Birders,
The John Martin Reservoir CBC took place on December 14th. The results were paradoxical, with notable surprises. We ended up getting 98 species, a bit below our average of about 110 species. I knew going into the count that we were not going to break any records. The unprecedented eight-day cold spell of mid-November (with three separate snowstorms) sent most waterfowl farther south. Although we had five species of Goose (with 50,000 Snow Geese and thousands of Ross’, and three rare Greater White-fronted Geese), we never had fewer species of ducks on a count, missing regulars like Northern Shoveler, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, and any of the rarer diving ducks. On this count, we tallied fewer than 50 Mallards (we have had as many as 12,000 on a single count). We did have a few lingering American White Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants and Western Grebes that somehow survived in the tiny open holes in the ice in November. Gull numbers and species were way down, with only four species (one each Thayer’s and Bonaparte’s). By count day, however, all the ice had melted, and we had 100 percent open water for the first time in Count history, though strangely devoid of birds. Ground and marsh loving passerines like sparrows and longspurs were similarly absent after the deep snows of November, although their habitat existed in good condition by the time of the count. A predicted minor storm for Sunday, December 13th turned out to be rather major, with more than ½ inch of rain transitioning to 2 inches of snow almost as heavy as concrete by midnight preceding count day. The main roads were OK, but back roads, and especially, two-track roads were impassable, getting worse as temperatures neared freezing late Monday morning. We were unable to reach the most isolated parts of the circle. Weather for the count was unexpectedly nice, with calm winds and no fog. We missed some staked-out birds due to access issues. Regulars like Scaled Quail, Killdeer, Ring-necked Pheasant, Mountain Bluebird and Bewick’s Wren were seen in multiples before the front arrived, but avoided detection on Count day. In spite of weather obstacles, the count added four new species: Pine Warbler (found by Brandon Percival and Mark Peterson) on Road HH north of the Ft. Lyon Cemetery, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Peregrine Falcon and Golden-crowned Kinglet. We also upgraded Ladder-backed Woodpecker from Count Week to Count Day. As most CBC compilers can relate to, the addition of even one species to an established count is a big deal. Adding four (five) species went far beyond even our most optimistic projections for what promised to be a jejune count. The highlight of our count was owling after the compilation dinner. Our remaining group of seven hardy souls heard a Short-eared Owl, and, at one undisclosed location, observed a calling Eastern Screech-Owl as two Western Screech-Owls simultaneously called nearby. Bent County ought to be on the maps for the convergence for these two owl species in apparently similar numbers. I can’t say enough about the expertise and dedication of count regulars. As is usual on this count, each group found surprisingly good birds that contributed to the overall count. Some highlights: Greater Roadrunner, Northern Mockingbird, Rock Wren, Canyon Wren, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Western Scrub-Jay. Thanks to each of you for your contributions. Duane Nelson Las Animas, Bent County, CO --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com -- 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/000601d01a28%2464403d50%242cc0b7f0%24%40net. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
