Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins (Larimer) is lush at present, like most of
the Front Range. The recent rains are responsible, as they were for a true
happening this evening. Soft soil in late summer often triggers mass emergence
of the winged stages of ants (female queens and males). Such so-called
"mating flights" are the way queens become fertilized and disperse to form new
colonies. Today a very small reddish species was lifting off from the open
areas of Grandview's northwest corner and ascending pretty much vertically.
One here, one there, maybe ten visible in any one slow 360 scan. Considering
the involved area of a couple acres (an acre is about a football field) and the
period of the visit (over an hour), the number of individual ants aloft had to
be considerable. The avian response was equally impressive: 15+ Common
Nighthawks, 9 Chimney Swifts, at least 20 Barn Swallows, and 5 or do darner
dragonflies. That's about 50 insectivores hawking for ants. I would estimate
the least effective of the lot was getting about 20/minute. That computes to
1000/minute or 60,000 ants per hour for the whole gang. No wonder E.O. Wilson
calls ants among the most, if not THE most. important organisms on Earth. They
move a lot of soil, modify a lot of vegetation, and feed a lot of birds.
The tardy hummingbird nest in Section 8 will give up its babies any day.
Tonight the young duo looked about ready to rock and roll. They are green
above, white below, with peach coloring on their flanks. Two Sumo wrestlers in
a bathtub. The Mom is looking anxious but seems to know the end of her
difficult nestside chores are almost over. Almost over isn't the same as over.
This evening she first hassled a Great Horned Owl sitting on a headstone
perhaps 25 yards from the nest tree, then zoomed over to perch about 10 feet
away from my location near the nest, threw me a couple minutes worth of "do I
trust you" glances, quickly fed the babies, and zipped off for more food
hunting. I'd love to know if she got some ants and bet she did.
[Anecdotal reports indicate the recent prairie rains have also stimulated
emergence of the large "dog-day" cicadas (genus Tibicen) in local areas of the
eastern plains. As these are standard fare for Mississippi Kites and
opportunistic food for many other bird species, that's a good thing.]
Dave Leatherman
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