We decided to head for our cabin in Forbes Park for 4th of July...hoping for a bit cooler weather. Our cabin sets at about 9,600 ft. We saw a total of 3 Red Crossbills, including female with what appeared to be nesting materials.
Loved watching the Western Wood-Peewee's "changing of the guard" as they would take turns at the nest. The male had a particular small branch he loved to stand guard at...so much white-wash for such a tiny bird! When it came time to rotate or exchange food, the female seemed to signal to him, he would then go to a specific fence post and wait for her. They would then exchange places. It was so beautifully quiet we could hear their bills snapping! The young were barely visible when we arrived on Tuesday evening...just the tops of their heads moving. By yesterday afternoon we could see their beaks emerge as the parents would approach the nest.
We also watched a Ruby-crowned Kinglet scolding a ground squirrel. His crest was not raised, but still quite visible on the back of his head. I hate to admit this but I finally went over and spooked the Ground Squirrel...it seemed such an unfair contest!
Now for the part I hope will not get me laughed off this site! At around 4:30 yesterday afternoon Paul heard a distant call. He kept asking me if I heard it. We both became quite still and listened intently. What we heard was more than a little eerie sounding. Both of us immediately thought an owl of some kind...but calling in the daytime??? It was very cloudy and cool. We followed the call to the old growth stand of mixed pine and spruce on the lot adjacent to ours. The call became louder. Soon after we entered the forest the calling stopped.
Puzzled we continued on our walk...I kept telling myself it could not be an owl, but on the way back to the cabin started (just in case) running through the bird calls on my Iphone. Paul was a little ahead of me. When I came to Boreal Owl...I looked up and Paul was staring back at me...that was the call we had heard...we were certain. No internet and no books on owls at the cabin. We opened every window in the cabin and Paul stayed glued on the back steps until supper. We at supper on the deck all the while listening....nothing. While I was cleaning up and getting things in order for our early morning departure...he was still outside. At around 8:45 he came running back in...saying "it's calling and sounds fairly close". We grabbed the flashlights, bins, and iPhone and out we went. We followed the call to the main road...when it abruptly started calling from the other side. During this time we heard a Great Horned Owl calling from behind us...from that point on the Boreal Owl call kept becoming more distant...No mistaking the difference between the calls.
When we arrived home this morning Paul broke out Scott Rashid's "Small Mountain Owls", there on page 154 was the following "Their snipe-like winnowing call, at times, can be heard during the day but is most often heard after dark. Boreal Owls can be located in the fall, specifically September and October close to or during full moon nights (Palmer Rawinski 1988) when they often respond to a playback of the territorial call."
I only wish we had actually seen it...we will definitely mark our calendars to be at the cabin September/October this year!
Polly Wren and Paul Neldner
La Veta, CO
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