I have been down in Lamar for a week, mostly collecting insects for CSU,
somewhat hunting birds. Lamar is in the middle of a drought and has been for
the past several years. All times of year are good for birds pretty much
everywhere in CO, but some times and places are better than others. In late
July on the prairie, migratory species are mostly of the waterfowl or shorebird
variety. Landbird migration is slowly but surely beginning. In Lamar, there
basically is no living water. The prairie and pastures are decidedly brown
(greenish both north and south of here). The Arkansas looks like cow
you-know-what. Pick-ups and ATVs pound every accessible square foot of
riverbank or sandbar. Thurston Res is bone dry and blows like a desert in
winds over 25mph. Ditto King Reservoir and both Queens Reservoirs. Nee Noshe
has some standing water from a freak rain the other day, but it is full of
tumbleweed and did not appear to have a single bird on it because of the
ephemeral nature of its existence. The gravel ponds just n of the Ark River in
Lamar (east side) have no fish and rarely have birds other than loafing
individuals. I have not chased anything or tried to find anything at the
reservoirs west of here like John Martin or the normal destination reservoirs n
of LaJunta (some of which are closed for some reason known only to DPW per Bill
Kaempfer's post).
With the aforementioned excuses, here are the highlights of the visit so far:
Migrants:
Least Flycatcher (seen nw of Riverside Cemetery in Lamar)
Chipping Sparrow (few seen in a mixed flock on a fenceline s of Nee Noshe)
Orchard Oriole (at least 3 seen at various places around town, probably all
post-breeding dispersers)
Calliope Hummingbird (2m seen at a private farmyard north of Lamar east of
Wiley)
Rufous Hummingbird (1m at a private backyard in Willow Valley subdivision)
Baird's Sandpiper (32 seen in a tailing pond east of the Five States Feedlot w
of Lamar at the jct of 50/287)
Red-breasted Nuthatch (almost certain I heard one briefly at Fairmount Cem in
Lamar)
Upland Sandpiper (Janeal Thompson reports hearing one briefly the other night)
Resident landbirds:
White-winged Dove (several in the residential areas of Lamar)
Northern Cardinal (2 females and at least one male at Lamar Community College
Woods)
Warbling Vireo (at least 4 heard at LCC and in the Willow Creek residential
area)
Black-chinned Hummingbird (at least 4 seen at various places including LCC,
Willow Valley, Tempel's Grove (Bent CR35 4 miles n of SS))
Red-bellied Woodpecker (1 heard in Willow Creek Park in Lamar, 1 heard in
Willow Creek subdivision e of the park)
Lesser Goldfinch (heard and seen at various places)
Bullock's Oriole (still a few around)
Blue Grosbeak (heard and seen in several areas)
Eastern Phoebe (1 at Melody Tempel's Grove bridge over CR35 at Fort Lyon Ditch
(which has a bit of water))
[At the extreme south end of LCC, I spooked a raptor which was seen very poorly
and might well have been the Broad-winged Hawk seen in late spring (first
suspected of being a Red-shouldered Hawk). There are also nesting Cooper's
Hawks at LCC and it might have been one of them, too.]
Birds all but absent:
Lark Bunting
Hawks
Misses so far:
Dickcissel
Brown Thrasher (probably are a few at LCC in areas that look full of chiggers)
Cassin's Sparrow
Grasshopper Sparrow
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Myiarchus flycatchers (although pair of Ash-throated Flycatchers has been
reported by Dotti Russell along Bent Canal w of town)
On a trip down to Villegreen (nw of Kim) the other day, the decided highlight
was a pair of Hepatic Tanagers on a hill (known locally as "Officer Hill" but
dubbed "Whiptail Hill" (it has both Triploid and Diploid Checkered Whiptails)
by my son Matt and I during our running of the Villegreen BBS this past June)
on Las Animas CR177.9 about 13 miles n of Villegreen (or about 1 m w of the jct
of 177.9 with 727). There are some serious switchbacks on this hill and the
birds were near the most obvious car pullout (north side) along the steep part
of the hill. The land on both sides is private but with luck, the birds were
viewable from the road - they came close when I did a random spish just for the
heck of it. Dr. Steve told me this works sometimes.).
Total species within a rough 5-mile circle around Lamar: 61
WARNING: chiggers abound in all grassy areas down here at present.
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
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