I woke up yesterday morning and here's what it was like in my yard and my patch at Grandview Cemetery (Larimer). First sound coming thru the front door was that of a Western Tanager foraging on big true bugs (probably Leptoglossus sp.) in my apartment courtyard junipers (Fort Collins neighborhood a mile east of the CSU campus). A few Wilson's Warblers worked the boxelder (probably for psyllids). A Rock Wren, decidedly NOT normal in the courtyard, called. A group of short-tailed swallows buzzed over in the fog (probably Violet-greens, based on Steve M's amazing observation two days ago at Golden Pond in Longmont per this species). Across the street in a dead-topped poplar sat a raptor which proved to be an Osprey. Wow. The day was not normal. The big prediction must be true.
Then I went to Grandview Cemetery and would agree with what Nick said about a nearly complete lack of local turnover. In fact I would say I saw less numbers and diversity today than has been there the two times I've gone in the last week or so (in the way of "data" I had 22 species on the 3rd, 37 spp. on the 7th, and 15 spp. on the 11th, the latter being one of my lowest totals for the site ever) . In contrast, however, was perhaps the largest collection of Red Crossbills I have seen there in 1500+ visits, working the new crop of spruce cones. Tough to really count them, but the total had to exceed 100 individuals. One of them, sitting off by itself, was giving a very different call than the majority, which I am calling Type 2s. It flew just as I raised my binocular. Would love to know what Type that was. Also present was a Grosbeak, never seen but presumably a Black-headed, and a female Broad-tailed Hummingbird (getting late).
I applaud what Brian and Ted are trying to add to our toolbox as birders wanting to understand the subjects of our passion. Ultimately, I guess, there is no substitute for going out and seeing what really happens. We need more predictions, followed by real world tests. And, we need more birders in the "outposts". Mlodinow, Peterson, Walbek, the Maynards, Kaempfer, Suddjean, Kellner and the other "finders" who scatter to the far corners from the Front Range can't be everywhere. Come back to Julesburg, Henry. Keep working the southeast Jane and Janeal. Thanks for monitoring the SLV Mr. Rawinski. Go Coen and Brenda. Everybody, don't give up reporting to COBIRDS. Why is there a separate reporting network for the West Slope? Did we recruit anybody to the ranks in Sterling? I'll wager nobody was near Brian's blue line out east yesterday. Too bad.
My final comment on this subject relates to a comment/question Brian posed. Re the subject of rain in conjunction with "weather", I would suggest its presence DOES probably influence insectivores and insectivores-forced-to-be-facultative-frugivores (or herbivores), to the extent rain tends to knock flying insects to the ground, and lowers the average height of insects feeding/resting in vegetation. In follows that birds needing to eat would stop flying, ground themselves, and when grounded, be lower, finding whatever they could find, and, therefore, more detectible by birders.
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
David Leatherman
Then I went to Grandview Cemetery and would agree with what Nick said about a nearly complete lack of local turnover. In fact I would say I saw less numbers and diversity today than has been there the two times I've gone in the last week or so (in the way of "data" I had 22 species on the 3rd, 37 spp. on the 7th, and 15 spp. on the 11th, the latter being one of my lowest totals for the site ever) . In contrast, however, was perhaps the largest collection of Red Crossbills I have seen there in 1500+ visits, working the new crop of spruce cones. Tough to really count them, but the total had to exceed 100 individuals. One of them, sitting off by itself, was giving a very different call than the majority, which I am calling Type 2s. It flew just as I raised my binocular. Would love to know what Type that was. Also present was a Grosbeak, never seen but presumably a Black-headed, and a female Broad-tailed Hummingbird (getting late).
I applaud what Brian and Ted are trying to add to our toolbox as birders wanting to understand the subjects of our passion. Ultimately, I guess, there is no substitute for going out and seeing what really happens. We need more predictions, followed by real world tests. And, we need more birders in the "outposts". Mlodinow, Peterson, Walbek, the Maynards, Kaempfer, Suddjean, Kellner and the other "finders" who scatter to the far corners from the Front Range can't be everywhere. Come back to Julesburg, Henry. Keep working the southeast Jane and Janeal. Thanks for monitoring the SLV Mr. Rawinski. Go Coen and Brenda. Everybody, don't give up reporting to COBIRDS. Why is there a separate reporting network for the West Slope? Did we recruit anybody to the ranks in Sterling? I'll wager nobody was near Brian's blue line out east yesterday. Too bad.
My final comment on this subject relates to a comment/question Brian posed. Re the subject of rain in conjunction with "weather", I would suggest its presence DOES probably influence insectivores and insectivores-forced-to-be-facultative-frugivores (or herbivores), to the extent rain tends to knock flying insects to the ground, and lowers the average height of insects feeding/resting in vegetation. In follows that birds needing to eat would stop flying, ground themselves, and when grounded, be lower, finding whatever they could find, and, therefore, more detectible by birders.
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
David Leatherman
No comments:
Post a Comment