[cobirds] southeast CO miscellany

[Dave Leatherman]

Southeast CO seemed pretty quiet during a recent visit (4-9 August).  While 
playing tennis at Willow Creek Park in Lamar, I did hear a good number (15+) of 
Floyd (sometimes referred to as "Upland") Sandpipers overhead the night of 
4-5August .  Lots of Baird's Sandpipers in wet fields near Wiley the afternoon 
of the 4th but not on the 5th (some temporary habitat is more temporary than 
others).  Lark Buntings are either bunching up or flocks are moving south from 
prairie areas to the north.  Yellow Warblers and both Orchard and Bullock's 
Orioles are bunching up or moving, and certain flycatchers appear to be moving. 
 I had a Willow Flycatcher near the Carrizo Creek Picnic Area in Baca County on 
Road M.  Two different Yellow-billed Cuckoos were along the Arkansas River 
between Lamar and John Martin Dam.  Black Terns but not much else at Thurston 
Res north of Lamar.   Rufous and Black-chinned Hummingbirds, White-winged 
Doves, and Lesser Goldfinches in Lamar in neighborhoods and parks.  I didn't go 
into the jungles of the Lamar Community College Woods out of respect for 
chiggers, therefore do not know if Northern Cardinals and Red-bellied 
Woodpeckers persist there, but suspect they do, albeit inconspicuously.  Did 
NOT hear a Red-bellied Woodpecker at Fairmount Cemetery in Lamar during a brief 
visit, either.   No Dickcissels seen or heard anywhere (gone for the year?).

My sense is the Colorado prairie is better-looking now than it's been since May 
because of recent monsoon rains, and migrants (from insectivorous Swainson's 
Hawks to small passerines) will have no trouble fueling up on their way thru.  
Dragonfly populations (particularly certain common species like Band-winged 
Meadowhawk, Variegated Meadowhawk, and 12-spotted Skimmer) are higher than I 
recall ever seeing.  It is not uncommon in prairie areas near (and in some 
cases, far from) ponds or other water bodies to see at least 1-2 dragons on the 
top strand of barbed wire between each pair of fence posts for mile after mile. 
 Imagine the mosquito population without these predators. 

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins   

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[cobirds] current animal activity in hackberry trees

[Dave Leatherman]

Bill Kaempfer mentioned checking hackberries on his recent CFO/Boulder Bird 
Club field trip to NE Colorado.  As you may know, hackberry insects and 
birds/squirrel activity related to them is one of my mini-hobbies (i.e., some 
people are easily amused).  In the last issue of Colorado Birds we talked about 
hackberry gall-making psyllids, of which there are at least 4 types in 
Colorado.  The two most common ones in planted Northern Hackberry are the 
nipplegall and the blistergall.  The nipplegalls present themselves are big 
bumps on the undersides of leaves, very evident at this time of year.  The 
blistergalls are either dark green or purplish-black blotches on the leaves.  
Sometimes both types of galls appear on the same leaf.

Today on one of my regular visits to Grandview Cemetery, I noticed both Fox 
Squirrel and Black-capped Chickadee activity involving predation on developing 
psyllid nymphs within galls.  The activities of both predators results in 
premature leaf drop of hackberry leaves under hackberry trees.  When I looked 
at these leaves, there were two things going on.  The tops of the nipplegalls 
were either bitten off or there were little peck holes in the blisters.  
Squirrels were doing the former, chickadees the latter.  In the past I have 
also seen a variation on the theme by chickadees that involves their pulling a 
leaf from its branch, placing it atop a fairly big branch and standing on the 
leaf with each foot on opposite outside edges, and then wailing thru the heart 
of blisters with their beak.  If you were to pick up such a leaf and hold it up 
to the light, you'd see holes precisely thru the middle of the blisters.  If 
you think the holes form the pattern of the Big Dipper, I know you have a 
medical marijuana license.  Other species I've seen remove psyllids from within 
galls include House Finches and Evening Grosbeaks.

The REAL action involving migrant birds and hackberry comes when the nymphs 
developing within the galls reach adulthood and emerge to find overwintering 
sites in bark crevices on the host hackberry or any nearby tree.  If the 
weather is right, this emergence can be compressed into a 1-2 week period and 
the trees are swarming with mini-morsals.  Usually this occurs between 
mid-September and mid-October and benefits mid-to-late autumn migrating 
passerines.  Connecticut and Golden-winged Warblers probably don't know what 
Colorado hackberry psyllids taste like, but Blackburnian, Yellow-throated, and 
Black-throated Greens and Blues do (along with kinglets, creepers, nuthatches, 
and many others).  

I would appreciate hearing about any observations related to hackberry psyllids 
and bird (or squirrel) predation.  Thanks.

Dave Leatherman

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[cobirds] Great Crested Flycatcher - Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins)

[Dave Leatherman]

At Grandview Cemetery (west terminus of Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins, Larimer 
County) about noon today I had a GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER  in the extreme 
southeast corner over the picnic table south of the Shop Building (just north 
across the ditch from the Pumphouse).  This is a rare species for Larimer 
County.  The bird was flycatching yellowjackets and then periodically going 
down into the Buckthorn (Rhamnus sp.) bushes on the ne corner of the Pumphouse 
for berries.  Myiarchus flycatchers are known to berry-feed during migration 
and on their wintering grounds.  You might recall this is what the 
Brown-crested Flycatcher at Crow Valley Campground was doing a few years ago in 
October (feeding on Russian Olive fruits).

Other species seen today not normal for the cemetery, except perhaps during 
migration: Townsend's Warbler (at least 3), Warbling Vireo, and Blue-gray 
Gnatcatcher.  In addition, lots of Western Wood-Pewees and a few Wilson's 
Warblers worked the deciduous tree crowns (mostly American Elms).  At present,  
yellowjackets and other wasps are the big attraction for these upper-middle 
food chain members (including darner dragonflies).  Various wasps have been 
feasting on sugar-laden aphids and the honeydew from 1) aphids, 2) various 
scale insects in the American Elms (European Elm Scale, Cottony Maple Scale, 
and Fruit Lecanium Scale), and 3) Rough Bullet Galls (made by a type of cynipid 
wasp) on Bur Oaks.  The upper-middle predators (birds and dragonflies) let the 
blue-collar predators (yellowjackets and other wasps) do the sugar-gathering 
from the plant feeders (aphids, scales, and gall-making wasps), and then the 
upper-middles eat the blue-collars.  Not too different from human society, 
really.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins 

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[cobirds] Norma's Grove and Crow Valley (Weld) Highlights

[Dave Leatherman]

It was a beautiful day on the prairie, with some good birds but no rarities 
that I could find.  Lots of Vesper, Brewer's, and Chipping Sparrows on the 
move.  Still a few Lark Buntings and McCown's Longspurs around.

Norma's Grove (CR 100/CR 57) Highlights:
Cassin's Kingbird (1)
Blue Grosbeak (family)
Lazuli Bunting (1)
Green-tailed Towhee (1 or 2)
Sage Thrasher (1)
White-crowned Sparrow (2 young birds, FOS at low elevation for me)
Total of 20 species

Crow Valley Campground and the town of Briggsdale:
Red-breasted Nuthatch (1 or 2)
Willow Flycatcher (1)
Townsend's Solitaire (2-3, FOS at low elevation for me)
Dusky Flycatcher (1 or 2)
Bluebird sp. (H, probably Mountain)
White-crowned Sparrow (3)
Orange-crowned Warbler (2-3, FOS at low elevation for me)
Red-headed Woodpecker (1 juv. in R-olives north of Mourning Dove Trail)
Lincoln's Sparrow (2)
"Solitary" Vireo (1, not Blue-headed, didn't get a very good look)
Western Tanager (1m)
Townsend's Warbler (2, south of Main Picnic Shelter)
Rock Wren (1, in Briggsdale at southeast corner of HS football field on a 
manure spreader)

(Most of the action at Crow Valley was at the few spots of water (under the 
R-olive just n of the entry gate to the Mourning Dove Trail, just north of the 
water fountain at the Group Picnic Area, and in the plastic wells at the base 
of newly planted trees near the southwest corner (between the campsites and the 
sw outhouse building)).  

Ran into two nice folks: Sue and Joe, from Minnesota.  For bird security, too 
bad they couldn't have brought a few lakes from their homeland.

Total of 37 species 

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins




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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) September 12-19

[Dave Leatherman]

The following summarized interesting observations at Grandview Cemetery, Fort 
Collins (Larimer) since last Sunday the 12th.  Visits, most of them multiple 
hours in duration, were made on the 12th, 14th, 16th, 17th, and today (the 
19th).   Every visit is different. 

12th
GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER (apparently a one afternoon wonder)
Western Wood-Pewee (at least 6 snapping overhead, mostly working yellowjackets)
Townsend's Warbler (3)
Warbling Vireo (1 western race) 
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (1 of only a few I've ever seen here)
Hairy Woodpecker (1 mountain race working on a mountain pine beetle-infested 
Scots Pine)
Cordilleran Flycatcher (1)
Chaetura Swift (2)   These two birds appeared very short-tailed and 
short-winged and were silent.  I got a good view of one flying n to s and it 
appeared very pale on the throat and upper breast.  I could not see the rump.  
While they were probably just late Chimney Swifts, all the qualitative marks 
for Vaux's Swift were right.  I mentioned this to Arvind of RMBO and he pointed 
out a line drawn from part of the Vaux's breeding range the Pacific NW to their 
southern Mexico and Central America wintering areas goes right thru CO.  What 
will it take for an acceptable CO record of this species?  Probably a recording 
and/or specimen.  I joked CFO or RMBO needs to fund Kim Potter to place 
miniature telemetry devices on some birds in the Pacific NW and track them to 
their wintering grounds.  This is one species about which we have a lot to 
learn. 
Violet-green Swallow (1 late migrant)
MacGillivray's Warbler (1m along the ditch)

14th
WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER (1 juv., only the second I've ever seen at Grandview, 
although a few probably sneak thru every year or two)
Common Nighthawk (1, rather late)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1, FOS at low elevation for me)
Turkey Vulture (2 small groups of apparent migrants up pretty high, although 
they could have been from the Mt. Avenue roost)

16th
Brown Creeper (2, FOS at low elevation for me)
Mountain Chickadee (1, FOS at low elevation for me)
Peregrine Falcon (1, circling overhead and then going into a stoop north of the 
cemetery (where the Rock Pigeons hang out))
Ferruginous Hawk (2, circling off to the west toward Poudre High School, 
perhaps hunting lambkins)
Hermit Thrush (1, southeast corner)
Brewer's Sparrow (1, with a small flock of migrant Chipping Sparrows)

17th
Hammond's Flycatcher (1, located first by its distinctive "peek" call note, 
very bright freshly-molted bird)
Clay-colored Sparrow (1 or 2, in with big flock of Spizella sparrows )
Empidonax #2 (never did get a good look, hunting very low off the peonies and 
headstones)
MacGillivray's Warbler (show to me by a domestic cat hunting the ditch)

19th
Red-naped Sapsucker (1 adult m)
WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER (apparently a second individual, judging by today's bird 
having a duller throat than the bird on the 14th)
Spotted Towhee (1m, eating a crabapple in between doublefoot scratches for 
whatever it is they find doing that - this is a very unusual species at 
manicured, mowed Grandview Cemetery)
Western Tanager (2)
Black-capped Chickadee (2 were plucking hackberry leaves, standing on them, 
pecking out blistergall psyllids, dropping the leaves)
no pewees today, for the first time in weeks

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
  
  

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[cobirds] Corvids on the move at Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins

[Dave Leatherman]

Yesterday, a very active Steller's Jay bopped around Grandview Cemetery, Fort 
Collins (Larimer), but never paused for a photo.  That is only my second in 36 
years at this location.  Today 4 Pinyon Jays flew over the cemetery about 11am 
from sw to ne and never stopped.  That is species #185 for the location list.  
Neither species is totally unexpected, given the location being a mere 2 miles 
from the foothills, their propensity for wandering, and the time of year, but 
they seemed noteworthy, nonetheless.  Rounding out the corvid activity, a mob 
of 16 American Crows discovered the Great Horned Owl hiding (or so it thought) 
in the State Champion Thornless Honeylocust in Section 8 and cursed it for at 
least 15 minutes.  Blue Jays were mostly working the Bur Oaks for acorns to 
cache.

Also, I should probably mention a couple late Chimney Swifts chattering as they 
flew high north-to-south over the U. of Northern Colorado last evening.  I went 
to UNC to be inspired (and was not disappointed) by E. O. Wilson.  Apart from 
his general message, the best one-liner of the night came when he had to stop 
and clear his throat.  After pouring and drinking some water, he came back to 
the microphone and remarked, "Amphibians all over the world are declining and I 
can't kill the frog in my throat."   

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins  

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, etc. on 25Sept2010

[Dave Leatherman]

At Grandview Cemetery this afternoon, highlights included:
Broad-winged Hawk  (1) migrating high with a flock of about 60 Turkey Vultures
Olive-sided Flycatcher (1)  getting late
Western Wood-Pewee (1) getting late
Dark-eyed Junco (1 pink-sided)  FOS for me

Warning: if you go to the cemetery, be careful not to fall down, particularly 
if you are shaped like an oak acorn, buckeye, or whole peanut (me).  The 
squirrels are in burying mode.

At Running Deer and Cottonwood Hollow Natural Areas on the south side of 
Prospect e of the Poudre R:
Green-tailed Towhee (1)
Blue Grosbeak (1 or 2)
Virginia Rail (1)

At Duck Lake (first reported by Cole Wild?):
Sabine's Gull (1 juvenilish young immature)
Red-necked Phalarope (several)


Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Hackberry Psyllids

[Dave Leatherman]

I forgot to mention in the post yesterday from Grandview Cemetery that the 
adult psyllids are beginning to emerge from galls on hackberry leaves.  Bird 
activity should be steady in hackberries with galls for at least the next two 
weeks on warm weather days.  Many variations on the theme of psyllid predation 
yesterday were evident: Wilson's Warblers were gleaning adults, I think of the 
type that make the blistergalls, from leaf and branch surfaces.  When I grabbed 
a lower branch and shook it, my shirt showed about a dozen psyllids (look like 
very tiny cicadas).  Black-capped Chickadees were doing their leaf grab, stand 
on it, and wail away thing, indicating the majority of the blistergall makers 
are still inside galls.  House Finches were biting off the tops of in-tact 
nipplegalls on leaves, as were Fox Squirrels.  Just to be different, starlings 
were eating whole hackberries.  At least in Fort Collins, the bulk of a major 
psyllid emergence is imminent and small migrating passerines on a time schedule 
to take advantage of it will likely respond in some fashion.   If you are able 
to check out hackberries in your area, I'd appreciate reports of what you see.  
Thanks,

For details about these creatures you could probably do an on-line search for 
"hackberry nipplegall images", "hackberry psyllids", or check out the article 
in Colorado Birds, July 2010 (44(3), p185-189).

Dave Leatherman

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[cobirds] Probable hybrid sapsucker at Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins on 9/28

[Dave Leatherman]

Today at Grandview Cemetery (GC), Fort Collins (Larimer), I had a sapsucker 
with a brown-spangled back, red cap, gray nape, and a two-toned red-and-white 
throat.  My first views (which did not include good looks at the throat) 
convinced me this hyper, over-sugared individual was an early Yellow-bellied.  
But much walking and more walking finally yielded better looks.  It appeared to 
have the nape and back characteristics of Yellow-bellied and throat and 
side-of-the-face characteristics of an adult female Red-naped.  I have always 
thought the back color was very suggestive, even downright consistent, between 
the two species: warm brown and black for Yellow-bellied, light gray and black 
for Red-naped.  The lack of red on the nape this early in the fall can be an 
iffy character, as a red feather or two could easily hide.   Just another 
reminder that sapsucker ID is tough, that all characters are necessary, some 
"pure" individuals may still be undeterminable, and hybrids, especially ones 
with attention deficit, just ain't fair.

In the hackberries, lots of bird activity including:
Starlings, Flickers, Robins, and House Finches
Wilson's Warbler (1)  getting late
Townsend's Warbler (1)  getting late
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1)  about time

Red-breasted Nuthatches were busily taking Douglas-fir seeds from cones to 
nearby Colorado Blue Spruce crowns for caching.

I have not seen magpies at the cemetery all summer and today 3 were foraging 
together (on what?) deep within the crowns of Colorado Blue Spruce.  

In addition, there was other serious action at GC: 2 simultaneous funerals and 
2 more on the slate, the mower boys, the sheriff's "community service" crew 
slaying peonies with shovels (why?), joggers, memorial stone visitors, 
dog-walkers walking past the "no dogs" sign, the permanent staff zooming around 
setting up marker arrows to direct memorial attendees, 70+ chipping sparrows 
eating purslane seeds, one head-on-a-swivel mule deer fawn, and one female 
darner dragonfly in denial about cold weather that surely must be approaching.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Palm Warbler, etc., Poudre River, Fort Collins

[Dave Leatherman]

A trip along the west side of the Poudre River, both north and south of 
Prospect in Fort Collins (Larimer) today (4October2010) produced the following 
highlights:

PALM WARBLER (non-breeding plumage, of what Sibley shows as the "brown" (= 
"western") race)  - the bird was with a flock of 20 or so Yellow-rumps and 1 or 
2 Orange-crowns along the bike trail about 100 yards north of the Environmental 
Learning Center suspension bridge near a green bench.  That particular area has 
been good in the past and has a nice mix of big overtopping cottonwoods, 
naturalized green ash, boxelders, willows, and even some shrubs like lilac 
(planted).  Certainly the attraction here is mostly aphids of various types and 
midges.

Brown Thrasher (1) along bike trail near Chorus Frog Pond n of Prospect (not a 
common species along the Poudre R.)
Solitary Sandpiper (1) east of Cattail Chorus N.A.
Orange-crowned Warbler (few)
Wilson's Warbler (1)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (estimate a total of 45 today - not a lot but steadily 
trickling through)
Ruddy Duck (1)   feedlot pond on Sharp Point Drive
Eared Grebe (1) pond in Prospect Ponds Natural Area along Sharp Point Drive 
south of the feedlot pond (not normal at this pond)
Osprey (1)
Lincoln's Sparrow (2)
Hermit Thrush (1 heard giving the distinctive call note)
Wood Duck (at least 25 hanging out under the olive-laden Russian-olives, their 
passion these days)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (1)
Cooper's Hawk (1 imm. male)

Snowy Egret? (1 imm.)  Cattail Chorus pond (didn't get the greatest look and I 
suppose there's a slight change this was a young Little Blue Heron, but when it 
flew I looked specifically at the primary tips and they appeared white.  The 
bird's body was all white, with a pale bill (couldn't get a sense of color) and 
pale legs with no yellow "slippers" (couldn't tell if the front of the legs 
were lighter or darker than the back of the legs)
 
Greater Yellowlegs (1)
Wilson's Snipe (1)

Total of 53 species

At least 12 species of dragonflies/damselflies still present: Saffron-winged, 
Autumn, Cherry-faced, Band-winged, White-faced, and Variegated Meadowhawks, 
Green Darner, mosaic darner sp. (probably Paddle-tailed), Widow Skimmer, Great 
Spreadwing, Spotted Spreadwing, and unidentified female damselfly (probably 
Familiar Bluet).  

Western Chorus Frogs (few) lamenting the rumored end of warmth
White-tailed Deer (1)


Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins





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[cobirds] Eastern Winter Wren at Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins

[Dave Leatherman]

At Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) as of 15 minutes ago, there is a 
Winter Wren (eastern race) about midway along the north edge of Section G.  
Section G is straight ahead and a bit to the southwest as you come across the 
entrance bridge at the west end of Mountain Avenue.  It was just west of a 
tall, prominent stone with the name "Christen" and another smaller one named 
"Hackel".  There is a mapleleaf viburnum shrub and another privet shrub that it 
likes the bases of.  The privet shrub is closest to a stone with the name 
"Geist".  I got a pretty decent photo if anyone wants to see it, which confirms 
a pale throat and its overall gray-brown cast.  The call note was right for 
"eastern" also.  This was a new one for the cemetery list.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Update on Winter Wren intelligence at Grandview Cemetery

[Dave Leatherman]

The Winter Wren (eastern race) at Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins persists 
as of 6:15pm.  When last seen this evening, it was working a small shrub 
(privet?) in the southwest corner of Section F (due west (i.e. "straight 
ahead") of the entrance about 100 yards).  This is just north of where it was 
earlier this afternoon when first found in the northwest part of Section G.  
This bird is VERY difficult to see, rarely makes any noise, but once located is 
pretty confiding.  It appears to be getting fruits from this type of shrub 
(both attached to fine branches and on the ground) and insects/spiders.  I've 
gotten pretty decent photos of it, and so has Rachel Hopper.  She reported 
seeing the bird in the same shrubs west of the "Testa" stone (says "Christen" 
on the back) and in some other similar shrubs and a low hedge further west (all 
northwest part of Section G).

Interestingly enough, the area where the bird was first found in G is 20 yards 
due south of the midpoint of a line between two stones in Section F with the 
names "Wren" and "Winter".  We believe this bird can read English and is 
clearly an example of higher learning not before reported for Troglodytids.  
The second location reported above in the southwest corner of Section G is 
within 10 yards of the "Wren" stone.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Flagler SWA, etc. on 12October

[Dave Leatherman]

Rather than go on to Ohio as planned (my mother is sick), I returned to Fort 
Collins from Lamar today (12 October) via Flagler SWA and Last Chance.

At Flagler:
Eastern Phoebe (1 juv)
White-throated Sparrow (1)
lots of other songbirds but nothing unusual, and very few waterfowl

At Last Chance:
almost birdless
Chestnut-collared Longspur (1 flyover heard)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1, the only bird down in "the hole")
Chukar (happy to have been released and calling from the roof of the house to 
the south)

My total for the immediate Lamar area (roughly a CBC-sized area) was 85 species 
for the period 7-11October, with it being much more interesting early in this 
period than toward the end, when it got cooler and windy out of the north.  

