Lake McIntosh 11/20

[Mark Miller]

Hi Everyone, 

Today 11/20 I visited Lake McIntosh in Longmont to get some idea of what's going on with the ice and snow. The lake is 99% frozen, with just a Western Grebe, a few Mallards, scattered Canada Geese, and a clump of Ring-billed Gulls. No real surprise there. As I was walking back to my car, I heard a Townsend's Solitaire singing. I tracked it down and found it in a private yard, singing away (viewed from the street). The bird then flew over to a parked car and sat on the side-view mirror. It alternated between perching on the mirror and attacking its reflection in the driver side window. It's the third week of November and this bird is acting like it's spring. The homeowner came out and we had a brief chat; she saw the bird and seemed interested in it, but she had errands to run. I hope the solitaire gets a grip soon.

Mark Miller 

Longmont, CO 

[Patrick O'Driscoll]

Mark, I was surprised at such behavior earlier this fall as well.

I live near Denver City Park, where one day last month I found a juniper tree with as many as 10 of them singing loudly, chasing each other in and out and around the tree, and generally raising a ruckus.

After checking Cornell's Birds of the World, I found out why:

Townsend's Solitaires, which breed in the high country and spend winter down here among us, are highly territorial in winter, seeking to protect berry-laden junipers and other food-source trees from other solitaires and, indeed, from other berry eaters like American Robins and Cedar Waxwings.

(I saw a Townsend's in City Park last month chasing individuals of both those species away from its territory near the Denver Museum of Nature + Science.)

It might be coincidental, but over here in east-central Denver, I'm seeing more of them this fall than ever before.

I counted 5 this morning in City Park, and yesterday a pair chased each other around a curbside maple tree outside my house just off East Colfax Avenue.
As for that mirror encounter you reported, I also saw one 10 days ago in the City Park West neighborhood about 3 blocks west of the park, flying repeatedly from the ground up into a front window of a house, trying to attack its own reflection.

So, it appears your Townsend's was behaving normally for this busy time.

Good birding,

Patrick O'Driscoll

Denver

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[Lynne Forrester]

I see Townsend Solitaires squabble a lot in the winter as they are very protective of their winter food sources. I've had two locked together fall at my feet while hiking at Deer Creek Canyon.

Lynne Forrester 

Littleton, east Jeffco

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From: cob...@googlegroups.com <cob...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Mark Miller <snowy....@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2022 3:48:35 PM
To: Cobirds <cob...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [cobirds] Lake McIntosh 11/20

 

[Nathan Pieplow]

Mark et al.,

One of the cool things about solitaires is that they sing to defend a breeding territory in spring, and then they sing again in the fall to defend a wintering territory -- preferably one with a lot of berries. So I'm not too surprised to hear of territorial behavior in this species in November!

Nathan Pieplow

Boulder 

[Deborah Carstensen]

I’ll add red rocks to the list. I was walking the stairs for exercise the other day and was amazed that I was surrounded by solitaires. I had never heard so much singing, it was a fantastic addition to my exercise!

Deb Carstensen, Arapahoe county 

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 20, 2022, at 4:35 PM, Nathan Pieplow <npie...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[DAVID A LEATHERMAN]

Hi Mark,

As interesting and seemingly unusual what you saw is, I'd have to say for winter solitaires down on the flats, this is as pretty normal.  About as much so as the current Broncos losing in overtime.  Supposedly each solitaire needs 30,000 juniper cones ("berries") to get them through the winter.  How they make this calculation is a mystery but once they do, defending their chosen resource against all potential competitors (including themselves) is a top priority.  The pic shows a pile of juniper seeds excreted on the sill after repeated visits to the reflective window of my apartment complex landlord's shop.  I wake up most days between Halloween and Easter to either the song or pygmy-owlish toots of one or more solitaires here in Fort Collins east of campus.

                          

Kudos for being curious about, and reporting, interesting behavior to COBIRDS.

Dave Leatherman

Fort Collins

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From: cob...@googlegroups.com <cob...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Mark Miller <snowy....@gmail.com>

Sent: Sunday, November 20, 2022 3:48 PM

To: Cobirds <cob...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [cobirds] Lake McIntosh 11/20

[T. Luke George]

Hi All,

Male and female Townsend's Solitaires sing and defend territories around patches of junipers in the winter. They usually establish their territories in the fall and then settle down and though they continue to defend them, they usually become less aggressive for the remainder of the winter. I've seen a number of them singing and chasing one another in the past week or two which seems a bit odd but not too out of the ordinary. I am wondering if there are late arrivals in our area that either failed to establish a territory elsewhere or established a territory, depleted the berries and now are moving into more urban/suburban areas looking for juniper patches to defend. Either way, it's always nice to have them bless our neighborhoods through the winter.

Best,

Luke George

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​T. Luke George, PhD

Adjunct Faculty, ​Colorado ​State University

Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology

Wagar 110

970-491-3311 (o)

P​rofessor Emeritus, Humboldt State University

707-499-4053 (c)

t.luke...@gmail.com

"what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" Mary Oliver