December 14 to December 25, 2007
Each year the Colorado Birding Society conducts a series of Christmas Counts. They are separate from the counts sponsored by the Audubon Society. Sort of a protest against the fee charged for their counts.
We decided to take turns describing our experiences on the five Christmas Counts conducted by the Colorado Birding Society. We hope some enjoy our accounts.
December 17
Pawnee National Grasslands: Bill Cryder
I guess I will start. The area received a fair amount of snow the few days prior to our count. Winds were 20+ mph; it felt cold all day. They decided to reprise this count which was conducted only once before about 5 or 6 years ago.
A friend of Richard called on 12/14 and said that he had several Sharp-tailed Grouse on his property. That ranch was inside of our count circle. The grouse made a good motivation to do this count. It helped in getting volunteers anyway.
Count circles have 15 mile diameters. The Pawnee National Grasslands circle centers at Weld County Roads 98 & 73.
In all we had 10 birders plus 7 feeder watchers, total birder hours 152, mileage driven while birding 182, miles walked only about 12 miles reduced because of the snow and cold.
Highlights:
Sharp-tailed Grouse (2) private ranch
Long-eared Owl (6, 2 locations) Pawnee National Grasslands
Short-eared Owl (1 each at 2 private ranches)
Common Redpoll (Briggsdale)
Barn Owl (private ranch)
Totals: 49 species; 32,458 birds.
December 18: Richard Stevens
The next CBC was scheduled for Wray on 12/20. We headed to the Crook area on 12/18 to scout for the Tamarack Ranch Wildlife CBC scheduled for 12/21.
Wandering around Sedgwick we watched a Short-eared Owl fly up and down Sedgwick Draw before sunrise. A Red-bellied Woodpecker was seen at the cemetery. A flock of 14 American Tree Sparrows, 9 White-crowned Sparrows, and 2 Song Sparrows were also there.
At a friend's ranch we found 2 Long-eared Owls in his windbreak. His feeders were being visited by a female Purple Finch. The cattails in his fields had 2 Common Redpolls!
He pointed out that a neighborhood also had 2 Purple Finches visiting his feeders. We did not take the time to confirm that, but the report sounded good.
Sedgwick-Bar Wildlife Area: We stopped here and found 2 Eastern Bluebirds around the parking area. A short walk down the riparian area added a Red-bellied Woodpecker to our day list.
Birds in Ovid were scarce. We were not able to relocate the White-winged Dove or Purple Finch reported by Henry Armknecht. Eurasian Collared-Doves were fairly easy to find however. We did find a White-throated Sparrow in the thickets at the Ovid Sewage Ponds.
Our birding day ended at Roger Danka's Ranch in Sedgwick County. He has had a Purple Finch visiting his feeders since 10/27. He had an eastern race Fox Sparrow show up yesterday and it reappeared for us. The Eastern Screech-Owls on his property did not disappoint, they called shortly after dark.
December 19: Richard Stevens
Most people decided to rest today. Bryan Ehlmann and I headed south to Wray to scout for tomorrow's CBC.
We started out early enough to drive the Marks Butte Area of Sedgwick County before sunrise. Our hope was to find a Greater Prairie-Chicken or Sharp-tailed Grouse. Neither was found. We did see tracks that were not Ring-necked Pheasants. They could be in the area. Marks Butte is the western end of Sand Draw.
At Sand Draw Wildlife Area we missed the Harris's Sparrows that have been around for a month. We did see a Field Sparrow along the back fence line. A Great Horned Owl flew out of the tall evergreen trees along the northwestern corner.
Once in Wray we drove by Stalker Ponds and the Wray Fishing Unit. Bryan pointed picked out the red of a male Northern Cardinal at Stalker Ponds.
Sandsage Wildlife Area had quite a few sparrows. They were however White-crowned, Song, and American Tree Sparrows. Two Great Horned Owls called near dusk.
We met up with the rest of our group for dinner and retired for an early morning CBC.
December 20: Wray CBC: Bryan Ehlmann
Oke, dokie. No snow today but the ground was covered. We had 8 birders and 11 feeder watchers. Winds were 15+ mph. Temperatures in the 30s. Birder hours: 146 Miles driven: 210 Miles hiked: 18
The count circle of 7.5 mile radius was centered on Hwy 385 and Yuma CR 40.5.
