I continue to visit Grandview Cemetery at the west terminus of Mountain Avenue in Fort Collins, regardless of it being a rather lackluster autumn migration for unusual species so far. Of course, the cemetery only has water in the form of a now-turned-off irrigation ditch and the focus is always landbirds.
Red Crossbills have been the dominant birds of interest over the last several weeks. They have come to the lowlands apparently for both sunflower and spruce seeds. Initially at Grandview (late August) they numbered in the several dozens and, as best I could tell, were almost all striped juveniles. Numbers at present are down to a dozen or two and either the formerly striped birds are now unstriped, or the current set of individuals is mostly adults. Two call types have been, and currently are, apparent. I believe they are 4s (“Douglas-fir”, “quid, quid” as if they have a mouthful of oatmeal) and 2s (“Ponderosa Pine”. “kip, kip”). Analyses of recordings by others seem to agree with my guesses. It is great fun to watch them go from spruce to deciduous trees and ultimately down to the ground for seeds/grit and the ditch to drink. While in deciduous trees I have not been able to figure out what they are doing but it seems to be a combination of scraping pitch off mandibles by rubbing on bare branches, investigating dry leaf clusters for arthropods, and gleaning insects like scales from bark surfaces. John Shenot and I even saw one go after what we think were red spider mites (or red velvet mites) in a bur oak! Gene Simmons of KISS would envy crossbill tongues.
I was in Lamar for the last two weeks of September (where the migration was also lackluster), so can’t report on what was seen at Grandview during that time. There are probably eBird reports by E. J. Raynor and others.
Dark-eyed Juncos are starting to show up. All individuals I’ve seen well have been “pink-sided” types (except for one “Oregon”). A dark-lored White-crowned Sparrow adult, accompanied by a Gambel’s pale-lored immature, was on the swimming pool boardwalk at nearby Sheldon Lake in City Park on October 5th. The first lowland Townsend’s Solitaire for me was on October 4th at Grandview along the ditch. A Brewer’s Sparrow was skulking under bushes (acted much like a Lincoln’s) on October 4th and 6th. Only my second Common Poorwill ever at Grandview flushed from the ground in the central part of the cemetery on October 6th. I have only seen three Townsend’s Warblers this fall at Gramdview (the historical norm being at least 10), the last one being a female on October 5th. The hackberry psyllid adults are emerging from nipplegalls and blistergalls on leaves and are attracting the paltry number of pass-thru migrants present (mostly Yellow-rumped Warblers and a couple Ruby-crowned Kinglets). It has been a pathetic fall for small flycatchers, unusual warblers, vireos and thrushes. So far, not a single Hermit or Swainson’s Thrush. October can be a good time for odd corvids, but so far only today’s Black-billed Magpie in the very top of a spruce. There have been a few Red-naped Sapsuckers. Pine Siskins are present in small numbers. At least three groups of Sandhill Cranes passed over in the last week.
The center of the cemetery (Section S) has a very different feel since the recent removal of four 120+ year-old Colorado blue spruce trees (planted when William McKinley was US President). These trees succumbed to attack by blue spruce ips beetles (Ips hunteri). Those of you who came to see the nesting White-winged Crossbills in the winter of 2009-2010 might remember their chosen nest tree in the extreme southeastern corner of the cemetery by the Pump House. Well, that spruce (planted when FDR was President) also died of beetles and is now reduced to a stump. Makes me sad but that’s life in the jungle. The removals were done by City Forestry in timely fashion prior to emergence of the beetles to reduce the threat to nearby trees. The stumps of the Section S trees were ground. In a year or two, there will be no sign of these magnificent giants that hosted a lot of great birds over the years. The Pump House spruce stump will probably be left as is so its roots can hold the ditch bank until they decay in several years.
A flamingo stands on one leg in a backyard just east of the cemetery. Relax. It has not moved in years, so is neither the Kansas bird nor countable.
Birds to look for, hope for, at Grandview Cemetery during the rest of October: Golden-crowned Kinglet; late warblers; White-winged Crossbill; odd corvids like shrub-jay or nutcracker; thrushes including Varied; White-throated Sparrow; Swamp Sparrow; Lincoln’s Sparrow; Brown Creeper; Cassin’s Finch; Winter Wren; Pygmy Nuthatch; Williamson’s Sapsucker; Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Merlin.
A friend gave me a delightful book by J. Drew Lanham. In the back is a section titled “How To Adore Birds”. Way #5: “Every bird is a life bird. Every time. The first time or the thousandth time. If you’re breathing when you see the bird, it’s a lifer.”
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
No comments:
Post a Comment