Just as a comment, Northern Flickers are usually somewhat hard to come by in 
Lamar, but not right now.  I don't think of flicker as a migratory species but 
apparently there is a great deal of deck shuffling at this time of year between 
breeding areas and wintering areas.  What this probably says is that Lamar has 
good Russian-olive and juniper fruit crops this year.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Crow Valley Golden-crowned Sparrow, etc.

[Dave Leatherman]

Highlights from Crow Valley Campground at Briggsdale (Weld) for Friday 
15October2010 from 9:30a-3:30p:

GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROW (1, probably an immature) - Seen about 11am associating 
with many Gambel's White-crowned Sparrows out north of the Mourning Dove Trail. 
 If you take the MDTrail thru the gate ne of the Group Picnic Area and walk 
east, you will eventually come to the primitive campsites.  At Site 2 is a 
sprawling Peachleaf Willow.  If you are standing on the north side of this 
tree, look northwest to a lone Siberian Elm out on the prairie about 100 yards 
away.  In between Site 2 and the lone elm are two fence posts with a 
cross-piece (looks like a set of chopped off goalposts that deer get 3 points 
for leaping).  The GCSparrow and associated flock of about 20 White-crowns was 
usually somewhere in the vicinity of these fence posts, especially to the 
northwest and northeast (in the willow thicket).  I was flat lucky to get a 
glimpse of the Golden-crown at fairly close range or never would have picked it 
out.  Face is plainer (no strong eyeline) than immature White-crowns, and the 
small patch of yellow on top of the head more intense in the right view, head 
doesn't have that "flat-top" look, tail seems a bit longer.  My other dates for 
this species at Crow Valley are 1Oct(1999) and 19Oct(2003), so this date fits 
that pattern.

Met a sharp young birder named Skyler Bol and his mother (Cree).  Skyler saw an 
Eastern Screech-Owl (a gray one near the goofy sign depicting the red one (has 
anybody ever seen a true red phase in CO?) west of the main Picnic Shelter) and 
a Spotted Towhee.  He also saw the Golden-crown briefly.

Sandhill Crane (several flocks seen today during mid-morning, total of 600-750 
birds)  FOS for me
Dark-eyed Junco (probably at least 15 birds, including 1 White-winged (FOS for 
this subsp.))
Yellow-rumped Warbler (at least 10, all in cottonwoods, all apparently getting 
some type of aphid from bark and leaf surfaces)
Chipping Sparrow (3)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (1m)
Cooper's Hawk (1, probable m)
Pine Siskin (few flyovers (less than 5))
Brown Thrasher (1 unhealthy bird (nervous tick, tail hanging oddly, strange 
call note))
Lesser Goldfinch (1, unusual for Crow Valley and at this date)
Savannah Sparrow (1, flushed from sunflower field way out north)
Spotted Towhee (1 heard)
Longspur (heard one, think it was the "teeeuw" flight call of Lapland)
Mountain Bluebird (2 flyovers)
Common Grackle (4 flyovers)

Total of 32 species

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Golden-crowned Kinglets at Grandview Cemetery

[Dave Leatherman]

Just a quick report of FOS-at-low-elevation Golden-crowned Kinglets at 
Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) this afternoon.  I think there were 
two birds, maybe three, on the move from n to s, working their way from spruce 
to spruce.  

Also, White-throated Sparrow, Mountain Chickadee, calling Townsend's Solitaire, 
and newly-arrived juncos in my apartment complex courtyard this morning east of 
the CSU campus in Fort Collins.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] golden-crowned sparrow discussion

[Dave Leatherman]

Golden-crowned Sparrows seem to be a recent source of amazement: we are 
somewhat amazed they're here at all (most of us), amazed they aren't building 
up a population (Suzi), amazed they are absent (Bob), and amazed they aren't 
documented (Brandon).  

My thoughts, at the distinct risk of oversimplifying things, would be they 
occur in small numbers in Colorado, probably every year, in migration 
(especially October).  Sort of like Varied Thrush.  A few probably find niches 
that allow them to overwinter.  Because they are cryptic, particularly when 
associating with large numbers of White-crowns (gambelii, etc.), and because 
their habits are also not conspicuous, about the only time we "get onto them" 
is at feeders like the one at Red Rocks.  I suspect if the birds at Red Rocks 
or Tunnel Drive were banded, we would find out it is the same individuals 
coming back year after year.  When a particular "regular" dies, there is a void 
of years until another one, during a solo off-course migration or association 
with species that normally pass thru and/or winter in Colorado, finds a 
particular niche of dry brush with abundant food (we birders may or may not 
know of), and stays.  They don't build up numbers probably because they don't 
breed here.  And they aren't documented because documenting with the official 
Colorado Bird Records Committee, as opposed to posting on COBIRDS or in The 
Journal (Colorado Birds, "News From The Field"), is more time-consuming (no 
excuse, just a fact).  Surely, Golden-crowned Sparrow has always been on the 
list of species for which the RC would like documentation.  Probably birds like 
the ones at Red Rocks and Tunnel Drive are seen by many people other than the 
original finders, and there is an assumption the finder will write it up.  I am 
among "the guilty majority" (sounds like a special interest group) who have not 
written up Golden-crowned Sparrows and many other rare birds, and personally 
plan to make a project out of getting somewhat caught up this winter.  

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins  
 
  

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[cobirds] Lake Estes warblers on 23Oct2010

[Dave Leatherman]

Scott Roederer already posted about the Nashville and Black-throated Blue 
Warbler found at Lake Estes, Estes Park (Larimer) today.   I appreciate Scott 
doing that.

 I just wanted to add they were still present as of 5pm in the same trees where 
originally found.  If you park at the parking lot for the City of Estes Park 
Visitor Center (south of the VC off SR36 just southeast of the US34 junction) 
and start walking east along the bike trail that goes on the north side of the 
lake you will come to a memorial bench for "Don Kaufman".  Just east of that on 
the right begins 5-foot high wooden fence with widely spaced rails (the golf 
course is to the north on your left).  Just east of where the post fence starts 
is a sign on your right attached to the fence talking about how some of this 
trail is funded by the "Great Outdoors Colorado" and the lottery.  The 
crabapple a few feet south of this sign with the prominent little red apples is 
the one the warblers kept coming back to between 10:30am and 5pm.  The leaves 
of this tree (and all the nearby crabs) are loaded with a particular aphid.  I 
collected several and will try to get a determination of which species.  
Mountain Chickadees were also eating these aphids.  They would be good trees to 
watch over the next few weeks.

Also, in looking at my photos, I think there just might be two Nashvilles.  One 
shows a yellow throat (male) and another photo shows one with a very pale 
throat (first fall female?).  The male was wagging its tail a lot and showed a 
yellow rump which contrasting with the back and I think it is a "western" 
(ridgwayi), which in my experience are considerably less common, at least on 
the East Slope, than the "eastern" subspecies (ruficapilla).

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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Re: [cobirds] Re: Bushtits / Denver

[Dave Leatherman]

Jane et al,
My strong suspicion in the case of your hawthorns is that the attraction for 
the Bushtits (and source of the substance you note on the leaves) is the 
Hawthorn Mealybug (Phenacoccus dearnessi).  The individual mealybugs (mostly 
nymphs that look like tiny, pinkish-with-white-trim, "turtles") should be 
slowly moving from the leaves to cracks in the twigs, branches, and main 
stem at this time of year.  This insect produces copious amounts of sugary 
"honeydew" excrement.  While this species of insect, along with others fond 
of hawthorn like the Apple Aphid and the Woolly Hawthorn Aphid, aren't 
exactly great for the plant, they are very attractive, along with the 
crabapplelike fruits, for many species of birds.  You are getting free 
biocontrol along with your entertainment.  In short, hawthorn, aesthetic 
flaws and all, can be a great tree if you want to landscape with birds in 
mind.


Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins 


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[cobirds] Estes Park on 26Oct2010

[Dave Leatherman]

We (Mary & Tom France and I) blew off the weather report and went to Estes Park 
today.  Then the wind did the same to us.

North of the Power Plant utility yard at the west end of Lake Estes, we checked 
the crabapple trees that hosted good warblers last weekend and found 5 
Yellow-rumped Warblers eating aphids.  Not sure if these aphids were dead from 
the freezing temps last night or not, but the point is these trees and the 
insects are still attractive to insectivorous passerine birds and the trees 
would warrant checking over the next few weeks.

A little ways east within the Matthews-Reeser Sanctuary, specifically the pine 
covered peninsula, were 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler, a few Pygmy Nuthatches, a few 
Mountain Chickadees, and 1 mountain race, female Hairy Woodpecker.

At the north end of the Dry Gulch Road north of US34 in the northeastern part 
of Estes Park, we found about a dozen cooperative Brown-capped Rosy-Finches 
feeding along the roadside on what appeared to be the pink flower heads of a 
tiny, low-growing plant.

Between the upper and lower switchback on the Devil's Gulch Road as it descends 
north into Glenhaven was one female (I think) Pine Grosbeak.  The bird's crown 
was intermediate between what Sibley calls "russet" and what his guide shows 
for the normal corn-yellow coloration of a female.  Russet birds can either be 
females or young males.  Since the rump of this bird was gray, perhaps that 
makes it a female.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Larimer County on 29Oct, various locations

[Dave Leatherman]

At Timnath Reservoir (access off CR40 about a mile w of the Larimer/Weld line:
Ross's Goose (1 white adult, with several hundred white-cheeked geese, FOS)
Cackling Goose (at least a few, most of the white-cheeked geese were too far 
away, FOS for me)
Barrow's Goldeneye (1m, FOS)
Common Goldeneye (6+, FOS)
Long-billed Dowitcher (12)
Peep (2, suspect Least, but a very long ways off)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (2)
Lapland Longspur (1 flyover)
American Pipit (few flyovers and on the south shore)
Red-breasted Merganser (at least 2, FOS)
Hooded Merganser (1 female-type)
Double-crested Cormorant (3 lingerers)
Total of 45 species

At North Poudre #3:
Not much, really
Hooded Merganser (1m)
Red-breasted Merganser (3)
American Pipit (heard)
Canvasback (1f, FOS)
[Sandhill Cranes appear to be gone}

Bee Lake:
Common Loon (1)
Red-breasted Merganser (at least 8)

Grandview Cemetery:
Golden-crowned Kinglet (1)
Dark-eyed Junco (several, including one Gray-headed, FOS at low elevation for 
the gray-head)

Of note, at the cemetery I also found two packs of "Hell Bank Notes" which I am 
estimating are 50 to a pack and the denomination is $5000, thus, a cool half 
million in absolutely worthless money (these were lying on one of the 
headstones).  You never know.  

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Yellow-bellied SapsuckerS at Grandview Cemetery on 30Oct2010

[Dave Leatherman]

Today I met an informal group of birders from Greeley led by Donna McLean at 
Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins (Larimer).  We had TWO juvenile 
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers together for a time and then they went their separate 
ways.  Hopefully one or both will winter in the area, as has happened about 2 
years out of 3 over the last few decades.  Both birds had typical brown-tinged 
backs, no red on the napes, speckled red on the crowns, and otherwise were 
fairly non-descript (that is, without strong markings except for their 
prominent white wing stripe).   They were mostly in American Elms but one spent 
a little time in a Douglas-fir.  When last seen they were flying off to the 
southeast and east, respectively, from Section D (west-central part of the 
cemetery).

We also had one Golden-crowned Kinglet and a total of 23 species.

On the headstones we saw Red-crowned Cranes, "Wren", "Thrasher", Snowy Owl, and 
American Woodcock among the common species like olive-branch-carrying doves and 
 Bald Eagles.  Of interest, two of the hummingbirds were particularly fat 
beaked and we decided they must be "Greater Broad-billeds".  

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins) on Halloween

[Dave Leatherman]

Highlights:
Sparrow sp. (which I strongly suspect was a White-throated, flew out of the 
blue spruce upper crown and off)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (1 or 2)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (1)
Red Crossbill (6 in Section S spruce, which Cole Wild and I think were Type 5, 
first crossbills at Grandview Cemetery since 6/26)
Cooper's Hawk (1)
Great Horned Owl (sleeping off last night's Halloween party atop a light pole)

Lowlights:
Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers not found, but they may still be around

Total of 25 spp.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Highland Lake/Mead area (Weld) today

[Dave Leatherman]

Today I went to the property in Highland Lake (northwest of the small Weld 
County town of Mead) which hosted two male Hooded Warblers a few days ago (plus 
one last spring and at least one other in a previous year!).  Pauli Smith, the 
owner of the property, triggered my curiosity when she said the birds kept 
going back to the same Russian-olives and Siberian Elm.  The lay of the land 
(nice trees near a natural sinkhole/lake) is the gross attraction, but the key 
to them choosing to stay a while to fuel up is mostly APHIDS.  The olive had 
lots of leaf aphids.  The elm showed considerable damage from European Elm Flea 
Weevils, a new arrival in this area which causes elm leaves by late summer to 
look like they've been hit with buckshot, and a few of the adults were still 
active in this nice weather we've been having.   This weevil from Europe, in 
just a few short years, has almost replaced Elm Leaf Beetle as the default 
bird-attracting insect in elms around here.  

I also collected other aphid species from her Golden Currant, Apples, and Peach.

While on the property, we heard both Evening Grosbeaks fly over and a Greater 
Yellowlegs across the road by the lake shore.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Poudre River in Fort Collins on 16Nov

[Dave Leatherman]

This afternoon, I walked the Fort Collins (Larimer) City Natural Areas south of 
Prospect east of Sharp Point Drive, and then the west edge of the Environmental 
Learning Center (ELC).  The Natural Areas are called Prospect Ponds and 
Cottonwood Hollow.  I did not get into Running Deer.

Highlights include:
Winter Wren (suspect Pacific, based on a brief set of calls, never could see 
the bird.  The location is exactly as described by Arvind, although I didn't 
know of his sighting.  This same area has had Winter Wrens (at least 3) over 
the years.  In the past, after arriving about this time of year, the birds 
seems to settle into the undercut bank of the river as their primary foraging 
area during the dead of winter.)

Mountain Chickadee (2) eating the abundant and still alive Giant Willow Aphids 
from peachleaf willows at the north end of the ELC
Black-capped Chickadee (at least 15)  some along side their mountain cousins, 
also eating aphids from willow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (3)  with the chickadees, eating aphids from willow
Brown Creeper (1) with the mixed flock, also eating aphids
Downy Woodpecker (2) with the mixed flock, also eating aphids

White Pelican (1 lingering bird at Cottonwood Hollow)
Marsh Wren (2 heard at Cottonwood Hollow)
Prairie Falcon (hunting ahead of a ferocious wind/rain event as a front went 
thru about 2pm, faced into the wind)
Eared Grebe (1 lingering bird, has been hanging with a group of Northern 
Shovelers for about a month, Prospect Ponds)
Cackling Goose (1, at the Sharp Point Drive feedlot pond, I may have seen some 
others flying but not sure)
Brewer's Blackbird (flock of about 15, near the feedlot, probably will winter 
at the feedlot if history repeats itself)

Total of 39 species 

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Winter Wren at the Poudre River in Fort Collins

[Dave Leatherman]

Of late, "Stub-tailed" Wren(s) has(have) been along a Fort Collins (Larimer) 
stretch of the Poudre River north of the bike trail north of the Water 
Treatment Plant (which is situated west of the Environmental Learning Center 
parking lot).  This special wooded area with overtopping tall cottonwoods and 
understory of Snowberry has had many special birds over the years, including 
nesting American Redstart, Least Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, and Great Horned 
Owl.  About a month ago Joe Mammoser found a Wood Thrush here.  It has had 
multiple Stub-tailed Wrens in previous migration periods and winters.  Arvind 
Panjabi found a Stub-tailed Wren here on 15November which he reported as 
Pacific.  This was not posted until the 16th at about the time of day I was 
independently finding a Stub-tailed Wren at the same location, which I also 
suspected might be Pacific based on its non-musical call only (heard only 
briefly, however, never seen).  On the 17th Joe Mammoser and I saw and heard a 
wren at this site which sounded "odd" and had a brown throat, which did not 
contrast with the upper breast in the fairly distant view we had.  Joe had to 
leave and I spent 3 hours trying to get pics, and succeeded in getting a few.  
Unfortunately the "best" photo, in terms of focus, lighting, and posture of the 
bird looked very much like a Pacific and was shared widely.   At various times 
during my long session pursuing this individual, my thinking about which type 
of wren it was changed about 4 times, with me leaving thinking it was a Winter 
based mostly on two lengthy sessions of "musical" (not dry) calls.  Looking at 
my pics changed my mind back to Pacific, mostly because of this one, 
brown-throated view.  Working up subsequent pics, plus listening to Nathan's 
blog and Xeno Canto files relative to the subject changed my suspicions again 
back to Winter.  As has been lightly pointed out by Norm, and in no way do I 
intend my remarks to be construed as critical of Tony and Nathan's recent CFO 
article or Glenn's involvement with the photos, this hot-off-the-press piece IS 
somewhat confusing.  I say this particularly related to the pics selected 
(which are very good images of two species very hard to photograph, just 
problematic in reference to the text and how they do or don't illustrate the 
summary chart of significant field marks touting differences between the two).  
Nick Komar visited the site yesterday and posted his belief the bird he saw 
there was clearly a Winter Wren based on both calls and field marks.  Joe 
Mammoser and I saw a bird at this site again today (November 19th) and it 
clearly was a Winter Wren, based on both call and appearance.  Lastly, there 
has been speculation about two birds being at this site, and I suppose that 
cannot be ruled out, nor can the premise that Arvind saw a different bird.  The 
bottom line is that the recurring individual as of this noon is a Winter Wren. 

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins 

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[cobirds] Winter Wren at Poudre River in Fort Collins

[Dave Leatherman]

I forgot to mention that Rachel Hopper also saw this bird, and after 
considerable deliberation, concurs the bird she saw on 17Nov172010 
(independently) and portrayed in my photographs taken the same day is a Winter 
Wren.

Dave Leatherman

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins) on 4December

[Dave Leatherman]

Here is the complete list (in the order of discovery) for a multi-hour, 
late-morning visit to Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins (Larimer) today, 4 
December 2010.  Nothing rare, but each visit is always interesting.  I joined 
Cree and Skyler Bol, a mother and son team working on a school bird project 
with the hypothesis "if you know bird sounds you can double the number of 
species detected for any one site visit".

European Starling  (several, mostly in big, decrepit silver maples with 
cavities)
Brown Creeper  (at least 5, mostly inside spruce crowns)
Canada Goose (many more flying over than has been the case since last spring)
Northern Flicker  (several)
Blue Jay (few heard off to the west)
Rock Pigeon (several sitting on a distant power pole either discussing the pros 
and cons of being a Great Horned Owl entree (females?) or twirling around with 
lust (males?))
American Robin (few)
House Sparrow  (several heard)
White-breasted Nuthatch (1 heard)
House Finch (several, mostly eating green ash seeds)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (at least 5, mostly in the interior crowns of spruce)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (1f, with chickadees, nuthatches and creepers inside 
spruce crowns, lifer for Skyler)
Hairy Woodpecker (1 heard in spruce)
Black-capped Chickadee (several)
American Goldfinch (several, eating green ash seeds with House Finches)
American Crow (few)
Red Crossbill (1 or 2 females, coming to a particular few blue spruce in 
Section S, as a flock of up to 6 have been for weeks, presumably Type 5s, lifer 
for Skyler)
Townsend's Solitaire (1 eating Rocky Mountain Juniper berries near the entrance)
Cackling Goose (few mixed in with the Canadas)
Dark-eyed Juncos (few slate-colors, eating buckthorn fruits)
Total of 20 species

Misses (species known to be at or over GC of late, just not today):
Great Horned Owl
Ring-billed Gull
Downy Woodpecker
Black-billed Magpie
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mountain Chickadee
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Mallard

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins


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[cobirds] Poudre River south of Prospect, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 14Jan2011

[Dave Leatherman]

I took a walk late this afternoon starting at the Feedlot Pond just south of 
Prospect Road in Fort Collins (Larimer County) on the east side of Sharp Point 
Drive and walked roughly southeast thru the Prospect Ponds Natural Area ending 
at the Environmental Learning Center parking lot, all on the west side of the 
Poudre River.

Highlights:

Winter Wren (2) - one was at the north end of the cottonwood grove with 
snowberry understory north of the Bike Trail straight north of the Water 
Treatment Plant where there has been wren activity since at least October 5, 
2010, and the other was along the river just northeast of the outhouse building 
by the Northern CO Environmental Learning Center parking lot (where Joe 
Mammoser first found a bird, I believe in early January 2011).  I saw and heard 
both of today's birds well.  There have been reports of as many as 4! 
"Stub-tailed Wrens" (three seen together over a third of a mile from the ELC) 
along the river stretch connecting these two locations, and there has been 
strong suspicion at least one of them is Pacific.  This latter suspicion has 
NOT been substantiated, however, to anyone's satisfaction, including by Nathan 
Pieplow's sound recorder and several big cameras.

Greater Scaup (1 adult m)  Feedlot Pond (the first pond south of Prospect on 
the east side of Sharp Point)

Hybrid Goose (appears very similar to the Chen X Branta bird reported before 
Christmas as an Emperor Goose/Paradise Shelduck at North Poudre #3 north of 
town and finally straightened out by Nick Komar)

Gadwall (1)   first one I've seen this year, seem more scarce than usual in 
winter in the Fort Collins area

Red-tailed Hawk (3, including 1 dark-phase adult and 1 dark Harlan's type)

Cedar Waxwing (5+)  flyovers

The Feedlot Pond, in addition to the scaup, had a good assortment of waterfowl 
including both white-cheeked geese, American Wigeons, Northern Pintails, 
Mallards, Common Mergansers, Northern Shovelers, Common Goldeneyes, a few 
Green-winged Teal, and a few American Coots.  No gulls, no Wood Ducks.  [A few 
days ago I saw a hybrid Mallard X American Black Duck here.]  There has been 
some turnover at this pond and it is worth monitoring (it has had Barrow's 
Goldeneye, Greater White-fronted Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, a hybrid teal with 
what appeared to be some % of Baikal in it, and the White-winged Scoter of a 
few years ago was very nearby (next pond south, presently frozen).  On occasion 
Bald Eagles also like to give the waterfowl a death stare here.]