Highlights:
We started about 2 hours before sunrise and covered 4 separate areas looking for owls. The Weston group found a Barn Owl at an old broken down barn along CR BB. The Stevens group found an Eastern Screech-Owl at Sandsage wla. Great Horned Owls were counted at 3 different groves.
Before sunrise, we all met and drove the CR 45 loop (Hwy 385 to CR 45 to CR NN to CR PP). Two Greater Prairie-Chickens were seen along the side of the road (CR 45 & CR NN).
We then broke into our groups to count.
Two Long-eared Owls were reported by one of our feeder watchers. A Short-eared Owl was seen during count week (along CR NN). It didn't show today.
A male Red-bellied Woodpecker was found at Sandsage wla.
Two Common Ravens were east of CR 45.
Five Red-breasted Nuthatches, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and 18 Mountain Chickadee represented some mountain species.
Bluebirds included 2 Eastern Bluebirds and 10 Mountain Bluebirds. A Western Bluebird was reported during count week.
A Brown Thrasher in Wray and a Northern Mockingbird at Stalker Ponds were both surprises.
Eight Yellow-rumped Warblers and 2 Common Yellowthroats represented the warblers.
A Savannah Sparrow was seen at Sandsage along with 2 White-throated Sparrows. A Harris's Sparrow visited a feeder in Wray.
Nine Northern Cardinals (7 males and 2 females) were reported around Wray. The male at Stalker Ponds was during count week.
One Yellow-headed Blackbird was with 120 Red-winged Blackbirds near a pond on the Bledsoe Ranch.
A female Purple Finch was also reported at a town feeder. All of us got to see this bird.
Totals: 79 species; 5723 birds (count week birds are not included).
December 21: Gary Weston
Tamarack Ranch/Jumbo/Red Lion CBC
It snowed the night before and the day after this count. We had driven back from Wray and arrived at the Danka ranch around midnight. Some of us who will remain unnamed did not start counting until 8:00am. Four of us went owling around 4:00 am.
The Count Circle is at CR 89, south of Hwy 138. As a result, only a Logan County section of Jumbo Reservoir is included in the count circle. We had 10 birders and 4 feeder watchers. Birder hours: 112 Mileage driven: 122 Miles walked: 7
Because of the snow, we tried something different. We did point counts aided by scopes from our car windows. We spent about 15 minutes at each station, but could move on if no birds were seen.
Highlights:
Both a Sora and Virginia Rail were seen at Little Jumbo Reservoir. A Yellowlegs species was not identified to species.
Four Eastern Screech-Owls answered our playback recordings before sunrise. One Long-eared Owl was found by the Ehlmann group. Later we all went back and relocated the owl.
Nine Red-bellied Woodpeckers were found flying about the cottonwoods at Tamarack Ranch WLA.
Two Field Sparrows and one White-throated Sparrow were the only rare sparrows seen.
Two Northern Cardinals were found near the old Ranger's home.
Total: 71 species; 14,194 individuals
December 22: Richard Stevens
Today we rested back at Roger Danka's Ranch. Bryan, the Gary's and I drove the eastern border from the northeast corner down to Highway 6, then west to Holyoke and back north.
We ran into flocks of American Pipits at two different fields on sunflowers. We did not expect any Sprague's Pipits, but we kept our eyes open for them.
Horned Larks were plentiful. Two dozen Lapland Longspurs were found at a dried up pond. To our surprise a McCown's Longspur was with them. Perhaps a Sprague's Pipit could be a stray also?
We really would have liked to find an Eastern Meadowlark. I read much about the Eastern Meadowlarks in Nebraska. The possibility of one wintering in Colorado is good; we never found one however.
Raptors were in average numbers. Not as many as I have encountered in past years.
We talked to several landowners along our trek. One talked about a really red "House Finch". When we showed him a picture of a Purple Finch, he said that was what he had coming to his feeders in Alvin. We received an invitation to come over and look and sure enough he had an adult male Purple Finch. He thought that it had showed up on December 8th and had been coming everyday since.
I gave him a Field guide which he thumbed through as we ate some of his wife's chili. He also said that he had seen 2 White-throated Sparrows and a Harris's Sparrow. Neither of them gave by while we were there. Anyway, we made a new friend on the eastern border and hopefully turned him into a birder.
