Another historical list. Although we've lived out of state for 20+ years now, we still have many cherished memories of birds and birding in Colorado during our formative birding years.
*Location:* Penrose, at about 5300' elevation in foothills, pinyon-juniper, prairie edge, on 10 acres. Situated between Brush Hollow Reservoir (a mile away), and the Arkansas River (maybe 4 miles south of us). The property was part of an old dairy operation in the 1920s, and there was a very seasonal pond/marsh/wetland. Pinyon pine, junipers, cottonwoods, some native buffalo grass habitat, an old irrigation ditch, saltbush, and some other native woody plants that we transplanted. *Time range*: 1982 - 2002 *Total species: * 195 *Style:* Dedicated *Rarest species: Phainopepla - two sightings 9 years apart. *Seen by many folks in our first sighting, a young male or female. That was before most of us were hooked up to the internet, so it was phone tree type communication. It stayed around for several days, so it did allow folks to travel from Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver, Boulder, etc. But the really odd thing - 9 years later, we had an adult male appear at our little fish pond! It was a one-hit wonder, I watched it drinking for less than a minute, and it flew off. I made a frantic phone call to get the word out before being late for work! But I don't know that anyone else was able to refind the bird. *Highlights: * White Pelicans Snowy Egret Great Blue, Green Herons, and Black-crowned Night-Heron White-faced Ibis *Raptors*: 17 species, if you're counting Turkey Vulture Sandhill Crane, "Common" Snipe, Long-billed Curlew Band-tailed Pigeon Yellow-billed Cuckoo *Owls*: 5 species including both Western and Eastern Screech-owl; Burrowing and Long-eared (once each), and an emaciated Flammulated Owl that we found along our drive, took him to the raptor center in Pueblo, but he was too far gone. :-( *Swifts:* Black, Chimney and White-throated *Woodpeckers*: 8 species including Lewis' and Red-headed Gray Flycatcher, Eastern Kingbird *Corvids*: 9 species, including a Clark's Nutcracker; as well as being "Pinyon Jay Central" for a long time - we had a fairly regular flock, and many folks came to get their year or sometimes lifer, many from out of state (thanks to Brandon!). Yellow-throated Vireo Juniper Titmouse (also many folks got their lifer there) *Warblers*: 16 sp, including Palm, Blackpoll, Black and White *Eastern Towhee *(several folks got to see that one, as well) *Dickcissel* *Orchard Oriole * *Most Memorable*: too many to mention! We loved walking the property at least a couple times a day, and all the friends and fellow birders we enjoyed there. We put up two nest boxes for kestrels. Early on, we had both boxes used by two different pairs (one year). After that, it seemed that one box didn't get used (maybe by starlings). But the box out back (closest to our house), was used for many years successfully. When they were nesting, we would severely limit our trips out the back door, and surreptitiously viewed them through a small window, always with delight. Thanks for starting this interesting thread! I've enjoyed reading from old friends as well as folks I know only from the listserve. And a fun trip down memory lane as well. Jim and Rosie Watts now of Tucson, Arizona -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds * All posts should be signed with the poster's full name and city. Include bird species and location in the subject line when appropriate. * Join Colorado Field Ornithologists https://cobirds.org/membership/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAOwPzV_sz68_rcofWgHuS9Cfa09xVNQ7ofu%3DpdAiGjmYMLA_ng%40mail.gmail.com.
