[Douglbirds] Pinyon Jays

[Hugh Kingery]

Glenn mentioned the Pinyon Jays that he saw at his feeder last week. Urling and I now hear Pinyon Jays almost every day -- but they seem to be flying up above the house, to and from a ponderosa woodland (we have only a few near our house). PIJAs have a distinctive call note, sort of a querulous whine. Others of you may encounter them too, by sight or sound.

Red Crossbills, flying across the same stretch, we also hear on a daily basis. We've never had them close to the house that I can remember, but they seem to cruise back and forth between conifer stands above the house. We've only seen the flyers once (I counted 15). I suppose they belong to the Ponderosa Pine Call Type. (The last CFO Journal, Colorado Birds, has two extensive articles on speciation in crossbills.) At the moment I can't hook up to the sites they recommend on which you can listen to call types; I hope to get the computer re-formatted for that. 

Beyond that, White-crowned Sparrows and juncos arrived last week -- the first Pink-sided showed up Oct. 2. The glut of Spizella sparrows that feeds along Willow Lake Drive (at least 100 for a couple of weeks) has now diminished to a couple of dozen. Among that bunch of moving mysteries we have picked out all three species -- lots of Chipping plus a few Brewer's and Clay-colored. 

Hugh Kingery
Franktown, Colorado

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