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Yellow-Headed Blackbirds By the 100's

Dec 13, 2019

Yellow-Headed Blackbirds By the 100's

While huge flocks of blackbirds are not uncommon, particularly in agricultural settings, I was startled in early October 2019 by more than 1500 blackbirds with one thing in common--yellow heads. When I first saw this huge flock of blackbirds (a "murmuration" in birding terminology), I just assumed that they were our common red-winged blackbirds. The birds were flying away from me, so I took a few pics and watched them twist and turn like a school of fish evading a shark. Then

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The Great Varied Thrush Stakeout of 2019

Dec 9, 2019

The Great Varied Thrush Stakeout of 2019

While I was visiting my big brother, Steve Hart, in Lakewood, Colorado, he created a small birding sensation when he spotted a Varied Thrush in his backyard. Varied thrushes are a West Coast bird. They are almost unheard of in the Texas Panhandle and I've certainly never seen one. They also don't belong in Jefferson County, Colorado. But about once per year, a birder spots one bird in that area of the Denver metro. This year, that person was my brother, who enjoys watching bi

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Northern Parula in Palo Duro Canyon

Dec 1, 2019

Northern Parula in Palo Duro Canyon

Someone needed to tell this bird it was the middle of November and he wasn't supposed to be here. I was birding at Palo Duro Canyon State Park early in the morning of Saturday, November 16, 2019. I spotted this little bird along the Comanche Trail, which runs behind Hackberry Campground along the creek and is one of the best birding trails in the park. Typical for a warbler, this bird was incredibly difficult to photograph at all, much less photograph well, because warblers a

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