[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 5/12/21
Highlights of todays visit were: Lazuli Buntings in a yard e of the cemetery, FOY for this area Chipping Sparrows, FOY for this area Swainson's Thrush (3) BLACKPOLL WARBLER (1m) in a yard e of the cemetery, only seen briefly, eating elm leafminer adults BOBOLINK (heard 6-7 times) moving around, in big trees on City Park 9 near driving range just s of cemetery, new species for my site list AMERICAN PIPIT (heard flyover just after trying to track down the bobolink). Combined with the KY Warbler last week, this is the third new species for the list I keep of Grandview Cemetery/City Park area. One never knows, which is the joy of migration. Empidonax flycatcher (probably Dusky) Yellow Warbler (at least 6) Total of 34 spp. 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CY4PR0601MB376347EA34D12653839C3001C1529%40CY4PR0601MB3763.namprd06.prod.outlook.com.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 4/13/2020
Today I located the Red Crossbill adult female and she had TWO fledglings in tow. They flew out of the cemetery across Taft Hill Road to the west. I suspect that is the last I will see of this family but it was fun while it lasted. Turkey Vulture sitting glumly in an American Elm during a snow squall at Grandview today. That's not normal. Was sent a picture from Fort Collins today of an American Bittern sitting in a snowy spruce tree. Spring storms produce amazing examples of birds coping. Say's Phoebe at Sheldon Lake in nearby City Park this morning. It was flying out over the water hovering and flycatching for midges. Peter Burke reported the very same behavior to me yesterday from Lagerman Res. I have seen this at Crom Lake in Weld in years past, similar type of stormy weather, similar desperation for a default food always present if there is open water. 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CY4PR0601MB36039C3549954CAE4AA63F2FC1DD0%40CY4PR0601MB3603.namprd06.prod.outlook.com.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 10/1 and a spelling correction
My friend sent me a picture of a cow elk wandering the cemetery this weekend. Have you ever seen one there before? Joey Angstman Greeley, CO -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/9da512fe-740d-4dbb-be18-df7e426a984c%40googlegroups.com.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer), 4/20-21 summary
Highlights of a visit yesterday and another today, to Grandview Cemetery at the west terminus of Mountain Ave., FC: Red-tailed Hawk pair nesting in southeastern corner, nest in a spruce Red-tailed Hawk pair nesting north of the cemetery behind the apartment complex, nest in Siberian elm Dark-eyed Junco (gray-headed individual singing) on 4/21 just w of entrance Lesser Goldfinch heard both days, FOY at Grandview Broad-tailed Hummingbird (2 males heard on 4/20, FOY at Grandview, no females or nest-building noted yet) Barn Swallow (1 investigating the intersection of Taft and LaPorte Avenues on 4/20 where they have nested historically, FOY at Grandview) Red-breasted Nuthatch (at least 3 pairs will likely nest at Grandview) White-breasted Nuthatch (1 observed on 4/21, interior race) Black-capped Chickadee (thought I heard first of year begging by fledgling on 4/21) Bushtit (heard on 4/21) Pine Siskin (several pairs nesting at present, mostly in southeastern corner spruce) Great Horned Owl nest in Section H failed this year, probably due to harsh storms Hairy Woodpecker (f of mountain race seen on 4/20, saw same individual on 4/21 copulating with m which appeared to be eastern race) Yellow-rumped Warbler (heard 1 on 4/21, FOY at Grandview) *no crossbills *expect to see Broad-winged Hawk any day now 21 species on 4/20, 23 on 4/21 *Turkey Vultures have resumed urban roost on Mountain Avenue e of Shields per history of past few decades *Tree Swallow (pair investigating a metal pole with an opening in it near top and attached bat box, just east of fire station on the west side of Sheldon Lake in nearby City Park. To my knowledge they have never nested in the City Park/Grandview Cemetery area.) *Lesser Scaup, Northern Shoveler, Double-crested Cormorant, Mallard, Canada Goose (few of each, all at Sheldon Lake in City Park, Cackling Geese appear to have moved on, as have Common Goldeneyes and Ruddy Duck). 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CY4PR0601MB36031CB828CB092126E22851C1210%40CY4PR0601MB3603.namprd06.prod.outlook.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 8Jan2019
I haven't been to Grandview Cemetery since December and was pleased to find three noteworthy species: Eastern Screech-Owl in its normal tree in the northeastern corner. Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (appeared to be a young male that almost looks fully filled in with red in the appropriate places) in an Austrian Pine just out on the golf course about midway along the cemetery south boundary road (i.e., the grove where a sapsucker has been many winters in the past, east of the big gray portapotty). Spotted Towhee (in a private yard on the east side of Frey Avenue about midway between the two alleys connecting Frey to Grandview Avenue). Totally unexpected. 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CY4PR0601MB3603816DEABFA4CECF286488C18A0%40CY4PR0601MB3603.namprd06.prod.outlook.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery-Fort Collins-Larimer
All, I birded Grandview from about 330 to 5pm this afternoon hoping that I might catch the Blackburnian which I missed while hiking the Laurel Highlands trail in PA last week into the weekend. It is still gone it seems. My consolation for missing it here in Colorado was getting to see several excellent warblers there including two Blackburnians. Much of what was at Grandview today has already been reported. I had 22 species in that time which I thought was pretty fantastic. Here is my list with a few goodies. Sandhill Crane-20 surfing thermals. Radically, of course. Red-breasted Nuthatch-I stopped counting. At least 20 White-breasted Nuthatch-1 Pygmy Nuthatch-1 Brown Creeper-6+ Mountain Chickadee-2 Black-capped Chickadee-many Dark-eyed Junco-4 pink-sided Ruby-crowned Kinglet-at least 3 Yellow-rumped Warbler-Three dozen easy all over the cemetery Townsend's Warbler-1 male in what I've called the Cape May Hackberry in section E since that bird showed up in 2013. Plumbeous Vireo-same Hackberry. This one surprised me. Figure it was quite late but haven't plugged it in to Ebird yet. I realized that its not a species I see all that often in autumn. I tried to make it a Cassin's or a Blue-headed but this bird was gray and white with no twinge of yellow anywhere. Orange-crowned Warbler-1-same Hackberry House Finch Downy Woodpecker Northern Flicker Red-tailed Hawk-2 flying over American Robin Great Horned Owl in the giant Locust tree Blue Jay European Starling Chipping Sparrow-small group Hackberrys and Elms were where the vast majority of activity was. Bird is the word y'all! Josh Bruening 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/3d4e80fa-213e-4b7e-9979-6ddb97f2101c%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 26Dec2016
It was nice to meet you today. Thank you for showing us the owl. I hung out for awhile, but never actually spotted a Creeper. Susan Rosine Thornton -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/006fffeb-9b69-4769-83e1-5a5b7fafedbb%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 26Dec2016
Highlights of today's visit to Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins between 11a and 1p were: Eastern Screech-Owl (1 gray morph in a decrepit silver maple, first I've seen at GC since January 2012 (perhaps the same individual, as the locations were near each other). FYI, I am meeting Norm Lewis tomorrow morning at the entrance to the cemetery (at the west terminus of Mountain Avenue by the old stone building that formerly served as the cemetery office) at approximately 10am. Norm lacks this species for his impressive 2016 list. If anyone would like to join us, we can give it a shot. If we are not there exactly at 10, be patient. On the chance we are on time, we will wait until 10:15 before proceeding to find the bird. Showing people owl locations is sort of like discussing politics at the bar (i.e. potentially problematic), so please, no respondees with monstrous cameras who will not be respectful of the bird, both tomorrow and during sneaky return trips. Fair warning, Santa works as a P.I. during the off-season, and my grandkids gave me his cell number. Ruby-crowned Kinglet (2) - in a dense spruce tree near a big hackberry, no doubt gleaning hackberry gall-making psyllids from their overwintering sites under spruce bark. I had known there was one kinglet present, but not two until today. Does it seem like more and more individuals of this species are overwintering every year? Bald Eagle (1 subadult) circling near the entrance, probably after a visit to nearby Sheldon Lake in City Park. Brown Creeper (at least 3) American Robin (several, one of which chipped ice off a garage roof as a source of water). Misses today were Great Horned Owl, Eurasian Collared-Dove, flyover Red-tailed Hawk, White-breasted Nuthatch and flyover Ring-billed Gull. To my knowledge special species present at GC in certain winters but NOT this one (at least so far) are crossbills, Pine Siskin, sapsuckers and Golden-crowned Kinglet. Total of 17 species today. 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/DM5PR06MB274783083B2F21236532A326C1690%40DM5PR06MB2747.namprd06.prod.outlook.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on Sunday, August 28th.
I went back to Grandview Cemetery for the 4th day in a row and have enjoyed the daily changes. The Gray Flycatcher present the past three days in Section 8 was NOT evident today. New birds today were: MacGillivray's Warbler in the low vegetation along the ditch south of the main entrance. Brewer's Sparrow in with a big flock of Chipping Sparrows (this bird may have been present previously and just overlooked). Williamson's Sapsucker (female, in honeylocust along the ditch south of the entrance, only the third I've seen at the cemetery over the past 42 years). Western Tanager (1) in the alley se of the cemetery entrance. Warbling Vireo (1 heard and 2 seen). Franklin's Gulls wheeling overhead. Other continuing birds of interest: Juvenile Dark-eyed Junco (in with the Chipping Sprrows) Townsend's Warbler (at least 1, maybe 2) Western Wood-Pewee (several) Olive-sided Flycatcher (1) Wilson's Warbler (several) 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/DM5PR06MB274797BB2D83E6E6ACC6E761C1EE0%40DM5PR06MB2747.namprd06.prod.outlook.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 8/27/16
The Gray Flycatcher, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and multiple Western Wood-Pewees continued today at Grandview Cemetery (GC). I spent most of my time in Section 8 in the southeastern corner of the cemetery. Also present today in the southeastern corner (near the Pump House and White-winged Crossbill nest tree (2009-2010)) was a small group of perhaps 8 Bushtits and a FOS at low elevation juvenile Dark-eyed Junco (gray-headed race). Since Outlook "improved" itself, I can't figure out how to insert photos in this kind of email anymore. I submit reports on Grandview Cemetery to eBird where photo attachment is not an issue, if anyone's interested. Of note today, I had a Vivid Dancer (Argia vivida) damselfly on the cemetery south boundary road, which is a long way from any body of water where it could have developed. This is the only damselfly in the dancer group I have ever seen at GC. The only other damselflies here have been a very few Familiar Bluets, no doubt coming into the cemetery via the irrigation ditch. Dragonflies are much more common, mostly Blue-eyed and Paddle-tailed Darners, but I have also seen Striped Meadowhawks, Saffron-winged Meadowhawks, Variegated Meadowhawks, Wandering Gliders, some of the common skimmers and even an Ocellated Emerald (several years ago). Dragonflies are prominent in the diet of the various large flycatchers at this site. On the subject of what birds eat, the pewees are feasting on yellowjackets and European paper wasps, which have had a VERY good year along the Front Range. If you are not fond of these pesky wasps that get a little feisty this time of year, thank a pewee for their pest control service. 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/DM5PR06MB274740D0E4F2FEF265CD88F8C1EE0%40DM5PR06MB2747.namprd06.prod.outlook.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on both 25 & 26August 2016
I have been out of town for almost a month and it was good to get back in the saddle at Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins, especially with it being under the influence of a cold/rainy front. The place was quite birdy, with lots of interesting behaviors going on. Broad-tailed Hummingbirds persist and the one or two trilling males seem quite active and territorial. One in particular harassed a Red-tailed Hawk, multiple Western Wood-Pewees and a Gray Flycatcher. It also performed dive displays over a snowball bush that hosted a female. It visited red geraniums planted by a headstone and also checked out a few plastic flower headstone displays. Getting a good photo of the latter activity has been a goal of mine for years but it happens so quickly, so far I have been woefully unsuccessful. A pass-thru Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay was a nice surprise, as was its instant ability to locate and cuss out the Great Horned Owl resting serenely in the State Champion Thornless Honeylocust in Section 8. I know this jay just arrived in the cemetery because I had been in the area for hours. Was it just luck that its vector and flight altitude put the owl in view, or do they have some sort of freakish (trumpish?) sense regarding enemies? Yesterday I had my first Townsend's Warblers of the year, both in junipers. Both Yellow and Wilson's Warblers have been present both days in low numbers. The number of Western Wood-Pewees has been impressive, with double-digit birds both days. Of note, they have been foraging low most of the time when rain is imminent or on-going, often using the headstones as hunting platforms. A Gray Flycatcher has been present in the middle of Section 8, usually foraging out from a large snowball bush (aka mapleleaf viburnum) with considerable branch dieback. I have long thought, because of watching flycatchers, that our human paradigm for "proper" woody plant care that includes trimming out all deadwood, is in error. If a monster dead limb or trunk threatens to fall on your Volvo or toddler, by all means, trim it out in the name of hazard. Otherwise, give dead limbs that certainly have ecological function in the lives of many creatures some slack. I saw a Cassin's Vireo both days, probably the same silent, pretty active individual. It was quite yellow-green and thankfully was not one of those "bright" individuals that cause confusion with Blue-headed Vireo. I saw it in junipers, Ohio Buckeye and American Elms.0 A flock of 25-30 Chipping Sparrows, mostly juveniles has been pecking at something in the gravel roads throughout the cemetery. An Olive-sided Flycatcher got a darner dragonfly today from its perch in the top of an Ohio Buckeye that shows considerable dieback due to Fox Squirrel branch debarking in previous years. It also got a wasp of some type, which in my experience is typical of all big flycatchers (that is, lots of bees and wasps in their diet). Pelecinid wasps persist. (Check them out on-line). Total bird species for the two days: 32 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/DM5PR06MB274737CDD2A163CFA7A3ABA3C1EC0%40DM5PR06MB2747.namprd06.prod.outlook.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 23June2016
