Feb 19- Report on final day of the Albuquerque Rosy Rally

[Rosyfinch]

From Nancy Cox:

Hi Ken,

Today was the final day for the Albuquerque Rosy Rally.  All 3 species of Rosy-Finches were seen on each of the 3 days.  

Unfortunately not everyone in the group of participants were able to get on all 3 but most of them did.  They were all very happy with the Rosy-Finch swirling.

The Three-toed Woodpecker did not cooperate but thankfully most birders know that there are no guarantees.  The Pine Grosbeaks were not seen either but many people got to see Pinyon Jays.

The staff were very pleased with the patches.  Everyone was also very appreciative of the pins.  Our volunteers were also very excited to have the patches and pins.  They all said to say thank you to you.

Raymond and Michael gave a very good presentation about the Rosy-Finches.  They were able to show them about the subtle id challenges that we have been dealing with.  Ryan would be proud.

I hope your daughter is doing better.  I am sure you are enjoying your visit.

Thank you again for all you have done.

Nancy

[Rosyfinch]

From the Sandia Rosy-Finch Project Facebook Page:

Day 2--

UPDATE BANDING

Day two of the ABA rally. All three ROSY-FINCHES including one Brown-capped Rosy-Finch banded and the same flock of 80 birds seen. Lots of RED CROSSBILLS too!


Day 3--

BANDING UPDATE!

Final day of banding for the ABA rally was a huge success. We had large flock of birds present for a big chunk of the day with all three species accounted for. We caught one new "Hepburn's" Gray-crowned and a new Brown-capped along with 2 repeat Blacks and 2 repeat Brown-capps!!!!

Lots of Red Crossbills still around and a fly-over Red-tailed Hawk as a bonus.

More--

Hello all,

The banders and ralliers had a wonderful morning at the Sandia Crest for the final day of the ABA Rosy Rally here in Albuquerque. We were treated almost immediately upon arrival by a flock of about 70 ROSY-FINCHES of all three species, and despite the unusually warm weather, our banding crew was able to capture 3 BROWN-CAPPED, 2 BLACK, and 1 GRAY-CROWNED (HEPBURN'S) to show the crowds.

We were unsuccessful in locating the resident Three-toed Woodpeckers at the crest but we did manage to find a wonderful mixed flock of birds, just up the road from Capulin Springs, with the highlights being: 25 RED CROSSBILLS, 5 CASSIN'S FINCHES, 40 PINE SISKINS and 2 BROWN CREEPERS.

Afterwards, Michael Hilchey and I spent some time looking for the previously reported Northern Shrike, east of Hwy. 14 and north of Frost Rd., with no luck. We did manage to scare up decent numbers of WESTERN and MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS and we found a female WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER actively working a sap well.

Cheers and Good Birding,
Raymond VanBuskirk
High Desert Birding Adventures
www.highdesertbirding.com