Birders,
I spent some time in the John Martin Reservoir Christmas Count circle
today. We hold the count as early in the season as possible hoping that
we can do the count before things freeze up. December 14th wasn't early
enough this year. John Martin is 99 percent frozen, but the one hole of
open water still hosts one American White Pelican, four Western Grebes,
and one immature Glaucous Gull.
I drove the Ft. Lyon ditch road this afternoon. Considering the cold and
snow, there are a fair number of lingering landbirds. In the area where
Gageby Creek crosses the Ft. Lyon Canal, I saw one Lincoln's Sparrow,
one Hermit Thrush and three Northern Mockingbirds. At Clayton Point on
the NW edge of John Martin Reservoir, I had a Say's Phoebe hanging
around the cliffs. While they're regular in Pueblo and Canon City in the
winter, this would be new for our count.
No Snowy Owls here so far. Western Scrub-Jays are the irruptive bird
this winter. Mountain Chickadees passed through in November, but I
haven't found any lingering. I've had Field Sparrows in two places.
Usually, we get none.
Duane Nelson
Las Animas, Bent Co. CO
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