Greetings All,
Sorry for the delayed post -- No "megas" as far as state birds for anyone to chase :o) I left my house at 3am yesterday so I could arrive at Flagler SWA (Kit Carson Co) by sunrise. Timing was good, and arrived to most pleasant temperatures and a light breeze, with the sun still behind a hill. During the next 3+ hours, I strolled about looking mostly for landbirds, but there were also a few waterbirds about. The habitat looks good for herons and shorebirds, so this area deserves attention as these birds start to move about. It was a truly impressive morning of birding, and if anyone is interested in dragon/damselflies or butterflies, one could easily spend 5-6 hours here. Anyway, hightlights included: Red Crossbill: One flying back and forth, calling frequently, from trees below dam to trees above dam. Glossy Ibis: One in pond (with 2 WF Ibis) on left as you approach dam Audubon's Warbler: Just plain weird for SE CO in late June Lazuli Bunting: dang far e. for mid-summer Spotted Towhee: Another critter not terribly close to any breeding spots. 2 YB Cuckoos and a Baltimore Oriole, both below dam. At Neegronda, there were nearly 60 Long-billed Curlews and 5 Mountain Plovers, plus a Greater Yellowlegs and a Least Sandpiper. There are some nice patches of shorebird habitat present. At Neenoshe, there were 31+ Mountain Plovers and a similar number of curlews, plus a couple hundred Wilson's Phalaropes (thus all birds dispersing post breeding, or on migration, or both). There were another dozen or so Mountain Plovers at Adobe Creek Res. Every spot had a Black Tern or two. I did stop at Tempel Grove, just to see if anything weird had decided to try and summer. Nada new there, but when I played a Northern Parula recording (one had been singing there for a fair bit this spring), I had a bird come in singing a very similar song. Indeed, the song was identical, except it wasn't buzzy. The bird was a House Wren!!!! At the very spot that the Parula was hanging out at. It is peculiar to some extent that the wren had picked up part some of the parula's song and was imitating it. If seems far odder that it responded so vigorously to the N Parula recording. Good Birding, Steve Mlodinow -- 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.
