Birds, Birding, and Hummingbirds (Denver: safe, moving, eat)

[allprolab]

Could someone send the hummingbirds downtown please??!! We've had our feeder our for awhile now and haven't seen a one.

There is an owl of some sort that we hear a LOT all times of the day. And there's a little black woodpecker that comes around now and then. I think that is pretty cool. I never got into birds too much but I've enjoyed watching them at the feeders but not as much as the cat does.

And I know this is about birds, but I swear the squirrels around here tease my dogs and cats.

[otowi]

The owl you're hearing during the day is probably not an owl. It is probably a dove, whose calls are often mistaken for owls. It would be very unusual for an owl to make frequent calls during the day.
Mourning Dove: Mourning Dove, Sounds, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
or possibly Eurasian Collared Dove: Eurasian Collared-Dove, Sounds, All About Birds - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

[allprolab]

It's the second one. I've seen two of them around quite a bit. Very interesting, thanks for clearing that up.

[mollygee]

There was a sighting at the Thornton rec center at one of the lakes, of about 20 huge white fluffy birds, about the size of geese. The birds were all in formation on the lake. I did not see them; a friend of mine said they were amazing and beautiful. Any ideas on what they may be?

Could the birds be the American White Pelican?

[otowi]

We do get quite a few American White Pelicans here and they are likely to hang out in flocks, but they are quite a bit bigger than geese - like twice as big. However, they are the most likely large white bird that sits on the lake. Here's a picture you can show the friend to see if it matches: http://wildlifewatcher.files.wordpre...3/dsc_4777.jpg By the way, they are not all white, when they fly you'll see black like this: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/7...bde25a9d_z.jpg

[mollygee]

Eagle spotted, yesterday...really? Are there eagles in Colorado Springs? (The birds.) Amazing, I am sure the wildlife is really abundant, so close to the mountains. I have seen mountain lions, coyotes, and some strange ugly spotted animal about the size of a tabby cat....may have just been a Ferrell ugly cat......sorry it was really ugly. We had a bear in our yard, but I missed him......also lovely raccoons living in my roof rafters...................finally plugged up every nook and cranny.............changed the pipes on the roof....so far, no raccoons....................yikes and yikes!!!!

Also, spotted a huge blue thing rolling down Cascade....can this be??? A city bus on Sunday?? Miracles, never cease!!!

[beezle1]

Originally Posted by mollygee

Eagle spotted, yesterday...really? Are there eagles in Colorado Springs?

I have seen eagles soaring above the foothills west of Garden of the Gods and 30th Street. I think I recall hearing about an eagle nest on the campus of the Fountain Valley School too.

[Mike from back east]

Saw a Robin today, rooting around in the mulch bed for worms or something edible. First one I've seen in a while, not sure they over-winter or what.

[Neditate]

Mike, this article from 2009 may explain it: Robins in winter not a happy sight

[dr.frog]

I spotted a robin in my back yard today too. It doesn't seem unreasonably early for them to have arrived.