October 13 to 17, 2010
Bryan Ehlmann:
October 13, 2010
Four of us took off for southeastern Colorado. Sparrow migration has been good this season and appears to be in full force.
We departed Denver at 4:00 AM and arrived in Crowley County at sunrise. A hike to the northwest corner of Lake Henry was fruitful. We tried our best to pull a Screech Owl out but had no luck.
A small flock of five Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Blackburnian Warbler, Red-breasted Nuthatch and White-throated Sparrow were found.
Activity on and over the water was limited. A first year Herring Gull was the only uncommon Gull. Two smallish terns were both Forster's Terns.
We enjoyed better luck across the highway at Lake Meredith. An adult Laughing Gull flew along the south shore.
There was a little shorebird activity here. Nine Long-billed Dowitchers, two Greater Yellowlegs and three Lesser Yellowlegs walked the shore. The highlight was emphatically a Sprague's Pipit circling overhead at the southeast parking lot.
It decidedly is the correct time to be along the eastern border in regard to Sprague's Pipit. We eventually would come upon them in five counties! Here's one for Crowley County!
Next we stopped at Ordway Town Reservoir also Crowley County. While we didn't find any warblers in the western trees, we did see a Harris's Sparrow along the south side. A Great Horned Owl called from the northwest corner.
The rest of the afternoon, we searched unsuccessfully for the rare birds (Henslow's Sparrow, Nelson's Sparrow, Smith's Longspur and Reddish Egret) reported on October 7. A couple of Burrowing Owls were found north of highway 50.
October 14, 2010
We stayed the night in La Junta and headed south down highway 109. We stopped at Higbee Cemetery at sunrise. A lone Northern Mockingbird vocalized a few short songs.
Stops at a couple of Wildlife Areas and Vogel Canyon were less than satisfying. A Rufous-crowned Sparrow was seen briefly below the cliffs south of the camping area. A Scaled Quail ran across the road as we were leaving.
No Sprague's Pipits were found in Otero County and we moved on to Baca County. A large flock of McCown's Longspurs included at least two Chestnut-collared Longspurs.
Our raptor list included two Prairie Falcons, one Ferruginous Hawk, nine Red-tailed Hawks, two Swainson's Hawks and two Great Horned Owls.
Flocks of sparrows were seen. They were mostly Vesper Sparrows, a few Brewer's Sparrows and an occasional Clay-colored Sparrow.
A Greater Roadrunner ran across Baca CR 16.
Cottonwood Canyon is always a fun place to visit. We walked the draw south of the "camping area". Richard found a Winter Wren in the drainage just east of the old broken down cabin.
A male Ladder-backed Woodpecker drummed in the dead cottonwoods south of the cabin. A flock of Bushtits flittered about the old cabin also. Resident Bewick's Wrens, Canyon Towhees and Canyon Wrens were also nearby.
We wandered up the draw to the west where Long-eared Owls and some uncommon birds have been recorded in the past. A lone female Ladder-backed Woodpecker and two Bewick's Wrens were it today.
Two Rufous-crowned Sparrows were coaxed out from below the rocks near the cattle guard 1.2 miles east of the "camping area". Three Lewis's Woodpeckers were in the dead snags when we drove back to the "camping area".
At dusk, Richard called in two Western Screech-Owls! A nice ending to our birding day!
October 15, 2010
We stayed the night at a private ranch (friend of Richard). Woke up to two calling Western Screech-Owls. What a great omen! This would turn out to be one of my best Colorado Fall birding days!
We headed out to the Upland Bird Management Area at 5:00 AM, after a great breakfast albeit very fattening. A Short-eared Owl was hovering over the entrance upon our arrival.
The four of us set out at sunrise with radios in hand and spread across the area. Richard really wanted a Sharp-tailed Grouse sighting but that never happened. We also kept our eyes out for new or old tracks of Sharp-tailed Grouse or Greater Prairie-Chickens. Both have been reintroduced to the area, although many years ago now. Richard has been trying to get photos of both tracks. Anyone with either or both, he sure would appreciate seeing them.
All four of us saw Sprague's Pipits flying overhead. As we were 25 yards apart, the pipits may or may not have been the same birds. Their call is very much different from American Pipits, quite easy to distinguish! That's County number two (Crowley, now Baca).
An excited Gary Weston broke radio silence. He had a Baird's Sparrow in his sight. We all got great looks and one blurred photo. Not expecting additional sightings, we departed for nearby Picture Canyon.