There are currently 5 active Broad-tailed Hummingbird nests at Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins. Two are in Austrian Pine, two are in Colorado Blue Spruce, and one is in a Douglas-fir. I saw two youngsters in each of these today, 4 of of the 5 involved females, and heard one male. That's 15 individual Broad-tailed Hummingbirds that should trip a filter in eBird but probably won't. Seems like that only happens when it shouldn't. I digress. The cemetery is about 40 acres. I know of 5 nests and suspect at least 2-3 more. Over the last few summers my guess has been that around 10 nests occur in the cemetery and the first block of homes to the east that I include in my normal walkabout. The term "colonial" has been applied to the nesting habits of BtHummers and I think Grandview fits the definition. For example, two of the nests I am currently aware of are in pines adjacent to one another, with the trunks being maybe 15 yards apart. Two nests last summer in the southeast corner of the cemetery were almost this close together. I have seen two behaviors with the hummers I don't really understand and that are not at all explained by the BNA account for this species. I am beginning to regard this BNA account as lacking in a lot of areas, if only because it was based on observational data mostly from the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab in Gothic, CO at an elevation of 8900 feet ASL. 1) On 6/22 I saw what appeared to be a female (no dark gorget) doing the big U or J-shaped courtship dives above an open-grown honeysuckle bush where presumably another hummer was watching. Pyle's ID Guide to NA Birds says young male hummers should have a rosy gorget by April, so I do not think this was a young male bird doing the dives. No mention in BNA of females doing the dives unless I was misinterpreting some sort of agonistic behavior toward an unseen threat (snake?) hiding in the bush. 2) Today I watched a female conduct a feeding of two young in her nest. As soon as this was complete, she appeared to fly down within 10 yards of the nest to a patch of small-flowered thistles going to seed along the ditch. I say "appeared" because there is a slight chance a second female was present, but I don't think so. Hovering among the thistles, the bird grabbed a big wad of "fluff" and flew directly southwest toward a small group of big spruce trees. She flew back to the thistles and repeated the fluff run three times. It looked like she was building a nest across the way, while also carrying out duties at a nest with two offspring. BNA states double-brooding has not been documented for BtHummingbird. Sheri Williamson states in her Peterson guide, "Typically 1 brood per year in central Rocky Mountains but probably 2 broods in warmer areas." It was 101 degrees in Fort Collins day before yesterday. Obviously, nothing is mentioned about whether a second nest is started while the first one is on-going. There is no mention of this species building dummy nests, although over the years I have seen a few beautiful, fresh nests that for whatever reason never got used. Of the 30 or so BtHummer nests I've seen at Grandview, until this year, only one was built atop live needles. Typically a nest is built on a bare section of downward-angled branch, with the nest being attached to needleless wood. The one exception to this was in an area subjected to increased irrigation due to an attempt by the cemetery crew to establish grass under the dense shade of a wall-to-wall spruce clump. The female not only chose to protect her nest with a live bough overhead (as almost every hummer nest does) but blocked a direct hit from the sprinklers shooting up from below by building atop the live bough. Smart and effective. I suspect the second live-bough nest found this year is by the same female, as it is within 10 yards of last year's live-bough nest, only this year's work of art is considerably higher above the ground (15 feet this year vs 5 last year). No Pine Siskins detected for the last couple weeks. It appears they raised one brood at Grandview and headed to the mountains for Brood #2. Red-breasted Nuthatches are making food runs to their second brood in a cavity in silver maple. As is customary for this species, the rim of the cavity is plastered with copious conifer pitch, presumably to discourage nest predators like squirrels, jays and grackles. One forlorn Chipping Sparrow has been singing the last few visits but appears to be running out of time and steam in his quest for a 2016 mate. No Chipping Sparrow breeding at Grandview this year, unlike the last few. No Western Wood-Pewees, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, or crossbills either this summer, as can be the case on occasion. The Bushtit nest across the street from the cemetery entrance apparently had a tragic ending at the paws of a squirrel or talons of an accipiter. Something ripped it apart. One Bushtit was heard
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 5/29
Had a great visit to Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins at the west terminus of Mountain Avenue this morning. Lots of human visitors and lots of birds. Total of 32 species, about 14 higher than expected. Highlights *Found two Broad-tailed Hummingbird nests, both in Austrian Pines that are adjacent to each other, just out on the City Park Nine Golf Course along the cemetery south boundary. One is re-use of an old nest, the other brand new. It is always a thrill to find one of these nests. Suspect at least three others but could not pin down the location. Saw one female with a bill full of fluff, which she proceeded to drop. I collected this and it appears to be willow seeds (maybe cottonwood). Do not know why she decided to drop it after collecting it. *Parent bird feeding a fledged Red-breasted Nuthatch. *Parent bird feeding fledged American Robins. *Cedar Waxwings eating European Elm Scales. *Brown-headed Cowbirds (FOY at Grandview) *Swainson's Thrush singing whisper song within the crown of a spruce (still on the move) *Western Meadowlark (FOY at Grandview) heard in field off to the north *Broad-winged Hawk (heard characteristic whistle in a backyard east of the cemetery, lots of jay and starling commotion associated with this, somewhat late date). *Bushtit parents feeding young in a nest in Mugo Pine! *Pod of Turkey Vultures from the current urban roost east of the cemetery catching a thermal before heading west to their important work of carrion cleanup. *Bullock's Oriole (not a normal breeder at Grandview, probably a migrant still on the move) *Western Wood-Pewee (an occasional breeder within Grandview, probably a migrant, heard out on the golf course) *Western Tanager (heard one, maybe two, still on the move) *Lesser Goldfinches have obviously arrived, at least three pairs, and will probably nest as they have in recent summers. Perhaps the most bizarre find of the day involved sound. Just southeast of the old office was grosbeak/tanager song coming from near the ground by a headstone. Upon inspection this proved to be a new high-tech decoration featuring a singing plastic male Scarlet Tanager! I recorded this on my cell phone. Ted is smiling. But, sorry Ted, I do not have a way of converting it to a sonogram/spectrogram for analysis. (Speaking of dinosaurs, I saw a great shirt yesterday at Albertson's. Pictured was a T-Rex accompanied by the words "Licensed To Carry Small Arms"). Getting back to the tanager, I do not think it was a hybrid. Does anyone know if the plastic version is to be split from additional versions on the market made of other substances? Is battery length a good character for separation? 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/SNT148-W64985526B0E7A5C17259EBC1440%40phx.gbl. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 5/1
Grandview Cemetery at the west terminus of Mountain Avenue in Fort Collins certainly showed influence of the recent cold, wet weather this morning. Highlights included: Merlin (black "sukleyi" race, see photo below) Orange-crowned Warbler (9!) Cassin's Finch (female at feeder one block east of the cemetery on Frey Avenue) Broad-tailed Hummingbird (2m, 1f) Hermit Thrush (1) Mountain Bluebird (flyover) Yellow-rumped Warbler (at least 30, mostly feeding in hackberry and elms) Hairy Woodpecker (1 mountain form) Common Merganser (1 flyover) Blue-winged Teal (first ever for me in the cemetery, female hanging in the ditch with a male Mallard (would make for interesting offspring)) Lincoln's Sparrow Cedar Waxwing (flock of at least 50) Chipping Sparrow (few) House Wren (heard in yard just east of cemetery) Franklin's Gull (flock of 34 flyovers) Red-breasted Nuthatch (3) Total of 37 species, by far the highest total of the year and one of the Top 5 totals ever BTW - the Ovenbird reported to the RBA that has been at my front door and under nearby junipers for the last three days has moved on "Black" Merlin out on the City Park 9 golf course just south of Grandview Cemetery on 5/1/16 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/SNT148-W200358F61067854BEEB1DC1780%40phx.gbl. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 10/19
Just shy of 31 years ago, Fort Collins experienced a winter invasion of Pine Grosbeaks (January 1984). I had not seen one again down in town until today. The bird, a russet indiviudal first located by call, was just west of Fort Collins' Grandview Cemetery entrance (Section F) in a couple very tall Colorado Blue Spruce trees with a decent crop of cones. It flew off to the east about 9:30AM. Lots of other action today at the cemetery, as well. Over 25 Red-breasted Nuthatches. At least 10 Brown Creepers. A big group of maybe 40 Red Crossbills (left the cemetery about 9AM). My friend Dave Steingraeber spotted a small string of Sandhill Cranes going south along the hogback off to the west. One Yellow-rumped Warbler. At least 10 Mountain Chickadees, maybe as many as 20. One White-crowned Sparrow (immature). One Black-billed Magpie (fairly unusual in the cemetery). Flying aphids of at least two species, which resulted in lots of erratic hovering and flycatching by birds of many species. A large angle-wing katydid (Microcentrum rhombifolium) 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/SNT148-W93037A0C72981BA2B54058C1960%40phx.gbl. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (LARIMER)
I went to Grandview Cemetery yesterday evening and this morning. Things were very lively around a couple of the hackberry trees that Dave Leatherman has posted about so many times. The only warblers I spotted were Orange-crowned, but there were Ruby-crowned Kinglets, lots of Chickadees (including Mountain), lots of Red-breasted Nuthatches, and (this morning) a small group of Bushtits. As near as I can tell, the psyllids are hatching. I'm not posting because I saw anything terribly unusual, but rather to encourage other birders to visit the Cemetery and check those hackberries that attracted several unusual warblers last October. John Shenot Fort Collins, CO -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/338fe5b5-7430-485a-8f55-088c3e7842dd%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 5/1714
No rarities today but a nice total of 42 species and interesting behaviors. Highlights: Cassin's Vireo (1) Plumbeous Vireo (1) in the same tree as the Cassin's, with the gray one seeming mildly annoyed at the green one Black-headed Grosbeak (1) Western Tanager (1) FOY for me in northern CO Broad-tailed Hummingbirds (two different instances of 2013 nest re-use going on at present, with one of these nests going all the way back to 2010) Swainson's Thrush (at least 3) Great Horned Owl (2 babies out of the nest for the first time I've seen this year - it was reported to me that a third baby fell out of the nest and was killed. Gawkers (bubophiles?) with big cameras beginning to show up as predictably as peony blooms.) Empid sp. (suspect something other than Dusky/Least, poor looks) Downy Woodpecker preying on Golden Oak Scale in Bur Oak Mini-flock of 4 Red-tailed Hawks cavorting high in the sky (menage a quatre?) White-crowned Sparrow (1 pale-lored, getting late) European Starlings heard mimicking both Western Wood-Pewee and Solitary Sandpiper In one medium-sized Bur Oak tree were 7 Fox Squirrels, all out at the ends of the branches chowing down on the flowers of this tree. It reminded me of my chocolate chip cookie-loving boys when they were kids always trying to get at the dough, and their mother saying something to the effect, Eat all the dough and there won't be any cookies. Presumably oak flowers contain at least most of the raw ingredients of next autumn's acorns. 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/SNT148-W285BF2B0F1EF7ED2722CA0C1330%40phx.gbl. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 4/21
