Birders,
I thank Mark Peterson for posting this message early enough in the day
to allow birders to determine whether to chase this bird.
A bit of background: The first Piping Plover of 2013 showed up on April
8th, a warm day with no hint of the awful weather that was looming. A
second Piping Plover braved sub-freezing weather and wind, and arrived
on April 9th. We could only muster snow showers locally, no help at
alleviating our extreme drought conditions. Four days of sub-freezing
temperatures are exceptional for this part of the state in mid-April,
and by April 10th, ice re-formed on the west end of the reservoir, and
caused a build up of ice on the shores. On April 10th, one of the
plovers was gone, and today, I could find none. They either retreated
back to the south or found shelter elsewhere. With that in mind, I
walked east along the Arkansas River for about a mile below the dam,
hoping to find the prodigal Piping Plovers. I had no luck finding them,
but found a number of shorebird species I would not have expected in the
habitat of a tiny rivulet with a flow of about one cubic-foot-per-second
(cfs). These included Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets, Greater and
Lesser Yellowlegs, Baird's Sandpiper and two cooperative Dunlin.
Clearly, some shorebirds took advantage of the shelter provided along
the river. By this afternoon, the first water release of 2013 (a
whopping 10 cfs) had flooded shorebird habitat.
As I was walking downstream at 9:30 a.m., I noticed a striking black
buteo perching in the tallest Russian Olive about 200 yards east of the
Hasty Bridge right along the river. I got quite close, and noticed the
yellow cere, and lack of mottling on the chest. Naturally, I didn't have
my camera with me as I crashed through saltcedar trees following the
stream. As the bird flushed, I noticed a broad white band on the
underside of the tail, and alternating gray and black bands on the top
of the tail. The wings looked pretty long, and I noticed a two-toned
aspect, gray on the secondaries and primaries with a dark wing lining. I
rushed back to my vehicle to pick up my camera, keeping an eye out for
the bird as it gained elevation. I noticed that it held it's wings in a
dihedral, more pronounced than a Red-tailed Hawk, and exactly like a
Turkey Vulture. It was "tippy", too, as it rocked back and forth. I was
able to get one OK photo from about one mile away. The bird continued to
rise, and work it's way northeast. I don't think it landed again, as
there must have been decent lift as the weather slightly warmed.
The area where the bird flew over centers on a six-mile stretch of the
Arkansas River, with no public access, and no viewing places closer than
two miles on either the north or south sides of the river. I think that,
regrettably, it would take more than luck to re-find this bird.
The exact location where I saw it soaring was near the property line
east of the Hasty Bridge, soaring over a low hill just left (north) of
the visible ranch about a mile east of the Hasty Bridge on the south
side of the Arkansas River.
Respectfully,
Duane Nelson
Las Animas, Bent County, CO
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