Birders,
Thanks to Mark Peterson for posting the light phase adult Parasitic
Jaeger at Adobe Creek Reservoir this morning. I wanted to post it in
time for birders to potentially chase it today. I found it about a
minute before Janeal Thompson and Gary Koehn showed up for a scheduled
rendezvous. It had that jaeger tendency of putting on a show,
disappearing, then exploding out of nowhere to harass unsuspecting
gulls. On one occasion, Janeal photographed the jaeger carrying a fish
while flying. A gull got too close, and the jaeger dropped the fish,
which was pirated back by the gull. As Homer Simpson might have said:
"Stupid poetic justice!"
We saw two late Sanderlings and one late Baird's Sandpiper, in addition
to seven species of gulls (including one Bonaparte's, one late
Franklin's, one adult Lesser Black-backed, one California and one
Thayer's). Chestnut-collared Longspurs and Lapland Longspurs filled the
air with their calls, as did American Pipits and Horned Larks.
We didn't find anything of note on the north or west side of John
Martin, but drove to the south side of the reservoir looking for better
light conditions to inspect the relatively small number of waterfowl.
From the top of the "East Butte" (2 1/2 miles west of the dam, and just
beyond the waterfowl closure area), we scoped the lake. Near shore
within the closure, I spotted a male Eurasian Wigeon, my first in Bent
County, and an overdue probable first county record.
Below the dam at John Martin Reservoir, we walked upstream along the
Arkansas River from the Hasty Bridge. There is a concrete spillway
halfway between the dam and Hasty Bridge. Below this spillway are two
rocky areas where it would be possible to hop on rocks to cross the
river. At the easternmost rock crossing, we found a flock of eight Rusty
Blackbirds, in all of the spectacular plumages possible this time of
year. They provided incredible photographic possibilities, and may not
be that hard to relocate. Thanks to Jeff Jones for posting about the
possibility of encountering these birds in the area.
Duane Nelson
Las Animas, Bent County, CO
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