I have not been able to check the cemetery per my every-2-or-3-days schedule of the last few years. Thus, having not been since 8April, it seemed quite changed today. Lots of trees and other plants have flowered/leafed out. The peonies are about a foot tall, on average. Fox Squirrels were predominately working on Green Ash flowers. Siskins were doing courtship flights. Robins were in summer worm mode. A male Red-naped Sapsucker in the southwest corner was the best bird. It was flying from tree to tree, doing a lot of aerial hover-gleaning (for what?), visiting both deciduous and coniferous tree species. Seemed very distracted and unserious about making sap wells. Probably a tough individual for anyone wanting to chase it, but who knows? Other highlights: * Two Ruby-crowned Kinglets singing back and forth in the same spruce near a hackberry, possibly an indication of local nesting (which happens with this species at Grandview maybe 2 years out of 3). *Lots of cavity-liner gathering (grass, leaves, etc.) by European Starlings, that have presumably commandeered all the best intermediate-sized cavities. *While taking pics of a Northern Flicker perched atop a box that it drums on, but that I have only seen Fox Squirrels peeking out of (and you think it's loud when they drum on your metal vent pipe on the roof, try trading places with one of these squirrels), it fanned it tail and flew off. Looking at the pic reveals a couple red outer retrices, with the rest being yellow. While I don't have photos to prove it, my sense has been that the tail and wing feathers of other intergrades are more evenly orange. Is that what others have seen, or does the impression of orange normally derive from a mixed bag of red and yellow feathers like this bird had? *The only Yellow-rumped Warbler (an Audubon's) was foraging high in cottonwoods presently in flower (dangling purple catkins). Many of the early reports of warblers from southern CO have been from flowering cottonwoods, also. I wrote about what I think is the source of migrant songbird attraction to cottonwood catkins - Dorytomus weevil larvae - in an early The Hungry Bird column in Colorado Birds (April 2011, Vol 45(2)). Looks like this might be another good year for weevils, catkins, and birds that know how to exploit this combination. *One starling was doing a great imitation of Western Wood-Pewee. *Black-capped Chickadees were gathering cottonwood catkin fluff, presumably for use as nest liner. *The Great Horned Owl young for this year were not visible when I passed the nest tree but I would wager they have been visible or will be very soon. Mama was sitting very high on the nest crotch. I do not know how many babies there are this year. *Still no swallows yet. They usually don't appear until the first ditch water comes in (May 1?). *Still have not heard a male Broad-tailed Hummingbird. Will a female refurbish the historical nest in the southeast corner for the 5th consecutive year, and set a new published record for this species? *Half-expected to see a Broad-winged Hawk, given recent reports, the date, and wind direction today, but did not. 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/SNT148-W41AE34A0EA3B991A69BD90C15E0%40phx.gbl. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (LARIMER)
I was out before the wind picked up this morning, and this time I left the dog at home so I could actually bird. I found 17 species at Grandview, including 3 Bushtits -- seen here for the third day running, a lone Cedar Waxwing, 1 Brown Creeper, and a Townsend's Solitaire. WIth coaching from Dave Leatherman, I also found and photographed a Brown Thrasher at a private residence east of the cemetery. Thanks YET AGAIN, Dave! John Shenot Fort Collins, CO -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/828e5619-37e9-4a26-b64d-866404cfbea7%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) - No Cape May, possible Black-throated Blue
I spent almost all morning at Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins today. The real highlight was getting a cemetery tour, birding tips, and entomology lesson from Dave Leatherman. Thanks Dave!!! Dave and I and Brad Biggerstaff found a group of Yellow-rumped Warblers working the hackberry trees toward the northwest corner of the cemetery, next to the ditch along La Porte Ave. Among the Yellow-rumped Warblers were two (?) Townsend's Warblers and a couple of Ruby-crowned Kinglets. PRIOR TO DAVE AND BRAD's ARRIVAL, I believe I saw an adult female Black-throated Blue Warbler among the same trees. I think I saw a drab bird with a white rectangle on the lower edge of the wing as seen in profile. It was a very brief look, I'm not certain of the ID, but I hope others who visit Grandview will be on the lookout for this bird. John Shenot Fort Collins, CO -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/04d9aa5d-23cf-45c7-b658-bfac8211547b%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) 26Sept2013
Had I only birded one tree, the large Northern Hackberry in the extreme ne corner of Section 1 (which is the in the southwestern corner of Grandview Cemetery), I would have had 16 species of birds and 1 mammal (Fox Squirrel). All were foraging on the sudden emergence of large numbers of adult gall-making psyllids. The tiny psyllids (pronounced sill-ids) are evident flying if you position yourself so as to backlight them against a dark background such as the dark spruce tree to the south, or perched if you look closely on the shiny surfaces of dark headstones below the tree (look like miniature 3mm-long cicadas). The list (roughly in the order of detection): Yellow-rumped Warbler (5) House Finch (3) Black-capped Chickadee (5) Mountain Chickadee (1 or 2) Red-breasted Nuthatch (2) Brown Creeper (1) FOS at low elevation for me this fall Downy Woodpecker (2) White-breasted Nuthatch (1) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1 or 2) Orange-crowned Warbler (1) Chipping Sparrow (15) Western Wood-Pewee (1) Wilson's Warbler (2) Townsend's Warbler (1) *Northern Parula (1m) I also found a dead Red-naped Sapsucker male (FOS at low elevation for me), a few Dark-eyed Juncos, and Turkey Vultures still linger (headed to the traditional roost at Washington and Mountain Avenues a mile or so east of the cemetery entrance). No Barn Swallows for the first time since they arrived last spring. Total of 25 species 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/SNT148-W74D3329A274660E2A3D6B8C1280%40phx.gbl. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) Highlights
At Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins (Larimer) today, I had a total of right at 30 species. That is by far the best total of 2013. None of the birds seen were particularly rare, but the place is always interesting. Highlights include: Merlin - my FOY, nice male prairie form, sitting in a tall tree out on City Park Nine golf course, seen from the se corner of the cemetery looking south (no doubt the same individual reported yesterday) Great Horned Owl - female on the nest in the traditional American Elm crotch used off and on over the last few decades, couldn't find the male but he is no doubt nearby *Pine Siskin - MAJOR influx, with at least two dozen (maybe twice that many) engaged in active courtship, no doubt will breed locally - since they were quite scarce all winter in my travels at low elevation in eastern CO (except at Lamar), one has to wonder where the recently arrived birds came from. Some of their vocalizations are remarkably like Common Redpoll, or is it vice versa? Cedar Waxwing - flock of at least 25 in a private backyard I did not enter, feeding on an unidentified shrub berry (possibly Euonymous sp. or maybe a type of Frangula (buckthorn)). Thought I kept hearing the throaty calls of Bohemians mixed in but could never glimpse one. Northern Flicker - major courtship activity underway: side-by-side wicka-wicka dancing, drumming on nest boxes, chase flights, cavity exploration and renovation, trumpet song House Finches - singing profusely everywhere Brown Creeper - only 1 or 2, which makes me wonder if they have already begun to disperse to higher elevations Townsend's Solitaire - at least 3, closely tied to juniper trees Dark-eyed Juncos - lots of song (can the various forms be separated by voice?) Eurasian Constantlyfornicating-Dove - several (more when I left than when I arrived, even more tomorrow) Lots of small bird species observed drinking sugar water in Silver Maples with rising/leaking sap, lots of dripping from these trees. 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 6February2013
Highlights of an afternoon visit to Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins (Larimer) today (6February 2013) include: Common Redpoll (a flock of at least 15 seen eating American Elm flower buds and presumably extracting seeds from the cones of Colorado Blue Spruce in the se corner) Pine Siskin (at least one with the redpolls, with siskins being decidedly the rarer of the two species in northern CO this winter) Bohemian Waxwing (flock of 60 flyovers and one dead specimen shown to me by a couple who walks at the cemetery on a daily basis) Sapsucker sp. - this is apparently the same individual first discovered by Joe Mammoser back in December 2012, which several experts have chimed in on. The consensus of opinion of authorities who have never seen the bird but have examined extensive photos is that it is an aberrant Red-naped without a red nape or a hybrid Red-naped X Yellow-bellied (with a red throat unbounded by black along the top edge, like a Red-naped, but with a Y-b back (brown and black) and nape). It seems to me the most likely identity for this individual wintering in northern CO is it's an aberrant Y-b with an unbordered throat patch. It likes a pine tree in the extreme northeastern part of the portion of the cemetery west of the n-s entry ditch (that is, enter the cemetery at the west terminus of Mountain Avenue, cross the ditch, turn right and go north as far as you can until the road curves west - the tree is just before the curve between the road and the ditch). This bird, like most sapsuckers, is VERY wary and very hard to see. It likes the middle portion of the tree, and occasionally gives a catlike meeew. There is evidence this bird uses several other pine trees over a broad area inside and outside the cemetery. It is not always present in the aforementioned pine. Great Horned Owl - two birds were hooting back and forth in the same spruce southwest of the American Elm which has served as the nest tree off and on for parts of at least the last 3 decades. It appears the female will begin incubating eggs in the elm crotch any day or week, which makes this pair true gluttons for punishment. They receive far too much attention from photographers and other self-proclaimed owl people, much of the love being unethical. Oh well. Several Brown Creepers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, and both chickadee species. Total of 24 species. 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) of late
As reported by Joe Mammoser and Cade Cropper recently, there is at least one newly-arrived Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins at the west end of Mountain Avenue (Larimer). Starting about last mid-week (14Nov) Joe found, and I saw briefly, a sapsucker which we both thought was a young bird and both thought looked very black-and-white backed (like a Red-naped, as opposed to a black-and-tan backed Yellow-bellied). SeEtta is right that the great, great majority of juvenile sapsuckers at this time of year should be Yellow-bellied, but Joe and I have seen a fair number of sapsuckers in our time in CO and this bird and/or the looks it provided were not straight-forward. Birds often don't read the books or BNA accounts. Occasional Red-napes show no red on the back of the head, migration timing is off (particularly when it has been as mild as this autumn has been), plus this particular individual was the master at never coming lower than 50 feet, never staying still, never staying in the same tree longer than half a minute, never vocalizing, always thinking the sap was greener/sweeter on the other side of the branch, etc. At any rate, there is now present a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (plumage somewhat less spectacular than full adult, especially in the extent of red on the crown, and the brightness of red on the throat), which almost certainly (despite our admittedly poor views) can't be the same bird Joe first detected. As Joe and Cade reported, it has been over along the mid-south edge of the cemetery in the small (5 trees) Austrian Pine grove just out on City Park Nine golf course (just west of the green doublewide portapotty just onto the course quite visible from the southwestern part of the cemetery. On a few occasions it has been in American Elms just into the cemetery north of the aforementioned pine grove. And apparently the same bird has been in the pines just east of the cemetery entrance just south of an area the cemetery/golf course crew use for storage of sand, mulch, leaves, etc. (i.e., just southwest of the building which houses the Mountain Avenue trolley). The pines are Scots Pines for the most part. I have seen the bird there twice, including today. When a truculent band of golfers files too close to the pines, I think its usual retreat is a small grove of pines in the traffic island at the western end of Mountain Avenue (i.e., just east of the cemetery entrance between Grandview Avenue and Frey Avenue). Other interesting birds seen at Grandview in the last 3 days include: Bald Eagle (Basic I) flyover Prairie Falcon (flyover) Red Crossbill (1 has been around on a couple occasions, usually flying over but heard once in the top of a spruce in the extreme southeastern corner (near the famous White-winged Crossbill first nest tree)). Bushtit (flock of 20 and a flock of 6 seen whipping thru in their typical Type A behavior fashion - they must die of heart attacks, most of them). Harlan's Hawk (today over the northwest corner there was a bird very similar to what Wheeler depicts in his Peterson Field Guide to Hawks as an intermediate morph). There has also been a light-morph, normal-looking Red-tail in this area also. Plenty of action in the hackberries with robins, flickers, starlings, Townsend's Solitaire (although juniper berries are still obviously their favorite food) and Cedar Waxwings - all eating hackberries. Earlier this fall a large flock of American Crows descended on a large hackberry and ate hackberries like barbarians for over an hour. Small birds still work the remaining leaves and bark for gall psyllids (especially Brown Creepers, plus both chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, and Downy Woodpecker). No siskins (or redpolls) of late. Lots of Mountain Chickadees. Great Horned Owls present but difficult to find most days. GHO preliminary hooting/courting should begin any week. 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) and nearby on 10/21
