The Natural History Journal

Ovenbirds

One of the warblers that is an annual spring migrant on the Chico, Ovenbirds are necessarily dull in plumage because […]

Big Bad Bird Predator

This winter I reported up to 14 Long-eared Owls were roosting in the banding station woods. The need to keep […]

Watch Your Step

Hawk food for sure but the annual warning here to watch where you are stepping on warm days. I didn’t […]

Rare Bird: Golden-Winged Warbler

warbA female Golden-winged Warbler was found on Sunday in the willows below the small headquarters pond.  It was still there […]

Time for Phalaropes

The three species of phalaropes are shorebirds who forage mostly on the water’s surface where there is a midge hatch […]

Chestnut-Sided Warbler

One of the few warblers with chestnut coloration, Chestnut-sided Warbler is an eastern species so Monday’s birders were happy to […]

Bird Predator

Many birders who come to Chico have never seen a swift fox here. But, driving in the shortgrass prairie 2-tracks […]

Ground Nesting Bird Warning

American Badger is a resident on the plains and Chico is no exception. Although their primary food source on the […]

Lark Bunting

Colorado’s State Bird, Lark Bunting. Males (here) and females are noticeably different in appearance. These sparrows, not buntings, are birds […]

I’m so Special

The bird who sings his name all day long, Dickcissel, seems to me to be singing…”I’m so special” over and […]

Grasshopper Sparrow

All habitats have grasshoppers. Native grasslands have the most grasshopper species and they become food for all grassland birds. It […]

Pronghorn Progress Report

In February 2018, Colorado Parks and Wildlife captured and radio-collared five additional animals on the Chico as part of their ongoing study of pronghorn movement and behavior in southeastern Colorado.

The Teal Called Northern Shoveler

Read this and the next two entries to see how Northern Shoveler (above photo) is a teal, very closely related to Blue-winged Teal and Cinnamon Teal.

Scavengers

Hooked beak but no talons, so North American vultures are not raptors.

Adios Long-Eared Owls

Long-eared Owls, sometimes wintering on the Chico, are vole specialists. Although they nest and roost in dense habitats, they hunt in open areas.

Come on Warblers

The first “good” warbler of spring was a singing male Northern Parula in the headquarters willows.

Our Largest Sparrow

Closely related to the common wintering White-crowned Sparrow, the largest sparrow in North America, Harris’s Sparrow, was feeding on the ground next to the Leather Shop, feeding with other Zonotrichia...

Bird Food: Tiger Beetles

Unobserved by most humans, but not to birds who forage on the ground, tiger beetles are beginning to emerge from burrows.

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