Flycatchers & Yard Birds - Centennial (Arapahoe)

[Jared Del Rosso]

The last week has seen me inside dealing with a sinus infection that bloomed out of a cold I had in mid-May. Yuck, and during my favorite time of year.

But today, I'm feeling a little better, so I checked in on the Eastern Phoebe(s) and Western Flycatchers along the Canal in Centennial. Saw the former, heard the latter. The Eastern Phoebe(s) continue to beguile me. I swear they fly away from the Canal into the surrounding neighborhood, which means that documenting their nesting is going to be unlikely. But maybe I'm misinterpreting their behaviors or flights. Western Flycatchers, meanwhile, continue to call from around the Little Dry Creek. I've not yet had good observations of them, and I haven't seen pairs or nesting behavior.

Back home, in my Centennial yard, some sickly Siberian Elms, who continually drop branches during spring storms no matter how much I pay to have them tended, are a veritable buffet for Bushtits, American Robins, Black-capped Chickadees, a Broad-tailed Hummingbird, and Fox Squirrels. The larvae of Elm Leafminder (Kaliofenusa ulmi) are raining down on my yard; I swear I hear the larvae hit the ground, where robins come through to collect them. (Thank you to Dave Leatherman for teaching us about this dynamic.) One day, these elms will have to go. Despite my strong preference for native plants, it'll be sad to see them gone.

A Chipping Sparrow is trying to collect nesting material in my yard, but seems unhappy with what they're finding. It doesn't help that a Broad-tailed Hummingbird keeps chasing the Chipping away. The Chipping just wants debris, but is, apparently, too close to the penstemon blooms for the Broad-tailed.

As for those Bushtits: have young fledged? I've had noisy flocks of 5 or 6 or so in my yard off and on for the last week or so. I don't associate flocks with this time of year, but perhaps young have already fledged? I've never found a nest in the Centennial area, though I know they must be somewhere. They seem to show fidelity to the pinon pines behind Trader Joe's, but perhaps that's just a communal roosting spot.

I heard a nighthawk a few days ago -- but I haven't been able to chase them around as I like to do this time of year. Kinda bummed to be missing out on their migration.

- Jared Del Rosso

Centennial, CO