Ted, Thanks for the interesting report! Did you post the beetle recording to iNaturalist? Can you share a link if you did? I’d like to give it a listen!
Matt *Matthew M Webb* Senior Avian Ecologist and Motus Wildlife Tracking System Coordinator *Bird Conservancy of the Rockies* Motus project #281 <https://motus.org/data/project?id=281> 970.482.1707 x36 (office) 970.405.7155 (mobile - use this number!) www.birdconservancy.org *Connect with us on *Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/birdconservancy> * and *Twitter <https://twitter.com/BirdConservancy> On Mon, Mar 18, 2024 at 5:55 AM Ted Floyd <tedfloy...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hey, all. > > Hannah Floyd and I were down in south-central Colorado for much of the > past week—whilst so many of the rest of you were dealing with the big > winter storm in the Front Range foothills and along the I-25 corridor. But > we got to experience some weather ourselves, including an intense > sandstorm, several prolonged bouts of graupel, and even an impressive "snow > devil." Some quick highlights: > > 1. Lathrop State Park, Huerfano Co., Tues., Mar. 12. Breezy and warm and > kinda slow birdwise, with 4 *Woodhouse scrub-jays,* 2 *juniper titmouses,* > 2 *American bushtits,* 2 *Bewick wrens,* 1 *curve-billed thrasher,* and > the first of the many hundreds, perhaps 1,000+, *mountain bluebirds* that > we would see during our expedition. Also a nice showing by green claybank > tiger beetles, *Cicindela denverensis*; we succeeded in audio-recording > their sonations!—a first for us, for sure, and perhaps for anyone. > > 2. Great Sand Dunes National Park, Alamosa Co., Tues., Mar. 12. Arriving > there at sundown and climbing the dunes during a sandstorm was > memorable—but also unconducive to birding. We saw and heard nothing! > > 3. Medano Ranch [PRIVATE], Alamosa Co. On Wed., Mar. 13, as snow squalls > were coming down off the Sangre de Cristo range, a singing > *loggerhead shrike,* 1 *sage thrasher,* and at least 7 *sagebrush > sparrows.* On Thurs., Mar. 14, in heavy snow, 3 northbound *killdeer,* a > *golden > eagle,* the famous *ferruginous hawk x red-tailed hawk,* back now for the > 7th year; and an enchanting North American porcupine, *Erethizon dorsatum*, > covered in snow and watching our group from just above eye level in an old > willow. > > 4. Smith Reservoir State Wildlife Area [FEE, PERMIT], Costilla Co., Wed., > Mar. 13. In rain, sleet, graupel, and then snow flurries, large numbers and > a good diversity of ducks, including 100+ *northern pintails,* 150+ *common > mergansers,* and 1 *red-breasted merganser;* 3,500+ *sandhill cranes;* 1 > *Wilson > snipe;* and 2 *merlins.* > > 5. Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge, Rio Grande Co. On Thurs., Mar. > 14, in on-and-off snow squalls and then a steadier snow, 4 *cinnamon > teal, *40+* ruddy ducks,* and 2 more merlins. On Sat., Mar. 16, in bright > sunshine and then heavy graupel, an amazing anserine showing, with 13 *snow > geese,* 4 *greater white-fronted geese, *4,500 *cackling geese* (their > numbers at the refuge have gone off the charts in recent years), a few > *"lesser" > Canada geese* still hanging on, 2 *Anser x Branta hybrids,* and, just off > the refuge, 5 *domestic swan ("Chinese") geese;* *bald eagles* at a nest; > and 4 *marsh wrens.* > > 6. Home Lake, Rio Grande Co., Fri., Mar. 15. In bright sunshine, 125+ > *gadwalls;* early shorebirds including 1 female *American avocet* and 6 > *greater > yellowlegses;* 5 *American white pelicans;* and wonderful viewing of a > pair of muskrats, *Ondatra zibethicus*. > > 7. Lane 5, Alamosa Co., Fri., Mar. 15, & Sat., Mar. 16. Roadside stops > produced hundreds more (but not thousands) of sandhill cranes, a *ferruginous > hawk* and a *prairie falcon,* and large roadside flocks of mountain > bluebirds and especially *horned larks. * > > 8. Zapata Ranch [PRIVATE], Alamosa Co., Sat., Mar. 16. Under cloudy skies, > 2 marvelous singing *long-eared owls,* including one in a nearby juniper; > 5 *great horned owls;* 40+ *pinyon jays;* surprisingly, two pairs of > nest-excavating *pygmy nuthatches* (the habitat here does not seem > suitable for them); and our only *western bluebird* of the trip amid > several mountain bluebirds. > > 9. Center, Saguache Co., Sun. Mar. 17. After a promisingly mild and sunny > start to the morning, overcast with flurries, and our first and only *Say > phoebe* of the trip; thought we mighta had a few tree swallows there, > too, but not sure. > > 10. Russell Lakes State Wildlife Area, Saguache Co., Sun., Mar. 17. Under > cloudy and cool conditions with snow squalls nearby, a likely Mallard x > Mexican Duck intergrade, 1 notably pale *Streptopelia collared-dove,* > golden and bald eagles, 2 agonistic loggerhead shries, a marsh wren, a > screeching *great-tailed grackle,* and adult male winter midges, *Diamesa > mendotae*. > > 11. Saguache, Saguache Co., Sun., Mar. 17. In a snow squall, an exuberant > *Cassin > finch.* > > 12. Como, Park Co., Sun., Mar. 17. In off-and-on overcast and sunshine, > with bright glare in the deep snow, 3 *Hepburn rosy-finches,* 2 *nominate > (tephrocotis) gray-crowned rosy-finches,* 1 *brown-capped rosy-finch,* > and 1 *pine siskin.* > > Ted Floyd > Lafayette, Boulder Co. > > -- > -- > 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 > For more options, visit this group at > > https://link.edgepilot.com/s/433f978c/qZD_-mkydkaRjB31373pMQ?u=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://link.edgepilot.com/s/3e7b9f0e/pxxaAUdw4EWhcvcSoxe9BA?u=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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://link.edgepilot.com/s/fb365b5b/aCrc7pnzUEqnfCfFhWbTSQ?u=https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAGk944eCpK9VQmK%252BOStVM7Bbx_FRS-%252BqScBiFdc%253DKJBm-pB%252BpA%2540mail.gmail.com > <https://link.edgepilot.com/s/7e63ce5c/OGmT3z6C1EaFzlS0kXfI-w?u=https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAGk944eCpK9VQmK%252BOStVM7Bbx_FRS-%252BqScBiFdc%253DKJBm-pB%252BpA%2540mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email%26utm_source=footer> > . > -- -- 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 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAOZHPtyJmA9N6D5RL1FPSBRS7Xo9p%2BUcYWqRi0itOUwtWJs%3DCg%40mail.gmail.com.