A beautiful fall day at Grandview Cemetery and surrounding neighborhood in Fort Collins (11am-2pm). Highlights: BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER (most likely a 1st fall female) - seen and heard (infrequent, fairly loud, metallic chip) foraging in American Elm on Frey Avenue due north of the Trolley House (which is on Mountain Avenue just east of the Grandview Cemetery entrance at the west terminus of Mountain Avenue). This has to be the same individual first found last Thursday in the northwest corner of the cemetery in hackberries. In certain underneath views, this bird looks very yellow-headed and very much like the Last Chance Hermit Warbler. Good views show more stripes on the flanks, a green back, smudges in the auriculars, an eyeline behind the eye, and pale yellowish vent area. Red Crossbill (heard 1 or a very few flying over w to e) Evening Grosbeak (4 flying over, calling, going e to w) White-throated Sparrow (1 juv) in the backyard of the bed-and-breakfast n across the street from the Trolley House, which is just east of the cemetery entrance on Mountain Ave. The backyard is bordered on the north by the first alley n of Mountain that goes e off Frey. Feeding with White-crowns and juncos. Big influx of juncos, including one classic White-winged (mostly along the ditch) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (2) on Frey Avenue just north of Mountain Avenue Big influx of Mountain Chickadees (at least 10) Total of 26 species, with misses being Great Horned Owl, American Kestrel, Downy Woodpecker, and Red-tailed Hawk. 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 10/18
At beautiful Grandview Cemetery today in Fort Collins, there was a first fall female BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER feeding steadily on adult hackberry psyllids in the e-w hackberry tree row along the ditch in the northwest corner. The tree it favored most is about the 5th tree from the absolute nw corner of the cemetery and is directly south of the City Park Liquor store just across LaPorte Avenue. At certain angles and in certain light, this bird appears all yellow-headed, with little to no smudginess in the auriculars. When it is high in a tree, which it often was, the yellow vent area is difficult to discern. In other words, it looks a lot like the Last Chance Hermit Warbler. Or a first fall female Golden-cheeked. But under the influence of something other than adrenalin, and in better light and at closer distances, an observer is able to see differences: greener, unstriped back; slight eyeline behind the eye; yellow top of the head; fairly prominent flank stripes; and, yes, the broad yellow wash across the vent. The bird infrequently gives a dry, metallic chip note. It goes to other trees, including other hackberries and non-hackberries (Green Ash, Siberian Elm and American Elm), but at least this afternoon, kept coming back to its favorite Northern Hackberry. Rachel Hopper and I saw the bird foraging actively in a Siberian Elm next to its favorite hackberry. I got a net and swept thru the foliage, thinking the bird might be getting elm flea weevils. Besides one house fly and a few small midges, all I found in the net were many adult hackberry psyllids. The adult psyllids overwinter in bark crevices. It matters not which kind of tree they choose for their hunkering over the next 6 months, as long as it has nooks and crannies. Other birds of interest at GC today: Lincoln's Sparrow (in grass along the ditch north of the entrance, which is at the west terminus of Mountain Avenue) White-crowned Sparrow (1 first-winter, believe it or not this is a FOY at Grandview for me this year - apparently the understory is too groomed) American Crow (two big groups of about 25 each flew over, both n to s) Yellow-rumped Warbler (1, in hackberry) White-breasted Nuthatch (at least 5, one of which sounded and looked eastern) [no Golden-crowned Kinglet (yet)] Great Horned Owl was a no-show (apparently now that the leaves have mostly fallen from its big fall roost tree (the champion Thornless Honeylocust in the southeast corner) it has moved elsewhere (which in past late falls/winters has been the interior of a monster Colorado Blue Spruce) 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 20 and 21Sept2012
Highlights at Grandview Cemetery over the last two days (September 20 was a scouting trip for today's field trip by a visiting fun group from Denver Audubon): Yesterday no Barn Swallows for the first time in over 4 months. Today, a few migrants. Rock Wren (1) yesterday working the bases of the headstones (which must be very natural for these birds) House Wren (1) each day - not a bird seen more than a few times a year at GC Broad-winged Hawk (1 ad.) yesterday atop a spruce, drawing the ire of two dive-bombing American Kestrels Red-eyed Vireo (1) yesterday, quite yellow individual, in hackberry but apparently not playing the psyllid or berry game, but rather hunting caterpillars and/or rough stinkbugs (would be my guess). Only my second ever at GC. Evening Grosbeak (1) early this morning, a flyover e to w (the second flyover of this site in the last two weeks, and an addition to the other flyovers recently at Lake Estes and Crow Valley Campground) Lincoln's Sparrow (1) skulking along the ditch, very difficult to get a good look at. Not observed every year at GC. Surprisingly, no sapsuckers or sapsucker evidence noted yet this fall. Lots of action in the hackberry trees by birds and squirrels extracting psyllids from galls, but no major emergence yet of flying adults (which overwinter in bark crevices). Today we checked 3 nests used by Broad-tailed Hummingbirds this past summer and 1 used in 2011. The 1-story nests built new this year or last all look pretty flattened or otherwise shredded and abused. The abnormally tall 3-story nest, which produced 2 young in each of 2010 and 2012, looks great. We thought long and hard about what this female is doing that the other moms aren't (using a different type of super-strong spider web for building material, teaching her children not to thrash around in bed, what?). The Turkey Vulture roost about a mile east of the cemetery entrance at Mountain Avenue and Washington is still populated at night with dozens of individuals. Their departure for places south must be imminent. 22 species at GC on the 20th, with 21 found today. 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 9/16 and hackberry psyllids in general
Today at Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins (Larimer) could be described as beautiful and transitional. Relatively unhardy insectivores like Western Wood-Pewee (1) and Barn Swallow (several) were still present. A few Turkey Vultures still linger at the Mountain Avenue roost to the east. The Wilson's Warblers, in your face a week ago, seem mostly gone (none seen today). A warbler species that could be considered a gapper between early and later fall chipped hello (Townsend's Warbler). And the flag-bearer of the later fall warblers (Yellow-rumped) also showed up. The first one (or was it two?) Brown Creeper of the fall down low returned to its assigned seat, presumably to winter in the spruce next to the big hackberry in the northern part of the cemetery. Foothills/mountain migrants like Western Tanager (1) and Chipping Sparrow (25) continue to trickle through, not in that frenzied, hyper way they sometimes do, but in a manner befitting the lower 1/5th of car's rear windshield showing first frost this morning. There was a major influx of Mountain Chickadees, Blue Jays, and American Robins. Continuing the elevational migrant theme, a female Cassin's Finch put in a brief appearance atop a tall spruce. Shortly after, a heard-only Evening Grosbeak passed over. But what I really wanted to mention was spurred by Bill Kaempfer's remarks yesterday about the best group of passerines he saw out northeast being in a hackberry in Yuma. Yes, it is that time of year when the gall psyllids of at least two types emerge from hackberry leaf galls and provide munchies or more for migrants. I consider popcorn an entree. Not sure if this makes me mildly bizarre or just indicates I know what I like. Likewise, birds can make minute food bits into entire meals, if the fare is good enough and abundant enough. Emergence of the small psyllids is a bit early this year, like many other phenological events, presumably because of the warm, dry weather. During the peak of their emergence, psyllids can certainly be abundant and result in bird feeding frenzies. Over the next 2-3 weeks, I would pay special attention to hackberries along the Front Range, far western plateaus (Durango, Delta, Grand Junction, for ex.), and particularly on the eastern plains. If there are any good eastern migrant passerines, my bet is they will at least check out hackberry for the availability of psyllids. If there is psyllid action, they might linger in such trees for days. (See the portion of the CFO website that contains archived articles of The Hungry Bird and go to July 2010 for more specifics about these fascinating insects Today at Grandview, the psyllid emergence is imminent, but not yet in full swing. However, at this time just prior to emergence, at least 5 kinds of animals were jumping the gun and getting psyllids while they are standing still (that is, while still within the galls, both nipplegalls and blistergalls): Black-capped Chickadee, Mountain Chickadee, House Finch, Pine Siskin, and Fox Squirrels. My guess would be psyllids are flying throughout the far eastern plains, and along the Front Range from Denver south. To verify, find a hackberry, position yourself with the tree between you and the sun, and if you see gnats buzzing all around during the warm part of the day, there's a good chance the little flying things are psyllids. A Brown Creeper and a Downy Woodpecker were also in hackberry but I could not confirm their finding psyllids, as they sometimes do on the bark surface or within galls. A further indication of this tree's value to urban wildlife last night was in the raccoon scat today - pure hackberry berries. Birds eating by day the hackberries still up in the trees were robins, flickers, and starlings. Solitaires will soon join them. Reports from the field welcome. 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on the last day of May 2012
The cemetery was beautiful and full of interesting things today: Confirmed the very recent hatch of two young in the tripledecker Broad-tailed Hummingbird nest Watched a different female hummer near her first-time nest flycatching for mosquitoes FOY fledged American Robin and Chipping Sparrow Youth gangs of European Starlings with too much time, everywhere in the grass Got photos of the last Chipping Sparrow nestling in the nest at the end of a low Colorado Blue Spruce branch Photographed parent Chipping Sparrow feeding a recently fledged youngster a combination of vegetable matter (new leaf?) and yellow insect larvae Found all three sibling Great Horned Owls from this year's nest together on a green ash branch some 100 yards from their birthplace elm (wonder when they'll split up?) Saw a Common Grackle carrying something big from the flowing ditch to the base of a lilac (shooed off the bird and found a live, medium-sized crayfish! Once I saw a grackle eating a crayfish but suspected it was an act of scavenging. Maybe grackles routinely catch live crayfish.) FOY young fox running across the golf course Western Wood-Pewee working over the ditch for millers (about every other year pewees nest at Grandview) Watched newly-fledged Black-capped Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches work on their foraging skills FOY White-spotted Sawyer (large longhorned beetle) landed on me (my trunk must look dead or dying, or else it sensed every woodpecker in the place would love to eat it for lunch and I represented a safe haven) Eurasian Collared-Doves nest-building Mourning Dove gathering nest material Great Blue Heron at nearby Sheldon Lake (at City Park) caught and immediately ate a nice 10 rainbow trout about 20 yards from two fishermen American Crow took a big robin nestling from a nest and ate it (major protest from not only the parent robins but also grackles) Cedar Waxwings eating almost-ripe mulberries Red-winged Blackbirds finding moths (not Army Cutworms = the miller) down in fairly tall park grass Two-tailed Swallowtail laid a light green egg on a darker green ash leaflet Heard both American and Lesser Goldfinches singing (and a starling mimicking an American) Fox Squirrels fornicating at the onset of Brood #2 for 2012 The rooster down the alley accepted my offering of a big black field cricket today (a couple days ago, for the first time ever, it refused, preferring instead some rough-looking corn on the cob provided by its owner.) Total of 36 species, just 2 shy of the all-time high (conceivable misses today were Red-tailed Hawk, Common Nighthawk, Cooper's Hawk, and Black-billed Magpie) 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) observations over Memorial Day weekend
