Hi all,
My brother and I spent the last few days birding the mountains and found a few interesting species. Below is a summary (albeit rather lengthy) of the highlights. Lake County Crystal Lake: Full of waterfowl including good numbers of Lesser Scaup and a Western Grebe that tripped the filter. In the surrounding sagebrush flats we also found an early Sage Thrasher and several Vesper Sparrow. Twin Lakes: Mostly iced over. The sliver of open water had a large flock of Western Grebe (114). Also present was a rare (for Lake Co.) Canvasback. Chaffee County Clear Creek Reservoir: Frozen except for the far western side where waterfowl were congregating, including a stunning male Wood Duck. The major highlights were a male Mallard x Mexican Duck and a pair of Red-breasted Merganser. Field along CR 160: 11 continuing Long-billed Curlew. Sands Lake SWA: A stroll around the pond yielded an assortment of ducks, a Savannah Sparrow (perhaps a tad early for the mountains), and a flock of Tree and VG Swallows. Gunnison County McCabe Lane Wetlands: The highlight was an adult Black-crowned Night Heron that flushed from the edge of one of the ponds. Also of note was a Merlin near the parking lot. Blue Mesa Reservoir: We birded the far eastern corner of the reservoir which required a ½ mile slog across the exposed lakebed to get to the water’s edge. There were good numbers of Franklin’s, Ring-billed, and California Gulls, a smattering of ducks including another Mallard x Mexican Duck, and eight Bald Eagles. Also noteworthy was a flock of eight Western Sandpipers and six Least Sandpipers. Saguache County Saguache (town): The eastern corner of the town had lots of activity including an Evening Grosbeak, several Lincoln’s Sparrow, and a rare Blue Jay. The most unusual bird was the San Luis Valley’s first eBird record of an Eastern Phoebe at the intersection of Christy Ave and 11th St. Rio Grande County Home Lake SWA: As John Rawinski mentioned in an earlier post, Home Lake is being dredged which is resulting in fantastic but ephemeral shorebird habitat. Of note was a Western Sandpiper, two Long-billed Dowitcher, 47 American Avocet, 13 Greater Yellowlegs, and 24 Lesser Yellowlegs. Monte Vista NWR: A large Tree Swallow flock had an early Northern Rough-winged Swallow and Bank Swallow. Also of interest was a flock of lingering Cackling Geese. Alamosa County Wetlands along Riverwood Dr: We noticed this place on Google Maps and thought it’d be worth a check. It did not disappoint! A Black-necked Stilt and several Long-billed Dowitchers were on the W side of the road while a Great-tailed Grackle serenaded us from nearby. San Luis Lakes SWA: The expansive mudflats held a Black-necked Stilt, three Baird’s Sandpiper, three Western Sandpipers, a Least Sandpiper, and many avocets. Also of note were two Bonaparte’s Gulls. Park County Antero Reservoir: Mostly frozen except for the far SE corner. In this pocket of open water were many ducks, most noteworthy of which was a male Mexican Duck. Also in the area were 13 American Avocets, two Greater Yellowlegs, and a pair of Wood Ducks. The grasslands nearby had an early (for Park Co.) Lincoln’s Sparrow. Overall it was a fantastic trip! Nice to see some migrants beginning to trickle through the mountains. All of the aforementioned species have/will be entered into eBird with an accompanying description. Good Birding, Jack Bushong, Louisville -- -- 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?hl=en?hl=en * 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/CFO/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/91628b37-2536-4f1a-8c07-3732e32040ecn%40googlegroups.com.
