Yesterday I took advantage of the warm temps to make a trip to the Wet Mtn Valley (about 50 miles sw of Canon City) including Lake DeWeese. Just before dusk I was making a quick check of the area below the Lake DeWeese dam when a flock of more than 150 Pinyon Jays flew over. 150 is a very conservative number as I believe there were likely between 175 and 200 jays that flew in some groups. The flight lasted several minutes and was puntuated by occasional soft calls. This is the largest Pinyon Jay flock I have ever seen (and I live surrounded by pinyon-juniper habitat).
As it was so late, I didn't see a lot of other birds in the often very birdy area below the dam. There were 2 American Dippers chasing each other, at least 1 Yellow-rumped Sandpiper and several Song Sparrows. At the other end (west) of the reservoir I found a Pectoral Sandpiper- I thought unusual for a high mountain valley but *Colorado Birds *notes that they are "a casual migrant in mountain parks" and it is on the Custer Co list. Also unusual was that the bird was feeding in water up to it's belly though there isn't any dense vegetation near the water where it is safe for birds to feed (several ATV's drove, illegally, across the shoreline twice while I was there flushing waterfowl and a few other smaller sandpipers feeding there). What really confused me was the reddish base to the bird's bill, a characteristic that I couldn't find on *Birds of North America *online, in *Shorebirds of North America *(by Paulson) or in my field guides. Instead they noted a yellowish, dull greenish or brownish base while this bird clearly through my scope and in my photos has a reddish base (see photos at http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com) . I finally found it noted on "GreenNature.com". So, those of you who see a lot of Pectoral Sandpipers: do you often see a reddish base to their bills? Thanks to those ATV miscreants I didn't have a chance to identify the small sandpipers that didn't return after they were flushed. There were about a half dozen Eared Grebes, 1 Western Grebe, some common waterfowl and a first year (I think) Ringed-billed Gull were on the lake. Temperatures were in the low 70's in this 8,000 foot elevation area--not bad for mid-October. Today I stopped by Brush Hollow Reservoir northwest of Canon City. The water level has dropped to less than 25% but a Clark's Grebe and a female Ruddy Duck found places to dive for food but very little else there. SeEtta Moss Canon City http://BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Colorado Field Ornithologists: http://www.cfo-link.org/ Colorado County Birding: http://www.coloradocountybirding.com/ 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 -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