Total of 35 spp.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Long-tailed Duck in Fort Collins on 20Jan2011

[Dave Leatherman]

At about 11am today (1/20/2011) at North Shields Pond Natural Area in Fort 
Collins (Larimer) I was able to find the Long-tailed Duck discovered and posted 
a few days ago by Aran Meyer of the Fort Collins Natural Areas Program.  As 
reported earlier, the bird was hanging out with 16 Common Goldeneyes.  The keys 
to this situation would appear to be:  1) open water, and 2) abundant crayfish 
(probably Orconectes sp.).  Both types of duck were diving in the shallows and 
scoring almost every time.  Thanks to Aran for his find and report. 

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 26Jan2011

[Dave Leatherman]

Late this morning I heard (pecking) and then saw a very drab juvenile (female?) 
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Grandview Cemetery (at the west terminus of 
Mountain Avenue in Fort Collins (Larimer)).   Not having seen any sapsuckers in 
the cemetery since seeing two with a group of Greeley birders during autumn 
migration on 30October, I had pretty much concluded none were in the cemetery 
area this winter.   I've known about old sap wells on the tree today's bird was 
in but never actually observed a sapsucker in it.  

If you come west on Mountain Avenue past the cemetery office and in the main 
entrance, go across the ditch bridge, make an immediate right (heading north) 
and parallel the ditch for a hundred yards or so until reaching a 90-degree 
curve in the extreme northeast corner of Section A.  Between the road curve and 
the ditch is a big, double-stemmed Scots Pine (the only true pine in the 
immediate area).  The bird was difficult to observe near the upper part (within 
ten feet of the top of the tree) of the main (thicker) trunk. 

Also in the cemetery today were two Golden-crowned Kinglets, at least one 
solitaire, 6 flyover American Wigeon, Red-breasted and White-breasted 
Nuthatches, and both chickadees.  The Great Horned Owl  female in not on the 
elm crotch nest (yet).

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Fw: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 26Jan2011

[Dave Leatherman]

From: Dave Leatherman 
Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2011 1:32 PM
To: COBIRDS 
Subject: Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) 
on 26Jan2011


Late this morning I heard (pecking) and then saw a very drab juvenile (female?) 
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Grandview Cemetery (at the west terminus of 
Mountain Avenue in Fort Collins (Larimer)).   Not having seen any sapsuckers in 
the cemetery since seeing two with a group of Greeley birders during autumn 
migration on 30October, I had pretty much concluded none were in the cemetery 
area this winter.   I've known about old sap wells on the tree today's bird was 
in but never actually observed a sapsucker in it.  

If you come west on Mountain Avenue past the cemetery office and in the main 
entrance, go across the ditch bridge, make an immediate right (heading north) 
and parallel the ditch for a hundred yards or so until reaching a 90-degree 
curve in the extreme northeast corner of Section A.  Between the road curve and 
the ditch is a big, double-stemmed Scots Pine (the only true pine in the 
immediate area).  The bird was difficult to observe near the upper part (within 
ten feet of the top of the tree) of the main (thicker) trunk. 

Also in the cemetery today were two Golden-crowned Kinglets, at least one 
solitaire, 6 flyover American Wigeon, Red-breasted and White-breasted 
Nuthatches, and both chickadees.  The Great Horned Owl  female in not on the 
elm crotch nest (yet).

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Long-tailed Duck in Fort Colllins (Larimer) on 1/25

[Dave Leatherman]

The Long-tailed Duck first reported by Aran Meyer from Fort Collins' North 
Shields Pond Natural Area (Larimer) on 1/18 is still present as of today, 
25January.  I found it today about a half mile north of where the path going 
west from the NSPNA parking lot meets the river.  The duck was by itself in a 
pool of water below a dam north of the Sterling Natural Area, which is just 
north of NSPNA (our City Natural Areas people are fond of names and signs).  
From the NSPNA parking lot, walk west to the river (dam/spillway here) and then 
north on the dirt path out of NSP NA into Sterling NA (a painless, unnatural 
transition) and keep going north to a green bridge which crosses the river 
("Notice - No Trespassing" sign on the west side of this bridge).  Look north 
from the middle of the bridge to a distant dam marked by considerable orange 
tarping.  The bird was in the river pool just south of the orange-tarped dam.  
The bridge is public, the riverbank next to where the duck was sitting is not.  
The long-tail was NOT with the Common Goldeneyes, as it consistently was during 
the early days of its discovery.  If you find goldeneyes, go thru the flock but 
if the long-tail is not present, it still may be around somewhere feeding solo. 
 I should also note that the bird, without apparent cause, took off and flew 
northwest along the river.  I suppose it could hang out on the Poudre River 
anywhere from North Shields Pond to the town of LaPorte.

Also present along the river were 1 American Dipper (at the spillway due west 
of the parking lot), 11 Common Goldeneyes, Mallards, and a flock of 9 Cedar 
Waxwings.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 30January

[Dave Leatherman]

The juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker continues to hang out in the large Scots 
Pine on the west side of the ditch in the northeast corner of Grandview 
Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer).   This bird can be amazingly wary and will 
probably prove elusive if you park under the tree or walk right up to it.  I 
would recommend driving slowly north from the entrance along the ditch, thru 
the corner to locate the tree, then parking at least 50 yards west of it.  Scan 
the north side of the pine trunk about half way up for the bird from inside 
your car.  If present, it will probably allow slow approach on foot to within 
about 20 yards, then will start playing hide and seek.

Skyler Bol and his parents Cree and Tom and I saw the bird this morning about 
10.  It steadily worked a couple of nice patches of sap wells on the north side 
of the tree at mid-trunk level.  It has several others, including some high in 
the crown, and is perfectly content to retreat to these upper ones (where it is 
virtually invisible).  

I went back to the cemetery this afternoon and the sapsucker was still in this 
tree, but not nearly as evident.

Other birds seen today at Grandview:

Merlin (2, "prairie") - initially a female was spotted atop a spruce.  It was 
chased off its perch by an overflying crow.  The female relocated in a 
cottonwood, and amazingly, a male Merlin flew in toward her.  The crow chased 
off the male, ruining a great viewing/photo op.  Shortly, the female went off 
to the south.  I don't think I have ever seen a male-female pair of Merlins in 
Colorado.  Very exciting. 

Sharp-shinned Hawk (1)
Bald Eagle (1a)
Red-tailed Hawk (1)
American Kestrel (1m)
Great Horned Owl (1 near the nest elm, still no presence on the nest)
Cedar Waxwing (about 10 flyovers)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (2, with Brown Creepers, almost always in a spruce next 
to a hackberry getting overwintering gall psyllids)
Total of 21 species (including, for the location, a very respectable total of 6 
raptors, especially considering we are outside of migratory periods) 

Misses today included both Hairy and Downy Woodpecker (both of which poach from 
the sapsucker's wells), both White-breasted and Red-breasted Nuthatches, 
American Robin, Dark-eyed Junco, American Goldfinch, and Eurasian 
Collared-Dove.  

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Long-tailed Duck (and brief Grandview Cemetery report), Fort Collins (Larimer) on 2/1

[Dave Leatherman]

The Long-tailed Duck, discovered several days ago by Aran Meyer at the North 
Shields Pond Natural Area (NSPNA) in Fort Collins (Larimer), is still present.  
Today I saw it in an area of open water (how can this be?) along the north part 
of the pond that dominates the Sterling Natural Area (SNA).  SNA is just north 
of NSPNA.  From the NSPNA parking lot, walk west to the river and follow the 
dirt path north until you see a big mostly-frozen pond on your right (to the 
east).  The long-tail was with about a dozen Common Goldeneyes, one male Hooded 
Merganser, and one sick-sounding Canada Goose.  

In the vicinity of the "Green Bridge", which goes over the Poudre River about 
200 yards north of the dam which is straight west from the NSPNA parking lot, 
were a group of 7 Common Goldeneyes and a pair of Hooded Mergansers.  The 
Long-tailed Duck was seen in this area last Saturday (flushed from right under 
the Green Bridge according to a report).  Much of the previously open water on 
the river has frozen of late and no doubt more will freeze tonight and 
tomorrow.   Suffice it to say, the Long-tailed Duck could be on any open water 
in this area, whether it be the river or a pond. 

South of the dam which is due west of the NSPNA parking lot was an American 
Dipper, a male American Kestrel perched over the water like a kingfisher, and a 
Belted Kingfisher.

Grandview Cemetery Addendum
I checked for the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in the ne corner of Grandview 
Cemetery twice today and did NOT see it.  My guess is it didn't want to be 
called a Yellow-bellied Sapchiseler, which is what it would have had to be 
today.   It was seen yesterday and is very likely still around.]

In contrast to most river water and pine sap, apparently Fox Squirrel hormones 
freeze at something less than a few degrees below zero.  Male squirrel chasing 
of female squirrels, accompanied by the standard vocal protest from the gender 
being chased, was quite evident today at Grandview.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins 

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[cobirds] Second YBSapsucker at Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 7Feb2011

[Dave Leatherman]

The juvenile Yellow-bellied Sapsucker first reported from the northeast corner 
of Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 25January and last reported on 
30January was apparently forced to relocate due to the very cold weather during 
the transition from January to February.  I have not seen it during 5 visits 
between the 30th and today, with a good majority of these outings devoted to 
finding it.  This bird had not one red feather anywhere on it that I could see 
in good views through a scope at fairly close range.  

Around the 26 or 27th, Joe Mammoser reported seeing a second individual 
YBSapsucker at Grandview, an adult with a red throat and forecrown.  Despite 
also looking for this bird, I had not seen it until today.  Today an adult male 
was first seen in the northeast corner of Section 8 (southwest of the entrance) 
in a huge Silver Maple.  It then moved west a short distance into an American 
Linden (which hosted a YBSapsucker for an entire winter many years ago, and, 
thus, is loaded with old, reworkable sap wells), then flew north to another 
Silver Maple briefly, then off to the southwest corner of the cemetery, which 
is populated with many pines frequented by sapsuckers historically.  I couldn't 
find the bird again.  So, basically this is just a heads up an adult is around, 
apparently mostly working deciduous trees, and that probably the juvenile 
partial to one particular Scots Pine (in the northeast corner of Section A) is 
apparently gone.  My guess would be the linden is the best bet to attract the 
adult YBSapsucker back and a good tree to check.  To find this tree come across 
the entry bridge over the ditch, immediately turn south (left), parallel the 
ditch until you come to the road that goes west (right) between Sections G and 
8.  There is a huge Silver Maple in 8 just on the south side of the road (where 
the sapsucker was first seen today), then a light pole, then a small 5-foot 
dwarf Alberta Spruce (looks like a very dense Christmas tree).  Just southwest 
of the little spruce is a big shade tree (70 feet tall) that forks about half 
way up.  That is the American Linden.  The middle trunk area and above is full 
of old rows of holes and would be worth checking.

The Great Horned Owls that normally nest in the American Elm crotch in the 
central part of the cemetery were both sitting together, occasionally dueting, 
in a big Blue Spruce just west of the nest elm.  Last year this kind of 
activity preceded her beginning to sit in the elm crotch by 1-2 weeks. 

No crossbills or siskins this winter at Grandview.

Total species today: 20

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] YBSapsucker, etc. at Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins on 2/8

[Dave Leatherman]

The adult male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was found again today, 2/8/2011, at 
Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) in the northern part of Section 8 in 
the American Linden described in yesterday's post.  

While yesterday's prediction was correct that this tree might be of repeat 
interest to this bird because of old, reworkable sap wells made by another 
sapsucker individual in a previous winter (1992-93), my description of how to 
find this tree was a bit misleading.  From the cemetery entrance at the west 
end of Mountain Avenue, cross the bridge over the ditch, make an immediate 
left, go south along the ditch about 50 yards to the road dividing Sections G 
and 8, turn right (west) and go another 50 yards to the second black security 
light pole on your left.  The American Linden of interest to the sapsucker is 
the large-diameter shade tree several feet south of the second light pole.   
Both times I've seen this bird, it has been in the upper half of this tree, but 
hasn't stayed put very long (i.e., it could be anywhere, probably in a 
deciduous tree, most likely, if not the linden, a maple or an elm).

Of interest to me over the years has been bird use of icicles that form at 
areas of sap flow from breaks in the buds and branches of Silver Maple during 
late winter/early spring.  For lack of a better term, I call these "sapsicles". 
 The sapsucker today flew northeast from the linden a short ways to a big 
Silver Maple in the central part of Section G, where I was able to get some OK 
but distant photos.  When I got home and cropped in on these pics (and 
confirmed it to be an adult male), the maple had lots of these sapsicles in the 
portion of the crown where the sapsucker was.  I never directly noticed the 
bird peck at or drink from them, but it did appear interested in the bark areas 
at the base of these structures.  Sometimes you see very cool things when it's 
very cool.

Also of note during today's visit (mid-afternoon) were:
Merlin (female, "prairie" race)
Sharp-shinned Hawk (adult, male)
Mountain Chickadee (1)  not an "every visit" kind of bird this winter
Golden-crowned Kinglet (heard inside a big spruce crown)
Great Horned Owl (1 in a spruce west of the nest elm)

Total of 22 species 

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins


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[cobirds] Great Horned Owl on the nest at Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins, 2/11/2011

[Dave Leatherman]

The female Great Horned Owl began her vigil at the elm crotch nest in Section H 
of Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins today.  She was not on the nest 
yesterday.  Let's hope they don't run a story about the nest in the Fort 
Collins Coloradoan newspaper so she and her young can be left in peace during 
this nesting season.  Last year, after they ran a killer photo of the babies, 
many of the pro photographers with giant lenses were all the about the pictures 
and little about the welfare of the owls.  

No sapsuckers have been found in the last two days (but may still be around, 
especially the adult male).

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins, on 2/13/2011

[Dave Leatherman]

I saw both the juvenile and the adult male YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER today at 
Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer).  It is a rare day, indeed, when 
multiple sapsuckers are seen at one site in northern Colorado in winter.  
Although it is a very mild day today, this isn't "Banana Belt", Colorado (aka 
Canon City).

The juvenile was in the Scots Pine it frequented 10 days or so ago in northeast 
corner of the portion of the cemetery north of the entrance and west of the 
ditch.  The adult male was in the Austrian Pine grove just out on the golf 
course from the southwest corner of the cemetery (find the green porta potty 
and the bird was in the third pine due east of the porta potty along the fence 
line just out on the course, usually in the upper 1/3 of the tree on the north 
side). 

The female Great Horned Owl should have laid her second egg today and looked 
content on the nest.  So far, so good, as far as photographers bothering the 
situation.   If anybody need directions to the tree, email me privately.

The two Golden-crowned Kinglets were active in some spruce next to a big 
hackberry.  These spruce, in the northeast corner of Section 1, are about as 
reliable as any for these secretive birds (map of the cemetery is posted just 
west of the entrance office (i.e., between the office and the ditch bridge) at 
the west end of Mountain Avenue).

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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Fw: [cobirds] squirrel attack on flicker

[Dave Leatherman]

--
From: "Dave Leatherman" 
Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 1:46 PM
To: 
Subject: Re: [cobirds] squirrel attack on flicker


Lonny et al,
Fox Squirrels are reported in the "Mammals of Colorado" by Fitzgerald, 
Meaney, and Armstrong as being native along the Platte and Republican 
River drainages, with extensive "natural" and "man-assisted" range 
extensions since.  Their current distribution includes essentially all of 
the eastern plains where there are big trees, with local detections in the 
mountains as high in elevation as Evergreen and Rustic (and even one over 
by Grand Junction, which almost certainly was a human release).  I don't 
think any squirrel species that runs on all-fours is native to "Downtown 
Boulder" (unless there is evidence ponderosa pine once covered that area, 
and then the pine-dependant  Abert's Squirrel could be considered "native" 
until displaced by human buildings, coffee shops, and astroturf for 
Ralphie the Buffalo).  If we include squirrels that walk or stagger on two 
legs, particularly the Pearl Street Mall on Halloween, that may be a 
different story (Bill Kaempfer, help me out here).


My guess would be the attack on an adult flicker by a squirrel involves a 
squabble over a cavity sought by both animals.  At this time of year, 
squirrels are already involved in their first brood and flickers are 
thinking about theirs.  Perhaps the flicker, in the act of investigating a 
potential nest cavity, bothered the in-residence female mate of the 
squirrel in question.  It could also be that the squirrel is sick (rabid) 
and a bit deranged.  I doubt a normal squirrel, as squirrelly as they can 
be, would be desperate enough from a food standpoint to attack a flicker, 
even a vulnerable one.


While I totally understand the urge to intercede or make judgments as to 
which combatant is on the higher ground, Fox Squirrels and Northern 
Flickers are both street smart, battle-scarred members of the urban 
wildlife guild. This kind of stuff happens, hundreds of times a day in 
every square mile of urban forest, and the most useful response from us 
would seem to be keen observation (and then posting about it, as you did. 
Thank you.).


Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

--
From: "Lonny Frye" 
Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 12:57 PM
To: "Colorado Birds" 
Subject: [cobirds] squirrel attack on flicker


Looking out my window here in Downtown Boulder, I witnessed a fox
squirrel attack and maim a Northern Flicker that was occupied with
courtship with other Flickers. The squirrel managed to harm its wing
and then open a gash under the wing on a second attack on the ground.
I chased it off temporarily and the Flicker has managed to climb up
another tree and is resting for now. I have my doubts about its
survival. There was about a tablespoon of thick bright blood on the
sidewalk. I have seen same squirrel feasting on the leg of a young
nestling and I am looking at its hole and pondering how he would like
it sealed off. Perhaps some concrete? It is unfortunate that Fox
squirrels are such avid breeders and have aggressively taken over our
cities and pushed out native squirrels. Perhaps native squirrels are
similar predators also...
Lonny Frye

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins) on 3/4/11

[Dave Leatherman]

Nothing earthshaking today at Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 
3/4/2011, but a nice set of 25 species (normal of late has been about 18-19 
spp.).  Of note were a newly-arrived pair of Lesser Goldfinches, together in an 
American Elm eating flower buds.  The female Great Horned Owl is putting in her 
time within the elm crotch nest (first baby should hatch on or about March 
17th).  The male maintains his sleepy vigil in the second spruce to the west of 
the nest tree.  An adult female Sharp-shinned Hawk was in the residential yards 
just east of the cemetery's northeast corner.  A small group of Pine Siskins 
has shown up from somewhere and their vocalizations indicate they might breed 
locally (after being absent all winter).  I noticed the same thing in Lamar, 
where there were only a few evident in December and January at places like 
Fairmount Cemetery and a conspicuous group of a dozen or more in late February. 
 To add "data" to the thread Jeff Jones began regarding the onset of junco 
song, my notes indicate 15 February as the first day of this at Grandview this 
year.  The Golden-crowned Kinglets (2 females) are almost always associated 
with creepers, and both species are almost always found foraging for 
overwintering adult psyllids within spruce crowns near hackberries.  And I 
believe the two sapsuckers active in predictable locations at Grandview in late 
January and February have moved on.  The male Fox Squirrels are almost 
exclusively chowing down on silver maple flower buds, and then clipping the 
branch piece they just worked over.  Most of the females would appear to be 
inside cavities gestating.  

I would call this a time of "tortoise" change - slow but steady.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins, on 3/6/2011

[Dave Leatherman]

You know how the announcer says, "This guy is automatic from the foul line", 
and then he proceeds to brick two shots?  Seems like all I have to do is 
announce a bird is "gone" from Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) and 
it shows back up.  The other day, after not seeing, for four consecutive, 
multi-hour visits, either Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in any of the very well 
known places they had been for several weeks, I opened my mouth.  Of course, 
today both the adult male sapsucker and the juvenile were in their assigned 
seats: the adult in the Austrian Pine grove east of the porta potty just out on 
the golf course in the southwestern part of the cemetery, and the juvenile in 
the Scots Pine in the northeastern corner of the cemetery west of the ditch.  
Heretofore, the adult has always been in an odd-numbered pine counting east 
from the porta potty (1st, 3rd, 5th, or 7th).  Today it was in the 4th.

Also present were the two Golden-crowned Kinglets, both adult Great Horned 
Owls, and two Red Fox.  Total of 17 bird species.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Cameron Pass and Walden (Jackson) on 3/15

[Dave Leatherman]

Highlights of a day-long visit to Cameron Pass (Larimer/Jackson) and the Walden 
area (Jackson) today (3/15/2011) included:

The feeders at the Moose Visitor Center along SR14 on the Jackson County side 
of Cameron Pass at Gould:
Pine Grosbeak (at least 10)
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (at least 300)
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch (at least 25)
[Black Rosy-Finch (0, that I saw)]
Gray Jay (2)

Ermine (1) fantastic little creature, pure white with a black-tipped tail (also 
called "Short-tailed Weasel"), outside the Visitor Center's south door

Walden, feeders of the Fliniaus:
The Fliniau feeders in Walden have long been kind to seekers of rosy-finches, 
although this very nice couple reported very few this winter, and only on "bad 
weather" days.  What is the world coming to?  No rosy-finches today but two 
Eurasian Collared-Doves at 8200 feet.

Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge about 10 miles south of Walden on SR125:
Greater Sage-Grouse (about 20)  feeding in sagebrush on the east side of the 
highway between mileposts 42 and 43 (at what would have been 42.5 to 42.8 in an 
area of dense vegetation where most of the snow had melted or blown away)

Cameron Pass (at the Nokhu Crags scenic overlook along SR14 which is about 1.1 
miles southwest of the Cameron Pass Summit).  The Cameron Pass Summit is at 
milepost 65):
Boreal Owl (heard at about 8:15pm under calm wind conditions, temperature in 
the upper low 40's, 5 days prior to the full moon).  Rick Schroeder of Fort 
Collins reported hearing a Boreal Owl "at a parking area" near Cameron Pass a 
couple nights ago.  Maybe the same bird, maybe not.  The owls are up there.  As 
Rick accurately stated, the trick to at least hearing one is the temporary 
absence of wind, car traffic, and overhead aircraft noise.  A "fullish" moon 
seems to help stimulate the owls to vocalize.  Dr. Ron Ryder and his grad 
student Dave Palmer pioneered the censusing of Boreal Owls on Cameron  Pass 
over 25 years ago and they had double-figure birds on more than one survey 
during the months of February, March, April, May (and I believe, into June).  
Boreal Owls were found from Gould on the west side of the Pass, to several 
miles on the Fort Collins side of the Pass to almost Larimer County 103 Road 
(the Chambers Lake/Laramie River Road).  The area near the Zimmerman Lake 
parking lot/trailhead has been consistently good in years past.

