Mourning Doves (initially one of the most regular species in my yard), Collared Doves, and Coopers Hawks have been in an epic battle in my yard for the better part of a decade now. The Collared Doves originally arrived sometime around 2012, 2014ish and aggressively drove the Mourning Doves away. There was a while when Collared Doves perched on every street light along Independence and would gather in groups up to a dozen at a time.
The hawks noticed soon enough and for a couple of years I'd see a Coopers Hawk several times a week, often eating a dove right in the middle of my yard.
The Collared Doves have thinned out now and Coopers are uncommon again around here. This year I even had a regular pair of Mourning Doves in the yard daily. I suspect the struggle will continue since the Collared Doves are still around and still aggressive. This has to have influenced other bird populations too.
Jennifer Powell
Jeffco, east of Standley Lake
On 7/30/2021 9:58 AM, MARK CHAVEZ wrote:
Do you think there is a correlation with the increase of smaller mountain species nesting along the front range (especially the western areas), and the explosion of Cooper's Hawks in the same areas? It was an uncommon occurrence to have Cooper's appear in my yard until the expansion of Eurasian Collared Doves. The increase in food supply has these hawks nesting everywhere! The once very common summer species in my neighborhood like Blue Jays, Grackles, Orioles, Flickers, Robins and even Mourning Doves have disappeared. Now that the predators (Cooper's prey) like Blue Jays, Grackles, and Scrub Jays have decreased, the smaller birds like hummingbirds (Black-chinned was rare 10 years ago), nuthatches, bushtits, goldfinches, and chickadees are increasing. The Cooper's don't seem that interested in the smaller prey. The last two years, I have had Cordilleran Flycatchers successfully nesting under the eaves of the house. When the uncommon Blue Jay shows in the yard, the flycatchers get upset with these nest predators. I am seeing a huge decrease in Eurasian Collared Doves in my neighborhood. Will the balance eventually return?? I must admit, I'm excited when the Cooper's finish nesting in mid-August and leave our neighborhood. By this time, the flycatchers and others have finished nesting and the mentioned species return. Just my thoughts...--On 07/27/2021 9:50 AM Ira Sanders <zroadrunner14@gmail.com> wrote:In reply to Dave's posting about Cordilleran Flycatcher, there have been at least 2 birds in my neighborhood since spring calling and I presume nesting. I have put them on eBird lists several times.On a side note, hummers arrived in some numbers this morning including BCHU along with the usual BTHU and RUHU that have been here for a week or so. I haven't seen Calliope yet.Ira SandersGolden
On Fri, Jul 23, 2021 at 12:53 PM DAVID A LEATHERMAN < daleatherman@msn.com> wrote:Over the past 45 years or so of visiting Fort Collins' Grandview Cemetery and also spending a lot of time on the eastern plains at places like the Pawnee Grasslands and Lamar, the occasional and seemingly increasing presence of foothills/lower mountain species at low elevation has intrigued me.I have mostly attributed this to maturation of the "urban forest", especially Colorado Blue Spruce but certainly other conifers and many deciduous trees, as well.Species with the bulk of their breeding habitat in the foothills and lower mountains that sometimes breed in Grandview Cemetery include: red-breasted nuthatch (of late, every year), broad-tailed hummingbird (of late, every year), western wood-pewee (of late, 2 out of every 3 years), chipping sparrow (of late, every other year), ruby-crowned kinglet (of late, every third year), red crossbill (ever(?), once), western tanager (ever(?), once).Now I am beginning to wonder about cordilleran flycatcher. In the last couple weeks there have been reports of this species at the prairie-foothills interface from several locations along the Front Range on COBIRDS. Last weekend I can add another from the River's Edge Natural Area in Loveland (Big Thompson River near the softball complex at the old fairgrounds). The Loveland bird was a male giving the characteristic territorial "squeek-itt!" call. Other recent reports have mentioned detection via this same vocalization.I have questions. BBAII accounts indicate one nesting cycle and attribute late nests to renesting after early nest failures. The "Birds of the World" account for this species mentions the likelihood of two nesting cycles in Oaxaca, MX. Do the recent reports represent second-try nesting at lower elevation? Do they represent second nestings at lower elevation after a successful nesting higher up? Do they represent post-breeding dispersal, with the individuals simply vocalizing in the lower elevation area they moved to as if on territory? Does the "new normal" of fires and smoke in the mountains of the West have anything to do with what appears to be a shift to lower elevations at this time of year?We birders need to keep reporting our presence/absence and behavioral observations of all species, including common ones, and I still maintain COBIRDS is a good place to do that. Thanks to everyone who makes the effort to post to COBIRDS, especially if that means extra effort because you also did an eBird checklist or posted to some other media. There is no such thing as "excessive" communication.Dave LeathermanFort Collins--
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Ira SandersGolden, CO"My mind is a raging torrent flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."--
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