Thursday 21 May 2015

Colorado Low 16 -17 May

A Colorado Low is a low pressure weather system that typically form in winter in Colorado or New Mexico. Colorado Lows carry a large amount of precipitation, usually snow. This time the moisture first started as rain early on Saturday the 16th, then turned to sleet and snow in the evening. It snowed until the morning of the 17th.
The birds coming to our feeders were dripping wet Saturday and we wondered how they would fare over night as the temps dropped below freezing.
We counted 15 Baltimore Orioles and 9 Chipping Sparrows at our feeders on the morning of the 17th. We suspect we were getting birds from a wider area than usual. They polished off all the food by late morning even though we had put out extra food.

Baltimore Oriole, Chipping Sparrow. Saturday afternoon.

Harris's Sparrow early Saturday evening just after rain turned to sleet.

Rose Breasted Grosbeak, Baltimore Oriole. Saturday evening as sleet was turning to snow.
Baltimore Orioles Sunday morning. We put out an extra tray of Jelly and suet. The
angry Oriole had just chased a Robin off.

Black Capped Chickadee, Baltimore Oriole. Peanuts were frozen together from rain the previous evening.

Baltimore Oriole. Both jelly with suet trays were licked clean by noon.

Brown Thrasher
It was having some difficulty as the suet froze over night and the seed feeder ports were frozen solid.

Chipping Sparrow downing some suet.

Chipping Sparrow waiting on the nectar feeder for a chance at the suet.

Seven of the nine Chipping Sparrows that were present most of the morning. We put some cracked corn on the stump as the birds couldn't get any seed from the frozen seed feeder. 

Rose Breasted Grosbeak and Chipping Sparrow. We left this dish of jelly and suet on our step but the birds didn't seem to see it, even though they were sitting right next to it. When we moved it into the frozen bird bath it drew an immediate response from the birds.

Rose Breasted Grosbeak trying to figure out how to get at the frozen peanuts,

Mourning Dove on stump, early afternoon of Sunday the 17th.

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