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 -- 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.
