Well, we (as in me) scheduled the DFO trip to Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins on the same day as their big "Cemetery Stroll" event (historical re-enactments, hook-and-ladder trucks hoisting flags, lots of visitors, etc.). But that's the way it played out, so we tried anyway. Knowing we needed to clear out by about 10am, our backup spot was Timnath Reservoir northeast of Timnath. As always, I sincerely appreciated the good cheer and go-with-the-flow attitude of the DFO people and others in attendance.
Highlights at Grandview: Immortalized by the names or symbols on headstones were "Thrasher", Red-crowned Crane, "Wren", Broad-billed Hummingbird, chickadee sp., Snowy Owl, Wood Duck, "Partridge", "Martin", "Swan", and Bald Eagle. We whiffed on American Woodcock, "Crane", "Nightingale", " Phoebe", "Brant", and "Bishop". Maybe the Denver Audubon group coming in a few weeks will succeed at finding these elusive beauties. Wish them luck. As for live birds, it was very slow but we did have two Great Horned Owls (possibly the beginnings of a pairing that will be next spring's breeders), the FOS-at-Grandview Townsend's Solitaire and immature White-crowned Sparrow, large groups of Pine Siskins working blue spruce cones, a late Yellow Warbler (seen by Tina Jones), and we were able to study two Broad-tailed Hummingbird nests (one used this summer, the other either a dummy nest or two-tiered retrofit that never got used because it was filled to the brim with spider webs and cottonwood seeds). Other migrants included Chipping Sparrows, Western Wood-Pewees, and a Wilson's Warbler. And, interestingly, 6 magpies (a family group?) were sitting on the power pole north of the cemetery, which heretofore has been owned by Rock Pigeons for years. We talked a lot about hackberry psyllids, green ash seeds, yellowjackets, and spruce seeds as key food items for birds. We saw two State Champion trees (biggest of their type in CO): Thornless Honeylocust and Ohio Buckeye. Total for live species seen at Grandview Cemetery: 20 (which is probably low by 4-5 species that were there and we missed in the commotion, our haste, and my yacking). Highlights at Timnath Reservoir: Sabine's Gull (2, both first cycle, down from 6 during yesterday's scouting trip) Long-billed Curlew (1, spotted by Deb) Black Tern (1 or 2 young birds) Snowy Egret (conservatively estimated at 75 birds, apparently scoring on gazillions of tiny minnowlike fish swarming the rocky shallows along the southeast corner of the res) Peregrine Falcon (1 patrolling, resting) Great Egret (few) Herring Gull (1 first-winter) Canvasback (1 male, seemed kind of early) Ruddy Duck (few hundred) Pied-billed Grebe (50+, still many juvs with striped heads) Osprey (1, seen by the last two carloads to leave the parking lot at the end of the day) no shorebirds despite miles of shore (other than the lone curlew and about 10 Killdeer)! no jaegers no Neotropic Cormorant or dark-mantled gull Perhaps most interesting was an incessant sound that dominated the scene. Paul Slingsby figured out this was the collective product of fish-begging by hundreds of young Western Grebes! Not sure I have ever witnessed this, or at least been aware of it. Adult vocalizations were the second-most conspicuous sound. Very cool, and we think those tiny fish, probably very young Gizzard Shad (as correctly suggested by Dick Pratt), is the explanation for the grebe numbers (which we estimated to be in the several hundreds). Total of 38 species at Timnath Reservoir. Total for the day: 60 species 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.
