That's a great report and for the most part great news. Thanks a lot for getting back to me. Deb
Sent from my iPhone On Aug 5, 2013, at 7:58 PM, Kathy and Jeff Dunning <[email protected]> wrote: > All - > > I spent a fair amount of time on the eastern plains in the past couple > of weeks. As is typical with monsoon flows, the heavy rains come in > pockets. Overall, the plains are looking vastly improved over > conditions in the same areas just this past March-June. > > Deb – you asked about the Karval area: > > Kinney SWA, northeast of Karval, is lush and green and the trip from > Cheraw to Hugo that Joey Kellner and I did on Saturday was green and > dotted with standing water. We stopped at the crossing of South Rush > Creek on Lincoln CR 32 near CR W (NE of Karval). We found singing > Grasshopper and Cassin’s Sparrows on territory as well as Blue > Grosbeak singing up a storm. It felt like June. > > We both wondered if the monsoons triggered either a second breeding > cycle for these species or if they had delayed breeding until the > monsoons began (many birds in AZ do this). Perhaps someone more > expert than I can weigh in on that question. > > The scene looks a bit drier, but still better than March and June in > Otero County. CO 109 south of La Junta passes through areas that look > quite good and others which still seem stressed – more of a mixed bag. > > The worst area I’ve been in the past couple of weeks is area near > Adobe Creek Reservoir (Blue Lake) in Bent/Kiowa Counties. Some rain > obviously hit in this location, but nowhere near enough. > > As for NE Colorado, there has definitely been a lot of moisture. As > of Friday, the ephemeral ponds between Akron and Anton did not yet > have water (that may have changed in the last couple of days). The > grasses on Tamarack Ranch are tall and harboring chiggers (that’s a > first for me in the NE portion of the state). Numerous alfalfa fields > have Dickcissel singing and apparently on territory. > > As a bonus, the shorebirds are showing up – I definitely recommend a > trip out east right now. > > Good birding, > Kathy Mihm Dunning > Denver > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Colorado Birds" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CADLK-O%2BjspxwE5Kz3smnqBPriXhJtt5pDa_bpgjNtADV8sRDyw%40mail.gmail.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/4D3C7F65-5D1E-479A-A286-653CEF0F3268%40aol.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
