Re: [cobirds] Missing Waterfowl, Jim Hamm Nature Area, Longmont Boulder Co

Jay at al,

My assumption for the situation you describe would be diving ducks are absent because some of their staples, predominately animal items like crayfish, snails and small fish (like gizzard shad), are not present in sufficient/historical amounts.  Of course, the animals diving ducks feed on depend on bottom of the food chain things like plants, especially the "pond weeds" in the genus Potamogeton.  As for dabbling ducks, they eat mostly plant material.  If both diving and dabbling ducks/geese are absent, this may indicate an issue that killed plant life (probably not permanently but maybe for one growing season).  That issue could be anything from water level, water temperature or a pollutant.  I do not think the issue is the apartment construction in terms of noise/commotion.  If the construction did something to interfere with inflow, pollute inflow, that might be a different matter.  The blackbirds depend on the cattails around the edge of the lake.  Cattails are notorious for being pretty tolerant of conditions other water-loving plants can't handle.  Don't put me on the stand, but these would be my thoughts.

For what it's worth, Windsor Lake has far fewer diving waterfowl this autumn than normal, and I have assumed rather than things just being late, the issue is a lack of schooling food fish (i.e., shad).  In the world of CO water birds, "money" is shad and crayfish.  Follow the money by finding the gulls.  Where the thieving gulls are is where the diving ducks/grebes/loons are, largely because that's where the shad/crayfish are.

Dave Leatherman

Fort Collins

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From: cobirds@googlegroups.com <cobirds@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Jay Hutchins <jay1125@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2019 8:49 AM
To: Colorado Birds <cobirds@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [cobirds] Missing Waterfowl, Jim Hamm Nature Area, Longmont Boulder Co

 

All:

Wanted to pose a question to the group on possible explanations for the missing (or severe lack) of waterfowl I HAVEN'T been seeing at Jim Hamm Nature Area on the east side of Longmont this fall. Based on personal observations for the past five years and the historical data from ebird https://ebird.org/barchart?r=L282352&yr=all&m= , there are "usually" many hundreds (500+) across multiple species on the water in the fall.  This year though?  Nada, zilch, goose eggs.  Other than a few Pied-billed grebes, coots and a few dabblers, it's strangely empty.

There was the expected bumper crop (50k+ birds) of red-winged/yellow-headed blackbirds, grackles and starlings in late Sept and early Oct, but the waterfowl are MIA.  Two variables this year that may or may not have an impact are:  an increase in the water level and new, multi-strory  apartment construction across the road on the SW corner of County Line Rd & 17th St. 

Curious to ask if others are seeing a lack of waterfowl at your normally reliable local wetland?  I'm not sure if the new buildings across the street are scaring them off, or if something else is going on? 

Jay Hutchins

Longmont, CO

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