The first lazuli bunting of the year arrived at my place yesterday evening, and
was more interested in the small waterfall in my yard than the available bird
seed. he was here again this morning.
Female spotted towhee appeared yesterday, as did the female bullock's oriole.
now both pairs are setting up shop in the yard.
Pine Siskins are the most abundant bird in the yard lately, followed by house
finches. a few American goldfinches have been around the last week or so, but
they are much less common than in previous years. no lesser goldfinches up
here, yet.
Male and female Broad-tailed hummingbirds are here daily.
A red-breasted nuthatch continues to visit almost daily, probably coming in
from nearby forests, which are at elast a 1/2 mile away
Mtn bluebirds are nest building -- finally. It seems they are always late to
nest in my yard, after spending most of their first 6 weeks trying to gain
control over a nest box down in the valley bottom. I'm up on the hill, and it
is no doubt a lower quality territory overall, due mainly to the high winds
that can last for days up here, when it is virtually impossible for them to
forage successfully anywhere near the next box. But I think I may have found a
way for them to coexist with the house sparrows. they used to always compete
for this one particular next box in my yard, so I decided to put up a second
one right next to it. now the house sparrows have one and the bluebirds have
the other. they are both nest building and thus far I have seen no negative
interactions between them. and the house sparrow male does a great job of keep
other house sparrows away. we'll see how it goes.
Lots of yellow rumps have been passing through, as have chipping sparrows.
Robins are nest building.
Arvind Panjabi
5700' feet, Larimer County, CO
On the north slope of Milner Mtn
Mountain mahogany shrubland and grassland
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