Cordilleran Flycatcher, Common Nighthawks - Centennial (Arapahoe)

[Jared Del Rosso]

Last night (5/27), I heard then spotted two Common Nighthawks over my west Centennial home (Arapahoe). The birds appeared northbound, until they hit a wall of wind that they couldn't break. When I last saw them, they looked like they were being pushed southeast.

This morning, while dog walking, I heard the Cordilleran Flycatcher still calling from the Little Dry Creek, near the High Line Canal Trail, along East Orchard Rd. I previously heard & saw the bird last Thursday (5/24).

- Jared Del Rosso
Centennial, CO

[Jared Del Rosso]

Common Nighthawks continue to travel north up (approximately) University Ave in Centennial. I've spotted lone birds headed that way on May 28 & May 30. Last night's was lower and a bit more fluttery than the previous passerby. Later on, the brown bats that are back in a neighbor's bat house were feeding about as high as the nighthawk was.

This morning, I walked my dogs back over to the Little Dry Creek & High Line Canal Trail to check on the Cordilleran Flycatcher we'd previously seen on May 28. On our way, we passed by Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens, where we had our first Western Kingbirds at the cemetery. There was an apparent pair -- calling and chasing around the local Red-tailed Hawk. A third Western Kingbird called from just beyond the cemetery; there may have been a fourth calling from near that third, out of sight, but I couldn't tell. I tried to transform all of them into Cassin's, but they resisted.

The Cordilleran, meanwhile, continued along the Little Dry Creek, calling and singing loudly. I heard a few other interesting sounds along the canal (now and for a short time only, filled with water) and the creek. But with two dogs in tow, I didn't have the patience to wait those birds out.

Around Centennial, the cottonwoods have turned the world into a snow globe. A few days ago, along the Big Dry Creek Trail, I saw Barn Swallows hunt down a large tuft of cottonwood seed -- I presume for lining a nest? It took a few passes by for one of them to succeed in nabbing it out of the air as it drifted along.

- Jared Del Rosso
Centennial, CO

 

[Jared Del Rosso]

The Cordilleran Flycatcher continues on the Little Dry Creek (Arapahoe), near the High Line Canal Trail, along East Orchard Rd. Very vocal this morning (6/3), calling madly. I briefly fooled myself into thinking that another Cordilleran called back to it. But no.

Also today:

• While looking for the Cordy, I had the good fortune of watching a raccoon forage in the creek.
• Back along the Canal Trail, I spotted a fledgling robin, hanging around what appeared to be its nest. And a flock of six or so Bushtits on a nearby trail (the "Centennial Link" trail). Have they already nested and fledged, or is this some other sort of group?  
• Western Kingbirds continue nearby at the Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens. By no means unexpected, but they're among my favorite local nesters, and this is the closest I've found a pair of them to my home.

On nighthawks:

• On June 1, I heard a Common Nighthawk call over my home. Also...entirely expected. But they are my very favorite spring through fall guests, and I hope to find a spot in my local birding area where they can be observed through the summer. So far, I only have migrants...and, over the past two years, this is the week when the migration spigot is turned off and I no longer hear them over my yard.

- Jared Del Rosso
Centennial, CO

On Monday, May 28, 2018 at 10:46:44 AM UTC-6, Jared Del Rosso wrote: