[cobirds] A note on pine cone crops and Red Crossbills, and on hummers

I wanted to mention a couple of general observations that are of interest to me.

Maybe lots of us have noticed the substantial new cone crop that is maturing on Ponderosa pines over a wide geographic area, and also great new crops of cones on limber pine, bristlecone pine, and in some areas on lodgepole pine and on Englemann spruce. Even some of the pine species or varieties commonly used in landscaping down in the metro area are setting a big crop. Parallel to this, good numbers of Type 2 Red Crossbills are present now, at least as I've seen in Jefferson, Park, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Boulder and Larimer counties over recent weeks. I've also had a smattering of Type 5, but mostly just one or two at a time and much more scattered than the numerous Type 2 crossbills that are now easy to find. After a dearth of any new cones in many forest areas over the last couple of years, it will be nice to have this resource back and attracting birds in our montane forests. 

So far this July has been the slowest yet for hummingbirds around my home area in Ken Caryl Valley in my 5 years of residence. This follows a strong showing last summer. I especially note a dearth of Rufous and Calliope so far. Both showed up in my yard at the expected time (1st and 2nd weeks of July, respectively), but only an initial individual or two and then none, vs. the norm where they are present daily after first appearing, with numbers increasing,. esp for Rufous. So far that has not been the case, but I hope it will change. 

David Suddjian

Ken Caryl Valley

Littleton, CO

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