A few migrants at Littleton

[David Suddjian]

This evening a trio of Chimney Swifts zipped north single file over the area of St. Mary Church in Littleton. Soon after a Merlin followed, but too far behind to be connected to the swifts. The swifts were slightly ahead of other Arapahoe records in eBird. A male Nashville Warbler was in a yard near the church grounds, and a Lincoln's Sparrow, too. Other warblers have so far been very scarce so far, with only a few Yellow-rumps.

Chipping Sparrows have been plentiful in areas of Littleton where I have been over the last few days, with many singing. At the same time, I'm seeing them around my Ken Caryl Valley home area daily, but they are mostly not singing. And in the prior 4 springs I recall the same: singing migrants passing through Littleton, but migrants moving at Ken Caryl are mostly not. I think maybe it has to do with different tree structure in the neighborhoods, with larger, taller (older) conifers at Littleton, where the developed neighborhood is older.

David Suddjian

Ken Caryl Valley

Littleton, CO