December 23: Julesburg CBC: Roger Danka
Not my thing to type out on a computer, but I will give it a shot. They started a new Julesburg Christmas Count today. The center point of the circle was designated as the intersection of Sedgwick County Roads 32 and 47.
Eight birders participated, we recruited 5 feeder watchers. Total birder hours: 114, miles driven: 132, miles walked: 6
The number one highlight was an American Woodcock discovered by Richard Stevens and Gary Weston. Bryan Ehlmann and Rebecca Kosten were close by and were also able to see it. By the time the rest of us got over to the Platte River, the woodcock had vanished into the weeds. We all went back later, but still could not find it.
One rancher showed Gary Zeeto and me a Barn Owl hidden in the dark corner of his barn of course. Another rancher saw 2 Long-eared Owls which were not around when Bryan Ehlmann and Rebecca Kosten went to look.
One Red-headed Woodpecker was found. Some years I have 2 or 3 stay on my ranch. But I haven't seen this for 4 or 5 years now.
An exciting find for all of us was a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. A friend of mine called to ask about a strange woody. Richard and Bryan thought that he might have a late migrating Red-naped Sapsucker. When they went to check it out, it turned out to be an adult female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. All of us got to see that one.
They thought that the 2 Brown Creepers deserved a mention. Also a Rock Wren that was seen during count week (12/20).
One Common Yellowthroat was our only warbler. Interesting sparrows included 2 Field Sparrows, 1 Harris's Sparrow, 1 Fox Sparrow, 2 White-throated Sparrows,
One female Purple Finch was found by a feeder watcher. We all stopped by and saw this one. Three Red Crossbills were a surprise at Julesburg Wayside Rest Stop. Two Common Redpolls were found at a ranch near DePoorter Lake.
Totals included 69 species and 2847 birds. Not what we expected. It was cold and windy all day.
December 24: Bonny Reservoir CBC: Gary Zeeto
I was made count manager for the Bonny Reservoir CBC. It was a horrible day with winds 25+ mph and gusts into the 35 mph range. Temperatures never reached 30 degrees. But 7 hardy souls gave it a try. We also found 3 feeder watchers.
Bonny Reservoir is not what it once was. Water levels are sadly terrible. The once great birding spot is a shadow of itself. The campgrounds are far from any water. Water birds are greatly reduced in the numbers that once flourished here. We hope Kansas enjoys our water.
One of the rangers reported seeing a Greater Prairie-Chicken during count week. None of us hiked to the area where it was seen. Six Wild Turkeys were seen walking along the road on the south side of the reservoir. Two Northern Bobwhite were kicked up at Hale Ponds.
Owls found included 1 Barn Owl, 4 Eastern Screech-Owls, 2 Long-eared Owls, 1 Short-eared Owl and 6 Great Horned Owls.
Gary Weston and Sue Ehlmann found a Winter Wren at Hale Ponds. It was not relocated in the late afternoon.
A Brown Thrasher was found in the bushes across from a ranch house along CR 4.
Two Bohemian Waxwings were with a flock of 101 Cedar Waxwings near the Hale Store.
Our warbler count was 1 Common Yellowthroat along the Republican River. A flock of 11 Yellow-rumped Warbler was in the same area.
Our sparrow count was 1 Lincoln's Sparrow, 2 White-throated Sparrows, and 2 Field Sparrows.
Richard Stevens and Rebecca Kosten found a pair of Rusty Blackbirds along the Republican River west of Hale Ponds. Five Common Grackles and one Great-tailed Grackle were at a feeder along CR 1.
Two Purple Finches were reported at a feeder northeast of the reservoir. One Common Redpoll and 14 American Goldfinches visited a feeder along CR 4.
Totals: 83 species, only 2359 individuals.
The center of our circle is located 2.0 miles north of LL.5 and CR 4 and 200 yards west of LL.5. This keeps the circle inside Kit Carson County and included Bonny Reservoir, Hale Ponds Wildlife Area and the Allen Grain Company.
December 24-25: Richard Stevens
Snow was predicted for Christmas Day and we hurriedly returned to Denver. The snow had started early and the roads on the trip home were terrible. The snow continued through Christmas night; we were stuck inside on Christmas.
