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
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
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