Hello birders,
Members of the Colorado Field Ornithologists board visited Trinidad this past
weekend in preparation for the 2012 Convention. We did a lot of birding on the
way there and back.
On Saturday (1/28/12) morning, Bill Kaempfer, Maggie Boswell, Brenda Linfield
and I were treated to the adult HARRIS'S SPARROW and WHITE-THROATED SPARROW at
the Fountain Creek Nature Center in El Paso County.
That same morning, Joe Roller and Larry Modesitt found 8 WHITE-WINGED DOVES in
the Trinidad West neighborhood. The carload mentioned above looked for those
doves several times on Saturday and Sunday, but we could never track them down.
We did find a female MERLIN munching some feathered morsel on top of a
telephone pole in the same area.
On Sunday (1/29/2012), Bill, Maggie, Brenda, Jim Beatty and I made a circuit
from Trinidad west to Stonewall, north to La Veta, and then back east to
Walsenburg. Along Highway 12 west of Trinidad, PINYON JAYS were common. We
found several flocks crossing the road, including one in the town of Stonewall
(Las Animas Co.) that seem to be being fed, as was the flock of WILD TURKEYS in
the driveway.
We stopped at Beverly Jensen's house in La Veta (Huerfano Co.) and enjoyed her
feeder birds. 30 EVENING GROSBEAKS added a splash of color, and a LESSER
GOLDFINCH was maybe slightly unseasonable.
Our best stop was at Lathrop State park. We picked out a dashing male BARROW'S
GOLDENEYE from among the several hundred COMMON GOLDENEYE on Lake Oehm. There
was a small flock of gulls on Lake Oehm that included 1 1st winter THAYER'S, 1
1st winter LESSER BLACK-BACKED, 9 HERRING and 5 RING-BILLED GULLS. The Thayer's
and Lesser Black-backed are potentially the first records from Heurfano County.
When we got to the South Shore Marina at Pueblo Lake SP, an adult GREAT
BLACK-BACKED GULL was right were it was supposed to be on the floating tires.
The wind was picking up, so we couldn't find anything out on the lake itself
(White-winged Scoter, etc.).
We then spent an hour at the Pueblo Nature Center. We could not find the
Northern Cardinal, White-throated Sparrows or Black Phoebes. All well. There
was an immature COOPER'S and an immature SHARP-SHINNED HAWK stalking the are
where those birds have been reported. There were also many humans in the area.
All good excuses why we struck out!
Great birding,
Christian Nunes
Boulder, CO
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