Thank you Duane Sent from my iPhone
> On Jul 4, 2015, at 7:31 PM, Duane Nelson <[email protected]> wrote: > > Birders, > > I know there is a lot of interest in the nesting status of Piping Plovers and > Least Terns in Colorado this year. Water continues to rise in Southeast > Colorado Reservoirs, and flood warnings persist at vulnerable sites along the > Arkansas River east of Pueblo, especially at Avondale in Pueblo County, and > between La Junta and Las Animas. The Arkansas River has flowed dike-to-dike > in Las Animas for two months now. As a result, we are experiencing rising > water at multiple locations, almost unprecedented in their intensity and > duration. For example, the elevation of John Martin Reservoir stood at 4,111 > feet of elevation on May 7th (45,000 acre-feet of storage). Today, the > elevation is nearing 4,149 feet, with 304,000 acre-feet of water in storage. > Put in perspective, we have received the equivalent of six years of winter > storage water over a period of 8 weeks, an amount that is not far from the > average runoff of the entire San Juan Mountains in an average year. The water > level has risen 38 vertical feet. No amount of work could save the Piping > Plover nests there this year. Water is still rising. John Martin Reservoir > now extends west to Ft. Lyon. The corner at Bent County Roads JJ and 16 was > closed today as it is now underwater. Road JJ at Vans Grove is underwater, as > is JJ just west of Road 19. Adobe Creek Reservoir is full, Horse Creek > Reservoir is nearly full, Neenoshe Reservoir is receiving water, Upper Queens > Reservoir is high, and Lower Queens has a sizeable pool. This is like the > good old days of the late 1990's and early 2000's. > > Many of you heard my presentation on the Status of Piping Plovers and Least > Terns at the CFO Convention in Salida in early June. I highlighted the impact > of this year's flooding in my program, and tried to put an optimistic spin on > the possible impact of flooding on our birds I concluded with three > predictions: > 1. Flooding would reset everything. Since our historic drought began in 2002, > vegetation has encroached on historic nest sites, rodents and predators have > impacted nesting, and our strategy has been coping with habitat loss due to > drought. Now, we need to re-calibrate everything as lakes fill, but habitat > is almost non-existent in July of 2015. Without rising water, Least Terns > were likely gone as a nesting species in Colorado, after a 45 year run of > successful nesting. > 2. Suitable nesting habitat will exist in 2016, providing we deal with salt > cedar trees and other vegetation on islands in southeast Colorado this year. > 3. Maintaining a nesting culture of Piping Plovers and Least Terns in 2015 is > our most important objective for the remainder of 2015, so that the local > nesting culture continues past this year. This is our most important > immediate management task. > > I can report a little bit of good news today. Four pairs of Piping Plovers > originating at John Martin Reservoir earlier in the year found habitat for > nesting on private property in Kiowa County. Two landowners allowed me > unconditional access to their land bordering playas. I have found four Piping > Plover nests since birds were driven away from their Colorado nesting > stronghold of John Martin Reservoir. Today, the first Piping Plover nest of > 2015 hatched. I observed 3 hatch-day young, a sight that seemed improbable > just a few weeks ago. The fourth egg might have hatched by now. Exclosure > cages are working to keep coyotes from depredating eggs so far, and there is > a reasonable chance we might actually have a break-even year after facing > what has seemed to be impossible odds. > > I hope birders respect private property and the welfare of these birds in > this exceptionally tough year. If you absolutely, positively have to see > these birds, let me know, and I'll help you. A better idea: wait 'til next > year. > > Respectfully, > > Duane Nelson > Las Animas, Bent County, CO > -- > 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/559888EB.4020600%40centurytel.net. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- 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/7D6BB9CA-066F-4D52-953F-2CF8B9F3BD04%40aol.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
