Birders,
Strong north winds have grounded arriving Piping Plovers, but three additional individuals arrived at John Martin Reservoir this afternoon. Our statewide count now stands at five. If you want to see these birds, contact me, and I'll try to help. Volatile weather has grounded many shorebirds, but they seem restless. This morning, I showed Tim Crisler and Kim Kusku Piping Plovers and other shorebirds at John Martin. For birds other than Piping Plovers, the hotspot was the north side of the reservoir. While we watched, an alternate-plumaged Short-billed Dowitcher arrived with three Greater Yellowlegs, showed nicely, stayed about three minutes, then flew spontaneously giving the characteristic "tu-tu-tu" call, and was gone for good. The Caspian Tern reported previously was still present, joined by three Long-billed Curlews and one Marbled Godwit. An adult tundrius Peregrine Falcon stirred things up, but they settled back down. We went to Tempel Grove, curiously devoid of migrant land birds (except Harris' Sparrow) despite the unsettled weather. We then went north to "Sweetwater" Lake, the southwestern-most of the string-of-bead reservoirs composing Neesopah Reservoir. The west side of this reservoir, approached from Kiowa County Road 39.5 due south of Eads, is the ONLY part of the Neesopah Reservoir open to the public, but is fortunately the best current location in SE Colorado to see migrant shorebirds. We had 11 species of shorebirds, the best being two Dunlin. All four of the April "peeps" were present, as were both yellowlegs, Semipalmated Plover, Wilson's Phalaropes and hundreds of American Avocets. On my return to John Martin in the late afternoon, I helped another birder add Piping Plover to his life list, and returned to the north side of the reservoir. ALL of the morning birds were gone, except for the Caspian Tern. However, an new wave of shorebirds arrived, along with a two-toned Cattle Egret. Remember, the habitat at John Martin was prepared for Piping Plovers and Least Terns, not birders. Keep a considerable distance from birds and remember to leave the habitat better for your passing. I would have closures up at all historical nest sites by now if it were solely my decision. Respectfully, 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/000901d07977%240d767300%2428635900%24%40net. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
