Wintering Days in Mariana Butte

So this past week we had another Arctic cold front move in which gave us below 0 temps at night and highs in the single digits during the days here in Loveland. We also had a few inches of soft, fluffy snow. After we walked Hallie to afternoon Kindergarten one day, Thomas and I decided to poke around the neighborhood ponds a bit and look for some birds. We saw some chickadees, resting mallards, and a really cool flock of Ring-necked ducks. Despite our noses feeling like they were going to freeze off, we enjoyed a nice little hike around the pond watching the birds, ducks and walking in the snow.

It was literally less than 5 degrees, but the snow was too fluffy for Thomas not to roll around in it!

I love seeing the flocks of Black-capped chickadees in the winter. They are tough-little birds! Did you know that a wintering flock has a member that is designated as the "winter floater" who rotates between three to five flocks? This floater makes sure that there is always a high-ranking bird in each flock. He may have to become the high-ranking bird in another flock if the high-ranked one in that particular flock is missing and he then has to pair with the missing bird's mate. They really look out for each other! 

Check out some other cool facts about the Black-capped Chickadee  and a coloring page from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Black-capped Chickadee

These mallards below have interbred with some other dabbling ducks--making them look rare in appearance. One is all black, the other is mostly all white with a brown head and the 3rd one is a light brown color all over. They are cool to look at. We see these ducks crossing our streets a lot to snack on the grass seeds next to the elementary school in our neighborhood.

This is the first time I've seen some wintering Ring-necked ducks (below). I don't know if they are migrating through or if they are stopping to winter here in our ponds. Either way, it's cool to see them in the pond this winter season.

Male Ring-necked ducks have a white ring around their bills and a 'hard-to-see' purplish ring around their necks. The females are brown with a white ring around the eye. These ducks also have a peaked head which make their appearance similar to the Lesser and Greater Scaups that are common in the area.

These ducks are very shy when it comes to visitors. They fly at the first sight of a person.

female

Thomas and I headed back home for some hot cocoa!!

A Winter Roost

We had a winter flock (at least 60 or so) of American Robins roosting in our backyard trees recently and eating the berries. I've really come to appreciate even the most common of birds, especially the robins. These robins stay in their breeding range throughout the winter season roosting in trees and woodlands.

The male robin (who wakes us each morning with his song!) has the striking orange/red belly and a dark grayish black head. The female is a lighter shade of the male in both the belly and head. The juvenile (below left) tends to have a speckled orange belly with some gray spots and also has white on the covert feathers.

The main food source for robins is berries, however, when you see both the male and female foraging on the ground for worms in the spring and summer--the reason is because the worms are the main source of food for the chicks in the nest. The adults have to feed their young about 100 meals a day!

 

Here's another juvenile below gathering a berry.

The American Robin really is the quintessential morning bird cheerily chirping away to awaken us to each new day of life. Hearing a roosting winter flock in your backyard can definitely be loud, but I take the distraction as a message to get outside and enjoy the beautiful songs of nature!