On 5/10, I ventured out to Prewitt Reservoir in Washington county. Sorry for the late post.
Bring your life preservers, or super high boots. The canal and lake are so full that places near the road are full with water. Walking which I hardly do anyway, turns into sinking into the mud in most areas. So I decided to just sit at the edge of the dirt road in several places. Like on the front range on saturday 5/9, there was a major fallout at Prewitt Reservoir. Driving through the wildlife area was like watching christmas ornaments hanging on trees and shrubs. Yellow-headed Blackbirds wearing gold, yellow and black, were everywhere. I have NEVER ever, seen so many Yellow-headed Blackbirds in my life. They were sitting in large groups in trees, shrubs, and on the ground all along the border of the lake and in open fields. There must have been AT least 1000, near the boat ramp. Like on the front range, there were gobs of Spotted Towhees, in large groups. I saw one Veery[eastern], and one female TENNESSEE warbler, plus one INDIGO Bunting. Besides these birds were many Bullock's Orioles, many Cedar Waxwings, and gobs of House Wrens. Least Flycatcher and 2 unidentified flycatchers were present along with a Plumeous Vireo. To my surprise were a few Pine Siskin. American Goldfinch, Brown Thrasher, Hermit & Swainson's Thrush were abundant. All of Colorado's common nesting Sparrows were in large numbers. I did see one immature White-crowned Sparrow which I thought was a bit late to be in this plumage. Also seen were Virginia, Yellow, many, many Orange-crowned Warblers, and Yellowthroat. Wood Ducks and all 3 Teal were swimming next to the dirt road. The standing water was too high for phalaropes and I did not see any. The next subject I'm sure will arouse some. I'd love your feedback if you think this is nuts. There is a pond at the entrance to Prewitt, across from the State Wildlife sign[the main southern entrance]. I looked at it and didn't see anything. But then I saw a flock of Dowitchers flying, calling tu,tu,tu while they flew around in circles, and while they banked. They quickly landed in a spot where I could not see them. I waited awhile hoping they would become visible. They were deffinitely Dowitchers, [not Yellowlegs]. All I could guess is some of them were Short-billed Dowitchers, perhaps mixed in with Long-billed. I heard Tu, tu, tu, calling when the birds were flying, but I never heard a Long-billed Dowitcher call, so again I know some were Short-billed Dowitchers. There must have been 9 birds total. I have seen and heard Short-billed in Alaska & off of Florida[alot]. I'm guessing some of the 9 individuals were Short-billed. Who knows how many individuals out of the 9 total were Short-billed though? Happy Birding! Tina Jones Jefferson county, Colorado --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Join us at the 2009 Convention in Alamosa: http://cfo-link.org/convention/index.php 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] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.as/group/cobirds?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
