I've been seeing a lot of Cassin's Finches at my place in the Big Thompson canyon. Usually they are a rare occurrence. Today I saw about 20, with only 2 red males. We have lots of ash seeds up here and I have several feeders.
On Tuesday, December 27, 2022 at 10:38:15 AM UTC-7 Dave Leatherman wrote: > Two major things stand out after the last several visits to the Fort > Collins City Park area, which includes Grandview Cemetery, of late: > > 1) There is an on-going major invasion of Cassin's Finches to the lowlands > fueled by the bumper crop of seed produced by female green ash trees this > past summer. The great, great majority of Cassin's Finches I've seen are > female/immature types but there are a few pink males mixed in. In almost > every case, the bird flock feeding on ash seeds includes House Finches and > sometimes American Goldfinches and Black-capped Chickadees. This food > resource was covered in "The Hungry Bird" column in Volume 51(1) January > 2017 issue of "Colorado Birds" if you want to read more. Of course, in > addition to their green ash staple, many of the finches are also visiting > feeding stations. But I firmly believe the ash seed bonanza is the default > food allowing a winter-long visit to 5000 feet ASL and below. > > As an aside, Wood Ducks have been present at Sheldon Lake for the last > several months up until just recently. Late this autumn they, too, fed > heavily on green ash seed on the grass, along the shore and even muzzled > them from the upper ice. > > > > > > 2) Avian influenza is worsening. Yesterday on Sheldon Lake in City Park I > counted 19 white-cheeked geese dead on the ice and two ducks (presumably > Mallards). At least a few Bald Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks frequent the > lake, although I have never been present when they are actually scavenging > carcasses. I have seen a few plucked carcasses and presume it is at least > the eagles. > > Regarding avian influenza, does anyone know of any information on whether > dogs can become infected? I am assuming if humans can very rarely fall > victim, other mammals might also. The reason I say this is because I have > been asked by the armada of dog-walkers, many of whom I at least know well > enough to greet. I see a few letting their dogs run loose, sniff carcasses > and one lady even said that because her dog likes to eat goose droppings > she is concerned. Yikes. Seems like an easy solution to that - don't let > your dog eat droppings under any circumstances. Thanks for info any of you > might have. > > Dave Leatherman > Fort Collins > -- -- 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/3b62ee4e-9bf3-410a-9f5b-e19aebd00c55n%40googlegroups.com.
