The White-winged Crossbills continue their nesting at Grandview Cemetery, west end of Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins, Larimer County, CO. Today marks the 114th day of their visit. If Joe Mammoser and I were right about when egg-laying began (March 12), today would be the 4th egg. A normal clutch is reported to be "3-4", so maybe she is done with her production. She was on the nest almost the entire day, as far as I could tell. I was gone in mid-afternoon, but got there about 8:30 (my body said it was still 7:30)am and left at about 6pm. We saw the male come to the ground at least 4 times today (last trip earthward was at 5:15), and her at least 2 times, almost exclusively to eat dirty snow from the ever-shrinking pile or drink snowmelt. Soon there will be no water available to them in the immediate vicinity of the nest, but there are a few large snow patches within 100 yards. It would be nice if we got some decent snows in the next couple weeks that require plowing. If so, I think the plowed piles would help them a lot. With fledging anticipated for around April 15-25, the snow will not likely last until the ditch water commences (May?). Probably somebody out there is thinking we should intercede and place water near the nest tree. This pair has already shown a remarkable ability in many respects to make-do at a site foreign to their experience or instincts. So, my request would be that we just let this play out and see what happens. And, although the thought to do overwise has occurred to me, that includes leaving the local squirrel population at full density.
I mention this water business because it is so important to them. Per day, crossbills drink 22% of their body weight of 0.91 ounces. If I drank the same amount, it'd be 6+ gallons of water/day. For a human, this amount would cause water toxicity, according to what I can find on-line. One site said our bodies (kidneys), for a healthy adult, can handle up to 15 liters (almost 4 gallons) per day IF taken in moderate amounts over a whole day. As little as 3 quarts taken all at once could, and has, killed humans. I calculate since they arrived in late November of last year, each crossbill has consumed about 23 ounces of water (for me that would be over 7500 Fat Tires in the same time period (i.e., I'd be in detox or under a headstone nearby)). I used to think I wanted to be a White-throated Swift when I come back, but ................. She seemed to do some egg-turning today, rearranged herself atop the eggs often, and was visited about every 30-90 minutes by the male with a regurgitated seed bolus. Usually, after busily collecting seeds out there somewhere, he called upon arriving near the nest, she called, and then he went in with the delivery. She quivers quite noticeably when he is making the transfer. He often came to the ground for a drink immediately after delivering a load of food. He also chased somewhat forcefully several (or the same poor individual) male House Finches that had the audacity to hang out on or near the crossbill nest tree. Today also marks the day the Great Horned Owl eggs should have begun to hatch in the center of the cemetery, although when I checked her, she was facing west (not her normal direction of north) and it was tough to gauge her height in the elm crotch. Usually when the babies hatch in this historical nest, she is noticeably higher in the crotch. Julie Luckasen, a frequent owl checker, said she thought the female looked higher on the nest yesterday. Siskin noise is much reduced these days over last week (lots of females beginning to finalize nests and/or sit?). Starling and House Finch noise is way up as they prepare for nesting cycles. Dave Leatherman Fort Collins -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds". To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en Visit the CFO Website at: www.cfo-link.org