While this is the busiest weekend of the year at most cemeteries, Nature is always busy and doesn't stop for tons of cars, visitors, shovels, and new flowers. Yesterday I watched an adult Great Horned Owl fly into an American Elm with what appeared to be a Eurasian Collared-Dove. It ate the good parts (head) and took the remains up to one of two youngsters in the same tree. The parent stayed with the welfare recipient for a quarter of an hour, then flew off. Today I found all three of this year's brood sitting together shoulder to shoulder in the same elm, with one parent in the next tree and the other sitting off in another tree. All five of this year's family grouping present and accounted for. Most exciting today was finding a brand new active Broad-tailed Hummingbird nest and confirming that another nest that has been in use or at least added-on to for the last three years is also active. The tripledecker nest is particularly interesting (photo taken), in that it is very tall and with a female on top, looks quite top-heavy. Both nests fit the predictive formula suggested to me last summer by Jeff Jones: nest on a dead limb angling down from a live horizontal branch that forms an overhead roof. Both are in the very lowest part of Colorado Blue Spruce crowns (each about 8-9 feet off the ground). Also on a lower limb of blue spruce, about a foot in from the tip, is an active nest of Chipping Sparrows. Elm Leafminer Sawfly (Profenusa ulmi) larvae are dropping out of mined Siberian Elm and American Elm leaves (not to be confused with the European Elm Flea Weevil, which also mines elm leaves, but which pupates within the mines and is eaten by birds that simply bite the brown portion of the leaf, weevil and all). The larvae will pupate in the soil, that is, if they aren't first detected and eaten by birds. Today a male American Robin was so happy to be scoring every 5 seconds or so that it paused to sing heartily between bites. The sawfly larvae are legless, very pale yellow, and about 1/8th inch long. If you notice a robin pecking at the sidewalk or bare soil under an elm, walking two steps and repeating this action, I suspect that is what it is getting. If you want to look like a true entomological nerd, follow a robin for a while that is pecking repeatedly in the above manner, shoo it off, and get down on your all-fours to confirm the prey. Warning - if your neighbors get a video, it might go viral. Yesterday the following were FOY for Grandview Cemetery in 2012: Western Wood-Pewee, Chimney Swift, and Common Nighthawk. Finally, yesterday along the ditch at the north end was a singing, first-summer male American Redstart feeding at length in a honeylocust (no doubt on leafhoppers and plant bugs). Last one I had seen at Grandview was 24 years ago! 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 5/10
Today produced the best species total of 2012 (32) but none of the birds were super-special in terms of rarity. Highlights: Broad-tailed Hummingbird female apparently getting webbing or old cottonwood seed fluff from mid-trunk bark of a Northern Hackberry and then zooming off to near the location of one of last year's nests. I am curious as to whether this female, likely a returnee from last year, will refurbish a nest built last summer, as Broad-tailed Hummingbirds have done in the past at Grandview. In fact the known double-decker nest that Tina Jones observed last summer and wisely discerned had been used twice, also shows signs of recent updating for possibly a third use. Oddly, the items added to the outside of the cup near the rim appear to be circular patches of spruce pitch. Cedar Waxwings were feasting on new dark green hackberries in at least three different trees. FOY-at-Grandview Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Passing thru or thinking of breeding? Only the fourth I have seen anywhere in CO this year. The first three were together in one tree in the corner of Jane Stulp's yard a couple weeks ago. Anybody else think kinglets are scarce this spring? The cemetery Great Horned Owls had three babies this year. All three have fledged and were seen together in an American Elm 50 yards or so west of the nest elm. No sign of the parents, although they have to be around to provide food-procurement training. Both Barn and Cliff Swallows are nesting where the ditch (now flowing) goes under Taft adjacent to the extreme nw corner. Interestingly, the Cliff Swallows all (well, maybe a few exceptions) go in the west side, the Barn Swallows the east side. Wonder if there is a line drawn with mud down under there denoting neighborhood boundaries? Cowbirds were seen for the first time at Grandview this year plotting their deeds. Hopefully this go around they will pick on species bigger than Ruby-crowned Kinglets, although the latter proved themselves up to the task in 2011. Chipping Sparrows will apparently nest again at Grandview. No warblers, vireos, empids, thrushes, orioles, or grosbeaks. 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 11April2012
Highlights today at Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins: Golden Eagle (2, soaring north together) Broad-winged Hawk (high flyover, FOY) Merlin (prairie female, perched atop the State Champion Thornless Honeylocust, perhaps the same winter bird from the neighborhood, maybe a migrant) Double-crested Cormorant (seen on Sheldon Lake at City Park from the southeast corner of the cemetery) Great Horned Owls* (continue to receive adorassment, have only seen 2 nestlings lately, after seeing 3 a week ago, did the runt get eaten?) American Goldfinch (major increase of late in response to the early American Elm seed crop this spring) Dark-eyed Juncos (gone up the hill) Brown Creepers (gone up the hill) no kinglets yet no swallows overhead *BNA confirms the rapid growth of nestling GHOs. From their birth weight to the age of 25 days, they increase by a factor of 28! Good grief! 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) of late
Things of late at Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) have not been particularly rare, the one exception being the first-mentioned below, but they have certainly been interesting. Today (4/9) I had juvenile Northern Goshawk. In my judgment, none of the field guides do a good job of covering the juvenile accipiters but this bird was big, had grayish-tan teardrops lined up in vertical, quasi-rows on the underparts, a moderately pale supercillium, somewhat uneven tail bands (but not strongly so), and a pale grayish-tan back with large white blotches. It was occasionally calling loudly (kek, given singly or with at least several seconds between utterances). The Great Horned Owls have three babies this year and they are growing very quickly. The female spends much time out of the nest elm in a nearby spruce, mostly due to crowding. She has also been scared out of the nest on at least two occasions that I have witnessed: once by a class of 34 elementary school kids ringing the base of the nest tree hooting and yelling. When she flew out, they got even louder. The second human act that caused her to leave involved a photographer. After she left, I watched him throw a stick up toward the nest to get the young to pose for a portrait. Presumably, that's also what made her fly. (Yes, I called him on it and he was so shaken by my swearing in his face that he stayed photographing for another half hour). At this point I must say that harassment disguised as adoration is still harassment. As for non-human harassment of different sorts, I have seen the female adult owl come back to the nest tree when a squirrel approached to within 5 feet of the nestlings. Unfortunately, she did not introduce her kids to squirrel sushi and just chased the intruder off. Because the father owl was a no-show at this appropriate moment, I have been thinking something might have happened to him (no sightings during the last month). But this evening, when some crows landed in the nest tree, I heard the male in a distant spruce. The mother, while definitely taking note of the crows, did not deem it necessary to go to the elm or chase them off. The wide-eyed young gazed straight up at the rowdy dark birds in their tree. Other interesting things of late: White Pelican (flyover) Bald Eagle adult (flyover) Barn Swallow (FOY, 4 singles, all flying southward on 4/7, one chasing a Sharp-shinned Hawk fly-through) European Starling imitations of Sora, White-crowned Sparrow, Western Wood-Pewee, Red-tailed Hawk, American Robin, and American Kestrel Mountain Chickadee going inside an American Elm cavity (to forage, or related to nesting?) Fox Squirrel consumption of a chocolate Easter egg in a package that said Hear My Prayer (the squirrel has been heard). Red Fox was observed (and the tale told to me by a little girl and her mother) walking purposefully along, jumping up on a graveside bench, doing a #2, jumping down, and continuing its mission). Per cemetery rules, this clearly appears to be a case of first-degree desecration. 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 3/25/12
A lot of male bird hormones out there today at Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer). Foremost was the flat out murder of one male Northern Flicker by another male Northern Flicker. Brutal to watch but involved one bird holding down another by a well-placed, firm foot grip on the upper back and repeated pecking on the rear of the victim's skull until it died. No blood involved, just blunt trauma. Male robins were skirmishing with other male robins who dared to enter established territories. House Finch males chasing off other House Finch males. Eurasian Collared-Doves courting, cooing, chasing females. In addition to murder, male Northern Flickers engaged in cavity excavation, crazed drumming on anything with resonance, chasing both males and females of their species. Elaborate, lengthy singing by American Goldfinch, presumably a male but still in winter garb. Singing by new-arrived Western Meadowlark in the vacant field north of the cemetery, presumably a male. Cooing by newly-arrived Mourning Dove, presumably a male. Hole excavation in a silver maple by a male Downy Woodpecker. Evidence of pigeon predation by the male Great Horned Owl, who is now having to feed himself, his mate, and newly-hatched young. Many, many starlings singing near tree holes, exhibitions of their best mimicry, foraging by presumed male-female pairs on the ground. Lot of shrieking by new-arrived male Common Grackles. Singing by three different types (O, s-c, and p-s) of Dark-eyed Juncos. Major ruckus centered around a migrant immature male Sharp-shinned Hawk (primary combatants were Pine Siskins, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Mountain Chickadee, Black-capped Chickadees, and House Finches). [A Sarah Brightman CD would have been a nice for the ride home, before turning on the TV to watch 5 hours of basketball gladiators.] 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on Thursday 3/15
Highlights today from Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer): YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (young male) - in the northeastern-most pine within the cemetery west of the ditch (about 100 yards due north of the entry bridge at the west terminus of Mountain Avenue). This is probably the same individual that has been seen off and on since late last fall. If it is the same one, it has been very difficult to glimpse and study AND has changed quite a bit. Having begun its stay with no red whatsoever, it now shows red on the nape, crown and throat. It likes to work at least 2/3's of the way up in the tree and, thus, can be pretty obscured by branches and foliage. Typically, wintering sapsuckers at Grandview head north about this date and I expect this one will be no different. Great Horned Owl (the eggs should be hatching any day, if they haven't already) American Tree Sparrow (2) - very unusual for the cemetery and probably an indication that this species is on the move from wintering areas to the breeding grounds well north of CO. These birds were along the ditch and on the road in the southeast corner feeding with juncos. Many pairs of Pine Siskins are nesting. Juncos are in full song (most seem to have a Canadian accent). Still plenty of Brown Creepers, a few Mountain Chickadees, and one Townsend's Solitaire representing the winter contingent of species. Trees in flower include Siberian and American Elm, and Silver Maple. All seem a bit early, especially A. elm. 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 1/9
In an attempt to collect my thoughts about tonight's talk on Grandview Cemetery (7pm, FC Senior Center, 1200 Raintree), I went to, where else?, Grandview Cemetery for a nice walk. Highlights: CASSIN'S FINCH (1 female) - a species I have seen fewer than 10 times at GC since 1974 (top of a spruce, Section G) Pine Siskin (definite courtship activity: singing, chasing, pairs picking out rings) Red Crossbill? (almost positive I heard an atypical individual (that is, not a Type 2 or 5), must have been flying, as I could not locate it in a spruce top after an hour+ of searching) Great Horned Owl (female transferring body heat to eggs, male conserving heat in the 2nd spruce w of the nest elm (westernmost tree in Section H)) [Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - evidence of recent activity in the Austrian Pine along the west side of the ditch way north of the entry bridge, no doubt the same individual recently reported by Joe Mammoser] [Eastern Screech-Owl NOT seen in the maple on the east side of the ditch where it has been, north of the two junipers north of the entry bridge] Also, 1 male Lesser Scaup at Sheldon Lake in nearby City Park (best viewed from parking along south side of the lake off Mulberry Street) 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 2/4/12
Owls highlighted today's visit to Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins (Larimer) at the west end of Mountain Avenue. The female Great Horned Owl was on the nest for the first time I've seen this year. It should be pointed out that I have not been at Grandview since the 24th (on that date the nest was empty but the male was in a nearby spruce). Kathy, a weekend jogger and owl observer said the female was not on the nest last Saturday or Sunday (the 28th-29th). An Eastern Screech-Owl was in the same broken trunk cavity in a silver maple on the east side of the ditch north of the entrance as reported on January 7th (and not seen again in several visits until today). It is impossible for me to describe the location of this owl. Today I showed it to three people at about 40X thru the spotting scope, with the owl dead center filling about half the frame, and all viewers had more than a little trouble seeing the bird. It is that cryptic. Had not chickadees alerted me to the bird by yelling at it intensely (back on Jan 7th), I would have never seen it, either. Also of note, considering the big snow we just had and the temperatures in the 20's, an American Robin was seen with a large, wriggling nightcrawler. Do earthworms pack little flasks of peppermint schnapps? Lastly, I believe a small group of siskins were engaged in early courtship activity. Total of 21 species. 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 8/28
