An easy ID this time, no question. This bright male posed for more than a minute, then flew into the treetop, and soon disappeared. (For once, the camera was handy.) The dove looks as surprised as I was. Of course, I immediately made sure to restock the feeders with sunflower seed. Hope he returns soon.The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is said to be common to eastern deciduous forests and orchards, and allegedly hybridizes with our Black-headed Grosbeaks (one male watched from the feeder while this guy visited). My older bird book* calls this bird a "rare straggler" who "has a propensity to wander far from its eastern range." One was collected in 1938 south of Denver, and they have been recorded breeding at Longmont, further north.
References online: Rose-breasted Grosbeak in Colorado, Auk (1938?); Habits, etc. Shawnee Audubon, Illinois, no date.
I'll update this post after checking with a local bird authority for more information, but I get the idea that sightings are more common here than in the past. Perhaps there's hope of seeing him again.
Welcome, stay as long as you like! But honey, you're not in Kansas anymore!
——
* Niedrach, Robert J. and Robert B. Rockwell. 1939. The Birds of Denver and the Mountain Parks. The Colorado Museum of Natural History, Popular Series No. 5.
3 comments:
Maybe he's on vacation? :)
Yeah, or (apparently) on his way home from spring break in the tropics. Thanks for stopping by, Dave.
Great find.
Great photograph.
He's not in Kansas.
Our spring was shot, it went from winter to summer. 91 yestersay, 60's today
We have posted:
Alaska's Haul Road - The Dalton Highway.
A 414 mile gravel road,
to the Arctic Ocean
Come join us for the trip,
Troy and Martha
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