Mountain Bluebirds seen at various locations in Poudre Canyon , and just 
southeast of Walden Reservoir.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 3/23/2011

[Dave Leatherman]

Here's the complete annotated list, in order of discovery, from Grandview 
Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) today (3/23/2011):
House Finch (zillions, lots of courtship, one female observed nest-building)
Great Horned Owl (female on nest in Section H, babies hatched on schedule 
starting on 3/17, male hooted with pride once midday)
Northern Flicker (zillions, usually in threesomes (what's up with that?), 
territorial drumming, chasing, courting, you name it)
Pine Siskin (at least 6-8 pairs, lots of singing and courtship flying)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (few, one agonistic toward White-breasted Nuthatch, 
presumably involving who has legal title to a nearby cavity)
Eurasian Collared-Dove (at least 3 pairs, chasing, courtship cooing, usually 
going into spruce crown interiors)
Duck sp. (small group of fast-flying ducks far in the distance)
Black-capped Chickadee (at least 15, lots of courtship singing, cavity 
investigation, chasing)
Lesser Goldfinch (1 pair, male singing at length in American Elm right over the 
entrance)
Dark-eyed Junco (I didn't even look at them for fear of seeing wing-bars, lots 
of singing)
American Robin (several, male fights, worm-pulling)
Ring-billed Gull (several overhead, homing in on Sheldon Lake at nearby City 
Park)
White-breasted Nuthatch (2 pairs of "interior" subspecies, aforementioned 
squabble with feisty RBrNut over cavity)
House Sparrow (several in two separate colonies across the street from the 
cemetery)
Brown Creeper (at least 5, doing their usual procuring of psyllids from spruce 
trunk bark near hackberry, and one was taking a bath in the ditch)
Mourning Dove (1 new arrival, heard across the street)
American Goldfinch (few, eating American Elm flowers)
American Crow (few, flew over GHOwl nest and shouted obscenities)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (2, in spruce, usually with creepers)
Rock Pigeon (few on pole far to the north, waiting to be chosen as dinner by 
the owls)
European Starling (returned from work outside the cemetery about 5pm (in the 
dead of winter they get home at 3:30))
Mountain Chickadee (at least 1, maybe as many as 3, in spruce)
YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (1 adult male, a surprise, maybe (but maybe not) the 
same adult male present for the last several weeks, seen at 5pm in several 
trees just west of the entrance (Sugar Maple, American Elm, Rocky Mountain 
Juniper, American Linden, Silver Maple), very hyper.

Total of 23 species.  Misses today were Red-tailed Hawk, Blue Jay, and Downy 
Woodpecker.  Also thought there might have been a few migrating hawks overhead.

Also, Turkey Vultures are beginning to return to their traditional roost on 
Mountain Avenue several blocks east of the cemetery, as reported by Dr. Cringan 
yesterday.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Odds and ends from 3/29 and 3/30

[Dave Leatherman]

On 3/29 I went west of Fort Collins, first to Watson Lake to see if 
White-throated Swifts have returned to northern CO (apparently they haven't) 
and then into Rist Canyon (Larimer CR52E about 1.5 miles west of CR27E) 
checking on Mountain Pine Beetle development in Ponderosa Pine (in short, a 
fair number of the beetles at present can't read what life stage they're 
supposed to be in at this time of year).  Of note, the area continues to be 
used by good numbers of Clark's Nutcrackers chowdering Ponderosa Pine cones to 
obtain seeds.  The nutcracker invasion was first noted late last summer by 
Arvind Punjabi and Dave Steingraeber, who both live in the foothills on the 
west side of Horsetooth Reservoir.  Good numbers of nutcrackers were recorded 
on the Fort Collins CBC, and apparently the invasion of the northern lowlands 
continues.  This phenomenon may be a function of a very good cone crop in 
ponderosa, or indicate problems for Limber Pine caused by Mountain Pine Beetle 
operating at higher elevations and population levels than has been historical, 
or a combination of both.  A female Hairy Woodpecker enjoyed the bounty of pine 
beetles in lower Rist Canyon.  And a few small groups of Red Crossbills were 
heard overflying this area, also.

Late in the afternoon my car, without being directed, took me to Grandview 
Cemetery in Fort Collins.  The winds the last two days have been turbulent, 
with the prevailing upper winds being from the northwest, but surface winds 
have varied from south to southeasterly.  For reasons somebody can probably 
explain, these multidirectional wind days, if they occur during migration 
seasons, usually prove good for observing raptors.  I had a Sharp-shinned Hawk 
migrating maybe 100 feet above ground going ne to sw, a Cooper's Hawk lower 
down flying pretty much due north, a high-flying dark-phase Red-tail going w to 
e, and an American Kestrel perched on a distant power line.  I also had a 
migrating group of 6 Turkey Vultures lift off from a temporary roost in the 
cemetery, ominously fly right over an active memorial service, and fly due n. 

I have been at Grandview Cemetery every day lately and have not seen a 
sapsucker since 3/26.

Today, 3/30 I had a group of 8 Bushtits feeding on Kermes scale insects in an 
unlabeled species of "white oak" and Shrub Liveoaks (Quercus turbinella) at the 
Denver Botanic Gardens (south of the greenhouse complex).

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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Re: [cobirds] Re: Douglas County American Three-toed Woodpecker

[Dave Leatherman]

Steve, Andy, et al,
I think you guys are both right.  I haven't been in that area in several years, 
but it (Jarre Canyon and the whole Hayman Fire area) over the last 20+ years 
has had lots of budworm, Douglas-fir Tussock Moth, Douglas-fir Beetle, 
Douglas-fir Pole Beetle and other bark beetles (called "engravers") in the 
genus Scolytus.  Usually what happens is one or both of the defoliators (the 
moths) chew the trees' needles for a few years, the affected trees become 
weakened (as indicated by top-kill), and one or more of the beetles finish them 
off.  Usually the Douglas-fir Beetle (Douglas-fir equivalent of the Mountain 
Pine Beetle) hits the bigger diameter stems and the pole beetle and engravers 
are in the stems smaller than 10 inch in diameter.  My bet would be a complex 
of insects is involved in the entire decline and death of the stand but the 
presence of the woodpeckers indicates bark beetles and/or wood boring beetles 
in the dead trees.  If the needles on these trees that weren't moth-chewed 
(i.e., missing) are red, that would indicate the death is recent enough to 
indicate the woodpeckers are probably after bark beetles.  If the tree crowns 
are pretty much needleless and gray, indicating the trees died two or more 
years ago, I would guess the woodpeckers are after the larvae of larger, 
secondary beetles like wood borers.  I often refer to the borers that show up 
in the second wave of succession (riding the coat-tails of whatever it was that 
killed the tree) as "lawyers" - they are at the accident but didn't do it.  If 
anybody goes back to this area, I'd be interested in what you think the 
woodpeckers are after (bark beetles would be right under the bark and their 
predation would be indicated by several shallow patches of pecking, extraction 
of borers would usually require deeper excavation of the outer rings of wood 
and be indicated by fairly widely-spaced gouges).  

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins


From: Steve Stachowiak & Melody Egge 
Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2011 9:57 PM
To: cobirds@googlegroups.com 
Subject: [cobirds] Re: Douglas County American Three-toed Woodpecker


Cobirders,

 

I thought that I would add that the "beetle kill" area as it was referred to by 
Andy is most likely attributable to Western Spruce Budworm.  The large stand of 
dead defoliated trees is comprised of Douglas-fir while the Ponderosa Pines in 
the immediate vicinity remain in healthy condition.  I visited this location on 
Saturday morning but had no luck with the American Three-toed so it is nice to 
know that they are indeed still in the area.  There are also Williamson's 
Sapsuckers drumming in the stand across the road to the south.

 

Good Birding,

Steve Stachowiak

Highlands Ranch, CO 


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Fw: [cobirds] Re: Douglas County American Three-toed Woodpecker

[Dave Leatherman]

From: Dave Leatherman 
Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2011 11:10 PM
To: waxwi...@q.com ; COBIRDS 
Subject: Re: [cobirds] Re: Douglas County American Three-toed Woodpecker


Steve, Andy, et al,
I think you guys are both right.  I haven't been in that area in several years, 
but it (Jarre Canyon and the whole Hayman Fire area) over the last 20+ years 
has had lots of budworm, Douglas-fir Tussock Moth, Douglas-fir Beetle, 
Douglas-fir Pole Beetle and other bark beetles (called "engravers") in the 
genus Scolytus.  Usually what happens is one or both of the defoliators (the 
moths) chew the trees' needles for a few years, the affected trees become 
weakened (as indicated by top-kill), and one or more of the beetles finish them 
off.  Usually the Douglas-fir Beetle (Douglas-fir equivalent of the Mountain 
Pine Beetle) hits the bigger diameter stems and the pole beetle and engravers 
are in the stems smaller than 10 inch in diameter.  My bet would be a complex 
of insects is involved in the entire decline and death of the stand but the 
presence of the woodpeckers indicates bark beetles and/or wood boring beetles 
in the dead trees.  If the needles on these trees that weren't moth-chewed 
(i.e., missing) are red, that would indicate the death is recent enough to 
indicate the woodpeckers are probably after bark beetles.  If the tree crowns 
are pretty much needleless and gray, indicating the trees died two or more 
years ago, I would guess the woodpeckers are after the larvae of larger, 
secondary beetles like wood borers.  I often refer to the borers that show up 
in the second wave of succession (riding the coat-tails of whatever it was that 
killed the tree) as "lawyers" - they are at the accident but didn't do it.  If 
anybody goes back to this area, I'd be interested in what you think the 
woodpeckers are after (bark beetles would be right under the bark and their 
predation would be indicated by several shallow patches of pecking, extraction 
of borers would usually require deeper excavation of the outer rings of wood 
and be indicated by fairly widely-spaced gouges).  

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins


From: Steve Stachowiak & Melody Egge 
Sent: Sunday, April 03, 2011 9:57 PM
To: cobirds@googlegroups.com 
Subject: [cobirds] Re: Douglas County American Three-toed Woodpecker


Cobirders,

 

I thought that I would add that the "beetle kill" area as it was referred to by 
Andy is most likely attributable to Western Spruce Budworm.  The large stand of 
dead defoliated trees is comprised of Douglas-fir while the Ponderosa Pines in 
the immediate vicinity remain in healthy condition.  I visited this location on 
Saturday morning but had no luck with the American Three-toed so it is nice to 
know that they are indeed still in the area.  There are also Williamson's 
Sapsuckers drumming in the stand across the road to the south.

 

Good Birding,

Steve Stachowiak

Highlands Ranch, CO 


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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 4April2011

[Dave Leatherman]

Highlights of an afternoon visit today (4/4/11) to Grandview Cemetery at the 
west end of Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins (Larimer):

YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (1 new (migrating?) individual juvenile, facial 
stripes thinner than one from a month ago, top of head with much red, throat 
white, very wary (you would be too if you had to suck enough sap to subsist 
along the fareway of a public course populated with rusty early spring golfers 
on a windy day), found in the 7th Austrian Pine (thin diameter with a 
double-trunk) east of the dark green porta potty just out on the golf course 
near the southwest corner of the cemetery).

Franklin's Gull (FOY flock of about 25 milling about noisily overhead)
Golden-crowned Kinglet (at least 1 of the overwintering duo still present, as 
per normal in the company of a Brown Creeper)
Great Horned Owl (female sitting pretty high on the nest in the elm at the west 
end of Section H, babies still not viewable under her)
Red-tailed Hawk (1 lt., 1 dark)
Lesser Goldfinch (singing without gusto at the entrance)

Total of 21 species

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 13April2011

[Dave Leatherman]

Highlights of a multi-hour, afternoon visit in cool, overcast weather to 
Grandview Cemetery (GC), Fort Collins (Larimer) today (4/13/2011):

Red Crossbill (3 non-red individuals, appear/sound to be Type 2's?) - these 
birds have been around for the last few days and spend their time in an 
assortment of ways, including feeding on Blue Spruce seeds extracted from 
cones, eating American Elm seeds, sitting in a Northern Red Oak (either eating 
buds or wiping pitch from their bill, couldn't tell which), going to the ditch 
for puddled water, and even visiting tube feeders at a house east of the 
entrance (getting something light yellow, which could be either millet or 
cracked corn (when I find out from the owner, I'll post the answer)).  
Crossbills of any species or type have NOT been present at GC this past winter 
(very few cones produced on spruce last summer).  They were seen on a couple 
dates last October, and then this spring only of late.  

Sharp-shinned Hawk (1 small individual, presumably a male)
Cooper's Hawk (1, a local breeder, carrying a sharp-tailed bird (Mourning 
Dove?), yesterday the daily special was robin)
Lesser Goldfinch (1 pair courting)
Dark-eyed Junco (heard, one of the last of the wintering individuals or 
possibly a migrant)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (few, including one excavating its own cavity in a dead 
American Elm branch stub)
Pine Siskin (several, well into their first nesting cycle, after not being 
present all winter)
Double-crested Cormorant (2 flyovers)
Hairy Woodpecker (1m) not an everyday species at GC
Downy Woodpecker (2)
Great Horned Owl (female sitting very high on the nest, young birds should 
start being visible any time now)

*The coolest thing I've seen lately: yesterday some of the Black-capped 
Chickadees were working Snowball Viburnum shrubs for the eggs of aphids (look 
like very tiny, shiny black jellybeans near the buds and in lengthwise bark 
ridges along one-year old twigs) and possibly European Fruit Lecanium (Scale) 
nymphs.  Sounds tough, but I've personally witnessed college-educated humans 
make a meal out of M&Ms. 

[The wintering, joined-at-the-hip duo of Brown Creepers and Golden-crowned 
Kinglets appears to have left for higher elevation]

Total of 26 species (tied with 4/8 for best species total of 2011)

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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Re: [cobirds] Evening Grosbeak invasion in Canon City area

[Dave Leatherman]

SeEtta at al,
Those are the seeds (samaras) of Siberian Elm the Evening Grosbeaks are feeding 
on in your photos.  Lots of birds like them including American and Lesser 
Goldfinches, grosbeaks, Cassin's and House Finches, etc.  I suspect we will see 
Evening Grosbeaks in good numbers over the next decade, as the forest insect 
they are most dependant on, the Western Spruce Budworm, goes thru an "up" cycle 
in Douglas-fir, true firs, and maybe spruce (they have been at relatively low 
ebb statewide since the mid-1980's but are currently known to be at high levels 
in the the Rampart Range near Colorado Springs, the Wet Mountains, and the east 
slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (as well as several areas in the 
southwest CO mountains such as the Culebra and San Juan ranges)).

Dave Leatherman

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Re: [cobirds] Black- Chinned Sparrow

[Dave Leatherman]

Hugh at al,
Those ash you refer to in Colorado National Monument are Singleleaf Ash 
(Fraxinus anomala), a little known native tree of the Southwest that barely 
gets into our area.  The "anomala" comes from its having a single, 
shovelhead-looking leaf, instead of the compound leaves of other ash.  One of 
my favorite trees, to be sure.  Having Black-chinned Sparrows apparently 
becoming part of the CO fauna is exciting for birders, but perhaps the reason 
yet another southwestern species is expanding its range northward isn't. 

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] New Yard Bird at 12:15am in a pouring rainstorm

[Dave Leatherman]

Early this morning (at 15 minutes or so after midnight) as I was getting into 
bed, I heard a commotion coming thru the sounds of rain and my apartment 
bedroom window.  Normally noises in my neighborhood at this hour involve 
college kid parties, one dog we can only hope never learns how to blog, or cat 
fights.  Instead, this time it was the loud calls of Long-billed Curlews!  I 
rushed to the front door and by that time could barely hear them going off to 
the north over the courtyard.  What I think this involved was a group of 
curlews (Yard Bird #121) migrating north at low elevation, perhaps influenced 
by the heavy cloud cover, rain, and maybe even city lights.   BNA seems to 
imply vocalization in flight at night is known for these birds, although 
knowledge of their migration, all aspects, is somewhat sketchy.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins (5 blocks east of CSU)

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins) on 2/21

[Dave Leatherman]

The cemetery (Grandview at the west end of Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins 
(Larimer)) was alive today.  Highlights include:

.Townsend's Solitaires (at least 10, possibly a few more) - all in the same few 
female junipers with berries northwest of the entrance (most seen during any 
visit this winter was 1, and my guess is today was a pulse of birds moving from 
the prairie to the foothills)

.Spotted Towhee (1 very secretive male high in one of the aforementioned 
junipers)

.Chipping Sparrow (FOY, flock of at least 20)

.Red-breasted Nuthatch (several, the most interesting one excavating a cavity 
at an old American Elm branch pruning scar)

.Great Horned Owl (the two babies born around St. Patrick's Day are more and 
more evident as they increase in size and as Mama leaves the nest more and 
more.  Predictably, the migration of photographers to this spot is underway.  
It would be a good opportunity for somebody (ornithologist and/or sociologist) 
to determine if nocturnal birds bothered constantly during the day keep the 
same one eye open, alternate, or mimic the squinting photographer closest to 
them.) 

.Osprey (1, mostly over the vicinity of Sheldon Lake to the southeast of the 
cemetery)

.Dark-eyed Juncos (at least 6, most of which were Pink-sided, 1 was Gray-headed)

.Pine Siskins (several, a few feeding vocal nestlings in Blue Spruce)

.Sapsucker sp.  (I strongly believe this poorly seen bird was an immature 
Williamson's based on the wing patches, which struck me as being very white and 
very large, spent most of its time being quite wary in Rocky Mountain Junipers) 

Total of 31 species (highest species total prior to this in 2011 was 26)

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins



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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins) on Easter

[Dave Leatherman]

Another great visit to Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer County, Easter 
Sunday, 7:30am to 2:30pm).  Highlights included:

Wood Duck (two pairs present, flying around, perching in tall trees, only my 
second time ever at Grandview, both times in late April)

Adult hackberry psyllid activity noted for the first time this year.  I 
suspected as much when the few Yellow-rumped Warblers present, and at least one 
of the Ruby-crowned Kinglets, lingered in various hackberries, sallying, and 
hover-gleaning in response to flushing the overwintering adults now moving to 
the swelling hackberry buds to lay eggs.   Later I found a few adult psyllids 
on my jacket, in my car, etc.  Hackberries would be good to check for migrating 
passerines throughout CO at this time.  Is there a hackberry at the scene of 
the vireo and good warblers of late in Boulder?  Somebody needs to figure out 
the secret to that hotspot.  

Townsend's Solitaire (at least 3, an indication the mass-movement from the 
lowlands to the foothills is continuing)

Lesser Goldfinch (adult male, green-backed form) - spotted near the entrance by 
Betsy Higgins, from Massachusetts and a member of the famous grouse trip that 
recently spotted the Prothonotary Warbler at Holly.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet (at least two, lots of singing, perhaps a pair will breed 
at the cemetery, as is the case about every-other year)

Dark-eyed Junco (several, including a few Oregon and one Gray-headed, some 
singing)

Broad-winged Hawk (FOY for me, one adult, light-morph flew low thru the 
cemetery about 11am, and kept on going north, I think)

Cooper's Hawk (1f terrorized the starlings at least twice this morning, but no 
predation that I could detect)

Great Horned Owl (these birds continue to mesmerize an ever-increasing 
collection of adoring fans with big cameras and minimal ethics (to be fair, 
most, but not all) - today we had multi-hour sittings with flash, loud talking, 
door slamming, half-hour cell phone calls right below the nest crotch 20 feet 
overhead, talking (as best I could tell from afar it was baby talk, since the 
nestlings are, after all, babies), waving to the birds, parking so close to the 
tree that one rear tire was raised a bit by the elm's root flair, you name it). 
 This happens every year and the owls keep using the site, so I guess their 
limit is higher than mine.

White Pelican (flock of about 30 off to the west flying along the foothills)

Chipping Sparrow (flock of 30+, mostly bathing in the ditch)

Lincoln's Sparrow (1 in the muddy ditch, at the base of lilacs, etc.)

Total of 36 species (highest total of the year and only one shy of my highest 
total ever for Grandview).

This spring's crop (2 or 3) of Red Fox pups appeared above the front door to 
their below-ground culvert home for perhaps their first time today.  

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins





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[cobirds] Lamar 25April-2May summary

[Dave Leatherman]

To finish up the account of my Lamar (Prowers) visit from late 25April thru 
early 2May, many of the birds of note seen late in the visit have been reported 
on by Brandon Percival, Mark Peterson, and Steve Mlodinow.  

The Summer Tanager at Fairmount Cemetery (mostly red head with otherwise 
blotchy green and orange body) was present all day April 30 thru at least May 
1.  It was mostly feeding on many individuals of a species of Conifer Seed Bug 
in the genus Leptoglossus.  These insects are probably familiar to most of you 
(see images available on-line), and are also called "leaf-footed bugs" because 
of the wide area that resembles a leaf about midway along the back set of legs. 
 They feed on juniper berries and other tree fruits by means of a stiletto-like 
mouthpart.  I also saw this tanager catch, and with much labor, down a 
Blue-eyed Darner dragonfly (picture a sword-swallower).   

I did not see the second Summer Tanager reported at the Lamar High School 
windbreak.  Nor did I ever catch up with the Ash-throated Flycatcher reported 
by the above trio and also Duane Nelson at the Lamar Community College Woods. 

The Hooded Warbler found by Janeal Thompson on 29April at Tempel Grove was 
still present on 2May.  At least I assume the 2May bird was the same 
individual, despite acting very differently.  On the 29th it was very sluggish, 
mostly feeding or sleeping within one 2'x2'x2' area and content to gorge on 
flies in a microsite of calm air beside the ditch road west of CR35.  On the 
2nd it was very actively flitting about on both sides of CR35 and seeming more 
like a typical, somewhat hyper warbler of the understory.   This improvement in 
vigor is probably typical of migrants staging in one area to rest and refuel 
during long journeys.  Perhaps the bird banders or someone with knowledge of 
individual birds observed in one area over multiple days during a migration can 
comment on this.