A Greater Roadrunner watched from the rocky cliffs as we entered the canyon.
A Rufous-crowned Sparrow ran across the rocky hill about 400 yards south of the parking lot.
The petroglyphs at the end of the canyon have taken abuse by "children". A few can still be recognized; but the juvenile who wrote over them was just dumb.
We continued south to North Canyon. Two Curve-billed Thrashers popped out of the rocky crevasses behind the old stone house.
A Northern Mockingbird sang from top of a rabbit brush near the Oklahoma border. We continued to the spring in North Canyon where many uncommon birds have come for a drink. Only a couple of White-crowned Sparrows were there today.
Next, we drove to the old Campo Lesser Prairie-Chicken Lek. Another Northern Mockingbird was seen at the Cemetery just west of the Lek road.
To stretch our legs, Jay and Richard walked southeast from the cemetery. Gary and I walked the road north of the Lek Road. This is part of Mitchell Draw. Gary and I found a late migrating Cassin's Sparrow. A very plain sparrow, it's not difficult to separate from the other sparrows of the plains.
Richard and Jay found a Cassin's Sparrow of their own. I don't know if two Cassin's Sparrows represent "late migrating" or sparrows in their natural habitat. Only two were found.
We did our "25 yards apart" thing at the southern section of Mitchell Draw. This is accessed from the first road heading south from Baca County Road G and east of the Campo Lek Road.
Gary got a quick look at a scurrying Lesser Prairie-Chicken; but the rest of us missed it. Richard found our second Baird's Sparrow of the trip. It was 600 yards south of CR G and 12 yards west of the 4 wheel drive track mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Back in our car, we wandered the county roads along the eastern Colorado border. Two Burrowing Owls were still around. We stopped at a private barn of another friend of Richard and saw a Barn Owl hunkered in a dark corner. Two flocks of pipits were only American Pipits.
Stops at three riparian areas didn't find previously Eastern Screech-Owls found by Richard.
We stretched our legs at Burchfield Wildlife Area, Baca County and were delighted to do so. A Field Sparrow was with 30 or so White-crowned Sparrows and two Brewer's Sparrows near the parking lot.
Bryan found a Blue-headed Vireo moving about the cottonwoods southeast of the parking lot. There might have been two but we were not able to pin them both down at the same time.
Our arrival at Two Buttes Reservoir was not until dusk. Few birds moved about below the dam. It was too late to search for sparrows, pipits and longspurs along the south side of the reservoir. A Barn Owl screeched repeatedly about 25 minutes after sunset! Another nice ending to a great birding day!
October 16, 2010
We stayed on the night in Lamar and visited several "hot spots" early in the morning. The best bird of the day was found early at Riverside Cemetery. That was a Blue-headed Vireo. Birding was slow at Lamar Community College woods and Fairmount Cemetery.
The Great Plains Reservoirs in Kiowa County were so close; we had to check them over. Birds were few, but we did see a Harris's Sparrow at Upper Queens Reservoir.
A hunt for the rare sparrows reported last week at Thurston Reservoir only turned up the White-throated Sparrow, not that uncommon on the eastern plains.
Mike Higbee Wildlife Area, which is usually good for rare sparrows, was also slow. A Baird's Sparrow was recorded here a few years ago.
We drove to the eastern Colorado border, found a Field Sparrow at the Holly Rest Stop and then turned north. Our target birds were again Sprague's Pipits and a wandering Eastern Meadowlark.
Several times, we stopped and walked the county roads, finally having success along Prowers County Road 39, between RR and VV (that's V V not W).
We didn't turn up any Sprague's Pipits in Kiowa, Cheyenne or Kit Carson Counties; not for the lack of trying.
A vote was taken and unanimously it was decided to extend our trip another day!
October 17, 2010
We stayed the night in Burlington and went to Bonny Reservoir, Yuma County at first light. Richard got an Eastern Screech-Owl to respond to a recording played north of Hale Ponds.
The four of us spread out 25 yards each and walked the fields south of Hale Ponds. Two Sprague's Pipits were found within 30 minutes and less than 1000 yards south of Yuma County Road 4. A male Red-bellied Woodpecker was met right along the road.
We walked the Republican River from the western Hale Pond to the Kansas border. A Swamp Sparrow was north of the eastern Hale Pond. A Common Yellowthroat between Hale Ponds and Kansas.
After going into Kansas and saying "Hi" to another of Richard's friends, we drove to Wagon Wheel Campgrounds and the picnic area, which were absence of birds.
