Here's the complete annotated list, in order of discovery, from Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) today (3/23/2011): House Finch (zillions, lots of courtship, one female observed nest-building) Great Horned Owl (female on nest in Section H, babies hatched on schedule starting on 3/17, male hooted with pride once midday) Northern Flicker (zillions, usually in threesomes (what's up with that?), territorial drumming, chasing, courting, you name it) Pine Siskin (at least 6-8 pairs, lots of singing and courtship flying) Red-breasted Nuthatch (few, one agonistic toward White-breasted Nuthatch, presumably involving who has legal title to a nearby cavity) Eurasian Collared-Dove (at least 3 pairs, chasing, courtship cooing, usually going into spruce crown interiors) Duck sp. (small group of fast-flying ducks far in the distance) Black-capped Chickadee (at least 15, lots of courtship singing, cavity investigation, chasing) Lesser Goldfinch (1 pair, male singing at length in American Elm right over the entrance) Dark-eyed Junco (I didn't even look at them for fear of seeing wing-bars, lots of singing) American Robin (several, male fights, worm-pulling) Ring-billed Gull (several overhead, homing in on Sheldon Lake at nearby City Park) White-breasted Nuthatch (2 pairs of "interior" subspecies, aforementioned squabble with feisty RBrNut over cavity) House Sparrow (several in two separate colonies across the street from the cemetery) Brown Creeper (at least 5, doing their usual procuring of psyllids from spruce trunk bark near hackberry, and one was taking a bath in the ditch) Mourning Dove (1 new arrival, heard across the street) American Goldfinch (few, eating American Elm flowers) American Crow (few, flew over GHOwl nest and shouted obscenities) Golden-crowned Kinglet (2, in spruce, usually with creepers) Rock Pigeon (few on pole far to the north, waiting to be chosen as dinner by the owls) European Starling (returned from work outside the cemetery about 5pm (in the dead of winter they get home at 3:30)) Mountain Chickadee (at least 1, maybe as many as 3, in spruce) YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (1 adult male, a surprise, maybe (but maybe not) the same adult male present for the last several weeks, seen at 5pm in several trees just west of the entrance (Sugar Maple, American Elm, Rocky Mountain Juniper, American Linden, Silver Maple), very hyper.
Total of 23 species. Misses today were Red-tailed Hawk, Blue Jay, and Downy Woodpecker. Also thought there might have been a few migrating hawks overhead. Also, Turkey Vultures are beginning to return to their traditional roost on Mountain Avenue several blocks east of the cemetery, as reported by Dr. Cringan yesterday. 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.