Today was the first day that really felt like autumn migration. I've seen a few things in recent weeks that certainly indicate birds on the move (few orioles in odd places north of Lamar, MacGillivray's Warbler f or imm at Last Chance on 8/17, Olive-sided Flycatcher at Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) last week, few Western Wood-Pewees at various places in Lamar and at Grandview where I don't think they bred, Mountain Chickadee showed up in Grandview on 8/15, flock of Chipping Sparrows at Grandview yesterday, hummingbirds that nested at Grandview are gone, that sort of thing) but today seemed earnest and involved multiple taxa. Townsend's Warbler (1 f or imm) FOY foraging in the champion Thornless Honeylocust Wilson's Warbler (1 f or imm) FOS foraging in shrubs near the pumphouse in the southeast corner Common Grackle (flock of at least 75) flying off to the northwest Warbling Vireo (1) FOS at low elevation in a place where they didn't breed, foraging in the aforementioned honeylocust Bunting (heard a buzz, twice, probably a Lazuli) Western Wood-Pewee (2, foraging from their champ honeylocust basecamp) No empids, kingbirds or Myiarchus, yet. Also, Belted Kingfisher (an autumn phenomenon along the ditch that flows thru the cemetery - minnows/chubs be forewarned before you risk coming out from an undercut bank for grasshoppers flushed into mid-channel). Coolest thing today, however, was a Western Wood-Pewee calmly sallying from the honeylocust, then dipping violently to get a Band-winged Meadowhawk that was, in turn, hunting flying insects off the peony seedheads. To get the picture, remember the line by Tony Joe White in Poke Salad Annie that goes, Gator got your granny, chomp, chomp, chomp. 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 8/14/20111
I saw three unusual species for Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer County) today in the span of about two minutes - in my imagination. Here's the story I must tell on myself. Walking along about 11am a jay sound came from the top of a spruce, but it wasn't the expected Blue Jay. Steller's Jay, I immediately muttered, then mentally reconsidered this familiar sound out of context. No, Western Scrub-Jay! Not sure if I've ever seen one of those here. Cool. I looked and looked. I spished. Nothing. I looked around. In the very top of a nearby spruce was a dark bird. That's a grackle, just can't see the tail. Haven't seen one of those in the cemetery in about a month and a half. More searching of the tree where the sound came from. Nothing. A recheck of the grackle from a different angle (but still fairly far off) showed some maroon-purplish glints off the throat/head area. That's not a grackle, that's a Lewis's Woodpecker! I've only seen one of those in the cemetery, over 20 years ago. Gotta get a picture. After retrieving my camera, I fired off a few distant pics, and walked closer. What!? That's a starling!!! I think I'm a decent birder. But in a very short span, under the influence of knowing early fall dispersal is imminent and/or on-going, any jay is possible on the eastern plains in late summer-autumn, woodpeckers sometimes chowder bumper cone crops, distance, less than ideal light conditions, age, and probably a lack of my morning Mountain Dew, I called a damn European Starling FOUR other species before coming to a sane determination. Immediately after mentally uttering these four IDs, I would have bet a reasonable amount (two cases of Mountain Dew or, say, $100) that I was right. Other factors that weighed into this: I have been visiting the cemetery in recent days in late afternoon/early evening and, unbelievably, starlings have not been on my list for weeks. Starling, at least this morning, was NOT a species I considered likely. Yesterday I saw my first fall migrant (excepting a few Chipping Sparrows and Nighthawks that probably did not spend the summer at Grandview), a very whitish, young-of-the-year Yellow Warbler. Mentally I was geared for the unexpected, like empids, or pewees, or Townsend's Warbler. Or jays and woodpeckers. Many of you are saying to yourselves at this moment, Dave, admit it, you've been wandering around alone in the cemetery too long. That's not it. So, be forewarned and take what I say on this listserv with a grain of salt. That said, the Broad-tailed Hummingbird nest I've been watching since 21July (when two young nestlings were being attended by an adult female) is now empty. The young fledged successfully last weekend (August 6-7). At least one youngster is still present high in a spruce near the nest site, and is visited on a regular basis by the female. Interestingly, this young hummer makes a high-pitched chirp very reminiscent of a sparrow, or even Cordilleran Flycatcher. Even though the BNA account say nothing about juvenile sounds, I know this bird is making the sound because its mouth opens coincident with the chirp (and it's not a starling). Cool non-bird stuff of late: mule deer munching rose shoots with absolutely no fear of thorns; pelecinid wasps (check them out on-line) flying everywhere; a virtual explosion of several dragonfly species hunting off the shrubs and cruising the airspace. Lots more, but in the spirit of a bird listserv. 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer), of late
Grandview Cemetery (in answer to some inquiries, no, I don't have a plot there) in Fort Collins (Larimer) at the west terminus of Mountain Avenue, has been quite interesting of late. Yesterday I found an active Broad-tailed Hummingbird nest, with perhaps two, new, so-far silent, nestlings being fed about every 20 minutes by the female. As in the other cases at Grandview, the nest is in a blue spruce. At least part of what the mother is bringing the youngsters appears to be Cooley spruce adelgids recently emerged from their galls and now either flying or settled on needles of spruce or Douglas-fir. I borrowed a ladder and checked the inactive hummer nest found about 10 days ago in another part of cemetery. This is apparently an abandoned or dummy nest and is interestingly filled to the brim with spider webbing and other fluff (cottonwood seeds?). The proportions of the unused nest are distinctly different than the active one. The active nest is a ball (that is, about as deep as wide). The unused nest is at least twice as deep as wide. Not sure if this means anything or is standard design for the two types of nests. Of course, there is also the possibility the deep nest is not Broad-tailed but perhaps an abandoned Black-chinned (never known to be in Grandview but the day is coming, I suspect). Would a Broad-tailed ever fill up another type of hummingbird's nest as a form of discouragement? Anybody know anything about this? I better quit the runaway speculating, at least out loud. My take on the cowbird/kinglet situation is now two nests of Ruby-crowned Kinglet parasitized and a total of 3 fledged juvenile cowbirds. Three days ago I saw two young cowbirds, one in a juniper being fed by a male kinglet, the other in a nearby linden being fed by a female kinglet. Yesterday Dave Steingraeber and I saw a young cowbird in another part of the cemetery being tended by two adult kinglets. If one didn't know any better, seeing a big bird flying from tree to tree with two little birds looks like an adult with two offspring in tow. Just the opposite. Ruby-crowned Kinglets are among the smallest and rarest of cowbird hosts. There is a statement in the kinglet BNA account that it is unknown if birds this small are even capable of rearing cowbirds to independence. I think the Grandview hosts are close to pulling it off. The young cowbirds can fly very well, go down to the ground on their own, peck around, then remember they're true members of the entitlement generation, fly into a tree, call incessantly, and get pampered. The number of confirmed breeders for within the cemetery proper is 21 species for 2011. One notable difference in this tally from that of 2010 is the absence of the White-winged Crossbills. The current concept for the book I have threatened to write about LIFE in the cemetery involves not only documenting the cycle of events, but comparing these two back-to-back years. 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 5/29
After composing myself, I decided a more controlled environment with a well-marked road system, less rowdy people, and lots of American flags would be helpful for my spirit, and less tempting to my tendency for wanton lawlessness. Highlights: HOODED WARBLER (female, near the pumphouse where the 1st wwxbill nest was, working a hackberry) Red-eyed Vireo (1, eating green fruitworms in Green Ash, singing briefly) Broad-winged Hawk (1 immature, likely the same bird as has been present for the last few days) Western Wood-Pewee (FOY at GC) Common Nighthawk (1 FOY at GC) Dusky Flycatcher (2, in Green Ash mostly) Chimney Swift (1 overhead) Cooper's Hawk (1 flying through at low level) Wilson's Warbler (1m in Lilac) Oriole sp. (singing across the street briefly, possibly a Baltimore) Western Tanager (at least 15, mostly in Cotoneaster eating flowers/green fruits and hopping up for flushed unknown insects, also seen in American Elm, Green Ash (probably after the aforementioned green fruitworms), Lilac, Douglas-fir, and Colorado Blue Spruce. One was also on the road getting an earthworm.) Total of 38 species (ties my all-time best for the cemetery) 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 5/23
After getting back from the wonderful, exhausting CFO Convention in Grand Junction (special thanks to Coen and Brenda) but everybody else, too, who worked so hard on it, and who made it fun by attending, I had to go check out Grandview Cemetery (west end of Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins, Larimer County) this (5/23) afternoon (4:30-7pm) in some swirly thunder storms and mixed sun. The 38 species matched my best ever there, in terms of species diversity. Highlights were: Colorado Blue Spruce pollen blowing in the pre-storm winds that actually made views across the cemetery decidedly hazy, the wet rims of my hiking shoes yellow, and my car a mess. Swainson's Thrush (at least 10, one of the highest totals at this site since they pruned the lower spruce limbs years ago for security reasons) Hermit Thrush (1) Pine Siskin (75+ making a din, mostly in American Elms laden with seeds) Violet-green Swallows (several flying high overhead, working the storm winds) Rose-breasted Grosbeak (1 young male) FOY, in various trees, including American Elm and Honeylocust, near the entrance Lazuli Bunting (1f, 1m) near the pumphouse shrub thicket in the SE corner (possible nesters, which would be a first) Western Tanger (1m) working the hedge of Caragana and Cotoneaster (for developing fruits, flowers, insects, what?) Hairy Woodpecker (female drumming on a dead stem of Honeylocust (most likely reason being a copulation solicitation, oh my)) Plumbeous Vireo (1) in Honeylocust Common Raven (1) flyover Red Crossbill (1m) briefly in top of the only Section S spruce that produced decent cone crop last year Great Horned Owl (2 fledglings) together in a spruce to the north of the nest elm Northern Rough-winged Swallow (1) flyover, not usual at the cemetery Yellow-rumped Warbler (1) in Western Hackberry 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 13April2011
Highlights of a multi-hour, afternoon visit in cool, overcast weather to Grandview Cemetery (GC), Fort Collins (Larimer) today (4/13/2011): Red Crossbill (3 non-red individuals, appear/sound to be Type 2's?) - these birds have been around for the last few days and spend their time in an assortment of ways, including feeding on Blue Spruce seeds extracted from cones, eating American Elm seeds, sitting in a Northern Red Oak (either eating buds or wiping pitch from their bill, couldn't tell which), going to the ditch for puddled water, and even visiting tube feeders at a house east of the entrance (getting something light yellow, which could be either millet or cracked corn (when I find out from the owner, I'll post the answer)). Crossbills of any species or type have NOT been present at GC this past winter (very few cones produced on spruce last summer). They were seen on a couple dates last October, and then this spring only of late. Sharp-shinned Hawk (1 small individual, presumably a male) Cooper's Hawk (1, a local breeder, carrying a sharp-tailed bird (Mourning Dove?), yesterday the daily special was robin) Lesser Goldfinch (1 pair courting) Dark-eyed Junco (heard, one of the last of the wintering individuals or possibly a migrant) Red-breasted Nuthatch (few, including one excavating its own cavity in a dead American Elm branch stub) Pine Siskin (several, well into their first nesting cycle, after not being present all winter) Double-crested Cormorant (2 flyovers) Hairy Woodpecker (1m) not an everyday species at GC Downy Woodpecker (2) Great Horned Owl (female sitting very high on the nest, young birds should start being visible any time now) *The coolest thing I've seen lately: yesterday some of the Black-capped Chickadees were working Snowball Viburnum shrubs for the eggs of aphids (look like very tiny, shiny black jellybeans near the buds and in lengthwise bark ridges along one-year old twigs) and possibly European Fruit Lecanium (Scale) nymphs. Sounds tough, but I've personally witnessed college-educated humans make a meal out of MMs. [The wintering, joined-at-the-hip duo of Brown Creepers and Golden-crowned Kinglets appears to have left for higher elevation] Total of 26 species (tied with 4/8 for best species total of 2011) 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 4April2011
Highlights of an afternoon visit today (4/4/11) to Grandview Cemetery at the west end of Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins (Larimer): YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (1 new (migrating?) individual juvenile, facial stripes thinner than one from a month ago, top of head with much red, throat white, very wary (you would be too if you had to suck enough sap to subsist along the fareway of a public course populated with rusty early spring golfers on a windy day), found in the 7th Austrian Pine (thin diameter with a double-trunk) east of the dark green porta potty just out on the golf course near the southwest corner of the cemetery). Franklin's Gull (FOY flock of about 25 milling about noisily overhead) Golden-crowned Kinglet (at least 1 of the overwintering duo still present, as per normal in the company of a Brown Creeper) Great Horned Owl (female sitting pretty high on the nest in the elm at the west end of Section H, babies still not viewable under her) Red-tailed Hawk (1 lt., 1 dark) Lesser Goldfinch (singing without gusto at the entrance) Total of 21 species 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 3/23/2011