The walk to Hopper Ponds was better. A male Eastern Towhee jumped out of the brush and gave us great looks at its unspotted body!
We searched only 10 minutes for Sprague's Pipits and Greater Prairie-Chickens north of Bonny Reservoir and west of LL.5. None were found and we moved on northward.
Because of our success in finding Sprague's Pipits, they are all over the Colorado's eastern plains this year, we decided to continue north and look for them in other counties. Richard also came up with an idea to search for Sharp-tailed Grouse or Greater Prairie-Chickens at Tamarack Ranch Wildlife Area in Logan County.
We continued our trip along the eastern county roads into Sedgwick County. A Sprague's Pipit was relocated along Sedgwick County Road 59. There were no Sprague's Pipits in Phillips County :) Well, we didn't find any.
Our troupe then turned west to Fleming. We still had a few hours before sunset and drove the county roads south of Fleming. We found a Sprague's Pipit along CR 30, west of CR 77 and continued to Mark's Butte. Greater Prairie-Chickens have been reported in the area on two occasions in the past 10 years. After missing on prairie-chickens, we drove to the southern sections of Tamarack Ranch Wildlife Area.
Richard's plan was to split up and park ourselves at two high points in the Wildlife Area. Any wandering prairie-chickens or Sharp-tailed Grouse maybe could be seen near dusk.
Richard and Gary took a hill overlooking a lek north of Logan County Roads 46 and 89. Jay and I sat atop the hill west of the windmill, northwest of Highway 55 and CR 46.
Richard and Gary saw a Greater Prairie-Chicken foraging about 10 minutes after sunset. Look inspection and slightly blurred photos showed a Greater Prairie-Chicken and not the wanted Plains Sharp-tailed Grouse.
Jay and I watched a Short-eared Owl fly back and forth across the sandy plains. No chickens or grouse for our list.
After dark, we stopped at northern sections 6 to 7, Tamarack Ranch Wildlife Area. An Eastern Screech-Owl responded to our recordings.
Bryan Ehlmann:
October 13, 2010
Four of us took off for southeastern Colorado. Sparrow migration has been good this season and appears to be in full force.
We departed Denver at 4:00 AM and arrived in Crowley County at sunrise. A hike to the northwest corner of Lake Henry was fruitful. We tried our best to pull a Screech Owl out but had no luck.
A small flock of five Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Blackburnian Warbler, Red-breasted Nuthatch and White-throated Sparrow were found.
Activity on and over the water was limited. A first year Herring Gull was the only uncommon Gull. Two smallish terns were both Forster's Terns.
We enjoyed better luck across the highway at Lake Meredith. An adult Laughing Gull flew along the south shore.
There was a little shorebird activity here. Nine Long-billed Dowitchers, two Greater Yellowlegs and three Lesser Yellowlegs walked the shore. The highlight was emphatically a Sprague's Pipit circling overhead at the southeast parking lot.
It decidedly is the correct time to be along the eastern border in regard to Sprague's Pipit. We eventually would come upon them in five counties! Here's one for Crowley County!
Next we stopped at Ordway Town Reservoir also Crowley County. While we didn't find any warblers in the western trees, we did see a Harris's Sparrow along the south side. A Great Horned Owl called from the northwest corner.
The rest of the afternoon, we searched unsuccessfully for the rare birds (Henslow's Sparrow, Nelson's Sparrow, Smith's Longspur and Reddish Egret) reported on October 7. A couple of Burrowing Owls were found north of highway 50.
October 14, 2010
We stayed the night in La Junta and headed south down highway 109. We stopped at Higbee Cemetery at sunrise. A lone Northern Mockingbird vocalized a few short songs.
Stops at a couple of Wildlife Areas and Vogel Canyon were less than satisfying. A Rufous-crowned Sparrow was seen briefly below the cliffs south of the camping area. A Scaled Quail ran across the road as we were leaving.
No Sprague's Pipits were found in Otero County and we moved on to Baca County. A large flock of McCown's Longspurs included at least two Chestnut-collared Longspurs.
Our raptor list included two Prairie Falcons, one Ferruginous Hawk, nine Red-tailed Hawks, two Swainson's Hawks and two Great Horned Owls.
Flocks of sparrows were seen. They were mostly Vesper Sparrows, a few Brewer's Sparrows and an occasional Clay-colored Sparrow.
A Greater Roadrunner ran across Baca CR 16.
