Friday, October 5, 2012

Fantastic Birding On the Eastern Plains

Our electricity was out this morning when Richard and Bryan left.  Now that it is back on , I am posting their latest trip.  Rebecca Kosten

P.S. Be sure to read the comment on Walk In Areas that will be posted in a day or two.

September 27 to October 4, 2012

Richard Stevens:

Bryan Ehlmann and I started out to bird three days on the Eastern Plains Our trip lasted for eight days.  As we came to put it, "Birds, Birds, Birds Everywhere!"  We couldn't stop until the birds ran out or the weather turned.  Predictions of snow on Friday finally ended our quest.  Note: it is snowing at 5:00 am Friday as I am writing this.

September 27, 2012

As we headed to Roger Danka's Ranch in Sedgwick County, we stopped at many birding locations.  Although, we tried to hit a few of the less birded areas and leave the more common locations for others.

Just before sunrise, we looked for owls at Jackson Reservoir in Morgan County.  The resident Eastern Screech-Owls would not call.  A Great Horned Owl did call from west of the Pelican Campgrounds.  One Long-eared Owl was at the Campgrounds.  It appears he has stayed since last October, possibly now for a full year.  We believe he did attempt a nesting as a pair was seen throughout the summer.  However, breeding was not confirmed here.  We did have a pair successfully breed in Sedgwick County.

Our best walk was along the south side of the reservoir from the mobile home court to the parking lot below the dam.  Birds found included a Blackburnian Warbler, two Townsend's Warblers and a Philadelphia Vireo. 

Both a Blue-headed and Red-eyed Vireos were found at the Visitor's Center.  A Sabine's Gull was observed flying along the western tree line.  We did not take the time to look for shorebirds.  Water level was very low and a long walk was required to inspect the pools.

Thirty minutes was allotted for a bird search at nearby Andrick Wildlife Area.  A Magnolia Warbler and Cassin's Vireo were along the south side of the "parking lot".

Brush Wildlife Area is only a 15 minute detour from Interstate 76.  Birding here has been good for several weeks.  Today a Tennessee and Nashville Warbler were around the pond.  A pair of Townsend's Warblers was at the west end of the Wildlife Area and along the north side of the creek.  While a White-throated Sparrow was found in the field just east of the parking lot.

Our next stop was the Overland Park Museum.  Steve Mlodinow had recently reported a Cape May Warbler, which we did not find.  Our consolations were a Black-and-white and a Tennessee Warblers.

We arrived at Jumbo Reservoir in Logan County as the sun started to drop below the mountains.  No shorebirds walked the southern shore.  A Short-eared Owl flew over the field to the south.  Later we enticed an Eastern Screech-Owl to call at the northern side of the reservoir.

September 28, 2012

Today was described as our best birding day ever in Colorado.  We hit a couple of public access spots and several private ranches that I have permission to bird.  Almost all of our birding was in Sedgwick County.

The private ranches are labeled by numbers that have been designated for years on the CoBus database.

First stop, private ranch # 4.  We hated to leave, as there were a huge number of birds in a riparian area along the South Platte River.  Best bird was a Black-throated Green Warbler, we also saw a Palm, Pine, Magnolia, MacGillivray's, Wilson's', Orange-crowned and many Yellow-rumped Warblers.  They were closely associated with a Red-eyed Vireo, White-breasted and a large number (9) Red-breasted Nuthatches.

In thickets behind the main house, we found a pair of Long-eared Owls and scared up a Barn Owl.

Onto private ranch # 5, we found a Blue-headed Vireo, two Swamp Sparrows and two White-throated Sparrows.  While the birds here were not as rare, we did see over a hundred Yellow-rumped, a dozen Orange-crowned and other associated warblers listed above.  It seemed like a large number of Yellow-rumped Warblers for the eastern plains.

The landowner reported seeing an American Woodcock twice in September.  Unfortunately, we could not find it.  He is familiar with the species having shown one to me a few years ago.

Ovid provided several good birding spots.  A male Black-throated Blue Warbler and 1st year male Rose-breasted Grosbeak were at the northern Ovid Woods.  The Black-throated Blue Warbler has to be rare sighting for Sedgwick County (but turned out not to be the first for the Ovid Woods).  Two Eastern Screech-Owls were also found.

The dried up (for years) Ovid Sewage Ponds and adjacent grassy fields provided cover for three White-throated Sparrows and dozens of White-crowned Sparrows, two Lincoln's Sparrows, two Grasshopper Sparrows, many Lark Sparrows and a Brewer's Sparrow.  A male Red-bellied Woodpecker worked the trees along the Platte River.

Julesburg Wildlife Area is located on the south side of Ovid and the Platte River.  A male Northern Cardinal was singing as we exited Bryan's jeep.  Three more Red-bellied Woodpeckers, two House Wrens, a Brown Thrasher and a Blue-headed Vireo were seen in a half-mile walk east along the Platte River.  Four Mountain Bluebirds surprised us as Eastern Bluebirds are more expected here.

