The following are highlights of my visit to Lamar and other SECO locales since
last Saturday (I will be heading home Thursday the 14th):
Lamar Area:
Purple Finch (1 bright female) at Willow Valley Subdivision feeder (photos)
1/12
Carolina Wren (1) at the south end of the Lamar Community College Woods (LCC)
seen 1/10 while birding with Stan Oswald
Northern Cardinal (1 male and 1 female) 1/10 at the south end of LCC (Stan
Oswald also saw a second male earlier on 1/10)
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1 male at LCC, another heard (same bird?) at Willow Crk
Pk
Mourning Dove (2) Willow Valley Subdivision
Common Grackle (several) Willow Valley Subdivision (at feeders and under
shrubs)
Great-tailed Grackle (1m) Willow Valley Subdivision
White-breasted Nuthatch (1 of the eastern race) LCC
Merlin (1f "prairie") CR X south of town west of US287
American Pipit (5) Arkansas River at the Prowers Bridge (Bent CR 34.5) 1/10
Northern Shrike (1) Ark River at Prowers Bridge 1/12
Harris's Sparrow (1i) Ark River at Prowers Bridge 1/12
Rough-legged Hawk (at least 6 seen, mostly south of town w of 287)
Ferruginous Hawk (at least 5, including two uncommon dark morphs)
no sapsuckers of any species that I can find this winter in Lamar
[Swift Fox (3) seen on the north side of the Truck Bypass just e of US287]
John Martin Reservoir/Lake Hasty:
Western Scrub-Jay (2) along the railroad tracks s of the dam
Loggerhead Shrike (1) south of the dam
[quite the boreal spectacle of geese looking west from the dam (expansive ice,
holes of water, tens of thousands of "white", thousands of "white-cheeked"]
White-fronted Goose (1 adult) with "white-cheeked" flock of 300 flying e to w
over dam
Northern Pintail (several dozen, maybe a few 100) grazing on something on ice
(what?)
Fort Lyon:
Merlin (along the drive into the Correctional Facility)
Curve-billed Thrasher (1) at jct. of CR15 and GG.5 (house with the guineas)
1/11
Bewick's Wren (1) along the outlet canal
Bent CR15:
Brewer's Blackbird (50) at jct. with CR LL, eating corn from cow pies (yum!)
Brown-headed Cowbird (3) " " "
( " )
Mountain Bluebird (6) CR 15 just north of Highway 50
Carizzo Creek Picnic Area (Baca CR M several miles w of US 287:
Cassin's Finch (5, all brown and white striped)
Chihuahuan Raven (at least 2)
Canyon Towhee (1)
Spotted Towhee (1m)
no Canyon Wren
Cottonwood Canyon (Baca CR's M and J):
Steller's Jay (at least 4)
Brown Creeper (2)
Lewis's Woodpecker (at least 8)
Wild Turkey (17)
Townsend's Solitaire (1)
Belted Kingfisher (1) rare in Baca in winter
Golden Eagle (3) flying together
Western Scrub-Jay (several)
Plain Titmouse (2)
no Ladder-backed Woodpecker (did see 1 Hairy, 1 Downy)
no Rufous-crowned Sparrow (probably present)
Two Buttes Reservoir below the dam:
Carolina Wren (1) on the hillside south of the first pond to the east of the
dam)
Brown Thrasher (1) " " "
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1m) " "
Pine Siskin (flock of 6)
Canyon Wren (1)
Spotted Towhee (heard)
Longspur sp. (5) strongly suspect McCown's, very pale gray, 5 flushed from CR VV
Lapland Longspur (many) in flocks of Horned Larks, particularly CR VV
Loggerhead Shrike (1) south of res (which has water! (albeit frozen)) along CR
VV
Hairy Woodpecker (1)
[Note: no Scaled Quail or Greater Roadrunners seen anywhere, apparently still
"down" in numbers from the big blizzards of Christmas/New Year's 07-08]
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