Cottonwood Canyon is always a fun place to visit. We walked the draw south of the "camping area". Richard found a Winter Wren in the drainage just east of the old broken down cabin.
A male Ladder-backed Woodpecker drummed in the dead cottonwoods south of the cabin. A flock of Bushtits flittered about the old cabin also. Resident Bewick's Wrens, Canyon Towhees and Canyon Wrens were also nearby.
We wandered up the draw to the west where Long-eared Owls and some uncommon birds have been recorded in the past. A lone female Ladder-backed Woodpecker and two Bewick's Wrens were it today.
Two Rufous-crowned Sparrows were coaxed out from below the rocks near the cattle guard 1.2 miles east of the "camping area". Three Lewis's Woodpeckers were in the dead snags when we drove back to the "camping area".
At dusk, Richard called in two Western Screech-Owls! A nice ending to our birding day!
October 15, 2010
We stayed the night at a private ranch (friend of Richard). Woke up to two calling Western Screech-Owls. What a great omen! This would turn out to be one of my best Colorado Fall birding days!
We headed out to the Upland Bird Management Area at 5:00 AM, after a great breakfast albeit very fattening. A Short-eared Owl was hovering over the entrance upon our arrival.
The four of us set out at sunrise with radios in hand and spread across the area. Richard really wanted a Sharp-tailed Grouse sighting but that never happened. We also kept our eyes out for new or old tracks of Sharp-tailed Grouse or Greater Prairie-Chickens. Both have been reintroduced to the area, although many years ago now. Richard has been trying to get photos of both tracks. Anyone with either or both, he sure would appreciate seeing them.
All four of us saw Sprague's Pipits flying overhead. As we were 25 yards apart, the pipits may or may not have been the same birds. Their call is very much different from American Pipits, quite easy to distinguish! That's County number two (Crowley, now Baca).
An excited Gary Weston broke radio silence. He had a Baird's Sparrow in his sight. We all got great looks and one blurred photo. Not expecting additional sightings, we departed for nearby Picture Canyon.
A Greater Roadrunner watched from the rocky cliffs as we entered the canyon.
A Rufous-crowned Sparrow ran across the rocky hill about 400 yards south of the parking lot.
The petroglyphs at the end of the canyon have taken abuse by "children". A few can still be recognized; but the juvenile who wrote over them was just dumb.
We continued south to North Canyon. Two Curve-billed Thrashers popped out of the rocky crevasses behind the old stone house.
A Northern Mockingbird sang from top of a rabbit brush near the Oklahoma border. We continued to the spring in North Canyon where many uncommon birds have come for a drink. Only a couple of White-crowned Sparrows were there today.
Next, we drove to the old Campo Lesser Prairie-Chicken Lek. Another Northern Mockingbird was seen at the Cemetery just west of the Lek road.
To stretch our legs, Jay and Richard walked southeast from the cemetery. Gary and I walked the road north of the Lek Road. This is part of Mitchell Draw. Gary and I found a late migrating Cassin's Sparrow. A very plain sparrow, it's not difficult to separate from the other sparrows of the plains.
Richard and Jay found a Cassin's Sparrow of their own. I don't know if two Cassin's Sparrows represent "late migrating" or sparrows in their natural habitat. Only two were found.
We did our "25 yards apart" thing at the southern section of Mitchell Draw. This is accessed from the first road heading south from Baca County Road G and east of the Campo Lek Road.
Gary got a quick look at a scurrying Lesser Prairie-Chicken; but the rest of us missed it. Richard found our second Baird's Sparrow of the trip. It was 600 yards south of CR G and 12 yards west of the 4 wheel drive track mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Back in our car, we wandered the county roads along the eastern Colorado border. Two Burrowing Owls were still around. We stopped at a private barn of another friend of Richard and saw a Barn Owl hunkered in a dark corner. Two flocks of pipits were only American Pipits.
Stops at three riparian areas didn't find previously Eastern Screech-Owls found by Richard.
We stretched our legs at Burchfield Wildlife Area, Baca County and were delighted to do so. A Field Sparrow was with 30 or so White-crowned Sparrows and two Brewer's Sparrows near the parking lot.
Bryan found a Blue-headed Vireo moving about the cottonwoods southeast of the parking lot. There might have been two but we were not able to pin them both down at the same time.
Our arrival at Two Buttes Reservoir was not until dusk. Few birds moved about below the dam. It was too late to search for sparrows, pipits and longspurs along the south side of the reservoir. A Barn Owl screeched repeatedly about 25 minutes after sunset! Another nice ending to a great birding day!
