Birders,
Afflicted with "Flatland Fever" (when you're a mountain person, but live
on the plains), I headed to Picketwire Canyon in the Comanche Grasslands
south of La Junta. I found the tonic I needed hiking down Withers
Canyon, and up the other side of the canyon to secret cliffs, arches and
hoodoos. I saw typical canyon birds, including lots of Mountain
Bluebirds, Canyon Wren and a cooperative Rufous-crowned Sparrow.
I backtracked, then headed northeast on Otero County Road 802 toward
Vogel Canyon. This road is six miles long, and joins Colorado SH 109.
The Shale Hills escarpment parallels Road 802. At the place where the
road reaches it's highest elevation, the escarpment comes closest to the
road. Just west of here, I observed a single White-throated Swift.
White-throated Swifts nest (but not every year) along the Purgatoire
River, which is probably five miles from the spot I saw the bird. I have
followed reports of this species from Pueblo Reservoir, and think that
my sighting is related to sightings there. They have never been reported
in SE Colorado in winter before, and have now been found at two sites
far from each other. There's a phenomenon going on. I would guess that
there are many more White-throated Swifts in SE Colorado this winter.
Most of the Purgatoire River is in private ownership, so it is not easy
to access many places they might be. It will be interesting to see if
they are detected elsewhere.
I stopped at Vogel Canyon. Last year at this time, I posted that it was
indefinitely closed due to tumbleweeds. Today, I can confirm that it is
open to the public, but that some trails still have deep tumbleweeds on
both sides of the trail. Vogel Canyon is the closest spot to most
Colorado birders seeking specialty birds of SE Colorado canyonlands.
Today, there were lots of Mountain Bluebirds and Pine Siskins (it's an
invasion year here), with lesser numbers of Canyon Towhees, American
Robins and juncos. I was not there at the prime time of day for
localized birds, which almost always take some effort to find.
Finally, I drove back to Las Animas by driving south on 109 past the
Purgatoire River, then heading east on the Road Canyon Road (switchbacks
in Bent County!) I saw a Sage Thrasher just south of the occupied McCloy
ranch. Sage Thrashers don't winter here every year, but when they do,
they can be fairly common. I looked at Setchfield SWA, but didn't find
any atop the wooded ridges just west of the broken Muddy Creek dam in
the center of the SWA. Then again, the sun was beginning to set.
Respectfully,
Duane Nelson
Las Animas, Bent County, CO
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