Widlife Sightings to Date

Male Western Tanager

5/9/17 Western Tanager - Cascade
5/13/17 Brewer’s Blackbird Pair - Downtown Florissant
5/18/17 Black-headed Grosbeak - Cascade

5/21/17 Birds - Evening Grosbeak, Black-headed Grosbeak, Pygmy Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-winged Blackbird, Mountain Chickadee, Pine Siskin, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Steller's Jay, Dark-eyed Junco, Brown-headed Cowbird, American Crow, Common Raven, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, House Wren.  Mammals - Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel, Abert's Squirrel, Fox Squirrel, Vole, Red Fox, Coyote, Mule Deer - Florissant

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel

Wildlife Sightings To Date

Male Evening Grosbeak

 4/20/17 1^st Broad-tailed Hummingbird

4/24/17 1^st Brown-headed Cowbird

4/30/17 Bighorn Sheep CR1 and Dome Rock

5/1/17 Pack of Coyotes Singing in Florissant Fossil Beds at midnight.

5/3/17 Painted Lady Butterfly on Dandelion flower

5/3/17 Prairie Falcon flew over the Florissant Valley.

5/3/17 Barrel Cactus are blooming.

5/7/17 House Wren returns to nest under my deck.

5/8/17 Aspen are leafing.

5/12/17 Evening Grosbeaks are everywhere!

5/12/17 Black-headed Grosbeak

 I was so excited to see the hummingbirds return to the mountains.  I always get questions about why they don't come to the feeders when they migrate in.  The hummers are migrating along the front range and heading to the higher altitudes where they nest.  Competition is fierce and nesting takes precedent over eating.  When they have established their nesting area they then come to the mountain feeders to replenish their energy.  The lower elevation folks won't see them on a regular basis until they are finished nesting.

The Brown-headed Cowbird is famous for its nesting behavior.  Have you ever seen a tiny bird feeding a baby twice their size?  This is because the Cowbird relies on others to raise their babies.

They wait until another bird has laid their eggs and then push the eggs out of the nest and replace them with their own.  Wow, I guess it takes all kinds!

The House Wren has such a gorgeous "burbeley" (listen to it on https://www.allaboutbirds.org/) song.  It feeds mostly on insects and rings in the warmer months.  I have a nest under my deck where it had built a nest in one of my decorations and it has come back year after year.  Some birds need the nest to be cleaned at the end of the season to stimulate nesting the following season but the Wren does not.  If you have nests do some research to see what you should do for your birds.

The Aspen trees are leafing out and I look forward to the quaking sound in the coming months.  It is very easy to see which stands have died over the winter months, but leave them if you can, some woodpeckers and other birds use these trees to create nesting holes.

It is fantastic to have the Evening Grosbeaks at the feeders but I took a double take when I saw a Black-headed Grosbeak among them.  This is the first time this species has been at my feeder - does he know I just bought that feeder?

Spring and summer months are a great time in Colorado.  Enjoy all the plants, wildflowers, babies and birds that spend the warm months with us.