Here's the complete annotated list, in order of discovery, from Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) today (3/23/2011): House Finch (zillions, lots of courtship, one female observed nest-building) Great Horned Owl (female on nest in Section H, babies hatched on schedule starting on 3/17, male hooted with pride once midday) Northern Flicker (zillions, usually in threesomes (what's up with that?), territorial drumming, chasing, courting, you name it) Pine Siskin (at least 6-8 pairs, lots of singing and courtship flying) Red-breasted Nuthatch (few, one agonistic toward White-breasted Nuthatch, presumably involving who has legal title to a nearby cavity) Eurasian Collared-Dove (at least 3 pairs, chasing, courtship cooing, usually going into spruce crown interiors) Duck sp. (small group of fast-flying ducks far in the distance) Black-capped Chickadee (at least 15, lots of courtship singing, cavity investigation, chasing) Lesser Goldfinch (1 pair, male singing at length in American Elm right over the entrance) Dark-eyed Junco (I didn't even look at them for fear of seeing wing-bars, lots of singing) American Robin (several, male fights, worm-pulling) Ring-billed Gull (several overhead, homing in on Sheldon Lake at nearby City Park) White-breasted Nuthatch (2 pairs of interior subspecies, aforementioned squabble with feisty RBrNut over cavity) House Sparrow (several in two separate colonies across the street from the cemetery) Brown Creeper (at least 5, doing their usual procuring of psyllids from spruce trunk bark near hackberry, and one was taking a bath in the ditch) Mourning Dove (1 new arrival, heard across the street) American Goldfinch (few, eating American Elm flowers) American Crow (few, flew over GHOwl nest and shouted obscenities) Golden-crowned Kinglet (2, in spruce, usually with creepers) Rock Pigeon (few on pole far to the north, waiting to be chosen as dinner by the owls) European Starling (returned from work outside the cemetery about 5pm (in the dead of winter they get home at 3:30)) Mountain Chickadee (at least 1, maybe as many as 3, in spruce) YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (1 adult male, a surprise, maybe (but maybe not) the same adult male present for the last several weeks, seen at 5pm in several trees just west of the entrance (Sugar Maple, American Elm, Rocky Mountain Juniper, American Linden, Silver Maple), very hyper. Total of 23 species. Misses today were Red-tailed Hawk, Blue Jay, and Downy Woodpecker. Also thought there might have been a few migrating hawks overhead. Also, Turkey Vultures are beginning to return to their traditional roost on Mountain Avenue several blocks east of the cemetery, as reported by Dr. Cringan yesterday. 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 30January
The juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker continues to hang out in the large Scots Pine on the west side of the ditch in the northeast corner of Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer). This bird can be amazingly wary and will probably prove elusive if you park under the tree or walk right up to it. I would recommend driving slowly north from the entrance along the ditch, thru the corner to locate the tree, then parking at least 50 yards west of it. Scan the north side of the pine trunk about half way up for the bird from inside your car. If present, it will probably allow slow approach on foot to within about 20 yards, then will start playing hide and seek. Skyler Bol and his parents Cree and Tom and I saw the bird this morning about 10. It steadily worked a couple of nice patches of sap wells on the north side of the tree at mid-trunk level. It has several others, including some high in the crown, and is perfectly content to retreat to these upper ones (where it is virtually invisible). I went back to the cemetery this afternoon and the sapsucker was still in this tree, but not nearly as evident. Other birds seen today at Grandview: Merlin (2, prairie) - initially a female was spotted atop a spruce. It was chased off its perch by an overflying crow. The female relocated in a cottonwood, and amazingly, a male Merlin flew in toward her. The crow chased off the male, ruining a great viewing/photo op. Shortly, the female went off to the south. I don't think I have ever seen a male-female pair of Merlins in Colorado. Very exciting. Sharp-shinned Hawk (1) Bald Eagle (1a) Red-tailed Hawk (1) American Kestrel (1m) Great Horned Owl (1 near the nest elm, still no presence on the nest) Cedar Waxwing (about 10 flyovers) Golden-crowned Kinglet (2, with Brown Creepers, almost always in a spruce next to a hackberry getting overwintering gall psyllids) Total of 21 species (including, for the location, a very respectable total of 6 raptors, especially considering we are outside of migratory periods) Misses today included both Hairy and Downy Woodpecker (both of which poach from the sapsucker's wells), both White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches, American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, American Goldfinch, and Eurasian Collared-Dove. 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 cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) September 12-19
The following summarized interesting observations at Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) since last Sunday the 12th. Visits, most of them multiple hours in duration, were made on the 12th, 14th, 16th, 17th, and today (the 19th). Every visit is different. 12th GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER (apparently a one afternoon wonder) Western Wood-Pewee (at least 6 snapping overhead, mostly working yellowjackets) Townsend's Warbler (3) Warbling Vireo (1 western race) Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (1 of only a few I've ever seen here) Hairy Woodpecker (1 mountain race working on a mountain pine beetle-infested Scots Pine) Cordilleran Flycatcher (1) Chaetura Swift (2) These two birds appeared very short-tailed and short-winged and were silent. I got a good view of one flying n to s and it appeared very pale on the throat and upper breast. I could not see the rump. While they were probably just late Chimney Swifts, all the qualitative marks for Vaux's Swift were right. I mentioned this to Arvind of RMBO and he pointed out a line drawn from part of the Vaux's breeding range the Pacific NW to their southern Mexico and Central America wintering areas goes right thru CO. What will it take for an acceptable CO record of this species? Probably a recording and/or specimen. I joked CFO or RMBO needs to fund Kim Potter to place miniature telemetry devices on some birds in the Pacific NW and track them to their wintering grounds. This is one species about which we have a lot to learn. Violet-green Swallow (1 late migrant) MacGillivray's Warbler (1m along the ditch) 14th WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER (1 juv., only the second I've ever seen at Grandview, although a few probably sneak thru every year or two) Common Nighthawk (1, rather late) Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1, FOS at low elevation for me) Turkey Vulture (2 small groups of apparent migrants up pretty high, although they could have been from the Mt. Avenue roost) 16th Brown Creeper (2, FOS at low elevation for me) Mountain Chickadee (1, FOS at low elevation for me) Peregrine Falcon (1, circling overhead and then going into a stoop north of the cemetery (where the Rock Pigeons hang out)) Ferruginous Hawk (2, circling off to the west toward Poudre High School, perhaps hunting lambkins) Hermit Thrush (1, southeast corner) Brewer's Sparrow (1, with a small flock of migrant Chipping Sparrows) 17th Hammond's Flycatcher (1, located first by its distinctive peek call note, very bright freshly-molted bird) Clay-colored Sparrow (1 or 2, in with big flock of Spizella sparrows ) Empidonax #2 (never did get a good look, hunting very low off the peonies and headstones) MacGillivray's Warbler (show to me by a domestic cat hunting the ditch) 19th Red-naped Sapsucker (1 adult m) WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER (apparently a second individual, judging by today's bird having a duller throat than the bird on the 14th) Spotted Towhee (1m, eating a crabapple in between doublefoot scratches for whatever it is they find doing that - this is a very unusual species at manicured, mowed Grandview Cemetery) Western Tanager (2) Black-capped Chickadee (2 were plucking hackberry leaves, standing on them, pecking out blistergall psyllids, dropping the leaves) no pewees today, for the first time in weeks 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 cobi...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 6/26
After watching the US soccer team be relegated to the ranks of a ghoner, I headed over to Grandview Cemetery (west terminus of Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins, Larimer County) just to see what was going on and hopefully improve my spirits. Peregrine Falcon (flyover from se to nw) - I have seen Peregrines on this general path a couple times since spring and am beginning to wonder if birds nesting near the mouth of Poudre Canyon pay a visit to Sheldon Lake at City Park (or perhaps the pigeons at CSU) on a regular basis. Lesser Goldfinches consistently occur in two areas within the cemetery (far south-central and north-central). A female Broad-tailed Hummingbird was gathering spider silk (or was she gleaning branch tip insects?) from the same spruce one (her?) successfully nested in last summer about 100 yards north of the entrance bridge just on the west side of the ditch. A parent Chipping Sparrow was observed feeding 2 or 3 fledglings along the ditch. The young birds make begging sounds very similar to the foraging notes of Bushtits. The White-winged Crossbill female showed herself briefly about 5:30 pm in the top of a spruce in the east part of Section G (this general area is about 50 yards south of the entrance bridge just w of the ditch). If she fledged any young from Nest #2 (due to have occurred roughly around June 11), it/they were not with her that I could see. I last saw her on June 9 during a brief flyby of the nest tree in the southeast corner of Section 1, so it was good to find out she is still around (today marks Day #217 of her visit!). Lastly, the Eastern Wood-Pewee, first detected on 22May, was heard several times yesterday (6/25) at various locations in the southern half of the cemetery. I did NOT hear it today, but the visit was late in the afternoon when singing is normally subdued. 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 cobi...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 15Nov09
As the overnight snow was falling from the trees this morning at Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins: American Robin (flocks high up, flying south (mostly), total of 150 birds) Townsend's Solitaire (1) perhaps a bird that will overwinter at the cemetery, not present in previous visits this fall Canada Goose (small flocks, mostly going south, total of about 165 individuals) Cackling Goose (with the bigger geese, estimate 8) Pine Siskin (one small group heard) low numbers this fall so far Black-billed Magpie (1) seen chasing junco, missed it (I think), later eating morsel in a big spruce that looked like cached but unfrozen meat (bird or mouse?)) RED CROSSBILL (3m, 1f) well-studied for wingbars, in CO blue spruce, first I've seen at the cemetery in several months Golden-crowned Kinglet (1f) in mixed flock of chickadees, creepers and red-breasted nuthatches, if it winters will be the first in couple years (a species that was regular at the cemetery in small numbers for several years prior to the 07-08 absence) Total of 20 species (which is good for the cemetery on the date) Dave Leatherman Fort Collins -- Colorado Field Ornithologists: http://www.cfo-link.org/ Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Colorado Birds group. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.as/group/cobirds?hl=en
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 3Oct09
Lots of change and action at Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) this morning. Highlights: big influx of American Robins (mostly in berry-laden junipers) big influx of Brown Creepers big influx of Dark-eyed Juncos (mostly pink-sided, a few slate-colored, one Oregon) big influx of Yellow-rumped Warblers (feeding in many different situations, tree species) Plumbeous Vireo (1) late, in American elms and silver maple (presumably getting aphids in both trees) Chipping Sparrow (1 large flock) still present as it has been for the last month or so Chickadees of both species everywhere, mostly in spruce and Douglas-fir Red-breasted Nuthatches (20+, hard to say how many) frenzied activity, mostly extracting and caching Douglas-fir seeds White-crowned Sparrow (1i, gambeli) not a common visitor to the cemetery Hairy Woodpecker (1m) strictly working on dead spruce branches, different individual trees (longhorned borers?) Hackberry psyllids still mostly unhatched Dave Leatherman Fort Collins PS - When I was at Crow Valley yesterday, I met Tom Wilberding from Boulder, who described a bird seen briefly on a table in the Main Picnic Shelter area that sounded a lot like a Varied Thrush. I checked out all the robins and didn't see one with a chest band. But Joe Roller's report from today makes me think one was there yesterday and Tom was right. Has any Colorado location had more Varied Thrushes than Crow Valley? --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ Colorado Field Ornithologists: http://www.cfo-link.org/ Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Colorado Birds group. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.as/group/cobirds?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on Saturday 26Sept09