In summary, the plants seemed "behind" because of poor regional moisture since 
last summer and perhaps recent cold weather-induced setbacks in budbreak, but 
migrant activity was definitely picking up toward the end.  Pine Siskin and 
Chipping Sparrow noise and activity in areas with seed-bearing Siberian Elm and 
dandelions made detection of other species somewhat difficult.  "Hot" trees for 
warblers were cottonwood and hackberry in general, and golden currants full of 
resting midges along Willow Creek.  Trees that should attract more and more 
warblers in the coming week as they leaf out more and/or flower are honeylocust 
and American elm.  I only saw one vireo (Cassin's), no empids, one species of 
Catharus thrush (Hermit) until the last day (when I finally saw a group of at 
least 6 Swainson's), very few warblers (including Yellow-rumps), no grosbeaks, 
no mostly-blue buntings, no orioles (although Jane Stulp had one during the 
period at her farmyard south of Lamar), no kites, and no hummingbirds.  I 
finished with 118 species for the area previously defined as "the Lamar area" 
(roughly 15mile x 15mile area centered on downtown.  This artificially-defined 
(by me) area includes Thurston Reservoir, does NOT include Tempel Grove or Nee 
Noshe Reservoir.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Kittiwakes at Windsor on 5/6

[Dave Leatherman]

When Steve Mlodinow put an "s" on "kittiwake" yesterday, I had to go to Windsor 
Lake (Weld) this morning.  Thanks to Cole for finding the first one, and thanks 
to Steve for rewriting the biology books.  Who knew kittiwakes reproduce by 
amoeboid simple cell division instead of eggs?

And, yes, the secret to this situation, like that of the Ross's Gull and 
Neotropic Cormorant at Cherry Creek Res, is gizzard shad.  

There were also at least 5 Bonaparte's Gulls on the lake, most of them in basic 
dress.  That means there are at least 7 birds out there with blackish blotches 
behind the eye, most with black bills, two with yellowish bills.  I have very 
little experience with kittiwakes.  When flying, their long, narrow wings, 
rapid beat, and long-bodied profile with a squarish tails made them detectable, 
even at long distance.  The other obvious thing was that the Bonaparte's, when 
sitting, were fitfully nitpicking midges from the water surface.  For the most 
part the kittiwakes appeared to be resting when sitting, fishing for shad when 
flying.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) behaviors of interest 5/10 and 5/11

[Dave Leatherman]

While not finding any rarities of late at Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, 
Larimer County), the following behaviors were interesting:

American Goldfinches are holding a raucous convention while feeding on seeds in 
the American Elms over the entrance.  Even the cemetery staff, most of whom 
possess impaired hearing from years of power equipment use, have noticed and 
inquired.

Cedar Waxwings (2) were consuming the classy flowers of Ohio Buckeye (they look 
orchidish) on 5/10.

Common Grackles were working along the steep bank of the newly-filled ditch.  
One found a huge crayfish and ate the abdomen ("tail") first, then hollowed out 
the carapace by probing in with its beak from the rear.  My impression from 
this and other episodes is that grackles are quite comfortable consuming 
"seafood".

Great Horned Owl babies have finally left the nest.  Since the egg-laying 
process for this particular nest probably started on 11Feb, fledging is right 
at three months (90 days).  Frankly, given the behavior of several 
photographers of late (lots of clapping and hooting to prove their "special 
way" with wildlife and get that perfect Olin Mills expression), this is a 
relief and maybe the birds can get on with the job of life-training.

Broad-tailed Hummingbirds recently arrived (first noticed at GC on 5/10).  So 
far I have only seen females and they seem to spend most of their time going 
from one spruce branch tip to another, or sitting.  Today in the rain, however, 
one female was searching myriad sites for food, including the underside of 
gravesite visitation benches, headstone engravings, shrubs, and peonies.   Not 
sure what the attraction is on the spruce, but maybe it is spruce pollen in the 
branch tip strobili (flowers), or perhaps flies that hover around spruce 
crowns, or perhaps spider webbing.  Since nest construction hasn't yet started, 
the spider web thing (a nest cup "finishing touch") is an unlikely explanation.

Hermit Thrush and Swainson's Thrush foraging together in the southeast corner 
under spruce.  The only thing they ate that I could figure out was an earthworm.

Hairy Woodpecker, female mountain form, excavating (both days) a new hole in an 
American Elm.

Eurasian Collared-Dove chasing an American Crow.  Even for an aggressive 
species, at least in response to other doves at feeders, this seemed like a 
bold move and probably means the crow robbed the dove's nest of eggs or 
nestlings.

Turkey Vultures sailing ominously over a funeral in progress.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Poudre River, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 5/16

[Dave Leatherman]

Despite the best efforts of the City of Fort Collins (Larimer) to dumb down the 
riparian habitat (large fallen cottonwoods removed with heavy machinery due to 
the threat of future flooding, most of the Russian-olives removed in a separate 
operation), new signage denying access to many of the best migrant areas, dogs 
off-leash with their smiling owners, and mountain bikers on the social trails 
pedestrians must use to see anything natural and/or avoid being run over on the 
paved bike trail, the glorious northward push of migrants could not be stopped. 
 71 species were found this afternoon (5/17) along the west side of the Poudre 
River on either side of Prospect Road (Riverbend Ponds, Cattail Chorus, and 
Prospect Ponds Natural Areas). 

Best birds were:
Great Egret (1) - seen from a distance over the pond in the now off-limits pond 
within Cattail Chorus NA (following the recent rains, many of the infamous  "No 
Access" signs have sprouted in the fertile ground - our tax money bought some 
bulbs?)
MacGillivray's Warbler (1m) FOY
Least Flycatcher (at least 1) FOY
All six swallows
Northern Waterthrush (1) FOY
Bald Eagle (1a, maybe 2)
Spizella sparrows (zillions of Clay-c, Brew, and Chip)
Western Tanager (5)
Lazuli Bunting (1m)
Eastern Kingbird (1) FOY
Ibis (two flocks totalling 93 individuals)
Hermit Thrush (2)
Swainson's Thrush (several, including one reddish-backed one (Pacific race?))
Warbling Vireo (2)
Great-tailed Grackle (1m)
Brown Thrasher (1, somewhat unusual along the Poudre)
Green-tailed Towhee (1)
Forster's Tern (4)

I also have to relate an amazing thing seen at Grandview Cemetery on 5/15.  A 
pair of Wood Ducks flew over and landed in a hackberry.  From a distance they 
both appeared to have a nervous neck twitch.  Upon closer inspection, I am 
almost positive they were flushing adult psyllids and snapping them out of the 
air.  They later flew to a psyllidless linden tree and lost their twitch.  
While Wood Ducks have a more terrestrial diet than just about any other duck, 
Hackberry Nipplegall Psyllids (the size of aphids) would not be something I'd 
guess as being on their menu.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins 

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[cobirds] Purple Martin at Windsor Lake (Weld) on 5/13

[Dave Leatherman]

Hello,
My computer has been down for the last few days and I didn't communicate 
properly with anyone regarding a post of the following sighting.  While with 
friends in Windsor (Weld) last Friday (5/13) looking for the Black-legged 
Kittiwakes (at least 1 was present), we had a female Purple Martin flying 
around the southwest corner of the lake for most of the morning near the 
playground (accessible by going north off Main Street on 6th Avenue).  It is 
tough to tell which "race" from my poor photos.  The pale neck swath was fairly 
prominent  as in "western" (see Sibley) but the top of the head appears dark 
("eastern").  My understanding is that most of the East Slope records of Purple 
Martin are probably "eastern" birds.  

My apologies for the delay in posting this. 

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins 

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 5/23

[Dave Leatherman]

After getting back from the wonderful, exhausting CFO Convention in Grand 
Junction (special thanks to Coen and Brenda) but everybody else, too, who 
worked so hard on it, and who made it fun by attending, I had to go check out 
Grandview Cemetery (west end of Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins, Larimer County) 
this (5/23) afternoon (4:30-7pm) in some swirly thunder storms and mixed sun.  
The 38 species matched my best ever there, in terms of species diversity.

Highlights were:
Colorado Blue Spruce pollen blowing in the pre-storm winds that actually made 
views across the cemetery decidedly hazy, the wet rims of my hiking shoes 
yellow, and my car a mess.

Swainson's Thrush (at least 10, one of the highest totals at this site since 
they pruned the lower spruce limbs years ago for security reasons)
Hermit Thrush (1)
Pine Siskin (75+ making a din, mostly in American Elms laden with seeds)
Violet-green Swallows (several flying high overhead, working the storm winds)
Rose-breasted Grosbeak (1 young male) FOY, in various trees, including American 
Elm and Honeylocust, near the entrance
Lazuli Bunting (1f, 1m) near the pumphouse shrub thicket in the SE corner 
(possible nesters, which would be a first)
Western Tanger (1m) working the hedge of Caragana and Cotoneaster (for 
developing fruits, flowers, insects, what?)
Hairy Woodpecker (female drumming on a dead stem of Honeylocust (most likely 
reason being a copulation solicitation, oh my))
Plumbeous Vireo (1) in Honeylocust
Common Raven (1) flyover
Red Crossbill (1m)  briefly in top of the only Section S spruce that produced 
decent cone crop last year
Great Horned Owl (2 fledglings) together in a spruce to the north of the nest 
elm
Northern Rough-winged Swallow (1)  flyover, not usual at the cemetery
Yellow-rumped Warbler (1) in Western Hackberry

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins


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[cobirds] Larimer and Weld Miscellany on 5/25

[Dave Leatherman]

At the "Strauss Cabin" gravel ponds in east Fort Collins (Larimer) on the north 
side of E. Horsetooth Road between Ziegler Rd. and Strauss Cabin Road:
Stilt Sandpiper (9)
Semipalmated Sandpiper (4)
Wilson's Phalarope (2)
Dowitcher sp.  (too far out to ID, presumably Long-billed, 4)
American Avocet (2)  (1 also seen on the south side of the road in gravel pond)

At Windsor Lake (Weld)  in Windsor (sw corner accessed from 5th near the 
"playground" area:
Black-legged Kittiwake (1) - probably the one initially found by Cole Wild 
weeks ago persists
Red-headed Woodpecker (1a) in large poplars just west of the sw corner bike 
trail, first big house nw of playground area (w of portapotty) 
Forster's Tern (at least 15)  couldn't tern any of them into Commons or 
Arctics, although an adult Common has been photographed of late

Timnath Reservoir (Larimer, accessed from south side off Larimer CR40 w of the 
Larimer/Weld line, viewed from the south side):
Water level high, very little shoreline

Red-necked Phalarope (266 give or take 5)
Purple Martin (one female type flew over and off to the south)
Lark Bunting (flock of about 20 e of the parking lot in grass/weeds)

Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer):
Broad-winged Hawk (1 young bird)

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Red-shouldered Hawk, etc., Poudre River, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 5/28

[Dave Leatherman]

I walked the Poudre River bike trail and social trails n of Prospect on the w 
side of the river today (5/28) in Fort Collins (Larimer).  Highlights included:

RED-SHOULDERED HAWK (eastern juvenile) - not seen all that well, but I did see 
it gliding very low thru a flooded woodland area.  Grackles do not like this 
bird and they tipped me off to it.  The bird appeared very dark and the only 
markings were the prominent buffy wing crescents near the tips of the wings.  
The area where it was first seen was just east of the Neenan Building (north of 
Prospect just west of the river), between the bike trail and the river in a 
semi-flooded area under big willows, with lots of little willows as understory. 
 It flushed again just north of the Prospect Bridge, went south up over the 
Prospect, around to the west over the Sharp Point Drive feedlot pond, west over 
the business park, then north over Prospect (got poor looks at the overall 
shape (long-tailed, broad-winged) with several thin tail bands) to some trees 
north of the Orthopedic and Spine Clinic of the Rockies.  I didn't pursue it.

Olive-sided Flycatcher (1, sang a few times, e of the Cattail Chorus Natural 
Area east of the bike trail (the "Good Spot")
Ovenbird (1, occasionally singing, east of Cattail Chorus Natural Area east of 
the bike trail (the "Good Spot")
Orange-crowned Warbler (1 singing ne of the Neenan Building)
Blue Grosbeak (1 FOY, male at Confluence Pond island)
Plumbeous Vireo  (1, the "Good Spot")
Western Wood-Pewees (seemingly everywhere you looked)
Least Flycatcher (1)
Dusky Flycatcher (1 or 2)
Western Tanager (1)
Yellow-rumped Warbler (a surprising number still moving thru, mostly in 
cottonwoods)
Clay-colored Sparrow (1 in rabbitbrush near the Cattail Chorus bench (where you 
can almost hear the cattail chorus beyond the new "No Access" sign))
Rock Wren (1 in the north part of the Cattail Chorus NA, west of the bike trail)
Gray Catbird (1 in the "Good Spot")
Northern Waterthrush (1 in little wet trickle nw of the Neenan Building) 
Total of 55 species

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[cobirds] Dixon Res (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 5/28

[Dave Leatherman]

s of water.  Maybe 
Nick had it right - just bird in your neighborhood.  You'll see more birds and 
not run afoul of the law. 

And oh yes, don't chase the Magnolia.  Pineridge is closed, I'm guessing until 
Labor Day to allow time for the installation of more signs and things to dry 
out  

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins  



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[cobirds] Fw: Canada Warbled - Tempel Grove - Bent Co

[Dave Leatherman]

Per Ira's request, albeit at the end of the day.  I just got home.
Dave


From: Ira 
Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2011 7:03 PM
To: daleather...@msn.com 
Subject: Canada Warbled - Tempel Grove - Bent Co 


Dave,
Could you please post this to Cobirds for me?  I changed my email and have had 
problems posting to cobirds.
Thanks 
Ira

Birders,
This a.m. Duane Nelson, Tammy and me had a female Canada Warbler at Tempel 
Grove.  We also had:
Am Redstart
N Waterthrush 
Willow Flyc 
Indigo Bunting
Olive-sided Flyc 

Later at John Martin Reservoir Duane found an adult Laughing Gull at Dinosaur 
Point on the north side.

Ira Sanders
Hasty Campground 

Sent via DROID on Verizon Wireless

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 5/29

[Dave Leatherman]

After composing myself, I decided a more controlled environment with a 
well-marked road system, less rowdy people, and lots of American flags would be 
helpful for my spirit, and less tempting to my tendency for wanton lawlessness.

Highlights:
HOODED WARBLER (female, near the pumphouse where the 1st wwxbill nest was, 
working a hackberry)
Red-eyed Vireo (1, eating green fruitworms in Green Ash, singing briefly)
Broad-winged Hawk (1 immature, likely the same bird as has been present for the 
last few days)
Western Wood-Pewee (FOY at GC)
Common Nighthawk (1 FOY at GC)
Dusky Flycatcher (2, in Green Ash mostly)
Chimney Swift (1 overhead)
Cooper's Hawk (1 flying through at low level)
Wilson's Warbler (1m in Lilac)
Oriole sp. (singing across the street briefly, possibly a Baltimore)
Western Tanager (at least 15, mostly in Cotoneaster eating flowers/green fruits 
and hopping up for flushed unknown insects, also seen in American Elm, Green 
Ash (probably after the aforementioned green fruitworms), Lilac, Douglas-fir, 
and Colorado Blue Spruce.  One was also on the road getting an earthworm.)

Total of 38 species (ties my all-time best for the cemetery)

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Larimer and Weld birds on 5/31

[Dave Leatherman]

"Strauss Cabin" gravel ponds on the north side of E Horsetooth Rd east of 
Ziegler (Fort Collins, Larimer):
White-rumped Sandpiper (4)
Least Sandpiper (at least 1)
Semipalmated Sandpiper (approximately 7)

Windsor Lake (Weld):
Black Tern (2)
Forster's Tern (several, no Arctic that I could see)
no kittiwake, although it could have been there
Plumbeous Vireo (1)  ornamental ash tree in the southwest corner just w of the 
playground area

The vireo and a steady wind out of the east made me go to Crow Valley, when I 
wasn't really planning on it.

Crow Valley Campground/Briggsdale (11am-2:30pm):
apparently a major exodus of birds occurred overnight
Black-throated Gray Warbler (1 bedraggled male)
Ovenbird (2)
Plumbeous Vireo (1)
Red-headed Woodpecker (1)
Orchard Oriole (1 pair)
Yellow-breasted Chat (1)
Swainson's Thrush (about 10)
Lesser Goldfinch (few)
Western Wood-Pewee (several)
Least Flycatcher (5+)
Dusky Flycatcher (2+)
Traill's Flycatcher (1, probably Willow)
Cassin's Sparrow (1, on fence south of the Briggsdale School athletic field)
Total of 57 species

GR96 (aka Murphy's Pasture Road between 77 and 51):
very few longspurs, all McCown's
not much else except a very photogenic nighthawk, Lark Buntings, and Brewer's 
Sparrows

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Bellvue/Lower Rist Canyon (Larimer) on 6/17

[Dave Leatherman]

I checked the alfalfa field south of "downtown" Bellvue today (se of where 50E 
(Bingham Hill Road) joins 23Rd (the road called "Skyline Drive" that runs along 
the hogback east of Horsetooth Reservoir), which has been a reliable spot for 
Bobolinks for several years.  Despite the first cutting of hay recently, one 
male Bobolink sang intermittently, both from the field and from the east end of 
the pivot sprinkler.  I usually park in a small 1-2 car-sized dirt pullout a 
few tenths of a mile south of the above intersection, walk across to the east 
side of 23Rd and listen/scan.  Today I heard a Bobolink on the far eastern part 
of the field almost immediately, singing from down on the ground.  After 
getting my scope, I did not see or hear it again for almost 45 minutes, when it 
sang for quite a while from the sprinkler.  It's singing spot on the pivot was 
on top of a silver box (label on this box has red and white lettering) atop the 
sprinkler arm at a point above the first set of tires in from the east end of 
the sprinkler.  Be sure to park completely off the roadway surface if you check 
this spot.  23Rd is a busy highway in both directions.

I also checked a couple places in lower Rist Canyon (CR52E west of 27Rd).  

A few tenths of a mile east of Whale Rock (about 1 mile west of what I call the 
entrance to Rist Canyon (i.e., the junction with 27E)) there was a nice 
assortment of "quality" foothills birds including Virginia's Warbler, Western 
Tanagers, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Lazuli Bunting, Clark's 
Nutcracker (heard one), Plumbeous Vireo, all three nuthatches, Western 
Wood-Pewee, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lesser Goldfinch and several other common 
species.

About 6 miles west of 27E along 52E I stopped at a tract of USFS land that 
formerly was a Picnic Area, since protected by a high barbed-wire fence due to 
mis-use by paintball folks, tree-cutters, and tree-shooters.   Here I had a 
nesting pair of American Three-toed Woodpeckers, both parents actively taking 
turns feeding babies down in the aspen cavity.  The assortment of insects they 
brought in was impressive and appeared to include large wood-boring beetle 
(cerambycid) larvae, an unidentified thin, translucent larva of some sort, 
large crane flies, etc.  Additional special species at this location included 
Ovenbird (heard), Red Crossbill (heard), and an empid I never saw but think was 
a Hammond's (this is also the species Jim "Empid Man" Sedgwick told me years 
ago nests at this spot) .  I have Sibley's phrases for both Dusky and Hammond's 
written in my pocket calendar and the suspect little flycatchers I hear never 
sound like either one of the written descriptions.  Nathan, please write a set 
of phrases that make sense.  Maybe it's me but I can't tell a "tsi-pik, 
swi-vrk, grr-vik" from a "sibip, quwerrrp-psuweet" on my best days, let alone 
lately.  Also, no little owls found in aspen holes where they have been in the 
past.

On the way east back to Bellvue along 52E there was a pair of Western Bluebirds 
on the telephone wires near a box first shown to me by Steve Messick of 
Greeley.   This would have been about 4.5 to 5 miles east of 27E.  

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows, etc.

[Dave Leatherman]

It is always dangerous to make too much out of an odd bird report here and 
there.  But it seems to me something is definitely going on with Cassin's 
Sparrows and maybe other southern species.  Populations of birds, particularly 
grassland species, expand and contract dramatically from year to year, heavily 
influenced by habitat condition.  Lark Buntings are classic in this regard, as 
are Cassin's Sparrows.  But the current situation seems bigger.  I have 
received an email from a friend (Charles Mills) of a friend (Bill Lisowsky), 
who reports finding the 1st State Record Cassin's Sparrow in Arkansas about a 
month ago.  My friend Ken Ecton just shared a blog from Ohio about that state 
finding its 1st State Record Cassin's Sparrow.  I wonder if somebody with a 
high-limit gas credit card could drive next week to Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa, 
Illinois, Indiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky and find 
breeding Cassin's Sparrows?  How many of these would be 1st State or at least 
1st-Breeding Records?  COBIRDS of late seems to have reports of this bird from 
"special" places almost weekly, including Joey's birds at Cherry Creek.  

Black-chinned Sparrows now may be regular in Colorado for the foreseeable 
future.  I know of two Painted Bunting reports in the Lamar area in the last 
week.  A Wood Thrush was also in Lamar in the last few days.  Summer Tanagers 
were almost in the FC ("fairly common") category this spring.  A 1st State 
Record Lesser Nighthawk was found dead at the Hereford Ranch in Cheyenne, WY 
over Memorial Day weekend.  When will WY gets its first Black Phoebe?  Lesser 
Goldfinches and Black-chinned Hummingbirds are definitely expanding eastward 
and northward, respectively, on the CO plains.  Drought, extensive fires, 
climate change?  Could be all of these.  And it could be a strange, 
keep-your-eyes-open summer in Colorado. 

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins 

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[cobirds] Cassin's Sparrows, etc.

[Dave Leatherman]

Glenn Walbek and Charles Mills have responded to my post earlier today with 
interesting information.

