I checked the alfalfa field south of "downtown" Bellvue today (se of where 50E (Bingham Hill Road) joins 23Rd (the road called "Skyline Drive" that runs along the hogback east of Horsetooth Reservoir), which has been a reliable spot for Bobolinks for several years. Despite the first cutting of hay recently, one male Bobolink sang intermittently, both from the field and from the east end of the pivot sprinkler. I usually park in a small 1-2 car-sized dirt pullout a few tenths of a mile south of the above intersection, walk across to the east side of 23Rd and listen/scan. Today I heard a Bobolink on the far eastern part of the field almost immediately, singing from down on the ground. After getting my scope, I did not see or hear it again for almost 45 minutes, when it sang for quite a while from the sprinkler. It's singing spot on the pivot was on top of a silver box (label on this box has red and white lettering) atop the sprinkler arm at a point above the first set of tires in from the east end of the sprinkler. Be sure to park completely off the roadway surface if you check this spot. 23Rd is a busy highway in both directions.
I also checked a couple places in lower Rist Canyon (CR52E west of 27Rd). A few tenths of a mile east of Whale Rock (about 1 mile west of what I call the entrance to Rist Canyon (i.e., the junction with 27E)) there was a nice assortment of "quality" foothills birds including Virginia's Warbler, Western Tanagers, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Western Wood-Pewee, Lazuli Bunting, Clark's Nutcracker (heard one), Plumbeous Vireo, all three nuthatches, Western Wood-Pewee, Black-headed Grosbeak, Lesser Goldfinch and several other common species. About 6 miles west of 27E along 52E I stopped at a tract of USFS land that formerly was a Picnic Area, since protected by a high barbed-wire fence due to mis-use by paintball folks, tree-cutters, and tree-shooters. Here I had a nesting pair of American Three-toed Woodpeckers, both parents actively taking turns feeding babies down in the aspen cavity. The assortment of insects they brought in was impressive and appeared to include large wood-boring beetle (cerambycid) larvae, an unidentified thin, translucent larva of some sort, large crane flies, etc. Additional special species at this location included Ovenbird (heard), Red Crossbill (heard), and an empid I never saw but think was a Hammond's (this is also the species Jim "Empid Man" Sedgwick told me years ago nests at this spot) . I have Sibley's phrases for both Dusky and Hammond's written in my pocket calendar and the suspect little flycatchers I hear never sound like either one of the written descriptions. Nathan, please write a set of phrases that make sense. Maybe it's me but I can't tell a "tsi-pik, swi-vrk, grr-vik" from a "sibip, quwerrrp-psuweet" on my best days, let alone lately. Also, no little owls found in aspen holes where they have been in the past. On the way east back to Bellvue along 52E there was a pair of Western Bluebirds on the telephone wires near a box first shown to me by Steve Messick of Greeley. This would have been about 4.5 to 5 miles east of 27E. 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 cobirds@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.