Another fine, 30+ species day at Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins (8:15-10:45am). The weather was crisp, calm, and clear this morning, with lots of dew. The leaves for the most part are still on the trees and green. After 9 am or so, insects of many types were evident. Several individuals of a particularly interesting set of species (Bald-faced Hornets, a native yellowjacket (Vespula sp.), European paper wasps, one of our native Polistes paper wasps, Multicolored Asian Ladybird Beetles, various flies, a species of brown lacewing, etc.) were gleaning the sugary ooze that accumulates on the surface of Rough Bullet Galls (made by a species of cynipid wasp) on Bur Oak This material, which emanates from within the galls, is not really honeydew in the sense of normal honeydew (i.e., aphid and scale excrement) but I don't know what else to call it. I didn't really see any birds associating with this set of insects since their discovery was late in the visit, but I certainly intend to pay attention to it next time. As for bird highlights: *Mountain Chickadee (5+) the presumed winter shift which arrived about a week ago was still very evident *Townsend's Warbler (at least 2) still lingering, mostly working on aphids and European elm scales, maybe attendant yellowjackets, in American Elm and on aphids in American Linden *Red-breasted Nuthatch (at least 15) still busy caching spruce seeds *Western Tanager (1) lingering *Yellow-rumped Warbler (12 or so) mostly in American Elms (mostly foraging down small terminal branches, flushing some type of insect (yellowjackets?) and then dive-bombing the falling prey) *Red-naped Sapsucker (1 adult female) in American Elm in middle of cemetery *Orange-crowned Warbler (1) in American Elm *Wilson's Warbler (1) in American Linden, mostly *Ruby-crowned Kinglet (3) seemed very yellowish (juveniles?) *Dark-eyed Junco (few) *Barn Swallow (few) lingering, non-directional flying around (for no good reason, suspect they were part of the local colony, not migrants) *CASSIN'S KINGBIRD (1) #176 for my cemetery list (perched in top of dead tree in a field 100 yards north of northern cemetery boundary (LaPorte Ave.)) *House Wren (1) at the entry bridge in Virginia Creeper tangle Other things: *Red Fox *Fox Squirrels (few still nibbling hackberry nipplegall psyllid galls, indicating the adult psyllid hatch is yet to come - looks like passerine migration will mostly be over when it happens, so maybe that means there will be more to overwinter and provide food for nuthatches, creepers (and golden-crowned kinglets, if they ever reappear at the cemetery)) *Darner dragonflies (just a few) *Small dark brown caddisfly sp. doing the aerial jitterbug over the canal *Sulphur butterflies (few) *Looked for suspected Ceraunus Blue (butterfly) from a week ago but had no success Dave Leatherman Fort Collins --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ Colorado Field Ornithologists: http://www.cfo-link.org/ Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Colorado Birds group. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.as/group/cobirds?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on Sunday, 20Sept
Two trips to Grandview Cemetery today, one when it was sunny and calm at mid-morning, one when it was overcast and somewhat breezy late this afternoon, produced 32 species (very high total for this location) and the following highlights: Red-breasted Nuthatch (15+) mostly busy caching Blue and Engelmann Spruce seeds under pine and deciduous tree bark Mountain Chickadee (5+) lots of excitement at their arrival from the mountains, presumably at least a few will winter at the cemetery Western Tanager (1 male) saw it snag a moth from within a high-up Blue Spruce branch tip and then it appeared to hunt such sites the whole day Western Wood-Pewee (4, maybe 5) very conspicuous in the middle of the cemetery, stayed together, chased eachother a lot Ruby-crowned Kinglet (2) my FOS at low elevation, mostly in silver maple presumably getting leaf aphids Chipping Sparrow (same group of 30-40 juveniles) mostly getting seeds of lower plants, but one scored a miller-sized pale moth Townsend's Warbler (2) getting somewhat late, favored silver maple with aphids Dark-eyed Junco (at least 5) FOS for me at low elevation, all appeared to be pink-sided Yellow-rumps appear to have received the baton from Wilson's as the default warbler from here on out. A pair of Great Blue Herons flew south at fairly high altitude, their wingtips almost touching. Input welcome on the following: it's about 1 time in 5 that when the passerine birds (jays, chickadees, nuthatches, tail-flicking warblers, house finches, etc.) get all excited that I can figure out the problem. Owls, accipiters, fox squirrels, bats, raccoons, and domestic cats are the images that bias my search. One has to wonder if some birds play pranks on eachother just to see if they can cause a panic, or if they have their own version of this is just a test of the emergency broadcast system. Are these false alarm situations initiated by young-of-the-year birds who have heard, and can duplicate, alarm calls well enough to elicit a response from other birds of all ages? Or maybe there are individual paranoid birds that panic at the sight of a yellowjacket, jet airliner overhead, or falling leaves. Saw a blue butterfly which I studied well and am almost certain was a Ceraunus Blue (only showed a single spot on the lower edge of both the upper and lower hindwing surface). Reikert's Blue would be a lot more expected. Dot pattern on the underside of the forewing did not look right for that. Was not a Marine Blue. Wish I had taken pictures of it! Dave Leatherman Fort Collins --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ Colorado Field Ornithologists: http://www.cfo-link.org/ Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Colorado Birds group. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.as/group/cobirds?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on July 5
The place was one species shy of 30 this morning. Think this is a high species count for me at the cemetery in July. Highlights: CORDILLERAN FLYCATCHER (1, presumably a male) Singing its brains out all over the cemetery and even up east onto Mountain Avenue, probably the same individual Nick Komar reported from nearby City Park a few weeks ago. This bird appeared to be in first-winter plumage (July to November, according to Sibley), as it had distinctly brownish wingbars. The eye-ring was white and broken in front, distinctly teardropped toward the rear and the throat contrasted well with the rest of the upper body (thus, I would rule out Yellow-bellied, which Nick strongly suspected he heard the same day he had the Cordilleran in the same general location). I have had Cordillerans in the cemetery in fall before, never in mid-summer. Broad-tailed Hummingbird (1 female) She was mostly gone foraging and then coming back to a Colorado Blue Spruce nest along the east side ditch north of the entrace to feed young. On one occasion I could see her buzzing around the very top of a 70-foot spruce about 100 yards from the nest tree, gathering flying insects. Although I didn't specifically time her, I would estimate trips to the nest during mid-morning (temperature about 65 degrees) were spaced 20 minutes apart. The neatest thing she did was hassle two Fox Squirrels who were feeding on green cones well above the nest. When the squirrels, their muzzles all gummed up with spruce pitch, came down to about the level of the nest, she nailed them several times and got the response she wanted, which was the squirrels moving away from the nest. Lesser Goldfinch (at least two pairs, maybe more) One pair engaged in courtship flight, following eachother around, lots of calling. Cooper's Hawk (pair) Flew over in formation, one behind and a bit to the side of the other. Chipping Sparrow (heard trilling in the section due south of the entrance office) Here's the rest of the list (in the order they were observed, minus the above spp.): House Finch (several, mostly involved with nesting or eating mulberries) Common Starling (you did say this was the new common name of this species, right Bill Maynard?) Black-capped Chickadee (one observed eating a mulberry (red, not ripe like other blacker ones that were available) American Robin (feasting on mulberries and seen carrying these to young in the nest) American Crow (heard off to the east) Pine Siskin ( several, including adults observed visiting a nest in a Colorado Blue Spruce) Blue Jay (at least 6-8 seen flying thru at various times) Mourning Dove House Sparrow (few near the entrance bridge) Northern Flicker (several, including fledglings who already knew the drill: drill the turf for ants, and one adult male red-shafted drumming on a light pole as if thinking about brood #2 for this year) Rock Dove (1 flyover) American Goldfinch (few) White-breasted Nuthatch (heard 1) Western Meadowlark (heard off to the north across Mountain Avenue) Barn Swallow House Wren (1 heard) Off to the northeast before the car traffic picked up, this is not a normal species for Grandview, for some reason (too groomed?). Ring-billed Gull (1 flyover) Common Grackle (several, mostly hassling the red-tail) Red-tailed Hawk (1 came in from the north and landed on a light pole northwest of the cemetery) Downy Woodpecker (heard at least 2) Red-breasted Nuthatch (at least two different individuals heard) Great Horned Owl (1 young of the year) Mallard (pair with 5 young) In the ditch, the young plucking insects (and seeds?) from grasses overhanging the ditch American Kestrel (1 male) Perched briefly atop a spruce, finally chased off by House Finches (who must know kestrels occasionally eat nestling House Finches) Also seen: one miscellaneous very big, rare bird, 60+ years past its prime but still looking and sounding good - a restored B-17. Wikipedia says 12,731 were built and only about 20 are still flying. Outright misses or birds conceivably present at Grandview this time of year: Eurasian Collared-Dove (definite miss) Mountain Chickadee (not normal in summer but a pair apparently nested this summer) Turkey Vulture (fly-over coming and going from Mountain Avenue roost) Western Wood-Pewee (present some summers and earlier this year) Chimney Swift (overhead foragers) Cliff Swallow (overhead foragers) Violet-green Swallow (overhead foragers) Common Nighthawk (overhead foragers, sometimes roost on the big horizontal limbs of honeylocusts and American elms) Great Blue Heron (fly-over) White Pelican (fly-over) Belted Kingfisher (visitor to the ditch) If all these species were seen, the total would be 40 - impressive for one square mile of urban habitat in mid-summer. Dave Leatherman Fort Collins --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/ You received this message because you
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on June 7
Grandview Cemetery at the west terminus of Mountain Avenue in Fort Collins (Larimer) was very interesting today: Total of 23 species (normal for this time of year would be about 16-17) Broad-tailed Hummingbird (saw three females, one of which was constructing a nest about 20 feet up in a CO blue spruce!) - this is a first for me and I think for the cemetery, although I have suspected possible nesting since the summer of the Tropical Parula (2005), when observers saw a female gathering lichens from a tree trunk. In 2007 I had what I called a family sitting together over the office in July. The discovery of a nest today was about 9am and I went back after the intense hail storm of early afternoon and the female and nest were still in tact. Activities observed today included spider web gathering, nest shaping (the female assumed a different compass direction for sitting after each foray and addition of material, presumably to assure symmetry), and in summary this all appeared to be finishing touches. Grandview Cemetery would be right at the eastern edge, perhaps one quad further east, of confirmed breeding this far north, according to the BBA 1 summary book. Chimney Swift (1) overhead, not unprecedented at Grandview but not expected, either Chipping Sparrow (1 singing, 1 other bird observed) this makes the second summer in a row that I think this species is nesting, perhaps 2-3 miles east of where they would be more expected in the ponderosa pine forests of the foothills Lesser Goldfinch (1, perhaps 2) heard near the entrance - these have been regular at Grandview later in the summer (post-breeding dispersers?) and today's date seems a little late for a spring migrant and way too early for post-breeding movement Mountain Chickadee (1 heard) not known to have nested at Grandview and this may be a breeder, but may well be a lone individual who didn't get the memo to go west in April Great Horned Owl (1a, 2i) observed sitting quietly in deciduous trees, but for some reason this summer they seem to be generating a greater than normal alarm response from passerine birds, particularly robins and grackles American Robin (several) lots of fledglings at this time, and I saw an adult gathering Brown-headed Ash Sawfly (Tomostethus multicinctus) larvae from under a green ash to feed to one of them (the provider just ran around snatching them up - it took me over 30 minutes of curiosity-arousing-down-on-my-knees-put-on-the-reading-glasses hunting to find 2!). Our CSU tree insect and disease book (Extension Bulletin 506A) says these sawflies don't have many known biological controls. Add robin to the list. Red-breasted Nuthatch (2 heard, one from a hole where I saw two birds visiting over a month ago) known to nest in small numbers in most years at Grandview Pine Siskin (several) involved in various behaviors, nesting again as first confirmed by Leukering in 2005 Borderline species that sometimes nest or roost at Grandview but don't appear to be this summer are: Western Wood-Pewee Ruby-crowned Kinglet Common Nighthawk (known to at least roost here in most years, and maybe still will) There is a very nice new cone crop developing in the spruces and Douglas-fir. Maybe next winter will be good for crossbills at Grandview. Lastly, what appeared to be a young Fox Squirrel of this year's first generation was seen carrying a dead, young bird, probably a House Finch. It carried the bird up a trunk and appeared to stash it in a nest box intended for flickers. Dave Leatherman Fort Collins --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Colorado Birds group. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.as/group/cobirds?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 4/22
Grandview Cemetery was fairly quiet today but the following are changes since my last visit 10 days ago: Great Horned Owl (two babies peeking out of the American Elm crotch, Mom went somewhere else for elbow room) Chipping Sparrow (big flock) Broadwinged Hawk (1a in the center of the cemetery just west of Section S) Dave Leatherman Fort Collins --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ Join us at the 2009 Convention in Alamosa: http://cfo-link.org/convention/index.php You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Colorado Birds group. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.as/group/cobirds?hl=en -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
