Pink and brown birds!
These and at least a couple (few?) hundred more were flocking (is that a thing?) hither, thither, over, around, past and settling around me and a band I was with the other day in Spring Creek Basin. The horses WATCHED them fly and flock and land and twitter (the correct and natural way) and flutter all around us. They were nearly always in motion, and all I could tell was that they were LBJs (little brown jobs). I knew they weren’t bluebirds, but I didn’t know what they were – and I still don’t.
If you happen to know what these beauties are – that *pink*!? – please, please let me know. I think both males and females must be together, as some are less pink (do you suppose it’s the males that are more pink?).
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 
I’m guessing rosy finches? (but don’t quote me)…Brown-capped Rosy Finch ??
https://abcbirds.org/rosy-finches/ Demystifying Rosy-Finches: Understanding the American West’s Off-the-Grid Endemics abcbirds.org Karel
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Thanks, Karel! That’s a huge help. The site says this: “In 2015, the Brown-capped Rosy-Finch, which is found almost exclusively in Colorado, was named a “tier one” species under that state’s Wildlife Action Plan, meaning it is a “species of greatest conservation need.” The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers it, and the Black Rosy-Finch, Endangered. As is the case with rosy-finch populations throughout the West, there was a lack of reliable data on the actual health of the Colorado Brown-capped Rosy-Finch population. But these birds are known for their love of cold and snow, and the state has already been getting warmer — a 2014 report found that Colorado has warmed by more than two degrees Fahrenheit since the mid-1980s, a trend that is predicted to accelerate.”
I tried to also get some pix of the birds on a semi-nearby boulder, so maybe I can better identify them with other pix.
It also says this: “Rosy-finches preferred to spend time near cliffs and snow patches, avoiding areas with dense vegetation, and were most common at elevations between 11,500 and 13,200 feet.”
We’re not nearly that high in elevation, but they were near a big, very rocky/bouldery hill – and definitely not “dense vegetation.” 😉
Thanks for the help!
From the pic, my Merlin app says they’re a “Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch.” Wild. Thanks again for your great ID!
All About Birds says this: “This delicate pink-and-brown songbird is among the hardiest of all birds. Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches nest in the highest parts of the highest mountains in North America—the Brooks Range, the Rockies, the Cascades, and the Sierra Nevada—as well as on Alaska’s Aleutian and Pribilof Islands. These little birds flash pink bellies and wings as they forage, seemingly at complete ease, on snowfields, forbidding talus slopes, and in high winds or snowstorms. In winter they move downslope to avoid heavy snow and may visit feeders, sometimes alongside other rosy-finch species.”
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gray-crowned_Rosy-Finch/overview
YEA… that was fun… Karel
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Don’t know what they are, but they are pretty little birds!
See above. Karel was pretty spot on! I was amazed to see the pink in their feathers. I didn’t see it while photographing them (fast!). 🙂
Beautiful photo, TJ! I was thinking Rose Finches too; we have them at our bird feeders on a regular basis. As spring progresses the boys seem to get brighter – maybe to attract the girls? Anyway, love the photo!
Oh, wow, that’s so cool! I don’t know how I didn’t know about them previously (I am *not* a birder or a bird photographer!). 🙂 But I’ve been following a bird photographer in Utah for years and years, and I’ve been watching some YouTube videos about nature/wildlife/bird photographers that have made me pay more attention, I guess. 🙂 I just love that subtle pink!