The Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds sponsor a summer seminar series every year, on topics ranging from paleontology to flint-knapping. Today I attended Ecology and Conservation of Forest Birds in the Pikes Peak Region, taught by Brian D. Linkhart, a professor of biology at Colorado College. A former Forest Service (USFS) employee and teacher, Linkhart has studied forest raptors for 26 years now.
We started at 7:00 a.m. at the Manitou Experimental Forest near Woodland Park, Colorado. The Manitou Experimental Forest has been a USFS research station since 1936.
We got a relatively late start for bird observation; it heats up quickly in the Rocky Mountains in summer, and the best time to set up mist nets is around 5:30 a.m. Mist nets are nearly-invisible lightweight nylon nets that ornithologists use for catch-and-release trapping of small birds.
Linkhart and students set up the first mist net. Photo (c) 2006 Melissa Barton
Mist nets work best when set up at the ecotone, which is the border or transition zone between two ecosystems, such as aspen forest and meadow. Many songbirds fly between ecosystems while foraging.
A mist net set up at the ecotone between ponderosa-aspen forest and meadow. Photo (c) 2006 Melissa Barton
If we’d started earlier, we normally would have caught 7-14 birds in the 7 mist nets we set up. Since we didn’t, we only caught two. Here’s the first:
Pygmy nuthatch in mist net. Photo (c) 2006 Melissa Barton
Pygmy nuthatches (Sitta pygmaea) are the smallest of the three species found in the area. This one was pretty docile, but well-entangled, so it took Linkhart quite a while to work her free.
Linkhart frees the pygmy nuthatch from the mist net. Photo (c) 2006 Melissa Barton
Finally he got her out! Here he’s spreading one wing to show us the feathers.
Linkhart spreads one wing of this female pygmy nuthatch to show the feathers. Photo (c) 2006 Melissa Barton
Male and female pygmy nuthatches are usually indistinguishable. Fortunately, this is shortly after fledging season, so her brood patch was still visible. A hormone called prolactin causes the brooding female’s belly feathers to fall out. Numerous tiny capillaries near the skin’s surface make the area very warm to incubate eggs. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a clear picture of this one’s brood patch.
When used properly, mist nets don’t harm the birds. It’s important to check them frequently so birds won’t injure themselves struggling (most just hold still once caught) or overheat. Colorado also requires a banding permit for mist netting. Normally Linkhart would have banded the birds we caught, but time did not allow today.
The other bird flew into a mist net as we were beginning to take them down.
Female broad-tailed hummingbird. Photo (c) 2006 Melissa Barton
Broad-tailed hummingbirds (Selasphorus platycercus) are the most common hummingbird in this area. The females, like this one, lack the russet-colored throat patch of the males.
Because of their high metabolisms, even simply flying into a mist net is exhausting for hummingbirds. This one was so tired she barely moved, so we set her in a spruce tree to recover after we observed her. She flew away a little while later.
Female broad-tailed hummingbird resting in spruce after release. Photo (c) 2006 Melissa Barton
This post featured in I and the Bird #29.
6 comments
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July 26, 2006 at 8:17 pm
Becky
I’m puzzled. The third photo showing the pygmy nuthatch actually looks
like two birds to me, one beak and eye pointing upward and one beak and
eye pointing downward. Is the top a wing and tail. How am I looking at
it funny?
July 27, 2006 at 8:43 pm
Melissa Barton
Yes, the top’s a wing and tail. She’s upside down.
August 20, 2006 at 6:06 am
Susanne
I will be in the Woodland Park area the first week of October. Do you know of any specific birding activites going on at that time. Are there nets that are set up routinely and how can get information about that.
August 21, 2006 at 11:01 am
Mel
The nets are not set up routinely. They are only set up for research or special seminars like this one. Your best bet would be to check with the Bear Creek Nature Center, the Beidleman Environmental Center, and any of the local raptor rescue places (I know there’s one in Pueblo) for any special events in October. October isn’t usually a big birding season, but if you’ve got binnoculars and a field guide, you should still be able to spot plenty of birds in the mountains.
September 28, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Ginger Hipszky
My husband had a search and rescue mission at Devil’s Playground yesterday afternoon. While on the way down I saw a bird that appeared lack all over with the exception of a good sized white streak down its back. My gingerhusband said it was a type of ptarmigan. Can any one help me figure it out?
September 28, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Melissa Barton
I am not a bird expert, but I don’t know of any black ptarmigans, at least in Colorado. The only Colorado ptarmigan is the White-Tailed Ptarmigan, which is brown most of the year and white in winter.
How big was the bird? What shape was it? Did it have a colored beak or legs? What shape was its beak?
You may find this website useful: http://www.whatbird.com/birdexpert/StateColorSize/2/883/birdexpert.aspx