I started the data collection for my dissertation today. It involves sitting on a rooftop at dawn and dusk and counting the incoming and outgoing Cowbirds and Grackles, as well as recording the directions in which they come from/go. Promises to yield some interesting results - I'm testing whether or not the birds are using the communal roost as an information centre to share knowledge on prime feeding sites.
On the down side, it means that I'm faced with a lot of early mornings over the next 6 months!
The roost is spectacular. Today, I counted in over 1000 Bronzed Cowbirds and more than double that number of Great-tailed Grackles. The birds end up in just 6 trees in the central plaza.
Rooftop birding also yields some other species. The highlights today were a couple of distant Raven sp. and a male Peregrine. It also allows views of White-winged Doves, Cattle Egrets, House Finches and Cassin's Kingbirds going to roost.
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