Got this poor photo yesterday of the Blue-winged Warbler eating an ant. And got a flight shot. Thanks so much to John for letting us know yesterday morning that the warbler was still here. Great bird in the cold and rain. Around 30 frozen eBirders got the bird yesterday.
Gregg Goodrich Highlands Ranch On Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 12:33:06 PM UTC-6 Dave Leatherman wrote: > Hi All, > Wonderful bird, wonderful photos by John Breitsch. Most of the time when > we see warblers working cottonwood catkins at this time of year, their > target is larvae of a weevil in the genus *Dorytomus*. John's middle > photo shows the warbler tossing down one a larva it has extracted from the > flower. The result of feeding by larval Dorytomus weevils is a minor > reduction in cottonwood seed (I.e., the fluff we see that could be > considered a nuisance in some urban situations). Thus, the weevils are > mildly beneficial to humans annoyed with fluff stuck to their screendoors. > Add to it the value the larvae have as food for neotropical migrants, and > they are distinctly "good". The larvae drop to the ground, pupate in the > upper layer of soil and turn into rather non-descript gray adults (photo > here taken 10April2010 at Crow Valley many years ago when I was first > trying to figure out this warbler attraction to cottonwood catkins thing). > The adults emerge in spring, go to the buds, feed a bit by inserting their > snouts into buds, lay eggs on the buds, and the resulting larvae feed > on cottonwood flower parts until rudely interrupted by a cool warbler. > > > If you are interested, these weevils are the subject of "The Hungry Bird" > article in the April 2011 issue (v45, #2) of "Colorado Birds" archived on > the Colorado Field Ornithologists' website. > > Needless to say, do not ignore flowering cottonwoods over the next couple > weeks when looking for eastern warblers. > > Thank you, John, for sharing your photos. > > Dave Leatherman > Fort Collins > > ------------------------------ > *From:* [email protected] <[email protected]> on behalf of > [email protected] <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Tuesday, May 4, 2021 11:02 AM > *To:* Colorado Birds <[email protected]> > *Subject:* [cobirds] Blue-winged Warbler - 1st Creek @ GVR, Denver > > The bird is still around. This time in the sunlight. > > > > > > > [image: Blue-winged Warbler - 1st Creek @ GVR, CO - 4 May 2021 > (30).jpg][image: > Blue-winged Warbler - 1st Creek @ GVR, CO - 4 May 2021 (17).jpg][image: > Blue-winged Warbler - 1st Creek @ GVR, CO - 4 May 2021 (19).jpg] > First Creek at Green Valley Ranch - Denver, Colorado > Seen at about 10 am in the cotton woods near the foot bridge (same place > as it has been). Good spot by Wolfe R a couple of days ago. > > John Breitsch > Denver, Colorado > https://www.flickr.com/photos/breitschbirding/ > > -- > -- > 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] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en > * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include > bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate > * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ > --- > 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 view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/6350dfaa-cefc-4003-951f-d1abd4dd09e8n%40googlegroups.com > > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/6350dfaa-cefc-4003-951f-d1abd4dd09e8n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- -- 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] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- 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 view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/bee122e0-e825-4bbd-ab8d-e903653ddd64n%40googlegroups.com.
