The juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker continues to hang out in the large Scots Pine on the west side of the ditch in the northeast corner of Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer). This bird can be amazingly wary and will probably prove elusive if you park under the tree or walk right up to it. I would recommend driving slowly north from the entrance along the ditch, thru the corner to locate the tree, then parking at least 50 yards west of it. Scan the north side of the pine trunk about half way up for the bird from inside your car. If present, it will probably allow slow approach on foot to within about 20 yards, then will start playing hide and seek.
Skyler Bol and his parents Cree and Tom and I saw the bird this morning about 10. It steadily worked a couple of nice patches of sap wells on the north side of the tree at mid-trunk level. It has several others, including some high in the crown, and is perfectly content to retreat to these upper ones (where it is virtually invisible). I went back to the cemetery this afternoon and the sapsucker was still in this tree, but not nearly as evident. Other birds seen today at Grandview: Merlin (2, "prairie") - initially a female was spotted atop a spruce. It was chased off its perch by an overflying crow. The female relocated in a cottonwood, and amazingly, a male Merlin flew in toward her. The crow chased off the male, ruining a great viewing/photo op. Shortly, the female went off to the south. I don't think I have ever seen a male-female pair of Merlins in Colorado. Very exciting. Sharp-shinned Hawk (1) Bald Eagle (1a) Red-tailed Hawk (1) American Kestrel (1m) Great Horned Owl (1 near the nest elm, still no presence on the nest) Cedar Waxwing (about 10 flyovers) Golden-crowned Kinglet (2, with Brown Creepers, almost always in a spruce next to a hackberry getting overwintering gall psyllids) Total of 21 species (including, for the location, a very respectable total of 6 raptors, especially considering we are outside of migratory periods) Misses today included both Hairy and Downy Woodpecker (both of which poach from the sapsucker's wells), both White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches, American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, American Goldfinch, and Eurasian Collared-Dove. Dave Leatherman Fort Collins -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. 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.
