Greetings All,
Cassin's Sparrows: I birded the road heading north from Hwy 36 (which connects Lyons and Estes Park) that is the continuation of Apple Valley Road. In other words, heading towards Estes Park from Lyons on Hwy 36, you'll come across two left turns labelled "Apple Valley Road." At the westernmost of these, turn north instead of south. In about 2 miles, you will enter Larimer County. Within the next mile, I had 2 Cassin's Sparrows on fence posts in the early morning (around 6-6:30am) along with a number of Vesper Sparrows. American Redstart. Singing about 1/2 mile south of Hwy 36 on the easternmost turnoff onto Apple Valley Road. Total of 17 Gray Catbirds and 25 YB Chats for the morning was fun as well. All Warbling Vireos in this area were (and have been) westerns, but the avifauna is more montane that it is at Teller Farms or Walden Ponds, with birds such as Pygmy Nuthatch, Steller's Jay, and Canyon Wren present. All of the Downy Woodpeckers have been eastern or indeterminate (between eastern and montane forms). By the time one enters Larimer County on Hwy 36, the switch to montane Downys has pretty much been made, as far as I can tell, but then again, the dominant habitat has switched from broadleaf riparian to pine. Good Luck Birding, Steve Mlodinow Longmont, CO -- 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.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
