Thanks David! This is a great compilation. It is really entertaining to watch all of the local birds in Loveland/Fort Collins hanging out at the intersections waiting to swoop down on our miller friends. The current flight also happens to be a boon to Flammulated owls and Black Bears.
Michael Tincher Loveland, CO On Tuesday, May 23, 2023 at 9:34:13 AM UTC-6 DAVID A LEATHERMAN wrote: > Here is a composite of just some of the birds eating millers in Lamar over > the last three weeks. Molting male Baltimore oriole, black-headed > grosbeak, brown-headed cowbird (scavenging a pile of dead millers I think > somebody dumped out of their RV onto a dirt road within Hasty CG), > Lincoln's sparrow, Bullock's oriole, brown thrasher, Army Cutworm adult > (THE miller), prothonotary warbler, white-crowned sparrow, yellow-headed > blackbird and yellow-rumped warbler. Not great photos, highly cropped, but > good enough to document the phenomenon. > > Some of the comments I got to yesterday's post asked if birds somehow > follow the miller migration. My take would be they travel their general > migration flyways. What they encounter along the way no doubt alters their > schedule. In other words, they get on the interstate. They get off the > road periodically to rest (mostly where there are trees). If there's > water, they drink. If there's food they eat. If there's lots of food, > they maybe stay for days. No different than us. An exit with no services > is maybe nothing more than a place to pull off and nap. The availability > of services can mean a different itinerary. Given the variability of > miller populations from year to year, no way the birds can no what they'll > encounter starting out, but being the adaptable, opportunistic creatures > they are, they know what works best when they come across certain > circumstances. > > Dave Leatherman > Fort Collins > > -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en?hl=en * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/CFO/Membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/16579e71-900e-4967-b3e3-9d7f1a4095c3n%40googlegroups.com.
