My earlier report was sent via mobile phone from the field when my fingers were still frozen. Those of you who strangely have an aversion to "long" posts probably loved its brevity. Go fish.
As stated, no redpolls, no Pine Warbler. Along the north and west sides of the little pond west of the sanctuary peninsula at 8:30am were a Swamp Sparrow (photos) and an adult White-throated Sparrow. Both were initially detected via their calls. I did NOT hear either one of these toward the end of my visit, which was about 10:30. They may have moved elsewhere in the general area, or been on the move.
My main reason for going up there was to try and figure out the attraction of this area for the special birds it has hosted of late. In past years I have tried to do the same for special birds like Grace's Warbler (woolly aphids in ponderosa pine), Prothonotary Warbler (catkin bugs in catkins of water birch), Nashville Warblers (aphids on chokecherry), Black-throated Blue Warbler female (aphids on chokecherry).
In gross terms, the Sanctuary's geography has attributes similar to other montane bird "traps": 1) a forested area near water (both stagnant and flowing); 2) a forested area with diverse vertical structure (big, medium, and little trees, with a complex understory); 3) situated at the base of the mountains where birds moving out of steep terrain might stage (rest and feed) prior to moving downhill; and, 4) a "repository" for migrants that intentionally or errantly wandered from the flatlands west up Big Thompson Canyon and then were dumped out/daunted by the big bad Rockies (i.e., a temporary "dead end").
Guesses about food details at the site:
Not finding any Common Redpolls, I can't be sure about them but would wager birch seeds from catkins were the magnet at work with them. The majority of those small, deep reddish-purple barked saplings (with white lenticels peppering the bark) that have little dangly things (catkins) are water birch (Betula occidentalis). They are the dominant small deciduous trees around the pond and on both sides of the bike trail that runs e-w between the golf course and the west end of Lake Estes. And, yes, there are some shrubby willows of undermined species in the area as mentioned in reports but they are in a distinct minority to the birches.
Most of the pines in and near the Matthews-Reeser Sanctuary (I miss Warner Reeser, a very neat man) are ponderosa pine. Mixed with them on the peninsula are a very few lodgepole pine. On the ponderosas I found 1) pine needle scales (tiny white flecks on the needles, Chionaspis pinifoliae), 2) woolly aphids in the genus Pineus (mostly clustered around terminal buds or at the needle bases), and 3) the woolly pine needle aphid (Schizolachnus pini-radiatae) (zillions of blackish eggs and a few gray adults lined up on the underside of needles, only evident unless you lift up boughs, same insect as sustained the Boulder Bay-breasted Warbler for weeks in late fall 2013). The distribution of these three sucking insects was very localized, which is another way of saying, most of the pines I examined were pretty clean of significant insect issues. IF the Pine Warbler winters in this area, based on nothing other than abundance, the scattered pines with good populations of the woolly pine needle aphid would appear to sustain it. And if it messed around in the birch catkins (or gathered intel by observing the other birds messing around in birch catkins), it would also probably find the abundant catkin bugs (Kleidocerys resedae) therein to its liking as a supplemental food.
Both juncos (several) and Mountain Chickadees (several) this morning were spending considerable time in water birch catkins, getting mostly birch seeds but probably not passing up discovered catkin bugs as well.
Of course, junipers, both Rocky Mountain and common, populate the M-R Sanctuary and their berries would be staples for the juncos and maybe other birds like robins, a migrating/wintering Hermit Thrush, solitaires, waxwings, etc. I thought I might have heard the little aggitation "chuck" note of Hermit Thrush today but I never saw one. The big juniper on the northwest side of the pond might be good tree to check if anyone visits in the near future.
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
As stated, no redpolls, no Pine Warbler. Along the north and west sides of the little pond west of the sanctuary peninsula at 8:30am were a Swamp Sparrow (photos) and an adult White-throated Sparrow. Both were initially detected via their calls. I did NOT hear either one of these toward the end of my visit, which was about 10:30. They may have moved elsewhere in the general area, or been on the move.
My main reason for going up there was to try and figure out the attraction of this area for the special birds it has hosted of late. In past years I have tried to do the same for special birds like Grace's Warbler (woolly aphids in ponderosa pine), Prothonotary Warbler (catkin bugs in catkins of water birch), Nashville Warblers (aphids on chokecherry), Black-throated Blue Warbler female (aphids on chokecherry).
In gross terms, the Sanctuary's geography has attributes similar to other montane bird "traps": 1) a forested area near water (both stagnant and flowing); 2) a forested area with diverse vertical structure (big, medium, and little trees, with a complex understory); 3) situated at the base of the mountains where birds moving out of steep terrain might stage (rest and feed) prior to moving downhill; and, 4) a "repository" for migrants that intentionally or errantly wandered from the flatlands west up Big Thompson Canyon and then were dumped out/daunted by the big bad Rockies (i.e., a temporary "dead end").
Guesses about food details at the site:
Not finding any Common Redpolls, I can't be sure about them but would wager birch seeds from catkins were the magnet at work with them. The majority of those small, deep reddish-purple barked saplings (with white lenticels peppering the bark) that have little dangly things (catkins) are water birch (Betula occidentalis). They are the dominant small deciduous trees around the pond and on both sides of the bike trail that runs e-w between the golf course and the west end of Lake Estes. And, yes, there are some shrubby willows of undermined species in the area as mentioned in reports but they are in a distinct minority to the birches.
Most of the pines in and near the Matthews-Reeser Sanctuary (I miss Warner Reeser, a very neat man) are ponderosa pine. Mixed with them on the peninsula are a very few lodgepole pine. On the ponderosas I found 1) pine needle scales (tiny white flecks on the needles, Chionaspis pinifoliae), 2) woolly aphids in the genus Pineus (mostly clustered around terminal buds or at the needle bases), and 3) the woolly pine needle aphid (Schizolachnus pini-radiatae) (zillions of blackish eggs and a few gray adults lined up on the underside of needles, only evident unless you lift up boughs, same insect as sustained the Boulder Bay-breasted Warbler for weeks in late fall 2013). The distribution of these three sucking insects was very localized, which is another way of saying, most of the pines I examined were pretty clean of significant insect issues. IF the Pine Warbler winters in this area, based on nothing other than abundance, the scattered pines with good populations of the woolly pine needle aphid would appear to sustain it. And if it messed around in the birch catkins (or gathered intel by observing the other birds messing around in birch catkins), it would also probably find the abundant catkin bugs (Kleidocerys resedae) therein to its liking as a supplemental food.
Both juncos (several) and Mountain Chickadees (several) this morning were spending considerable time in water birch catkins, getting mostly birch seeds but probably not passing up discovered catkin bugs as well.
Of course, junipers, both Rocky Mountain and common, populate the M-R Sanctuary and their berries would be staples for the juncos and maybe other birds like robins, a migrating/wintering Hermit Thrush, solitaires, waxwings, etc. I thought I might have heard the little aggitation "chuck" note of Hermit Thrush today but I never saw one. The big juniper on the northwest side of the pond might be good tree to check if anyone visits in the near future.
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
No comments:
Post a Comment