[cobirds] Re: Jefferson, CO

I am in Jeffco as well, though a different part, in the neighborhoods just east of Standley Lake. We've been in this house over 20 years and I've been feeding the birds in my yard all that time.

This is the first year that house finches are almost entirely absent. Normally I'd have up to a dozen, all day every day, and they were part of a small flock that moved around the neighborhood.  Normally I'd have two or three black-capped chickadees as well, and then lots of random birds that pass through on their way to nesting habitats by the lake or into the mountains. But chickadees have also been nearly entirely absent this year, and I've seen very few randoms - no goldfinches, no towhees, no nuthatches, no downies. And the usual gang of summer blue jays is absent, although that has happened other years as well.

The finches are not totally gone. I do see an occasional finch or chickadee at my feeders. They don't look ill and I am not finding sick birds or bodies of birds. They simply aren't around.

I am still seeing doves in small numbers, and occasional hawks and crows overhead in fairly usual numbers but the regular small birds aren't here.

The only other observation I can report is that this year my yard is nearly empty of bees and other insects. Which surprised me because last year was a huge year for bees, with three species of bumblebees, some miner bee types (black and white), and literally hundreds of honeybees daily. This year, maybe two honeybees the entire season and not much else than a few small grasshoppers.

Jennifer Powell

Jeffco east of Standley Lake

On Friday, July 23, 2021 at 1:06:32 PM UTC-6 samat...@gmail.com wrote:

Hello, 

I wanted to share a conversation I had with a super nice lady who lives at the house south of Highway 285 in Jefferson, Co. Many of you know the "feeder" house for Rosy-Finches. She was telling me she use to get "thousands" of Rosy-Finches at her feeders. While we didn't talk about current numbers, from my experience, substantially lower.

She, also, commented on many fewer hummingbirds these last 2 years. 

Side note: The cafe in Jefferson has tasty food made on the grill and made to order burritos. Super friendly ladies working there. 

Good birding y'all!

Diane Roberts

Highlands Ranch, CO

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Diane Roberts

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