Each year the Colorado Birding Society conducts a series of Christmas Counts. They are separate from the counts sponsored by the Audubon Society. Sort of a protest against the fee charged for their counts.
We decided to take turns describing our experiences on the five Christmas Counts conducted by the Colorado Birding Society. We hope some enjoy our accounts.
December 17
Pawnee National Grasslands: Bill Cryder
I guess I will start. The area received a fair amount of snow the few days prior to our count. Winds were 20+ mph; it felt cold all day. They decided to reprise this count which was conducted only once before about 5 or 6 years ago.
A friend of Richard called on 12/14 and said that he had several Sharp-tailed Grouse on his property. That ranch was inside of our count circle. The grouse made a good motivation to do this count. It helped in getting volunteers anyway.
Count circles have 15 mile diameters. The Pawnee National Grasslands circle centers at Weld County Roads 98 & 73.
In all we had 10 birders plus 7 feeder watchers, total birder hours 152, mileage driven while birding 182, miles walked only about 12 miles reduced because of the snow and cold.
Highlights:
Sharp-tailed Grouse (2) private ranch
Long-eared Owl (6, 2 locations) Pawnee National Grasslands
Short-eared Owl (1 each at 2 private ranches)
Common Redpoll (Briggsdale)
Barn Owl (private ranch)
Totals: 49 species; 32,458 birds.
December 18: Richard Stevens
The next CBC was scheduled for Wray on 12/20. We headed to the Crook area on 12/18 to scout for the Tamarack Ranch Wildlife CBC scheduled for 12/21.
Wandering around Sedgwick we watched a Short-eared Owl fly up and down Sedgwick Draw before sunrise. A Red-bellied Woodpecker was seen at the cemetery. A flock of 14 American Tree Sparrows, 9 White-crowned Sparrows, and 2 Song Sparrows were also there.
At a friend's ranch we found 2 Long-eared Owls in his windbreak. His feeders were being visited by a female Purple Finch. The cattails in his fields had 2 Common Redpolls!
He pointed out that a neighborhood also had 2 Purple Finches visiting his feeders. We did not take the time to confirm that, but the report sounded good.
Sedgwick-Bar Wildlife Area: We stopped here and found 2 Eastern Bluebirds around the parking area. A short walk down the riparian area added a Red-bellied Woodpecker to our day list.
Birds in Ovid were scarce. We were not able to relocate the White-winged Dove or Purple Finch reported by Henry Armknecht. Eurasian Collared-Doves were fairly easy to find however. We did find a White-throated Sparrow in the thickets at the Ovid Sewage Ponds.
Our birding day ended at Roger Danka's Ranch in Sedgwick County. He has had a Purple Finch visiting his feeders since 10/27. He had an eastern race Fox Sparrow show up yesterday and it reappeared for us. The Eastern Screech-Owls on his property did not disappoint, they called shortly after dark.
December 19: Richard Stevens
Most people decided to rest today. Bryan Ehlmann and I headed south to Wray to scout for tomorrow's CBC.
We started out early enough to drive the Marks Butte Area of Sedgwick County before sunrise. Our hope was to find a Greater Prairie-Chicken or Sharp-tailed Grouse. Neither was found. We did see tracks that were not Ring-necked Pheasants. They could be in the area. Marks Butte is the western end of Sand Draw.
At Sand Draw Wildlife Area we missed the Harris's Sparrows that have been around for a month. We did see a Field Sparrow along the back fence line. A Great Horned Owl flew out of the tall evergreen trees along the northwestern corner.
Once in Wray we drove by Stalker Ponds and the Wray Fishing Unit. Bryan pointed picked out the red of a male Northern Cardinal at Stalker Ponds.
Sandsage Wildlife Area had quite a few sparrows. They were however White-crowned, Song, and American Tree Sparrows. Two Great Horned Owls called near dusk.
We met up with the rest of our group for dinner and retired for an early morning CBC.
December 20: Wray CBC: Bryan Ehlmann
Oke, dokie. No snow today but the ground was covered. We had 8 birders and 11 feeder watchers. Winds were 15+ mph. Temperatures in the 30s. Birder hours: 146 Miles driven: 210 Miles hiked: 18
The count circle of 7.5 mile radius was centered on Hwy 385 and Yuma CR 40.5.
