I made my first visit back to Elbert since June 1. I hope to keep up some regular visits there into fall and beyond. Even though the county is a direct neighbor to the Denver metro area, it is relatively aves incognito for eBird. Indeed, about 75% of the species I observed yesterday were not previously represented in eBird for the 2nd week of August. This includes Elbert staples like the Pygmy Nuthatch in the pines and the Lark Bunting on the prairie. Even the two of the three common kingbirds were not previously represented on Elbert checklists for the 2nd week of August. Crazy, but not too surprising since there were only 5 checklists submitted for that week before my submissions this evening. All this to say, I find it extra satisfying to bird there, and there is a sense of discovery and contribution. This is, of course, an opportunity in many CO counties, but it is fun for me in a county so close to the state's largest cities.
The morning began with a *Common Poorwill* calling before sunrise west of Elizabeth. I made some stops in the big block of Ponderosa pines east of Elizabeth and found two families of *Dark-eyed (Gray-headed) Juncos* confirming nesting there, a family of *Cordilleran Flycatchers, *two *Plumbeous Vireos *and a *Western Tanager*. Three species of hummers included *Broad-tailed *(common), *Rufous* (handful), and a female *Calliope Hummer*. Type 2 *Red Crossbills* are still numerous there. A family of *Bushtits *was at Kiowa (and earlier a family was west of Elizabeth, and another was in Elizabeth), and a *Yellow-breasted Chat* was singing at the creek at Kiowa. eBird has a hotspot for a pond along Highway 86 east of Kiowa. There are two ponds there along the highway - the first marked as the hotspot with an open shoreline, and the second about 0.6 miles east with trees along the shoreline. Both can be good for birds, and indeed the eastern pond was more interesting this past spring than the one marked as the hotspot. Together these ponds had a nice (for August) cross section of ducks and a decent assortment of shorebirds, plus *Eared Grebe*, *Am. White Pelicans*,*White-faced Ibis* and *Black-crowned Night-Heron*. Best shorebird was a *Stilt Sandpiper*. Another pond further east along Hwy 86 past West Bijou Creek had a *Solitary Sandpiper*. Once I got east of West Bijou Creek I was seeing *Lark Bunting* flocks everywhere. My total number for the morning was probably like 3500. *Lark Sparrows *and *Chipping Sparrows* were numerous, with smallish numbers of *Vespers *and a few *Brewer's* and *Grasshopper Sparrows*. *Sage Thrashers* were here and there, often in multiples. *Horned Larks* were sporadic and not nearly as numerous as I expected. On the other hand, I've never seen so many *Loggerheads Shrikes*! I saw counted 81 in the spots I was surveying, and passed by many others. I suppose these might include some migrants, but there were a number of family groups and Elbert Co seems to be doing its part to shore up this declining species. A *Dickcissel *was at CR 141. CR 102 had a *Mountain Plover* and a *Sora*. A pond along CR 149 north of Matheson had a *Ring-necked Duck* and a surprise female *Hooded Merganser*, plus a calling *Virginia Rail*. (This pond has had something of interest every time I've visited since April) South of Metheson I had 2 *White-winged Doves* and the day's only *Ferruginous Hawk*. I went to Ramah SWA in El Paso, which was birdy and diverse and well worth the time if you are in the area. If nothing else, there were 62 *Black Terns* to be enjoyed, plus a good assortment of shorebirds with *Marbled Godwit*, *Pectoral*, *Baird's*, *Solitary,* *Semipalmated*, and *Western sandpipers*, etc., a variety of ducks, *Eared Grebe*, *White-faced ibis*, and a singing *Dickcissel*. David Suddjian Littleton, 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/CAGj6Roq7koMa49iPvfODdh0G40a-c5zCNENOex8Y3TQfeWDPSQ%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
