Greetings,
Yesterday, Mark Peterson, Brandon Percival, Tim Smart, and I birded Yuma County, mostly around Bonny Lake. It was wonderfully warm and not terribly breezy. Birds were spotty, some places seemingly bird-free zones, other spots jumping. My comments on why I believe various birds below are of interest may be in error in places due to my lack of experience here in CO. Also, my brain is somewhat fried (beyond normal, that is), so I apologize for misspellings and such) We started at Beecher Island, where our highlights were: 1 Eastern Phoebe (a bit late) 9 Field Sparrows (a goodly count) 2 White-throated Sparrows (they seem to be everywhere out east now) 1 Western Tanager (late and well east) Republican SWA (Hutton Easement) near Hale; otherwise known as "Pipit Hill" 1 SPRAGUE'S PIPIT (seems to be annual here around this date from what I've been told) 27 CC Longspurs (reasonable count for date/location) Republican SWA (near Hale, s. side of river) YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (juvenile, photographed) 3 White-throated Sparrows Bonny Lake 2 CHIHUAHUAN RAVENS (observed for some time in good light, moderate distance. Bill size/shape/feathering very good for Chihuahuan vs. Common Raven; all observers agree upon ID. Birds were out on flats apparently eating dead fish) 1 Green-tailed Towhee (good for so far east. On n. side; same place where RS Hawk was two weeks ago) 1 Grasshopper Sparrow (somewhat late) 3 White-throated Sparrows N. of Wray, US 385 and Yuma CR 45 On YCR 45, just e. of US 385, we observed 17 Greater Prairie-Chickens feeding in corn-stubble fields adjacent to natural habitat. These sites were very close to US 385 (the first maybe .25 miles?). In this same general area, around sunset, we had 1020 Sandhill Cranes fly by heading south. Also, usual specialties were seen with Red-bellied Woodpeckers at the Republican SWA near Wray and at Bonny. Also, 3 N Cardinals near Foster Cmpgrnd at Bonny. Finally, we had another presumed "eastern" White-crowned Sparrow, this one at Beecher Island (with more today). Good Birding, Steven 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.