Charles let me know they now have reported multiple Cassin's Sparrows in 
extreme sw AR, with at least one pair among these suspected of breeding.  He 
also reports this species is being seen in ne OK, ne TX, and nw LA this year.  
The E-Bird link he provided has a map (labeled "year-round, all years") that 
shows Cassin's Sparrows as having been found at Cape Cod (MASS), Pt. Pelee 
(ON), the western tip of Long Island (NY), extreme sw WI, northern IN, 
west-central OH, and south-central NC (Glenn says new to the state this year).

An email from Joe Roller, and yet another from Rachel Hopper, reminded me of an 
additional species that deserves comment in connection to the theme:  
Red-headed Woodpecker.  Like most woodpeckers, this bird apparently has a 
plastic distribution at the mercy of fairly ephemeral wood-boring insects that 
only occur for a period of years (5-10, at most) after a tree dies.  The 
insects are roundheaded (also called "longhorned") and flatheaded (also called 
"metallic") wood-boring beetles in the families Cerambycidae and Buprestidae, 
respectively.  When the Poudre River changed channels in the area of the 
Environmental Learning Center in eastern Fort Collins 20 or so years ago, many 
of the Plains Cottonwoods near the old channel, died.  Red-headed Woodpeckers 
were quite common for a few years hence.  Red-heads are very seldom seen there 
these days.  A similar thing has happened along Willow Creek at the Lamar 
Community College Woods.  Many of the big cottonwoods died 10 years or so ago, 
and Red-headeds were common, not so much now, as the big, barkless trunks 
continue to fall.  Perhaps the high number of reports of Red-headed Woodpeckers 
in CO of late have something to do with normal or inflated numbers of these 
birds in areas to the south of us being pushed northward by the fires (with 
their numbers having been inflated in the first place by drought killing trees 
that are now burning up in the ultimate manifestation of drought, namely fire.  
See also, Chris Blakeslee's interesting, excellent recent reports and 
predictions on woodpeckers, including Red-headed, responding to borers in the 
Hayman Burn area.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Prospect Ponds Natural Area, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 6/28

[Dave Leatherman]

I walked from Prospect and Sharp Point Drive southeast thru the Prospect Ponds 
Natural Area, Fort Collins (Larimer) during late afternoon yesterday (6/28).  
Highlights included:

Yellow-breasted Chat (1) acting territorial on a little willow-choked peninsula 
midway along the east side of the first pond (Merganser Pond?) south of the 
feedlot.  Unusual location in my experience.

Indigo Bunting (1 singing male) near the PE22 sign on the trail, which is just 
north of the East Drake Pondworks north of the Water Treatment Plant.  At first 
I thought this was a hybrid because of its whitish-gray belly.  But it lacked 
the wingbars of other hybrids I've seen, was the proper dark blue for Indigo 
(hybrid males I've seen are more of a "washed denim" blue), and it seemed to be 
singing a full Indigo song.  I guess it was just a young bird still molting 
into full breeding plumage.

Wood Duck (1f with 8-9 babies in tow)

Lots of Western Wood-Pewees, Yellow Warblers, Warbling Vireos, Bullock's 
Orioles, House Wrens, and I believe I also heard at least 2 Lazuli Buntings.  
No Red-eyed Vireos, Least Flycatchers, American Redstarts, or Orchard Orioles.  
The best woods historically for these quality breeding species (just north of 
the PE22 sign on the trail) was heavily modified (large cottonwoods removed) 
several weeks ago by the City Stormwater folks out of flood fears.  Will be 
interesting to see how this area recovers and the bird response. 

Many birds these days are taking advantage of the bounty inside 
rolled/puckered/discolored (reddish) American Elm leaves (namely, one of the 
so-called "woolly" aphids in the genus Eriosoma).  Species I have particularly 
seen working this resource for easily-acquired nestling or fledged young food 
are Downy Woodpeckers and Black-capped Chickadees.  Probably many other birds 
are also taking advantage.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery on 7/17/2011

[Dave Leatherman]

Today was a pretty exciting day at the cemetery.

Highlights included:

*Hearing a strange warblerlike call (reminiscent of Yellow Warbler), then the 
metallic begging call of some fledged young bird being fed, then seeing the 
dependent (maker of both notes, a fat Brown-headed Cowbird), then seeing the 
run-ragged provider (a Ruby-crowned Kinglet).  The parent, ever proud of its 
future draft choice (I would assume offensive tackle), was making run after run 
with food.  The bulk of the items procured were winged adelgids ("woolly 
aphids", of sorts) emerging from the openings that occur this time of year in 
the walls of Cooley Spruce Galls.  I love food webs and this seems to be a 
particularly nifty one.

*Watching Barn Swallows fledge from under the bridge over the ditch that leads 
into the Maintenance Shop parking lot.  At one point a parent brought three 
youngsters sitting on the bridge railing a clover moth that was oriented in its 
mouth such that it looks like it had clamped down on a bow-tie (picture a 
triangle of moth wings on either side of the beak).

*Seeing a Chipping Sparrow, a cemetery breeder these days, working the base of 
headstones, and the headstones themselves, for ants.

*Finding a perfect hummingbird nest on a dead, lower-crown, limb of a Colorado 
Blue Spruce.  Not sure if this is a used nest, or a dummy nest, but it did not 
appear to be currently active.  I did see a female Broad-tailed within 20 feet 
of it at one point.

*And lastly, watching the drama between two mammals that certainly heavily 
influence the cemetery bird scene.  At about 10 am, a Red Fox systematically 
maimed, then killed a Fox Squirrel right in the middle of Fairway #4 on City 
Park 9, just south of the cemetery.  This, to the consternation of four elderly 
golfers who felt the wild animals were in the way and might move one of their 
balls.  One man howled like a wolf (I kid you not), then called the fox a 
"numbskull", and shooed it off.  I was thinking the fox did far better at 
getting what it wanted than they did.  He had three days worth of food and they 
were already two over par, and still a good 75 yards from the hole.  In case 
you're interested how this turned out, the fox carried the squirrel into 
Section 7, laid it in the grass, and panted with a big grin.  Fox Squirrels are 
tougher than scavenged garbage.  After about a half an hour, it glommed onto 
the squirrel, waited for golfer traffic, and trotted back across the scene of 
the crime to a fairly big patch of unmowed trees and shrubs in the middle of 
the course.  I got killer photos if anybody wants to see.

*In the way of miscellany, I think Pine Siskins, Lesser Goldfinches, and 
Chipping Sparrows are all in various stages of nesting (the first and third 
species on their second broods, the goldfinches on their first).  Grackles are 
long gone these days (don't know where they go).  A Common Nighthawk perches on 
the horizontal limbs of American Elms, mostly.  A Hairy Woodpecker, which I 
haven't seen for weeks, came in today and was no doubt surprised and 
disappointed to find that two big Scots Pines infested with Mountain Pine 
Beetle that it liked, were recently removed by the City.  One of the Great 
Horned Owl babies from this year was found dead by a mower person.  Supposedly 
it was taken to DOW, but I'm not sure what was determined.

Total of 26 species (only likely miss was Turkey Vulture)

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer), of late

[Dave Leatherman]

Grandview Cemetery (in answer to some inquiries, no, I don't have a plot there) 
in Fort Collins (Larimer) at the west terminus of Mountain Avenue, has been 
quite interesting of late.

Yesterday I found an active Broad-tailed Hummingbird nest, with perhaps two, 
new, so-far silent, nestlings being fed about every 20 minutes by the female.  
As in the other cases at Grandview, the nest is in a blue spruce.  At least 
part of what the mother is bringing the youngsters appears to be Cooley spruce 
adelgids recently emerged from their galls and now either flying or settled on 
needles of spruce or Douglas-fir.  

I borrowed a ladder and checked the inactive hummer nest found about 10 days 
ago in another part of cemetery.  This is apparently an abandoned or dummy nest 
and is interestingly filled to the brim with spider webbing and other fluff 
(cottonwood seeds?).  The proportions of the unused nest are distinctly 
different than the active one.  The active nest is a "ball" (that is, about as 
deep as wide).  The unused nest is at least twice as deep as wide.  Not sure if 
this means anything or is standard design for the two types of nests.  Of 
course, there is also the possibility the deep nest is not Broad-tailed but 
perhaps an abandoned Black-chinned (never known to be in Grandview but the day 
is coming, I suspect).  Would a Broad-tailed ever fill up another type of 
hummingbird's nest as a form of discouragement?  Anybody know anything about 
this?  I better quit the runaway speculating, at least out loud.  

My take on the cowbird/kinglet situation is now two nests of Ruby-crowned 
Kinglet parasitized and a total of 3 fledged juvenile cowbirds.  Three days ago 
I saw two young cowbirds, one in a juniper being fed by a male kinglet, the 
other in a nearby linden being fed by a female kinglet.  Yesterday Dave 
Steingraeber and I saw a young cowbird in another part of the cemetery being 
tended by two adult kinglets.  If one didn't know any better, seeing a big bird 
flying from tree to tree with two little birds looks like an adult with two 
offspring in tow.  Just the opposite.  Ruby-crowned Kinglets are among the 
smallest and rarest of cowbird hosts.  There is a statement in the kinglet BNA 
account that it is unknown if birds this small are even capable of rearing 
cowbirds to independence.  I think the Grandview hosts are close to pulling it 
off.  The young cowbirds can fly very well, go down to the ground on their own, 
peck around, then remember they're true members of the entitlement generation, 
fly into a tree, call incessantly, and get pampered. 

The number of confirmed breeders for within the cemetery proper is 21 species 
for 2011.  One notable difference in this tally from that of 2010 is the 
absence of the White-winged Crossbills.  The current concept for the book I 
have threatened to write about LIFE in the cemetery involves not only 
documenting the cycle of events, but comparing these two back-to-back years.  

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 8/14/20111

[Dave Leatherman]

I saw three unusual species for Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer 
County) today in the span of about two minutes - in my imagination.  Here's the 
story I must tell on myself.  Walking along about 11am a "jay" sound came from 
the top of a spruce, but it wasn't the expected Blue Jay.  "Steller's Jay", I 
immediately muttered, then mentally reconsidered this familiar sound out of 
context.  "No, Western Scrub-Jay!  Not sure if I've ever seen one of those 
here.  Cool."  I looked and looked.  I spished.  Nothing.  I looked around.  In 
the very top of a nearby spruce was a dark bird.  "That's a grackle, just can't 
see the tail.  Haven't seen one of those in the cemetery in about a month and a 
half."  More searching of the tree where the sound came from.  Nothing.  A 
recheck of the "grackle" from a different angle (but still fairly far off) 
showed some maroon-purplish glints off the throat/head area.  "That's not a 
grackle, that's a Lewis's Woodpecker!"  I've only seen one of those in the 
cemetery, over 20 years ago.  Gotta get a picture."   After retrieving my 
camera, I fired off a few distant pics, and walked closer.  "What!?  That's a 
starling!!!" 

I think I'm a decent birder.  But in a very short span, under the influence of 
knowing early fall dispersal is imminent and/or on-going, any jay is possible 
on the eastern plains in late summer-autumn, woodpeckers sometimes chowder 
bumper cone crops, distance, less than ideal light conditions, age, and 
probably a lack of my morning Mountain Dew, I called a damn European Starling 
FOUR other species before coming to a sane determination.  Immediately after 
mentally uttering these four IDs, I would have bet a reasonable amount (two 
cases of Mountain Dew or, say, $100) that I was right.  Other factors that 
weighed into this: I have been visiting the cemetery in recent days in late 
afternoon/early evening and, unbelievably, starlings have not been on my list 
for weeks.  Starling, at least this morning, was NOT a species I considered 
likely.  Yesterday I saw my first fall migrant (excepting a few Chipping 
Sparrows and Nighthawks that probably did not spend the summer at Grandview), a 
very whitish, young-of-the-year Yellow Warbler.  Mentally I was geared for the 
unexpected, like empids, or pewees, or Townsend's Warbler.  Or jays and 
woodpeckers.  Many of you are saying to yourselves at this moment, "Dave, admit 
it, you've been wandering around alone in the cemetery too long."  That's not 
it.

So, be forewarned and take what I say on this listserv with a grain of salt.

That said, the Broad-tailed Hummingbird nest I've been watching since 21July 
(when two young nestlings were being attended by an adult female) is now empty. 
 The young fledged successfully last weekend (August 6-7).  At least one 
youngster is still present high in a spruce near the nest site, and is visited 
on a regular basis by the female.  Interestingly, this young hummer makes a 
high-pitched chirp very reminiscent of a sparrow, or even Cordilleran 
Flycatcher.  Even though the BNA account say nothing about juvenile sounds, I 
know this bird is making the sound because its mouth opens coincident with the 
chirp (and it's not a starling).

Cool non-bird stuff of late: mule deer munching rose shoots with absolutely no 
fear of thorns; pelecinid wasps (check them out on-line) flying everywhere; a 
virtual explosion of several dragonfly species hunting off the shrubs and 
cruising the airspace.  Lots more, but in the spirit of a bird 
listserv.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, Larimer) on 8/28

[Dave Leatherman]

Today was the first day that really felt like autumn migration.  I've seen a 
few things in recent weeks that certainly indicate birds on the move (few 
orioles in odd places north of Lamar, MacGillivray's Warbler f or imm at Last 
Chance on 8/17, Olive-sided Flycatcher at Grandview Cemetery (Fort Collins, 
Larimer) last week, few Western Wood-Pewees at various places in Lamar and at 
Grandview where I don't think they bred, Mountain Chickadee showed up in 
Grandview on 8/15, flock of Chipping Sparrows at Grandview yesterday, 
hummingbirds that nested at Grandview are gone, that sort of thing) but today 
seemed earnest and involved multiple taxa.

Townsend's Warbler (1 f or imm)  FOY foraging in the champion Thornless 
Honeylocust
Wilson's Warbler (1 f or imm)  FOS foraging in shrubs near the pumphouse in the 
southeast corner
Common Grackle (flock of at least 75) flying off to the northwest
Warbling Vireo (1) FOS at low elevation in a place where they didn't breed, 
foraging in the aforementioned honeylocust
Bunting (heard a buzz, twice, probably a Lazuli)
Western Wood-Pewee (2, foraging from their champ honeylocust basecamp)

No empids, kingbirds or Myiarchus, yet.

Also, Belted Kingfisher (an autumn phenomenon along the ditch that flows thru 
the cemetery - minnows/chubs be forewarned before you risk coming out from an 
undercut bank for grasshoppers flushed into mid-channel).

Coolest thing today, however, was a Western Wood-Pewee calmly sallying from the 
honeylocust, then dipping violently to get a Band-winged Meadowhawk that was, 
in turn, hunting flying insects off the peony seedheads.  To get the picture, 
remember the line by Tony Joe White in "Poke Salad Annie" that goes, "Gator got 
your granny, chomp, chomp, chomp."

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Wee graveyard robber

[Dave Leatherman]

I went back to Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins (Larimer) this afternoon and 
have to relate the following:

A young (mostly dark lower mandible) Olive-sided Flycatcher was working out of 
some bare branches of a large Thornless Honeylocust in Section 8, "sister" to 
the nearby champion tree of the same species.  The flycatcher went out and got 
its normal urban fare, a yellowjacket.  Back on its perch, it struggled a bit 
to get the wasp down.  A Red-breasted Nuthatch flew up within 3 feet of the big 
hunter, then inched its way closer, the way young birds just out the nest do 
with parents that bring something in for a meal.  Then something unexpected.  
The nuthatch flew right at the flycatcher's face, the flycatcher flinched, the 
wasp fell, and the little nuthatch went after it, presumably successfully.  
Kleptoparasitism happens all the time, but this seemed a strange combination.  
I suspect conspicuous, treetop hunters like kingbirds and Olive-sideds worry 
about kestrels and maybe corvids, but who'd guess a nuthatch weighing a third 
of an ounce would present an issue?  

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins  

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[cobirds] Crow Valley Campground (Weld) on 9/14

[Dave Leatherman]

Ken Ecton and I decided to check out Crow Valley Campground (Weld) this morning 
and early afternoon.  We ran into Carol and Ruth.  The four of us decided the 
campground itself was fairly quiet, with a decent bird here and there, but 
unanimously felt the northwest corner was nothing short of a migratory 
spectacle, at least in terms of bird numbers.  The magic Russian-olive by the 
temporary pond just north of the gate that goes out to the primitive 
camping/Mourning Dove Trail was literally alive with birds.  It was obvious a 
wave of birds is being pushed along by this cold front, some orienting straight 
down from the low clouds to the north edge of the campground.  

Highlights:
The burned areas are recovering pretty well, especially the willow jungle due 
south of the Main Picnic Shelter (MPS).
The recent rain and flowing water in Crow Creek will be of further help in this 
regard.

Yellow-rumped Warbler (at least 30, my FOS at low elevation, mostly in 
Russian-olive)
Townsend's Solitaire (at least 10, probably many more, all associating with 
Russian-olive)
Townsend's Warbler (at least 10, probably many more, in Russian-olives, coyote 
willows, and sunflowers)
Orioles (at least 3, one of which I feel fairly certain was a Baltimore (poor 
photos obtained), in Russian-olives mostly (eating them, too))
Orange-crowned Warbler (at least 15, probably many more)
Wilson's Warbler (at least 20)
Spizella sparrows (a few hundred, about an even split between Brewer's, 
Clay-colored, and Chipping)
Nashville Warbler (1 female, trying very hard to blend in among the more 
yellow-gray contrasting Orange-crowns, mostly low, in Lactuca (I think))
White-crowned Sparrow (1 imm, FOS at low elevation)
Lincoln's Sparrow (1)
Mimic Thrushes (a few Brown Thrashers, at least 1 Gray Catbird, at least 1 
Northern Mockingbird, all in Russian-olives)
Gray Flycatcher (1, by the horseshoe pits s of the MPS)
Cassin's Kingbird (1 flew over the southwest corner junipers)
American Redstart (1f, mostly somewhat high in the cottonwoods between the 
southwest corner and the MPS)
Hammond's Flycatcher (1, under the monster cottonwood that somewhat burned 
where the trail dips under it, south of the MPS)
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (at least 15, mostly in the northwest corner by the 
cattle pond, and in scattered trees out north)
Hermit Thrush (2)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (few)
Empidonax (undetermined, probably "Traill's" type)
Western Tanager (at least 3, all in Russian-olives)
Western Wood-Pewee (at least 5)
no sapsuckers
no Myiarchus flycatchers
very few thrushes
very few empids
no vireos

Total of 42 species

GR96 had a fairly large group of longspurs, all McCown's that we could 
determine.

The Weld CR100 between CR57 and Norma's Grove was crawling with birds in the 
sunflowers on either side (mostly the same mix as the northwest corner of Crow 
Valley plus at least 4 Sage Thrashers, and a Bullock's Oriole male).  Although 
I've seen it many times before, it always seems surprising to see Townsend's 
Warblers working sunflowers along a prairie road.  Norma's Grove itself was 
very quiet (no water) and just had a Sharp-shinned Hawk (maybe why it was 
quiet), a Great Horned Owl, and one Least Flycatcher.

Lots of Swainson's Hawks on the move, and a few Sage Thrashers seen in other 
places.  Does it seem like there are more Sage Thrashers on the plains than 
would be considered normal?

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] DFO field trip to Grandview Cemetery and Timnath Reservoir (both Larimer) on 9/17

[Dave Leatherman]

Well, we (as in me) scheduled the DFO trip to Grandview Cemetery in Fort 
Collins on the same day as their big "Cemetery Stroll" event (historical 
re-enactments, hook-and-ladder trucks hoisting flags, lots of visitors, etc.).  
But that's the way it played out, so we tried anyway.  Knowing we needed to 
clear out by about 10am, our backup spot was Timnath Reservoir northeast of 
Timnath.  As always, I sincerely appreciated the good cheer and 
go-with-the-flow attitude of the DFO people and others in attendance.

Highlights at Grandview:
Immortalized by the names or symbols on headstones were "Thrasher", Red-crowned 
Crane, "Wren", Broad-billed Hummingbird, chickadee sp., Snowy Owl, Wood Duck, 
"Partridge", "Martin", "Swan", and Bald Eagle.  We whiffed on American 
Woodcock, "Crane", "Nightingale", " Phoebe", "Brant", and "Bishop".  Maybe the 
Denver Audubon group coming in a few weeks will succeed at finding these 
elusive beauties.  Wish them luck.

As for live birds, it was very slow but we did have two Great Horned Owls 
(possibly the beginnings of a pairing that will be next spring's breeders), the 
FOS-at-Grandview Townsend's Solitaire and immature White-crowned Sparrow, large 
groups of Pine Siskins working blue spruce cones, a late Yellow Warbler (seen 
by Tina Jones), and we were able to study two Broad-tailed Hummingbird nests 
(one used this summer, the other either a dummy nest or two-tiered retrofit 
that never got used because it was filled to the brim with spider webs and 
cottonwood seeds).  Other migrants included Chipping Sparrows, Western 
Wood-Pewees, and a Wilson's Warbler.  And, interestingly, 6 magpies (a family 
group?) were sitting on the power pole north of the cemetery, which heretofore 
has been owned by Rock Pigeons for years.

We talked a lot about hackberry psyllids, green ash seeds, yellowjackets, and 
spruce seeds as key food items for birds.  We saw two State Champion trees 
(biggest of their type in CO): Thornless Honeylocust and Ohio Buckeye.

Total for live species seen at Grandview Cemetery: 20 (which is probably low by 
4-5 species that were there and we missed in the commotion, our haste, and my 
yacking). 

Highlights at Timnath Reservoir:
Sabine's Gull (2, both first cycle, down from 6 during yesterday's scouting 
trip)
Long-billed Curlew (1, spotted by Deb)
Black Tern (1 or 2 young birds)
Snowy Egret (conservatively estimated at 75 birds, apparently scoring on 
gazillions of tiny minnowlike fish swarming the rocky shallows along the 
southeast corner of the res)
Peregrine Falcon (1 patrolling, resting)
Great Egret (few)
Herring Gull (1 first-winter)
Canvasback (1 male, seemed kind of early)
Ruddy Duck (few hundred)
Pied-billed Grebe (50+, still many juvs with striped heads) 
Osprey (1, seen by the last two carloads to leave the parking lot at the end of 
the day)
no shorebirds despite miles of shore (other than the lone curlew and about 10 
Killdeer)!
no jaegers
no Neotropic Cormorant or dark-mantled gull

Perhaps most interesting was an incessant sound that dominated the scene.  Paul 
Slingsby figured out this was the collective product of fish-begging by 
hundreds of young Western Grebes!  Not sure I have ever witnessed this, or at 
least been aware of it.  Adult vocalizations were the second-most conspicuous 
sound.   Very cool, and we think those tiny fish, probably very young Gizzard 
Shad (as correctly suggested by Dick Pratt), is the explanation for the grebe 
numbers (which we estimated to be in the several hundreds). 

