Grandview Cemetery at the west terminus of Mountain Avenue in Fort Collins
(Larimer) was very interesting today:
Total of 23 species ("normal" for this time of year would be about 16-17)
Broad-tailed Hummingbird (saw three females, one of which was constructing a
nest about 20 feet up in a CO blue spruce!) - this is a first for me and I
think for the cemetery, although I have suspected possible nesting since the
summer of the Tropical Parula (2005), when observers saw a female gathering
lichens from a tree trunk. In 2007 I had what I called a family sitting
together over the office in July. The discovery of a nest today was about 9am
and I went back after the intense hail storm of early afternoon and the female
and nest were still in tact. Activities observed today included spider web
gathering, nest shaping (the female assumed a different compass direction for
sitting after each foray and addition of material, presumably to assure
symmetry), and in summary this all appeared to be "finishing touches".
Grandview Cemetery would be right at the eastern edge, perhaps one quad further
east, of confirmed breeding this far north, according to the BBA 1 summary book.
Chimney Swift (1) overhead, not unprecedented at Grandview but not expected,
either
Chipping Sparrow (1 singing, 1 other bird observed) this makes the second
summer in a row that I think this species is nesting, perhaps 2-3 miles east of
where they would be more expected in the ponderosa pine forests of the foothills
Lesser Goldfinch (1, perhaps 2) heard near the entrance - these have been
regular at Grandview later in the summer (post-breeding dispersers?) and
today's date seems a little late for a spring migrant and way too early for
post-breeding movement
Mountain Chickadee (1 heard) not known to have nested at Grandview and this
may be a breeder, but may well be a lone individual who didn't get the memo to
go west in April
Great Horned Owl (1a, 2i) observed sitting quietly in deciduous trees, but for
some reason this summer they seem to be generating a greater than normal alarm
response from passerine birds, particularly robins and grackles
American Robin (several) lots of fledglings at this time, and I saw an adult
gathering Brown-headed Ash Sawfly (Tomostethus multicinctus) larvae from under
a green ash to feed to one of them (the provider just ran around snatching them
up - it took me over 30 minutes of
curiosity-arousing-down-on-my-knees-put-on-the-reading-glasses hunting to find
2!). Our CSU tree insect and disease book (Extension Bulletin 506A) says these
sawflies don't have many known biological controls. Add robin to the list.
Red-breasted Nuthatch (2 heard, one from a hole where I saw two birds visiting
over a month ago) known to nest in small numbers in most years at Grandview
Pine Siskin (several) involved in various behaviors, nesting again as first
confirmed by Leukering in 2005
Borderline species that sometimes nest or roost at Grandview but don't appear
to be this summer are:
Western Wood-Pewee
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Common Nighthawk (known to at least roost here in most years, and maybe still
will)
There is a very nice new cone crop developing in the spruces and Douglas-fir.
Maybe next winter will be good for crossbills at Grandview.
Lastly, what appeared to be a young Fox Squirrel of this year's first
generation was seen carrying a dead, young bird, probably a House Finch. It
carried the bird up a trunk and appeared to stash it in a nest box intended for
flickers.
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
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