After the Broncos went "3 and out" for the third time in a row early in the
second half today, I decided birding a cold, gray cemetery would be better.
Although the Broncos eventually snapped out of it, the cemetery never has an
off-game (or quarter, even).
The highlight was a flock of about 20 Bushtits. While they foraged in many
different types of vegetation (lilacs, roses, elms), their main focus seemed to
be the interior crowns of spruce trees near the hackberry which hosted the Cape
May Warbler earlier this autumn. This is a new one for my list of birds
capitalizing on hackberry gall-making psyllids. While their doing so during
the time when the adults psyllids are most active (April and October) would not
be all that surprising, it IS somewhat surprising they are finding them during
this time of year. Since other small gleaning birds like chickadees,
nuthatches, and creepers actively seek them out during winter, one has to
wonder if the Bushtits are copycats. On the other hand, maybe they know from
experience with Netleaf Hackberry, which supports psyllids and which occurs in
many southwestern canyon habitats. Applying knowledge from another habitat and
lookalike tree species to Northern Hackberry in an urban cemetery is not that
much of a stretch for creatures as amazing as birds.
Other interesting but usual species present were: Brown Creeper (2-3),
Townsend's Solitaire, Mountain Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch (2), and
Red-breasted Nuthatch (5+).
Also, the Brown Thrasher which has been present in an alley a block east of the
cemetery is still present. It would be a fun species to see on January 1, 2014.
It appears there will NOT be a winter-resident Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,
Golden-crowned Kinglets or crossbills at Grandview Cemetery this winter,
although these birds are certainly possible as pass-throughs during the
remainder of the cold months.
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
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