pelicans belong in Colorado. Of course, seven years ago I saw two birds & immediately after I looked them up, I actually called a couple of serious birdwatching organizations because I just knew I had seen a pair of Magnificent Frigates & they both poo-poo’d me.

Reading a website that next month, I found out that there had been a confirmed sighting in Denver, so ...
I've seen big white pelicans on a Colorado lake before. Really cool.

We have a local bunch of brown footed boobies here

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Location...alifornia.html
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Old 06-17-2019, 01:11 PM
 
13,262 posts, read 7,931,908 times
Reputation: 30752
Quote:
Originally Posted by greatblueheron View Post
LOL...they don't see well. But I love them...cute but funny looking.


I think they're cute too...except when they hiss. lol But I'm not afraid of them. They're harmless and timid creatures.
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Old 06-17-2019, 01:46 PM
 
Location: San Diego
50,060 posts, read 46,570,390 times
Reputation: 33896
Quote:
Originally Posted by NVplumber View Post
Have quite a few ravens hanging around. They are picking on the pigeons which is fine but they pick on the hawks and owls to which is not cool. There's plenty of pigeon to go around. Ravens go way out of their way and are pretty vicious picking on raptors. They will gang up and kill hawks , owls and even eagles.


Seen quite a few Shrikes. There's good hunting for these little badasses herebouts. I love watching the Shrikes. They keep mice on their toes. They have been hanging around the frog pond up the way a bit too. Them and a slew of various snakes go grocery shopping at the pond.


I've seen some really cool snakes there. Black and yellow, red and black even emerald green. I just call them all water snakes. The Shrikes pick off some of the smaller snakes as well as frogs. I think they actually prefer the snakes as they can catch them on drier ground.


For as small as they are Shrikes are very effective hunters. They can just zip in bing bang boom and be done. They come in low and level and then dive really sharp like. End of story. LOL, they are to cool for school.

They'll mock sparrows to bring them in then pounce on them.

I was riding at the beach when I noticed a falcon flying overhead and then saw this really stupid crow think he was gonna bug out that bird. Nope. that crow was lucky to escape. If the falcon really wanted it, it would have killed it right there.
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Old 06-17-2019, 02:25 PM
 
Location: colorado springs, CO
9,512 posts, read 6,014,765 times
Reputation: 28830
Quote:
Originally Posted by Montana Griz View Post
.......
..............a pair of birds; both white, large with very long white wings with black tips.......
.....WHOOPING CRANES ...
[/quote]
Quote:
Originally Posted by pikabike View Post
There are indeed white pelicans in CO. I used to see them often at Chatfield Reservoir. Have also seen them elsewhere in CO. What we do not get are BROWN pelicans.

White pelicans fish differently from the way brown pelicans do. They are not just the same bird in different colors. The only places I’ve seen brown pelicans is along sea coasts.

We also do get several kinds of gulls in CO. They are definitely in Rocky Mountain states. Some people think they first came inland to Great Salt Lake and then never went back to the coast.

During long stretches of odd weather, we get various species that normally don’t come here. Sometimes they stray very far from their usual course. I’m not going to name what I saw back in 2002, a drought year following a couple of other drought years, including dry winters. I looked it up as soon as I got home...couldn’t believe it but the outrageously exotic look was unmistakeable.

The day I see something like a Longtailed Duck (formerly known as the Oldsquaw) or either of the puffin species in CO, I swear I will drop dead from shock. That said, I recently read that there had been a confirmed sighting in CO years back of a Surf Scoter, and of a Greater Roadrunner on Monarch Pass, a mere 11000’ or so altitude. Birds really get around!
Thank you, both of you! I’ve lived here since I was 4 years old & I had no idea! I thought somebody would post & say I must have been mistaken or something. Do we even have enough of a food source around here?

My strangest bird sighting occurred here in Colorado Springs in 2006, at the house I was living in that was less than 1 mile from the Garden of the Gods & Pike National Forest. I’ve never posted about it here but I have over in the Unexplained/Paranormal forum.

I’ll just say that when the Native Americans complained that ‘white people’ disrespected their history by calling it ‘mythology’? They were right.
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Old 06-17-2019, 04:21 PM
 
Location: NW Nevada
18,126 posts, read 15,515,021 times
Reputation: 17108
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer View Post
They'll mock sparrows to bring them in then pounce on them.

I was riding at the beach when I noticed a falcon flying overhead and then saw this really stupid crow think he was gonna bug out that bird. Nope. that crow was lucky to escape. If the falcon really wanted it, it would have killed it right there.

I saw a Prairie Falcon kill a raven once. The ravens were messing with the nesting area in an abandoned complex on the base I worked on. One of the falcons was sitting on the nest and the ravens would fly in harassing it. Then the two culprit ravens pulled off a bit and were regrouping.


I heard this high shriek and the other falcon came diving in from way up. It hit one of the ravens straight on the back. Big explosion of feathers and the falcon rode it all the way to the ground in a shattered heap. The other raven beat feat.


It was way cool to see.
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Old 06-17-2019, 05:54 PM
 
Location: Omaha, Nebraska
10,297 posts, read 7,881,005 times
Reputation: 27606
Quote:
Originally Posted by coschristi View Post
Thank you, both of you! I’ve lived here since I was 4 years old & I had no idea! I thought somebody would post & say I must have been mistaken or something. Do we even have enough of a food source around here?
I can't see why you wouldn't. We have white pelicans and gulls (of various species) as well as Least Terns here in Nebraska. They just need water (of the right depth for their species) with fish in it to thrive.
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