A trip along the west side of the Poudre River, both north and south of Prospect in Fort Collins (Larimer) today (4October2010) produced the following highlights:
PALM WARBLER (non-breeding plumage, of what Sibley shows as the "brown" (= "western") race) - the bird was with a flock of 20 or so Yellow-rumps and 1 or 2 Orange-crowns along the bike trail about 100 yards north of the Environmental Learning Center suspension bridge near a green bench. That particular area has been good in the past and has a nice mix of big overtopping cottonwoods, naturalized green ash, boxelders, willows, and even some shrubs like lilac (planted). Certainly the attraction here is mostly aphids of various types and midges. Brown Thrasher (1) along bike trail near Chorus Frog Pond n of Prospect (not a common species along the Poudre R.) Solitary Sandpiper (1) east of Cattail Chorus N.A. Orange-crowned Warbler (few) Wilson's Warbler (1) Yellow-rumped Warbler (estimate a total of 45 today - not a lot but steadily trickling through) Ruddy Duck (1) feedlot pond on Sharp Point Drive Eared Grebe (1) pond in Prospect Ponds Natural Area along Sharp Point Drive south of the feedlot pond (not normal at this pond) Osprey (1) Lincoln's Sparrow (2) Hermit Thrush (1 heard giving the distinctive call note) Wood Duck (at least 25 hanging out under the olive-laden Russian-olives, their passion these days) Sharp-shinned Hawk (1) Cooper's Hawk (1 imm. male) Snowy Egret? (1 imm.) Cattail Chorus pond (didn't get the greatest look and I suppose there's a slight change this was a young Little Blue Heron, but when it flew I looked specifically at the primary tips and they appeared white. The bird's body was all white, with a pale bill (couldn't get a sense of color) and pale legs with no yellow "slippers" (couldn't tell if the front of the legs were lighter or darker than the back of the legs) Greater Yellowlegs (1) Wilson's Snipe (1) Total of 53 species At least 12 species of dragonflies/damselflies still present: Saffron-winged, Autumn, Cherry-faced, Band-winged, White-faced, and Variegated Meadowhawks, Green Darner, mosaic darner sp. (probably Paddle-tailed), Widow Skimmer, Great Spreadwing, Spotted Spreadwing, and unidentified female damselfly (probably Familiar Bluet). Western Chorus Frogs (few) lamenting the rumored end of warmth White-tailed Deer (1) Dave Leatherman Fort Collins -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to cobi...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