Total of 38 species at Timnath Reservoir.

Total for the day: 60 species

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
   

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[cobirds] Primary food item for the current warbler mix at Lake Estes (Larimer)

[Dave Leatherman]

I went up to the Matthews-Reeser Sanctuary at Lake Estes in Estes Park 
(Larimer) today, in hopes of seeing the Prothonotary Warbler and figuring out 
what is enticing it to stay for multiple days in this known migrant trap.  
First off, thanks to Jeff Maugans for finding this bird, and to Gary Matthews 
and others for subsequent posts.

To make a long story short, I failed to see the bird in 6 hours of searching 
this morning and afternoon.  It WAS seen briefly by a few folks around 10:30 
am.  After my morning session, I took an hour off for lunch, ate lots of yellow 
food at "The Egg and I" in hopes this would help.  It didn't.  But I certainly, 
as Thompson Marsh used to say, "sensed its presence" and think I figured out 
what it and all the other warblers (several Wilson's, Orange-crowned, and 
Yellow-rumped) in those favored birch trees were eating.  More about the trees 
later.  The insect I feel certain the warblers are snapping up in good numbers 
is a small true bug in the family Lygaeidae (Seed Bugs) of the species 
Kleidocerys resedae.  This insect, identified from several of today's live 
specimens by Dr. Boris Kondratieff,  is poorly represented in the CSU 
collection, is Holarctic in distribution, has a fairly long list of potential 
wild and ornamental plant hosts (including alder, which is also present at Lake 
Estes), has multiple generations (2-3), and on birch feeds on parts of both 
male and female catkins, but mostly seeds within the older female structures.  
At present this insect is abundant in the birches and is the main attraction.  
Certainly other insects landing on the birches, like chironomid midges off the 
lake, are being eaten but I watched pretty carefully.  Most of the warbler 
pecks were directed at catkins.  As for the name of the birch, William Weber 
calls them River Birch (Betula fontinalis Sarg.) and most books call it Water 
Birch (B. occidentalis).

To see what the insect looks like, here is a link:
http://www.bing.com/images/results.aspx?q=kleidocerys+resedae&form=MSNH14&qs=n&sk=

In addition to birds mentioned above, other things seen today at the Sanctuary 
were:
One huge bull elk with cows and calves
Merlin (FOS)
Blue-winged Teal (flock of about 10)
Willow Flycatcher (1 first-year, appeared to be "western")
Western Wood-Pewee (1)
Red Crossbill (H small flock)
Bunting sp. (seen briefly and heard the buzz a few times)
Herring Gull (1 for sure, maybe 2)
Bald Eagle (1 adult)
Hairy Woodpecker (1 male, "mountain")
Total of 32 bird species

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Prothonotary Warbler at Lake Estes (Larimer) on 9/28, etc.

[Dave Leatherman]

I finally saw the Prothonotary Warbler at the same area of the Matthews/Reeser 
Sanctuary at the west end of Lake Estes, Estes Park (Larimer) where it was seen 
yesterday (that is, in a row of birch growing on the south side of the trail 
(between the trail and the lake shore) about 75 yards west of the pine-clad 
peninsula).  The view was a good one, but only for a few seconds, about 12:05 
this afternoon.  I immediately summoned other birders who were further east 
along the path and we were unsuccessful at refinding this bird.  I can't even 
say which direction it went after my short look, but there was a warbler we 
never identified that went north across the trail in the direction of the creek 
(toward the area I believe Steve Mlodinow had it a few days ago) that could 
have been it.   Several other birders looked far and wide for the bird in the 
AM and, as far as I heard, they were unsuccessful.  Good numbers of Birch 
Catkin Bug (Kleidocerys resedae) continue at this site and I am confidant they 
are the answer to all the bird activity in the birch trees at this locale.

Not a lot of other birds seen today.  No Wilson's Warblers.  A very few 
Orange-crowns.  A few dozen Yellow-rumps.  One Ruby-crowned Kinglet.   A few 
White-crowned and Song Sparrows.  And somebody (Mr. Pollock?) reported a 
Red-naped Sapsucker near the entrance to the peninsula.  That's about it.

In the way of odds and ends:
White-throated Sparrow (1) yesterday at the Denver Zoo (crane habitat in the 
southwest corner of the property just to the east of the Kookaburras).  I have 
had them here before and they sometimes overwinter.  At this same spot, I 
noticed a Yellow Warbler (late) foraging in Northern Hackberry, perhaps 
indicating the first emergence of the adult psyllids I've suspected anywhere 
this fall.  Regardless, hatch of nipplegall and blistergall psyllids is 
imminent, and it would behoove birders to find and check hackberries for 
songbird migrants over the next month.

And just two days ago, I saw several late, completely silent, fast, 
choppy-flighted Chaetura swifts zooming thru Grandview Cemetery, going 
generally n to s, at fairly low elevation (below the tree tops).  I seem to see 
a few low-flying, silent ones like this every fall, long after the local 
Chimney Swifts have departed.  They are probably Chimney Swifts from 
south-central Canada or the upper Midwest (US), but I think I've admitting 
wondering in the past about the possibility these birds could be southbound 
Vaux Swifts east of their normal path.  Maybe the various banding stations 
could place a few nets between the tops of adjacent spruce trees and solve the 
mystery once and for all.  I'm kidding, of course, but short of capturing them 
going in or out of chimneys/roost trees, how do researchers obtain Chaetura 
swifts to measure, band, and ID?

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] correction on location for Prothonotary at Lake Estes

[Dave Leatherman]

There was an error in my description of the Prothonotary Warbler location today 
at Lake Estes.  The bird was about 75 yards EAST of the pine-clad peninsula on 
the south side of the trail (right, as you are walking east), between the trail 
and the lake shore, about midway along a row of several 15-20 foot tall birch 
trees.  Sorry for any confusion.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Red-bellied Woodpecker

[Dave Leatherman]

Suffice it to say Red-bellied Woodpecker is rare anywhere in CO away from the 
extreme eastern  edge of the state (say, within 75 miles of the KA and NE 
borders.  But they do occur elsewhere from time to time as others have 
indicated.  They are somewhat expected in riparian woodlands dominated by 
deciduous trees at far eastern CO locations like Tamarack (Platte R.), Bonny 
(Republican R.), and Lamar (Arkansas R.).  My personal experience includes 
birds at the Environmental Learning Center in Fort Collins during the winter of 
'91-92, the Sylvandale Ranch bird a few years back, and one at Muir Springs 
near Fort Morgan in November '91.  They are somewhat regular below the dam at 
Prewitt Reservoir.

The only other thing I'd say is to encourage anyone basing a Red-belly ID on 
sound alone to try and confirm with a visual.  I am very familiar with both 
Red-bellied Woodpecker calls and the scolding note of Fox Squirrel, and from 
long distance this squirrel sound can be VERY similar to Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Crow Valley Campground on 10/10/11

[Dave Leatherman]

I spent the better part of 6 hours at Crow Valley Campground (Weld) today and 
it was most enjoyable.  Nothing super rare, but lots of interesting birds, no 
campers, nice weather, still plenty of insects (including many Variegated 
Meadowhawks and an abundance of Carolina Locusts and red-winged grasshoppers 
(Arphia sp., I think), and peace.  Many of the birds at CVCG today were feeding 
on Russian-olives (or olive aphids) and/or grasshoppers, including a Brown 
Thrasher that was stalking/walking thru the grass upright like a heron, 
searching, searching.  One particular Orange-crowned Warbler just south of the 
Main Picnic Shelter was getting aphids from the undersides of wild rose leaves. 
 The Siberian Elms (Asian) at Crow Valley don't seem to be as good at this time 
of year as they used to be.  I will speculate this is because the former 
default insect on the leaves (Elm Leaf Beetle from Europe) has been essentially 
replaced by a new European insect (European Elm Flea Weevil), which apparently 
isn't as tasty and/or available in September/October as the leaf beetle was.  
Note, the weevils (either as larvae in mines along the margins of new leaves or 
as hyperactive, hoppy (like a flea) adults on the leaves) ARE attractive to 
birds when present, but at least in my yard, Last Chance, and over in Grand 
Junction during the CFO Convention, this new addition to our fauna seems to be 
more of a spring-summer food resource for birds.

Highlights:
Field Sparrow (1 "western")  north of Group Area, seems to be way more of these 
being seen and reported this fall than normal
Sapsucker sp. (1 adult male) only got a glimpse of the side of the head 
(couldn't see the nape or back), assume Red-naped (pretty much on time for R-n 
and at least a month earlier than Y-b would be expected) 
White-throated Sparrow (Ia, 1i, both tan-striped)
Chestnut-collared Longspur (1 heard overhead)
Lapland Longspur (at least 1 early arrival heard overhead)
Northern Mockingbird (1a, 1 recent fledgling with very short tail)
Barn Swallow (3 flyovers, ten feet off the ground, steady flight south)
Orange-crowned Warbler (at least 10, some bright yellow enough (including the 
head) to be suggestive of 'lutescens')
Wilson's Warbler (1m)  somewhat late
White-breasted Nuthatch (1 "eastern" race, very pale, heard repeatedly)
Sandhill Crane (several hundred, big group moving south at mid-morning, others 
heard but never seen mid-afternoon)
House Wren (1)  getting late
Hermit Thrush (5+)
Spotted Towhee (6, all looked "pure" to me)
White-crowned Sparrow (all had pale lores that I saw, probably 80+)
Swainson's Thrush (3)  only individuals of this species I've seen this fall 
(but admittedly I haven't been out much)
Brown Thrasher (1)  a bird that will try to winter?
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (1 heard)
Meadowlark (at least 10 within the campground proper, all looked and sounded 
Western)
Turkey Vulture (1)
TOTAL OF 43 SPECIES AT CVCG (including 9 sparrow spp., not including 3 
longspurs and 1 "Old World" sparrow)

Merlin (appeared to be a darkish 'taiga' subspecies in a quick drive-by view), 
few miles east of Ault along SR14

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Crow Valley Campground

[Dave Leatherman]

I think Joe Roller is correct in saying the usual procedure at Crow Valley 
Campground (Weld) is for the USFS to close the campground about this time of 
year to vehicle traffic but allow walk-ins all winter.  I think the vault 
toilet at the east end by the ballfield is open all winter, but the bigger ones 
by the Main Picnic Shelter are locked.

I would also add, I was at CVCG on both Monday and Wednesday (yesterday) of 
this week.  Sometime between Monday and yesterday morning a lot of vandalism 
took place to many of the signs.  This may have hastened the Forest Service's 
decision to just close the place down a bit earlier than they had planned.  
Speculation on my part.  Too bad idiots share the planet with decent folks.

I didn't post about yesterday's visit with Ken Ecton but since the microphone 
is on..  We sat with Joe (Jurkovic?) from Denver for a couple hours 
at the "Magic Olive" near the cattle pond just north of the gate to the 
Mourning Dove Trail (north of the Group Area in the northwest corner).  We had 
26 species during the steady parade to the water including Eastern Bluebird 
(1m), at least 10 Townsend's Solitaires (might have been twice as many in 
reality), Clay-colored Sparrow (1, possibly 2), White-throated Sparrow (1a 
white-striped, and 1-2 imms), all 5 common forms of Dark-eyed Junco including 
FOS Oregons (10+) and at least 2 White-wings, flyover American Pipit, Brown 
Thrasher (1), Northern Mockingbird (1 juv), Chipping Sparrow (1), Song Sparrow 
(1), Wilson's Warbler (1), Orange-crowned Warbler (1), Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 
(heard)and Ruby-crowned Kinglet (2).  Great fun.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Varied Thrush at Grandview Cemetery (Larimer) on 10/15

[Dave Leatherman]

There is an adult male VARIED THRUSH in the southeastern corner of Grandview 
Cemetery, west end of Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins (Larimer) as of 4:10pm 
(first found at about 1:50pm) on Saturday, October 15.  The bird was seen in 
the shady (overtopped with several tall spruce) children's grave section 
(Section 9) just west of the spruce that was the White-winged Crossbill nest #1 
tree (that is, just west of the pumphouse).  The bird is quite wary and spends 
a lot of time up in the spruce perched on limbs, usually near the trunk.  It 
also goes to the ground when the coast is clear and picks around with juncos, 
chipping sparrows, robins, and flickers.  It has been on the road, on the fence 
which forms the boundary between the City Park 9 golf course and the cemetery.  

Best way to see it would be to park far away from the corner, walk to a point 
where you can watch the shady southeastern corner of Section 9 and just check 
out every bird that drops down to the ground from the spruce crowns.  It can be 
fairly inconspicuous.  It has also been seen flipping over leaves along the 
edge of the ditch right underneath the crossbill nest tree (best checked from 
the east side of the little footbridge that goes across the ditch north of the 
pumphouse.  Be patient and plan to wait and watch for at least an hour.  Every 
golf cart, jogger, walker, and car puts it back in the trees for at least 15 
minutes.

Other birds seen today included Hermit Thrush, White-crowned Sparrow, several 
juncos (ps, sc, and O), Great Horned Owl (2 sitting almost touching each other 
in the Champion Honeylocust in Section 8), Yellow-rumped Warbler, Brown 
Creeper, and interior White-breasted Nuthatch.

The Varied Thrush is a new one for the Grandview Cemetery List (#187).

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] No Varied Thrush at Grandview Cemetery on 10/16

[Dave Leatherman]

Several of us convened at the southeast corner of Grandview Cemetery in Fort 
Collins today starting at about 7:30am to look for yesterday's adult male 
Varied Thrush and it did not cooperate.  I stayed until 3:30 this afternoon and 
feel confidant in saying it is gone.

Other interesting birds seen today included:
Great Horned Owl (only 1, in the usual large honeylocust in Section 8)
Lincoln's Sparrow (1) along the ditch
Hermit Thrush (1)  in the neighborhood alley to the northeast of the entrance, 
eating aphids from tiny boxelder seedlings
Wilson's Warbler (1)  getting late
White-crowned Sparrow (1 adult Gambel's)
Black-capped Chickadee (several, but 1 individual is unique in having a 
double-length, curved upper mandible (looks sort of like a honeycreeper))
Dark-eyed Junco (several, including 1 White-winged)
Hairy Woodpecker (1 male, mountain form)

Total of 26 species

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Last Chance yesterday ( 10/23) and Lamar Summary Remarks

[Dave Leatherman]

NOTE: THERE ARE NO NEW RARE BIRD REPORTS IN THE NOTE THAT FOLLOWS.

A late note regarding Last Chance (Washington, although the place should really 
be in its own county (Last County?)) yesterday 10/23.  The place was very 
quiet.  The only birds of note were Townsend's Solitaire (2), Ruby-crowned 
Kinglet, Hermit Thrush, and lots of robins dropping in.

Regarding Lamar, my total number for 4 full days of birding an area roughly the 
size of a CBC circle centered on downtown Lamar from 10/19 thru 10/22 was 96 
species, with an additional one (Ring-necked Pheasant) found dead.  Passerine 
migration seemed mostly over, and what there was left of it, slow.  Most of the 
winter species are "in".  Some of the semi-hardy species linger and wait to 
make their decision about the upcoming months.  Huge numbers of robins are 
definitely on the move.  About the only misses likely present were things like 
Eastern Screech-Owl (haven't seen or heard one down there for years), lingering 
Barn Owl, maybe a newly-arrived Brown Creeper, sapsuckers (couldn't believe the 
tally doesn't include either Yellow-bellied or Red-naped, although the trees in 
general down there are VERY dry and unsappy), no shorebirds (not even a 
Killdeer) except for two Wilson's Snipe shown by a flyover Northern Harrier at 
Thurston, lingering Lark Bunting, McCown's and/or Lapland Longspur, 
Curve-billed Thrasher setting up shop in some gnarly place for the winter, 
wrens (only species detected were a few Marsh at Thurston Res), straggler 
Turkey Vulture, "blue-winged" Teal, unexpected warbler (Black-throated Green?), 
unexpected vireo (Blue-headed?), tanager (all in Pueblo?), Varied Thrush?, Red 
Fox Sparrow?, Wood Thrush?, this is getting more into the "wish" category as 
opposed to "miss" category.

A summary of noteworthy detected species (all previously reported): Merlin (2), 
White-winged Dove (1), Red-bellied Woodpecker (2-3, tough to tell how many are 
really there, they move around so much), Loggerhead Shrike (1), Northern Shrike 
FOS (1), Plumbeous Vireo (1), Western Scrub-Jay (1), Golden-crowned Kinglet FOS 
(1), Eastern Bluebird (several), Mountain Chickadee (2 for sure, maybe more), 
Nashville Warbler (2-3), Townsend's Warbler (1), Field Sparrow (3, one each at 
three different locations), Swamp Sparrow FOS (1), White-throated Sparrow (at 
least 4), Golden-crowned Sparrow (1, I am now calling this individual with a 
dark-gray-black bill (with both mandibles yellowish at their bases) a 
"first-winter" based on a somewhat similar photo in the new Stokes guide), and 
Northern Cardinal (Brandon just might be right about there being as many as 6 
(3 adults and 3 kids from this summer?) at LCC). 

Decipherable feeding activity seemed centered around a few key resources: 1) 
hackberry psyllids (especially Yellow-rumped Warblers and Ruby-crowned 
Kinglets); 2) Virginia Creeper berries (all three mimic thrushes, cardinal, 
flicker, Hermit Thrush, robin, probably others); 3) Russian-olive fruits 
(flicker, solitaire, robin, cardinal, Yellow-rumped Warbler (especially fallen 
pulp on the ground); 4) field crickets (big and black ) and various 
grasshoppers (abundant and being easily found and eaten my many species of 
birds including Western Scrub-Jay (crickets) and crows (flock of 2000+ west of 
town just walking in fallow fields and nearby cut alfalfa looking like people 
who don't like to cook on Thanksgiving at a restaurant buffet); 5) unidentified 
species of aphid or adelgid (flying everywhere on warm days at LCC (warblers, 
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, maybe sparrows) at LCC Woods (north end); and 6) juniper 
berries (robin, solitaire, flicker, Mountain Chickadee (not sure if they were 
after the berries or some insect (aphids and/or lacewings?) they were finding, 
but definitely showed a preference for the junipers scattered around LCC Woods 
and in the Willow Valley subdivision to the northeast).

Lastly, there are some plant changes at the north end of LCC that seem 
noteworthy.  Probably due to the flooding a few years back, Western Soapberry 
(Sapindus drummondi) and "wolfberry" (Lycium barbarum) shrubs are showing up in 
many places where I've not noticed them before.  There has been a big soapberry 
(native to the canyons of southeastern CO) thicket at the southwest corner of 
the woods (up in the dry sand sage southeast of the Wellness Center) for 
decades that is probably the source of the soapberry seeds.  Who knows where 
the wolfberry (a Eurasian exotic) came from but they now are populating and 
noticeably spreading within the Golden Currant thicket that forms the Plains 
Cottonwood understory at the north end.  I don't know if either of these plants 
has any utility to birds but it will be interesting to watch.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Crow Valley etc. on 31October

[Dave Leatherman]

I ended up at Crow Valley Campground today, after first checking Douglas 
Reservoir north of Fort Collins (Larimer) and, along with Rachel Hopper, North 
Poudre #3 (also Larimer).

Douglas Reservoir:
Clark's Grebe (1)
White Pelican (2)
Pied-billed Grebe (1)
Red-breasted Merganser (1f)
Harlan's Hawk (1)
California Gull (1a)
Herring Gull (1a)
Eared Grebe (7)
Horned Grebe (2)
American Coot (3)  
Ring-billed Gull (275+)
Western Grebe (100)

The place must have shad and is worth monitoring for rarer species in the 
coming weeks before it freezes over.

North Poudre #3:
nothing unusual, influx of Buffleheads

Crow Valley Campground:
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1f) previously reported, caching Russian-olives, south 
of the Main Picnic Shelter south of the dry creek bed
Eastern Bluebird (5) eating olives (southwest part)
Mountain Bluebird (2) eating olives (southwest part)
Townsend's Solitaire (at least 6)  higher than normal number for this time of 
year, no doubt due to the bumper olive crop
American Tree Sparrow (3-4)  out north, FOS for me, 1 in an olive with two 
flickers
Golden-crowned Kinglet (1f)  FOS down low in northern CO, in the southwest 
corner junipers, apparently eating lacewings
Northern Bobwhite (9)  out north of the Group Area, no doubt released by 
someone, but fun to see just the same
Lapland Longspur (1) flyover
Common Grackle (1) with a much-elongated, downcurved upper mandible, with two 
Red-winged Blackbirds in Briggsdale
Mourning Dove (3) hanging out with dozens of hardier Eurasian Collared-Doves in 
Briggsdale  (why do our Mourning Doves mostly depart in winter, while they 
overwinter in the East?)
N. Flicker (several, associated with olives, one with yellow shafts and a black 
mustache trimmed in red: a R-s costumed tonight as a Y-s?)
Total of 25 species (a nice set of birds, really)

Storm damage at Crow Valley was not bad, especially considering the number of 
cottonwoods and Siberian elms it has.  The place had quite a year: drought, 
fire, human vandalism, and now a serious early snow storm.  May it rest in 
peace for 6 months.

I didn't make it up to BYO Playa.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Brants in Fort Collins

[Dave Leatherman]

I appreciate Mark Peterson posting the presence of two Brants (black) at 
Sheldon Lake, City Park, Fort Collins (Larimer) this afternoon.  I first saw 
them about noon in the northeast portion of the lake (near the big ornamental 
frogs), associating with perhaps 35 Canada Geese and Cackling Geese.  Of note, 
one of the Brants was observed by myself and Rachel Hopper consuming a Plains 
Cottonwood leaf!  Hardly eelgrass, but when you're lost ..  

