Ted, In reference to the "magic" spruce tree, the "magic" attraction of this tree, and, indeed, at present the majority of non-pine conifers in the Salida area (Douglas-fir and both Engelmann and Colorado Blue Spruce) is an on-going, apparently growing, epidemic of Western Spruce Budworm (*Choristoneura occidentalis*). This prominent insect in the forests of western NA periodically cycles into "outbreak" mode and, while defoliating and sometime killing, millions of acres of trees, is a boon to the birds that eat them. Evening Grosbeak population cycles are known to be directly tied to budworm populations in both the Northeast and West. During the Convention many birds were eating budworms, prominent among them were Evening Grosbeaks, Red Crossbills, and Pine Siskins. No doubt dozens of other species of forest passerines are also eating them.
Budworms and bird response was perhaps the highlight of our "What Birds Eat" field trip on Sunday (that, and finding nests of both Pinyon Jay and Dusky Grouse). We met for a bit of orientation and organizing at Centennial Park to start off the day, and while heading to our first planned stop, a couple spruce across the street in the Super 8 parking lot where I had seen birds gorging on budworms a few days earlier, we heard the distinctive sounds of crossbills behind us. The group changed course and we ended up in the courtyard of a nursing home facility checking out budworms and enjoying the crossbills. Wonder what the residents thought about seeing 18 or so people with floppy hats and binoculars in their "yard"? Somehow we escaped without being questioned and continued our fun, bird food-slanted field trip. Dave Leatherman On Tuesday, June 9, 2015 at 1:38:37 PM UTC-6, Joe Roller wrote: > > Of the many pleasant experiences I had at the convention, one stands out. > > American Bitterns (*Botaurus lentiginosis*) put on quite a show at > Russell Lakes SWA (Saguache County), destination of a daily field trip. > I heard that on the Friday participants saw several bitterns well, > including a pair copulating. > As Joe Himmel would have said, "Soon there will be little Bitts." > > On my Saturday half day field trip to Russell Lakes, our stalwart group of > 16 conventioneers took in a dozen or so American Bitterns, life birds for > some. > Bitterns were standing in the marsh, bitterns were flying above the > cattails, and bitterns were gulping, "*oon-ka-choonk, oon-ka-choonk*." I > think that the main reason > they perform their *basso profundo *love song is so those of us with > high-pitch hearing loss finally get a chance to cry out, "I hear that!" > > One American Bittern landed near us in plain view in short grass and > assumed its typical vertical posture, as if to say, "You can't see me!" > But we could. > > The most amazing sight of all was a pair of bitterns setting the Botaurus > high-altitude flight record. The lead bird, > presumably the female, led her suitor into the air. As she flapped over > the marsh, he followed 30 feet behind, matching her route and languid > aerobatics. She circled and slowly gained altitude until the (O.J. style) > chase > continued to over sixty feet, at what must have seemed like the > stratosphere for bitterns. > I lost interest before the birds did, but presumably they had a happy > landing. > > Joe Roller, > Denver > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/bf12619f-1af9-4c7e-8df4-acdc0d42ca34%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