Highlights:
We started about 2 hours before sunrise and covered 4 separate areas looking for owls. The Weston group found a Barn Owl at an old broken down barn along CR BB. The Stevens group found an Eastern Screech-Owl at Sandsage wla. Great Horned Owls were counted at 3 different groves.
Before sunrise, we all met and drove the CR 45 loop (Hwy 385 to CR 45 to CR NN to CR PP). Two Greater Prairie-Chickens were seen along the side of the road (CR 45 & CR NN).
We then broke into our groups to count.
Two Long-eared Owls were reported by one of our feeder watchers. A Short-eared Owl was seen during count week (along CR NN). It didn't show today.
A male Red-bellied Woodpecker was found at Sandsage wla.
Two Common Ravens were east of CR 45.
Five Red-breasted Nuthatches, 2 Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and 18 Mountain Chickadee represented some mountain species.
Bluebirds included 2 Eastern Bluebirds and 10 Mountain Bluebirds. A Western Bluebird was reported during count week.
A Brown Thrasher in Wray and a Northern Mockingbird at Stalker Ponds were both surprises.
Eight Yellow-rumped Warblers and 2 Common Yellowthroats represented the warblers.
A Savannah Sparrow was seen at Sandsage along with 2 White-throated Sparrows. A Harris's Sparrow visited a feeder in Wray.
Nine Northern Cardinals (7 males and 2 females) were reported around Wray. The male at Stalker Ponds was during count week.
One Yellow-headed Blackbird was with 120 Red-winged Blackbirds near a pond on the Bledsoe Ranch.
A female Purple Finch was also reported at a town feeder. All of us got to see this bird.
Totals: 79 species; 5723 birds (count week birds are not included).
December 21: Gary Weston
Tamarack Ranch/Jumbo/Red Lion CBC
It snowed the night before and the day after this count. We had driven back from Wray and arrived at the Danka ranch around midnight. Some of us who will remain unnamed did not start counting until 8:00am. Four of us went owling around 4:00 am.
The Count Circle is at CR 89, south of Hwy 138. As a result, only a Logan County section of Jumbo Reservoir is included in the count circle. We had 10 birders and 4 feeder watchers. Birder hours: 112 Mileage driven: 122 Miles walked: 7
Because of the snow, we tried something different. We did point counts aided by scopes from our car windows. We spent about 15 minutes at each station, but could move on if no birds were seen.
Highlights:
Both a Sora and Virginia Rail were seen at Little Jumbo Reservoir. A Yellowlegs species was not identified to species.
Four Eastern Screech-Owls answered our playback recordings before sunrise. One Long-eared Owl was found by the Ehlmann group. Later we all went back and relocated the owl.
Nine Red-bellied Woodpeckers were found flying about the cottonwoods at Tamarack Ranch WLA.
Two Field Sparrows and one White-throated Sparrow were the only rare sparrows seen.
Two Northern Cardinals were found near the old Ranger's home.
Total: 71 species; 14,194 individuals
December 22: Richard Stevens
Today we rested back at Roger Danka's Ranch. Bryan, the Gary's and I drove the eastern border from the northeast corner down to Highway 6, then west to Holyoke and back north.
We ran into flocks of American Pipits at two different fields on sunflowers. We did not expect any Sprague's Pipits, but we kept our eyes open for them.
Horned Larks were plentiful. Two dozen Lapland Longspurs were found at a dried up pond. To our surprise a McCown's Longspur was with them. Perhaps a Sprague's Pipit could be a stray also?
We really would have liked to find an Eastern Meadowlark. I read much about the Eastern Meadowlarks in Nebraska. The possibility of one wintering in Colorado is good; we never found one however.
Raptors were in average numbers. Not as many as I have encountered in past years.
We talked to several landowners along our trek. One talked about a really red "House Finch". When we showed him a picture of a Purple Finch, he said that was what he had coming to his feeders in Alvin. We received an invitation to come over and look and sure enough he had an adult male Purple Finch. He thought that it had showed up on December 8th and had been coming everyday since.
I gave him a Field guide which he thumbed through as we ate some of his wife's chili. He also said that he had seen 2 White-throated Sparrows and a Harris's Sparrow. Neither of them gave by while we were there. Anyway, we made a new friend on the eastern border and hopefully turned him into a birder.
