Singing Green-tailed Towhees & Others - Denver / Arapahoe

[Jared Del Rosso]

For the first time that I can remember, I'm hearing Green-tailed Towhees singing during their spring migration through urban Denver and suburban Arapahoe Counties. I'm not suggesting this actually hasn't happened. Rather, I'm just reporting that the birds seem to me to be more committed to song this year than I can remember them being in the past. This includes Green-tailed Towhee in my Centennial yard for the past week. A really nice addition to the aural landscape...(eBird doesn't have any spring audio recordings of Green-tails in either county. So if you're out there and you hear them, maybe make a recording and submit it?)

Also of note: a female MacGillivray's Warbler -- (still have to look up the spelling of the name...) in my yard for the past 48 hours. A somewhat uncommon but regular migrant through suburban Centennial, particularly uncommon in yards and especially in water-less backyards, as mine is. This is the first migrating female that I can remember. When I moved into the home in 2016, I had a few years of spring visits from a male. In 2017, one was present in my yard for most of May. and, like the Green-tails this year, sang quite a bit. They're drawn to the Chokecherry and Viburnum lentago thicket that came with my home. This one was, like a Northern House Wren, gleaning insects from my closed compost bins. Lots of flies (big and small) as well as springtails. Can't imagine a bird eating springtails, but those are a lot larger to a bird than they are to me. Perhaps someone out has documented this?

Finally, I heard a singing Warbling Vireo this morning from a neighbor's yard. Merlin identified it as a Western; however, I haven't spent any time learning the distinctions in the two species songs, nor have I double checked the Merlin ID. I will. Just haven't yet.

- Jared Del Rosso

Centennial, CO