I always enjoy reading your posts, Dave. And thanks for the shout out to Andy confirming BAIS breeding in Soapstone! We are pretty ecstatic to say the least. I am curious to learn whatever you found in the way of insect life present in Meadow Springs as well. -Erin Y.
On Sunday, July 22, 2018 at 11:10:27 AM UTC-6, Dave Leatherman wrote: > > Interesting day at the cemetery on 21July. Felt hot and muggy but maybe > only got up into the upper 80s. First of the year pelecinid wasp (large, > black, very long-bodied parasites of wood-boring beetles in trees and > soil-dwelling scarabs like June beetles). > > > > > > While I hunted for real natural treasures, Pokémon Tournament participants > scattered all about the cemetery searching for virtual ones that make no > sense to me (them or the fascination with searching for > them). The competitors probably wondered what I was doing, likewise. I > can hear Ted now, calling me a dinosaur. > > > Have been seeing a hummingbird that I can't figure out. Strongly suspect > Black-chinned Hummingbird female but I suppose it could be a strange > fledgling Broad-tail. If confirmed as black-chin, this would be a first > for me for the cemetery (species #201). Think I found a nest the other day > that is in a location unlike the typical broad-tail nest. Broad-tails are > usually low in conifers, especially spruce. This nest is 40 feet up in a > Douglas-fir and I keep seeing a bird which I think is associated with this > nest perched in deciduous trees, always high (the way black-chins do that > I've seen in Pueblo and Lamar). Bird seems long-beaked, very white > underneath (no appreciable rufous on flanks or in tail, makes chittering > noise that seems to match what I hear in Lamar, very gray-green above > including the forehead. Any comments from the hummer gurus? > > > > > > A family of Cedar Waxwings, which are rather uncommon breeders at > Grandview, was experiencing the mini-miracle of fledging yesterday. One > young bird was making a big "Wright Brothers" arc about a foot above the > grass. When it came back my way, I put my arms out like a scarecrow and it > actually landed on my forearm! It just looked at me all confused and > grumpy-faced. After 30 seconds of bonding, I gently set it down on a > headstone. You have all seen the famous picture titled "The Mad > Bluebird". I call this "The Entitled Waxwing", as in, "Something..... my > parents, you Mr. Scarecrow, feed me, NOW!" > > > > > > > > One Broad-tailed Hummingbird appears to be incubating second-brood eggs. > Heard at least 3 different males. Saw two other birds that could have been > female or fledglings. > > > Great Horned Owl youngster of the year elicits great upset from robins, as > if it has sinned against them. > > > Mountain form Hairy Woodpecker constitutes a change. Suspect it to be a > post-breeding disperser from the foothills. > > > Two different urban Red-tailed Hawk nests in and near Grandview have > produced fledged young. > > > House Wren still singing near the entry bridge. > > > Chipping Sparrow adults busy gathering food for fledged, still somewhat > dependent, youngsters. Mostly the parents seem to go into peony bushes > near headstones (for ants that flock to these plants for extra-floral > nectaries?). > > > All in all, a very enjoyable 4+ hour session in the "patch". > > > *Unrelated to Grandview Cemetery, CONGRATULATIONS to Andy Bankert for > FINALLY confirming that Baird's Sparrows actually nest north of Fort > Collins. This has to be one of the most amazing Colorado prairie bird > species breeding events ever. Kudos to the Bird Conservancy for putting > funding into this effort that involved a lot of hot, buggy hours of > searching, rope dragging, etc. by Andy, Erin, Erin, Walter and many others.* > > > Dave Leatherman > > Fort Collins > > > > -- 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/89bbf001-386a-4fa0-a7f8-f40240e969bb%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
