As smoke billowed and the fire fighting aircraft did their thing off to the west, LIFE at Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) continued at a steady pace.
The three active Broad-tailed Hummingbird nests I know about are in different stages of development. Nest #1 in the southwest corner had no babies today, so apparently the young have fledged since last Sunday. After looking so pristine a couple weeks ago when first discovered, the nest had that "previously owned" (flattened) look they get toward the end of their occupancy. The tripledecker nest (#2) in the southeast corner has two young getting close to leaving. Nest #3 in the center has a female on eggs (I think). All three nests are located on lower dead limbs of large Colorado Blue Spruce trees. Two Swainson's Hawks screamed overhead and it was interesting to note one was carrying a large pale snake, probably a Racer. And finally I have still more proof Fox Squirrels eat baby birds on a regular basis. Dave Steingraeber noticed a male squirrel running along the cemetery's southern boundary fence carrying something big in its mouth. This proved to be a young American Robin. Not sure, but I think this bird was taken from the nest just prior to its fledging. An adult robin gave an alarm "moan" to no avail. On the ground, the squirrel ate the head of the bird first, then took the rest up into a nearby tree. I got decent pics. The Western Wood-Pewee that has been moving all around calling constantly may have given up on finding a mate and moved on. Prior to last summer I had one Brown-headed Cowbird sighting at Grandview since 1974. Now they are regulars and last Sunday I had a small gang of 8 flying around together, which doesn't bode well for small passerines in the area. Total of 26 species (with notable misses being Eurasian Collared-Dove, Mourning Dove, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Common Grackle, and Great Horned Owl). 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.
