The elevation for the Cheesman BBS route spans 6800 to 7800 feet. I think the
bird changes relate to habitat more than to refugees from Golden Gate.
Certainly the Rock Wrens have populated the Hayman Fire area. This, even 15
years later, sports bare hillsides and grass-covered hillsides with many
standing dead trees but, for the Rock Wrens, meadow-like hillsides and on the
ground, dead trees lying at all angles, and also has exposed rock
outcroppings.
The Green-tailed towhees sing from fire-tinged hillsides which have some
shrubs.
The Hammond's Flycatchers used to inhabit the ponderosa woodlands along the
first part of the route, the part that the Hayman fire changed drastically into
Rock Wren habitat. Their habitat is gone gone gone.
Hugh Kingery
Franktown, CO
-----Original Message-----
From: Paula Hansley <[email protected]>
To: ouzels8 <[email protected]>; CObirds <[email protected]>
Sent: Sun, Jul 2, 2017 10:10 pm
Subject: Re: green-tailed towhees and rock wrens
I have counted many fewer green-tailed towhees and some other species (i. e.,
Dusky and Hammond's flycatchers in Golden Gate Canyon State Park and upper Coal
Creek Canyon where there was nearly 4' of snow in late May. Perhaps they moved
to lower altitudes? Same could be true of rock wrens.
Paula
Sent from my iPhone
On Jul 2, 2017, at 3:35 PM, 'Hugh Kingery' via Colorado Birds
<[email protected]> wrote:
A miscellany of observations:
A Rufous Hummingbird visited the Denver Audubon Nature Center July 2. Seen by
the Denver Audubon group on Walk the Wetlands.
A Lark Bunting seen east of Castle Rock on Upper Lake Gulch Road, June 30, by
Sharon Hines. Apropos of Jared Del Rosso's 2 observations in western Arapahoe
County the same day.
On our Cheesman Lake BBS route, June 30, we heard/saw
23 Green-tailed Towhees -- 5 times the previous high count -- and
16 Rock Wrens, 3 times the previous high count.
Why the high towhee numbers I'm not sure (unless I've improved at identifying
its song) but Rock Wrens have increased due to Habitat change. They have
burgeoned in the aftermath of the 2002 Hayman Fire, and to a lesser extent, the
1996 Buffalo Creek Fire.
We also counted 31 Western Tanagers, not a record but still a high count
and 30 Broad-tailed Humm.
Hugh Kingery
Franktown, CO
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