December 23: Julesburg CBC: Roger Danka
Not my thing to type out on a computer, but I will give it a shot. They started a new Julesburg Christmas Count today. The center point of the circle was designated as the intersection of Sedgwick County Roads 32 and 47.
Eight birders participated, we recruited 5 feeder watchers. Total birder hours: 114, miles driven: 132, miles walked: 6
The number one highlight was an American Woodcock discovered by Richard Stevens and Gary Weston. Bryan Ehlmann and Rebecca Kosten were close by and were also able to see it. By the time the rest of us got over to the Platte River, the woodcock had vanished into the weeds. We all went back later, but still could not find it.
One rancher showed Gary Zeeto and me a Barn Owl hidden in the dark corner of his barn of course. Another rancher saw 2 Long-eared Owls which were not around when Bryan Ehlmann and Rebecca Kosten went to look.
One Red-headed Woodpecker was found. Some years I have 2 or 3 stay on my ranch. But I haven't seen this for 4 or 5 years now.
An exciting find for all of us was a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. A friend of mine called to ask about a strange woody. Richard and Bryan thought that he might have a late migrating Red-naped Sapsucker. When they went to check it out, it turned out to be an adult female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. All of us got to see that one.
They thought that the 2 Brown Creepers deserved a mention. Also a Rock Wren that was seen during count week (12/20).
One Common Yellowthroat was our only warbler. Interesting sparrows included 2 Field Sparrows, 1 Harris's Sparrow, 1 Fox Sparrow, 2 White-throated Sparrows,
One female Purple Finch was found by a feeder watcher. We all stopped by and saw this one. Three Red Crossbills were a surprise at Julesburg Wayside Rest Stop. Two Common Redpolls were found at a ranch near DePoorter Lake.
Totals included 69 species and 2847 birds. Not what we expected. It was cold and windy all day.
December 24: Bonny Reservoir CBC: Gary Zeeto
I was made count manager for the Bonny Reservoir CBC. It was a horrible day with winds 25+ mph and gusts into the 35 mph range. Temperatures never reached 30 degrees. But 7 hardy souls gave it a try. We also found 3 feeder watchers.
Bonny Reservoir is not what it once was. Water levels are sadly terrible. The once great birding spot is a shadow of itself. The campgrounds are far from any water. Water birds are greatly reduced in the numbers that once flourished here. We hope Kansas enjoys our water.
One of the rangers reported seeing a Greater Prairie-Chicken during count week. None of us hiked to the area where it was seen. Six Wild Turkeys were seen walking along the road on the south side of the reservoir. Two Northern Bobwhite were kicked up at Hale Ponds.
Owls found included 1 Barn Owl, 4 Eastern Screech-Owls, 2 Long-eared Owls, 1 Short-eared Owl and 6 Great Horned Owls.
Gary Weston and Sue Ehlmann found a Winter Wren at Hale Ponds. It was not relocated in the late afternoon.
A Brown Thrasher was found in the bushes across from a ranch house along CR 4.
Two Bohemian Waxwings were with a flock of 101 Cedar Waxwings near the Hale Store.
Our warbler count was 1 Common Yellowthroat along the Republican River. A flock of 11 Yellow-rumped Warbler was in the same area.
Our sparrow count was 1 Lincoln's Sparrow, 2 White-throated Sparrows, and 2 Field Sparrows.
Richard Stevens and Rebecca Kosten found a pair of Rusty Blackbirds along the Republican River west of Hale Ponds. Five Common Grackles and one Great-tailed Grackle were at a feeder along CR 1.
Two Purple Finches were reported at a feeder northeast of the reservoir. One Common Redpoll and 14 American Goldfinches visited a feeder along CR 4.
Totals: 83 species, only 2359 individuals.
The center of our circle is located 2.0 miles north of LL.5 and CR 4 and 200 yards west of LL.5. This keeps the circle inside Kit Carson County and included Bonny Reservoir, Hale Ponds Wildlife Area and the Allen Grain Company.
December 24-25: Richard Stevens
Snow was predicted for Christmas Day and we hurriedly returned to Denver. The snow had started early and the roads on the trip home were terrible. The snow continued through Christmas night; we were stuck inside on Christmas.
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