October 16, 2010
We stayed on the night in Lamar and visited several "hot spots" early in the morning. The best bird of the day was found early at Riverside Cemetery. That was a Blue-headed Vireo. Birding was slow at Lamar Community College woods and Fairmount Cemetery.
The Great Plains Reservoirs in Kiowa County were so close; we had to check them over. Birds were few, but we did see a Harris's Sparrow at Upper Queens Reservoir.
A hunt for the rare sparrows reported last week at Thurston Reservoir only turned up the White-throated Sparrow, not that uncommon on the eastern plains.
Mike Higbee Wildlife Area, which is usually good for rare sparrows, was also slow. A Baird's Sparrow was recorded here a few years ago.
We drove to the eastern Colorado border, found a Field Sparrow at the Holly Rest Stop and then turned north. Our target birds were again Sprague's Pipits and a wandering Eastern Meadowlark.
Several times, we stopped and walked the county roads, finally having success along Prowers County Road 39, between RR and VV (that's V V not W).
We didn't turn up any Sprague's Pipits in Kiowa, Cheyenne or Kit Carson Counties; not for the lack of trying.
A vote was taken and unanimously it was decided to extend our trip another day!
October 17, 2010
We stayed the night in Burlington and went to Bonny Reservoir, Yuma County at first light. Richard got an Eastern Screech-Owl to respond to a recording played north of Hale Ponds.
The four of us spread out 25 yards each and walked the fields south of Hale Ponds. Two Sprague's Pipits were found within 30 minutes and less than 1000 yards south of Yuma County Road 4. A male Red-bellied Woodpecker was met right along the road.
We walked the Republican River from the western Hale Pond to the Kansas border. A Swamp Sparrow was north of the eastern Hale Pond. A Common Yellowthroat between Hale Ponds and Kansas.
After going into Kansas and saying "Hi" to another of Richard's friends, we drove to Wagon Wheel Campgrounds and the picnic area, which were absence of birds.
The walk to Hopper Ponds was better. A male Eastern Towhee jumped out of the brush and gave us great looks at its unspotted body!
We searched only 10 minutes for Sprague's Pipits and Greater Prairie-Chickens north of Bonny Reservoir and west of LL.5. None were found and we moved on northward.
Because of our success in finding Sprague's Pipits, they are all over the Colorado's eastern plains this year, we decided to continue north and look for them in other counties. Richard also came up with an idea to search for Sharp-tailed Grouse or Greater Prairie-Chickens at Tamarack Ranch Wildlife Area in Logan County.
We continued our trip along the eastern county roads into Sedgwick County. A Sprague's Pipit was relocated along Sedgwick County Road 59. There were no Sprague's Pipits in Phillips County :) Well, we didn't find any.
Our troupe then turned west to Fleming. We still had a few hours before sunset and drove the county roads south of Fleming. We found a Sprague's Pipit along CR 30, west of CR 77 and continued to Mark's Butte. Greater Prairie-Chickens have been reported in the area on two occasions in the past 10 years. After missing on prairie-chickens, we drove to the southern sections of Tamarack Ranch Wildlife Area.
Richard's plan was to split up and park ourselves at two high points in the Wildlife Area. Any wandering prairie-chickens or Sharp-tailed Grouse maybe could be seen near dusk.
Richard and Gary took a hill overlooking a lek north of Logan County Roads 46 and 89. Jay and I sat atop the hill west of the windmill, northwest of Highway 55 and CR 46.
Richard and Gary saw a Greater Prairie-Chicken foraging about 10 minutes after sunset. Look inspection and slightly blurred photos showed a Greater Prairie-Chicken and not the wanted Plains Sharp-tailed Grouse.
Jay and I watched a Short-eared Owl fly back and forth across the sandy plains. No chickens or grouse for our list.
After dark, we stopped at northern sections 6 to 7, Tamarack Ranch Wildlife Area. An Eastern Screech-Owl responded to our recordings.
2 comments:
What a great time we had! Bet not too many birders have seen Sprague's Pipits in five counties! At least on one trip!
Gary
It was a great trip! Visited three old friends with new friends! Found some uncommon sparrows and pipits. The Highlight for me, was sitting on top of a hill at sunset scoping the draw below for possible Sharp-tailed Grouse or Greater Prairie-Chickens. Great view, quiet, serene, not many birders ever take the time to experience that!!!
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