The point of this post is that the geese may NOT still be there.  Someone who 
tried for the birds late this afternoon informed me they were gone and in their 
place were some off-leash, swimming dogs.  This is typical of Fort Collins - 
both the disregard for the law by many dog-owners and generally lax 
enforcement.  When the geese were present, they noticeably changed their 
behavior when a jogger with a dog on-leash went by on the path.  At the time I 
took this as a good sign of their wild condition, but their justified wariness 
is also probably the reason for their disappearance.

If anyone sees the Brants tomorrow, please post this fact.  Thanks.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Common Ground-Dove, etc. in northeastern CO on 16Nov2011

[Dave Leatherman]

Ken Ecton and I made the pilgrimage to Julesburg this morning, then, tried for 
Brad and Mark's crossbills in Holyoke.  Thanks to Rachel for posting updates 
from the morning.

Julesburg just east of US385 between the two Platte River bridges (between I-76 
and the town):
COMMON GROUND-DOVE at generally the west end of the sandy, two-track loop 
(i.e., the "usual" location).  We got there about 7:55am, didn't see it until 
about 8:30.  At the time a pretty serious snow squall was starting up and the 
temperature was below 20 degrees.  The bird mostly pecked on the ground at very 
tiny objects I am assuming were grass (or some other type of small plant) 
seeds.  When not on the sandy road or other bare places (old river 
channels/depressions, for example), the bird flew up (with a distinctive 
stiff-winged chatter) and perched 5-10 feet above the ground on tree branches 
(cottonwoods and naturalized green ashes are about its only choices on the 
site).   We noticed the snowberry bushes Bill Maynard mentioned, but never saw 
the bird directly involved with them.  Of note, the area also has a fair amount 
of wild sunflowers, which may be influential in its choice of this spot.  I 
checked the BNA account and not much is specifically known about their diet, 
but in the few studies that have been done many of the plants mentioned as part 
of the winter diet probably occur on the site (according to Weber).  These 
include panic grass (Panicum sp.), dovegrass (Croton texenis), pigweed 
(Amaranthus sp.), maybe carpetweed (Mollugo verticillata, which occurs on sand 
bars along Front Range watercourses), purslane (Portulaca oleracea), and some 
of the nutsedges (Cyperus spp.).  Small berries are also mentioned, so the 
snowberry (Symphoricarpos occidentalis) may, indeed, be on the menu.  Probably 
many plants could be utilized, but my bet would be a few are key to its loyalty 
to that one little area.  It would be neat to know what they are.  The account 
for this dove does not mention sunflower seeds, either wild or at feeders 
(which may or may not mean anything).  Lastly, at one point when the snow 
really picked up, and not in response to us, we saw the dove fly west across 
US385 to the southwest and appear to land in the easternmost 4-5 trees of a 
tall juniper row.  Perhaps this is where the bird roosts and/or goes during 
adverse weather.  But it seems to keep coming back east across the road to the 
west half of the sandy loop road.

As has been said many times, great find Steve and Tim.

Rusty Blackbird (2) perched fairly high in a cottonwood near the river channel 
north of the loop at 8am
White-breasted Nuthatch (eastern race based on "yank" and pale color)

Between Julesburg and Holyoke on US385:
Lapland Longspurs by the hundreds (over 1000?)

Holyoke Cemetery (in the extreme southeastern part of town, east of US385):
HOODED WARBLER (female) - chipping loudly, rather furiously pecking around on 
the ground, mostly under junipers, at something we could never figure out 
(maybe hackberry psyllids, maybe aphids, maybe ants, not sure).  Most of our 
visit she was in the northeastern quadrant of this 5-10 acre cemetery.

Our reason for checking out the cemetery (and driving to Holyoke in the first 
place) was the recent wonderful find of both crossbills by Mark and Brad and 
their suggestion the cemetery might be a back-up place to check.  We saw no 
crossbills anywhere in Holyoke (which means nothing, probably).

Great-tailed Grackles near the grain elevators north of Rte6 in Holyoke (maybe 
15)

Julesburg Ground-Dove Site (very brief stop in early afternoon):
COMMON GROUND-DOVE back at its normal place

Ovid (south of Rte138 (= "Main" e-w road) between the two bridges w of the old 
Sugar Beet Factory):
NO STUB-TAILED WREN that we could detect
Brown Creeper (1, found by Ken)
White-breasted Nuthatch (2, eastern)

Jumbo Reservoir:
A "white-out" of geese.  We didn't spend a lot of time sorting thru waterfowl 
on the main body of water.  Very cold and windy, we were tired.

Little Jumbo:
White-fronted Goose (at least 3)

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Blackburnian Warbler in Greeley (Weld) on 11/19

[Dave Leatherman]

With the permission of Ruth and Milton Dick who are the hosts, this is a 
posting for a BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER in their Greeley (Weld) yard.  The bird, 
probably a first-fall male, has been present since 11November, first seen by 
the Dicks.  It forages mostly in some big, aphid-laden, Austrian Pines in their 
backyard at 2125 15th STREET.  This address is at the junction of 15th STREET, 
and 22nd AVENUE about a block northwest of the Northern Colorado Medical Center 
near the UNC campus and not far from Glenmere Park.  

The bird is viewable from the alley on the north side of the house.  The pines 
somewhat overtop the alley and if you park on 22nd or just into the alley e of 
22nd Ave. at the northwest corner of their backyard, you may be able to view 
the bird from your car.  It also comes down out of the pine trees and has been 
seen on several occasions in a grape vine heavily-laden with fruit growing on a 
low fence on the north side of the alley opposite the northeast corner of the 
Dick's back fence.  This grape vine would also be viewable from a car parked in 
the alley just e of 22nd.

Some of the pertinent neighbors on the north side of the alley north of the 
Dick's yard know about the bird and are reservedly OK with visitors.  OF 
COURSE, visitors should be respectful of all concerned in this neighborhood, 
not go in any backyards, not block the alley, or not block access to parking 
from the alley by these neighbors to the north. 

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins  

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[cobirds] Swan(s) at Dixon Reservoir, Pineridge Natural Area, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 11/19

[Dave Leatherman]

Skyler Bol and his mother Cree called this morning about trying for the 
Prothonotary Warbler found by Bruce Baker on the 17th at the south end of Dixon 
Reservoir, Pineridge Natural Area, west side of Fort Collins, south of the CSU 
football stadium, and refound yesterday the 18th by Nick Komar and others on 
the east side.  When I met Skyler and Cree at 10:30am, they had just witnessed 
an adult swan fly over northbound, which apparently had a yellow patch at the 
base of the bill (apparently Tundra).  Cree then located a second swan, a 
juvenile swimming on Dixon Reservoir.  Identification of this swan is still 
pending.  I got OK photographs and the four of us who saw/heard it (the fourth 
person being Janet Hardin) are leaning toward Trumpeter (neck mostly held 
unkinked and erect; shape of lower forehead/bill interface more a "V" than 
rounded, shallower "U"; extensive black at bill base (mostly pinkish 
terminally); "swollen" upper bill silhouette; eye not overly isolated from the 
upper, inner margin of the bill; and voice (deep "groan", single syllable)).  
The voice is perhaps the most compelling evidence toward an ID of Trumpeter.  
Tom and Mary France also saw and photographed this bird well. 

We left around 12:30, with the bird swimming mostly in the north half of the 
reservoir.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Common Redpoll in Fort Collins (Larimer) on Thanksgiving

[Dave Leatherman]

A Palm Warbler was reported by a reliable observer (Ed Levering) on 22Nov 
within the CSU Gardens (Plant Environmental Research Center or "PERC"), located 
in the southwestern corner of the CSU campus in Fort Collins (Larimer).  I 
tried to refind this bird yesterday and today but did not, and do NOT believe 
it is still present.  It was seen along the main n-s sidewalk which connects 
Lake Street (south end) with Pitkin Street (north end) thru the main part of 
the gardens very near Lake Street.  This area WAS very birdy, mostly with 
fruit-eaters (robins, waxwings, and flickers) because of the abundance of 
berries.  Foremost in this regard are various types of mountain-ash (Sorbus), 
viburnum, crabapple, and euonymus.  If we get any Bohemian Waxwings this winter 
in CO, this rather northern location would likely be among the first to attract 
them.  It has always looked good for (and sometimes actually has) semi-hardies 
like Hermit Thrush, Gray Catbird, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler, 
Spotted Towhee, and the like.  If you haven't been there, it is worth visiting 
just for its labeled woody plants of many types.  Its bird potential is gravy.

After this check, I visited Grandview Cemetery very late in the afternoon.  
Toward the end of the circuit as birds were settling to various roosts, a bird 
flew down to one of the last patches of snow still remaining from the recent 
storms.  The bird was a COMMON REDPOLL, probably a juvenile (fairly brownish 
with very little red on the crown).  It ate/drank slush just long enough to 
allow an ID, then flew up to the top of a cone-laden blue spruce just to the 
south and I believe it roosted within this tree.  The location of the snow was 
along the west side of the ditch, about 75 yards south of the main entrance at 
the west end of Mountain Avenue.  Basically, if you come into the cemetery, 
cross the bridge over the ditch and turn south, the small-getting-smaller snow 
pile is just north of the first big shrub (a persian-type lilac) you see on the 
west side of the ditch (which is just north of another little bridge crossing 
the ditch into the parking lot for the cemetery shop buildings). 

The only other time I've seen a redpoll in the cemetery was November 1991. 

Perhaps the recent redpolls in extreme northeastern CO, Estes Park, and this 
one constitute the beginnings of an invasion year for us?  Not sure what other 
states to the north are reporting.  Maybe someone reading this does and can 
comment.  Thanks.

As an additional comment, I went to Mission Viejo site in Aurora yesterday to 
see if anything could be learned about what the Varied Thrush first reported by 
Buzz Shaumberg (thanks for your post) is eating.  Two of the trees it seems to 
frequent in Buzz's backyard are a fruit-heavy, pink-flowered type of crabapple 
and an leaf-retaining apple (golden delicious?) with monster fruits.  The park 
to the east has a mini-grove containing female junipers with berries and 
biggish pines.  As the Huffstaters and others have reported, it likes the 
heated waterbath in the yard north of Buzz's (3896 S. Idalia, bird and birder 
friendly owner's name is Myra Meverden).  Food, water, and cover - what else 
could a bird want?  

Dave Leatherman  
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Long-tailed Duck at Union Reservoir (Weld) on 24Nov2011

[Dave Leatherman]

The infamous Black Friday Birders turned up a juvenile type LONG-TAILED DUCK at 
Union Reservoir (Weld) east of Longmont today.  Steve Mlodinow detailed this 
place yesterday and many of the birds he reported were seen (but no scaup), 
including many Bonaparte's Gulls, Red-breasted Mergansers, etc.  There was one 
male Barrow's Goldeneye, and a few Brewer's Blackbirds.  We did NOT see a 
single Western Grebe, amazing for the date and place.  Jim Hamm held mostly 
Mallards and one Marsh Wren.

The Blackburnian Warbler first found by Ruth and Milton Dick in Greeley on 
November 11, last reported on the 21st, was NOT seen in two rather brief but 
thorough checks.  Given the mild conditions and mid-day timing of our visits, 
this bird well may have moved on.  Updates, positive or negative, by locals or 
others who try for this great bird are welcome.

Fair amount of branch breakage to the willows on the heronry island in Glenmere 
Park (scene of the Yellow-crowned Night-Heron last summer).  They will recover 
in good time.  As Bill Kaempfer pointed out, some of the Cackling Geese on the 
pond in this park seemed exceedingly small (i.e., perhaps something other than 
"Richardson's"?).  

Lots of Great-tailed Grackles still out and about in various Weld locations 
east and west of I-25, including the Lower Latham area.   The Bald Eagle total 
for the day approached 10. 

Not a lot else that we found today could be called unusual or rare.  A fun, 
unmaterialistic day.  Thanks to Nina Routh, the Social Queen for organizing 
this event.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Common Redpoll at Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 27Nov2011

[Dave Leatherman]

Around noon today I discovered 4 COMMON REDPOLLS procuring Colorado Blue Spruce 
seeds from cones in the southwest quadrant of Section E in Grandview Cemetery, 
Fort Collins (Larimer).  The birds, 2 female or immature types and 2 adults, 
were high on the north sides of tall spruce, feeding among cones on horizontal 
branches, basically out near the branch ends where the majority of cones 
typically are.  They were NOT with siskins.  This location is generally in the 
center of the cemetery and just north of the soldier and fireman monuments.  
Josh Bruening reported seeing one redpoll about 3pm on the snow piles south of 
the entrance near the bridge over the ditch into the shop buildings (same 
approximate location where I reported one late in the day on Thanksgiving).  As 
long as this snow persists (good amount on the south side of the bridge into 
the shop), these water sources may be a good place to watch between 3-4pm.

Other birds seen today:
Merlin
Pine Siskin (at least 25 in and over the cemetery)
Cooper's Hawk
Total of 25 species

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Red-throated Loon at Hamilton Reservoir (Larimer) on 2Dec2011

[Dave Leatherman]

Thanks to Rachel for her earlier posting of the RED-THROATED LOON at Hamilton 
Reservoir (water supply for the Rawhide Power Plant) today, 2Dec2011.  This 
location is north of Wellington in Larimer County and reached by going north on 
I-25 to Buckeye Road (Exit 288), which is about 12 miles south of the Wyoming 
line.  Go west on Buckeye Road a few miles, turn north (right) on the main 
power plant road, then (in a couple hundred feet just before the 
controlled-access gate blocking the south end of the dam) turn left onto the 
Observation Overlook gravel road, and proceed to the parking lot.  The loon was 
basically all over the east end of the reservoir (that is, east of a line drawn 
from the overlook to the main smokestack across the way).  Like all loons, it 
can seemingly "disappear", travel long distances when diving, and be hard to 
locate.  In the three hours or so I watched it, it spent about an equal amount 
of time loafing on the surface and diving.  It is an adult in basic garb, with 
the eye not quite being totally isolated on the face by white.  Rachel and I 
noted it not looking all that much bigger than some nearby male Common 
Goldeneyes (Sibley actually states a difference in length of just over 6 
inches).  The face and front of the neck gleam white in a distant view, and the 
upturned, upheld, gray bill (with a conspicuous thin dark line dividing upper 
mandible from lower) is also evident in most views.  If it comes close enough, 
the back is speckled with white.  The bird shows considerable white along the 
flanks at the water line.  At no time does the bird appear blackish, as does 
the much bigger, basic Common Loon also present.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Red-throated Loon still present at Hamilton Res. (Larimer) on 3Dec2011

[Dave Leatherman]

The adult basic RED-THROATED LOON  was still present this afternoon at Hamilton 
Reservoir (Rawhide Power Plant), north of Buckeye Road west of I-25 Exit 288 
(Larimer County).  Today, viewing from the Observation Overlook on the south 
side of the res and looking across to the plant, it was somewhat left of the 
big stack, in loose association with about 20 Western Grebes.  The grebes are 
about the same size, with the loon being slightly thicker-necked and 
longer-bodied, and always with that bill pointed slightly upward.  Their diving 
may be another point of differentiation from long distance, with the grebes 
being quicker and "getting air" on the way in, the loon just rolling into the 
dive.

If anyone knows of previous Larimer County records for this species, I would 
appreciate hearing details.  Thanks.

Other birds of note at Hamilton Res today were:
Redhead (1 female)
Ross's Goose (I think, 1 white a long ways off east of the stack with 
Canada/Cackling Geese)
Snow Goose (1 blue)
Bald Eagle (1 adult)
Horned Grebe (15+)

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Unusual Red Crossbill at Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 12/4

[Dave Leatherman]

I had a lone Red Crossbill female today at Grandview Cemetery.  This, in 
itself, is unusual (only recorded 6 times in over 120 visits in 2011, the last 
being 27May).  After listening to several recordings on the wonderful 
xeno-canto site, I believe this bird was a Type 4 ("Douglas-fir").  For what 
it's worth, there is a bumper Douglas-fir crop in the lower mountains to the 
west of Fort Collins (Rist Canyon, for example) and perhaps elsewhere in CO.  
The bird's bill was small and the call very different from our normal Type 2's 
("Ponderosa") and 5's ("Lodgepole") - what I would describe as "chit" or 
"chip".  Sibley describes the Type 4 note as "kwit" and says it is upslurred.  
The upslurred part is tough for me to verify in this case, even though I heard 
the bird call hundreds of times.  I certainly wouldn't say the note I heard was 
downslurred.  The bird also on two occasions uttered part of what I think was 
the song (not the "call", "toop", or "alarm" note).  This I would describe as 
"squeel.squeel", with a fair amount of musicality to it).  Wish I had a 
recording and could run a sonogram for a more definitive analysis.  When first 
seen, I think the bird was alone, but by the end of the morning had acquired an 
entourage of 20 or so siskins.  They consistently stayed together, flying from 
spruce to spruce, not lingering more than 10 minutes atop any one tree.

For a couple hours at mid-day there was a duck with a tuft (and wings) we tried 
for, to no avail.  Great find, Steve.  

After that, I returned to the cemetery about 3pm and heard, then saw, the 
crossbill T-d up in a spruce, briefly.  So, it may still be there tomorrow.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] White-fronted Geese at Sheldon Lake (City Park, Fort Collins, Larimer) on 12/5

[Dave Leatherman]

There were 3 White-fronted Geese in the northeast corner of Sheldon Lake, City 
Park, Fort Collins (Larimer) today, 5December, at about 2pm.  They were 
sleeping on the ice with assorted White-cheeked Geese.

I did not hear or see the unusual type of Red Crossbill at Grandview.  Too darn 
cold to do more than one lap.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Common Redpoll at Norma's Grove (Weld) on 12/6/2011, etc.

[Dave Leatherman]

I stopped by Norma's Grove (e of the intersection of Weld CR57 and CR100) on my 
way further east (hoping to find Rachel's gyr and maybe other interesting 
things).  The grove itself had a flyover Golden Eagle and a flicker, but there 
is a nice patch of wild sunflowers about 100 yards east of the grove where the 
road basically ends at a gate.  Amid a fairly large group of 30 or so American 
Goldfinches was one inconspicuous COMMON REDPOLL.  I got OK pics of this bird 
which was off-white with heavy dark stripes on the flanks.  It was lacking pink 
on the body but had a red forecrown that flashed in the sun.  Not exactly sure 
of the age and sex.  Upon further review, as they say in the NFL, maybe study 
of the recent excellent ID review article in North American Birds will shed 
some light upon things.

Not much else of note seen across GR96 (Murphy's Pasture) before calls started 
coming in of the Tufted Duck's rediscovery.  Thanks to Steve (the finder), Gary 
Matthews (the refinder), Joe Roller (the caller), and Rachel (the callerette).  
I felt very lucky to have seen this great bird and felt badly for those who 
didn't.

As Rachel mentioned in one of her posts, at where the Frontage Road on the east 
side of I-25 crosses St. Vrain Creek about a mile north of Route 119, 
interesting birds continue.  The Rusty Blackbird first found by Bill Kaempfer 
continues and has been joined by a second bird.  I would call them both most 
like Sibley's depiction of "non-breeding male".  There was also a yellowlegs, 
which I sloppily didn't study but my first impression was Lesser (bill looked 
fairly thin and straight).  I admit to being influenced by intelligence 
received from other birders about there being a Greater at this site, and 
immediately put my scope on the blackbirds.  Any yellowlegs this time of year 
is unusual, but Lesser would be exceptional.  Birders trying tomorrow for the 
Tufted Duck might want to recheck this location and give this bird (and the 
blackbirds) the scrutiny deserved.  Also present here is a Killdeer, Song 
Sparrow, and Mallards.  Something going on foodwise on that gravel bar.  I 
should mention, while I was there, the yellowlegs flew off silently (seems like 
most Greaters give their characteristic "tew-tew-tew" upon takeoff) over the 
Frontage Road to the west.  It very well could return, however.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Red-throated Loon still present at Hamilton Res (Larimer) at noon on 12/8

[Dave Leatherman]

The RED-THROATED LOON reported earlier is still present at the Rawhile Power 
Plant water supply called Hamilton Reservoir, west of I-25 Exit 288 on Buckeye 
Road.  It was seen today about noon from the overlook on the south side of the 
res looking straight north to the plant with the big smokestack.

Also present along the dam (east of the overlook) was a much bigger, darker 
Common Loon.

Per usual for this res heavily infused with warm water from the power plant 
turbines, the res is completely ice free and I noticed several grebes and 
goldeneyes eating fish.  So maybe the prey base has improved from recent years. 
 Hopefully the loons will stick around for the CBC.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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[cobirds] Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (Larimer) on 21Dec2011

[Dave Leatherman]

One day outside count week for the FC CBC, a juvenile YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER 
is present along the south edge of Grandview Cemetery, Fort Collins (west end 
of Mountain Avenue) on 21December2011.  The bird was actively moving around but 
I think is most interested in a small group of Austrian Pines that has been a 
traditional haunt of this species over the years.  The location of the Austrian 
Pine grove is just barely out on City Park Nine golf course south of the 
junction of the boundary road between Sections 7 and 2 with the south boundary 
road.  There are 8 Austrian Pines in this grove (plus some Colorado Blue Spruce 
that all black belt birders should know are not pines).  The tree I think this 
bird is going to like best is the first one west of the black security light 
pole at this intersection.  The bird is very skittish and likes to stay in the 
upper half of the crowns where the trunks are fairly narrow.  It was calling 
quite a bit, which is helpful, and probably an indicator that it is a fresh 
arrival.  In fact I think what it communicated is, "Na nana na na, I didn't 
want to be on your CBC this year".  (Arvind Punjabi did observe a sapsucker of 
undetermined species on the FC CBC (17Dec) near the mouth of Poudre Canyon, 
which more than likely was a Yellow-bellied.)

FYI, there is a map of the cemetery on a big rock slab at the bridge over the 
ditch at the entrance by the office on Mountain Avenue.

Other birds of interest at Grandview today:
Common Raven (1 flyover)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (10+)
Mountain Chickadee (3+)
Total of 20 spp.

Have not seen the odd Red Crossbill (Type 4?) since 14December.

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins

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