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 -- 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.
