Mark, I was surprised at such behavior earlier this fall as well. I live near Denver City Park, where one day last month I found a juniper tree with as many as 10 of them singing loudly, chasing each other in and out and around the tree, and generally raising a ruckus. After checking Cornell's Birds of the World, I found out why: Townsend's Solitaires, which breed in the high country and spend winter down here among us, are highly territorial in winter, seeking to protect berry-laden junipers and other food-source trees from other solitaires and, indeed, from other berry eaters like American Robins and Cedar Waxwings. (I saw a Townsend's in City Park last month chasing individuals of both those species away from its territory near the Denver Museum of Nature + Science.) It might be coincidental, but over here in east-central Denver, I'm seeing more of them this fall than ever before. I counted 5 this morning in City Park, and yesterday a pair chased each other around a curbside maple tree outside my house just off East Colfax Avenue. As for that mirror encounter you reported, I also saw one 10 days ago in the City Park West neighborhood about 3 blocks west of the park, flying repeatedly from the ground up into a front window of a house, trying to attack its own reflection. So, it appears your Townsend's was behaving normally for this busy time.
Good birding, Patrick O'Driscoll Denver On Sun, Nov 20, 2022 at 3:48 PM Mark Miller <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Everyone, > > Today 11/20 I visited Lake McIntosh in Longmont to get some idea of what's > going on with the ice and snow. The lake is 99% frozen, with just a Western > Grebe, a few Mallards, scattered Canada Geese, and a clump of Ring-billed > Gulls. No real surprise there. As I was walking back to my car, I heard a > Townsend's Solitaire singing. I tracked it down and found it in a private > yard, singing away (viewed from the street). The bird then flew over to a > parked car and sat on the side-view mirror. It alternated between perching > on the mirror and attacking its reflection in the driver side window. It's > the third week of November and this bird is acting like it's spring. The > homeowner came out and we had a brief chat; she saw the bird and seemed > interested in it, but she had errands to run. I hope the solitaire gets a > grip soon. > > Mark Miller > Longmont, CO > > -- > -- > 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/CADLCh%2BxGZtAM%3DPNNZzQWJUxFdoruXbpozs3KZJmaSQf1ZDJDCQ%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CADLCh%2BxGZtAM%3DPNNZzQWJUxFdoruXbpozs3KZJmaSQf1ZDJDCQ%40mail.gmail.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/CAMNEzJO7asPZ3exCUuNiKjZuZVVG6%3DQ-%2B7KooSTqmJP-O%3DhPBw%40mail.gmail.com.
