[cobirds] Odds and ends

Of late at Grandview Cemetery/City Park in Fort Collins (Larimer)

*Swainson's Hawk over Sheldon Lake

*Orange-crowned Warbler in shrubs along the boardwalk at Sheldon Lake, FOY for me

*Wood Duck pair off and on (have not seen them back at the cavity near the cemetery office)

*Great Horned Owl female back on her old digs in Section H in an A. Elm crotch for a second go at nesting in 2021 (after the new site in a spruce in Section E broke in last big snow storm right at the flawed area that supported the nest)

*Cassin's Finch female seen yesterday apparently gathering dried grass for use in a nest (photo)!  This would be a new breeding species for the cemetery.  Have not seen a male lately, so maybe this was just some sort of instinctive, physiologically-induced behavior stimulated by all the nearby House Finch nesting activity, or perhaps in prep for heading up the hill when winter there finally gives up.

 

*Broad-tailed Hummingbird female, FOY female hummingbird for me, at cemetery, heard only coming from the interior of a spruce crown. Have had (heard or seen) a couple males.

*Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1, maybe 2) heard at cemetery

*White-crowned Sparrow (1 late Gambel's adult) at Sheldon Lake in willows along the boardwalk

*FOY Canada Goose goslings 5/2 at Sheldon Lake (last year noted first on 4/26)

*Still no Broad-winged Hawks at cemetery.  I have probably just missed the occasional flyover.

Townsend's Solitaire (pretty late) at Linn Grove Cemetery in Greeley (Weld).  Otherwise, a lackluster visit birdwise.  Beautiful dwarf magnolia in bloom on south side of the office building was a consolation prize.

Eaton Cemetery was also lackluster.  The psyllids have emerged, at least somewhat, in hackberry and eggs are evident on opening buds but things are obviously 2 weeks behind.

I think by now it should be pretty obvious to anyone who has been around a while that the big benefactor from the addition of Eurasian Collared-Dove to the avifauna of CO over the last 25 years is Cooper's Hawk ("Middle-sized Chicken Hawk", alternative name "Cackling Hawk").  They seem to be much more common than they used to be, especially in urban habitats, even in winter.

Dave Leatherman

Fort Collins