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 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
