BIRDING TO THE EDG

This past weekend Nikon held a birding weekend event with Jax Outdoor Gear in Fort Collins, Colorado. The rain that was forcasted held off for both of our field trips and we were able to see some very nice birds. One in particular is this Chestnut-sided Warbler that was found out at Crow Valley Campground on our way to Pawnee National Grasslands on Sunday. Even though the bird does certainly pass through here on migration I was absolutely stunned at the incomplete plumage this bird had. As you can see above there is evidence of the black face mask, rufous flanks, and yellow crown coming in, but this time of year I would have expected this bird to be in full breeding plumage. I would expect the mantle to be streaked in all plumages/ages. I am not 100% sure, but I would guess this is a first-year female given the drab nature of the bird.

Although this is a bit late in migration; I do know that these birds breed in northern Wyoming and the Black Hills, South Dakota despite what all of the range maps say. I formerly worked for Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory in those areas and we saw good numbers of Chestnut-sided Warblers up there in mid-summer. The standard breeding range for this species is northern United States east of the Rockies and even stretches down the length of the Appalachian mountains. These birds breed in secondary habitats and studies show that they have been increasing their range because of this.

This bird often moves like a gnatcatcher bopping around with its tail cocked up. This bird was difficult to photograph for that reason. My Nikon EDG binoculars came in handy with it's excellent field-of-view, even at that short distance. It was nice not to have to follow the warbler with its exact quickness or I would've been dead in the water. Can you notice the remnants of fall plumage? What I see is a partially green mantle not to mention the undeveloped face and breast. This is the first time I have seen a transitional Chestnut-sided of this conglomeration. The group I had with me and I watched this little bugger for about ten minutes while I tried to get more photos. This was certainly our best bird of the day.

We continued on to the grasslands in search of Chestnut-collared Longspur. We focused in the areas of the short-grass where there were perennial bunchgrasses of 4-5 inches (where these longspurs breed), but came up empty. Of course, we had a multitude of McCown's Longspurs along the roadside skylarking and singing their flute-like song. We even had a first-year Golden Eagle buzz our heads.

I am definitely planning another trip to the Pawnee while these birds are breeding to get some more photos. Our weekend was filled with great birds and I thank Jackie for her studious nature! Good birding to all and I hope this post provided useful information for you.

This bird was photographed with a Nikon D200 and a 300 mm AF-S F4 Nikkor lens.