The seldom-visited Pony Express Wildlife Area (also along the South Platte River) provided the "bird of the day".  We had found two House Wrens and were about to chalk up a third, when closer inspection turned the bird into a Winter Wren!  Again, this must be a rare sighting for Sedgwick County?  The Winter Wren almost made us forget to record a Palm and Nashville Warbler that were there.

Sedgwick Bar Wildlife Area also hosted many birds.  The interesting birds another Palm Warbler, two Townsend's Warblers, a Blue-headed Vireo and a male Red-bellied Woodpecker were added to our trip list.  This Wildlife Area is known for Upland Sandpipers; however, it was very late in the year to find one.  We would have settled for an American Woodcock, however saw neither.

Our "owls for the day" were found on Roger's Ranch during our walk after a great fried chicken dinner.  My grumbling stomach thanks you Judy!

September 29, 2012

Today was designated "search for Sprague's Pipits" day.  We drove the country roads and stopped at several birding areas that are called "Walk In Areas".  Specifics were covered in one of the "Colorado Field Notes" issues or look up access policies on the internet.  In short, it requires carrying a gun, which at times I do and which most birders would not.

One Sprague's Pipit was found on a "Walk In Area".  Sparrow numbers topped by far the numbers of birds found. Northern Flickers probably came in second (as I did not take a count of them).  Of the seven areas walked, three were wheat stubble, two unnamed grass and two had creek bottoms.

Our only public access stop, without being a designated "hunter" was Sand Draw Wildlife Area in Sedgwick County.  A Barn Owl and Blue-headed Vireo were found along the western windbreak.  Two Field Sparrows were along the eastern fence line.

September 30, 2012

We moved on to Wray and Yuma County today, which started at Sandsage Wildlife Area.  Many sparrows flew about the weeds; unfortunately, none of them was rare.

Wray Fishing Unit was more interesting.  Vireos abound, Philadelphia, Blue-headed and Red-eyed Vireos, one each were seen.  Warblers were not bad either.  A Nashville and Magnolia Warbler were in the windbreak along the entrance road.

A male Northern Cardinal also came out of the windbreak.  A second red bird turned out to be a Summer Tanager, which we thought, was late in the year to see.  A pair of Eastern Phoebes grabbed insects on the southwest side of the ponds.  A Barn Owl was at the western end of the property.

Nearby Stalker Ponds was okay.  A Nashville Warbler and White-throated Sparrow were found.

After a late breakfast/early lunch we stopped by several friends' yards to say "Hi".  What a great decision.  A sapsucker turned out to be a Yellow-bellied and not a Red-naped (yard # 1). 

On the way to another yard, we heard the unmistakable chatter of Pinyon Jays.  The bird(s) of the day turned out to be four Pinyon Jays on the east side of Wray.  They were new Yuma County Birds for both of us!

Yard # 2 was better than # 1.  A young male Prairie Warbler searched for food in the locust trees.  We also watched three male and two female Northern Cardinals come to her feeders.  Yard # 1 only had one male and one female Northern Cardinal.  Maybe it is time to swop the names?

Yard # 3 had a red form Fox Sparrow last week.  Regrettably, the sparrow did not show for us. A flock of Pine Siskins swooped in to peak our interest while we waited.

We walked around Rainbow Park in the afternoon.  Again, the number of birds surprised us at this small park.  The tall cottonwoods made identifying the moving birds a chore.  It was well worth it.  The birds included Palm and Nashville Warblers and Blue-headed and Plumbeous Vireos.

A second Palm Warbler was found at Wray Community Hospital, only a short walk south of the park.  Be sure to check out the ditch running through and south of the park.  That was where most of our birds were seen.

Finally, seeing a cemetery on the city map we went to check it out.  Another Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was found here.  We thought it too far from the morning sighting to be the same bird.

Our birding day was not over.  We drove to a friend's ranch on the east side of Highway 385, north of Yuma County Road 45.  He has several Greater Prairie-Chicken leks on his property although none was found tonight.

A flock of American Pipits in a stubble field attracted our attention.  At least one Sprague's Pipit was among them.

October 1, 2012

Birding was way too prosperous to return to Denver.  Instead, we headed back north to chase some rare birds reported yesterday in the Holyoke area of Phillips County.

Most of the rare birds reported yesterday were not relocated; however, we did see some interesting birds.

The Pine Warbler and Eastern Towhee reported yesterday by Kathy Mihm-Dunning were not relocated at the Holyoke Cemetery The Towhee would have been a good addition to our Yuma County List.  We did find the singing Eastern Meadowlark and examined it close enough to confirm its identity.  It was a good Yuma County bird.  We also relocated the Nashville Warbler and Field Sparrow.

Our target bird at the Holyoke City Park was the Black-throated Green Warbler.  We missed it and the Purple Finch, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, and Palm Warbler (reported yesterday) but did find a Blue-headed Vireo and the Nashville Warbler.

Our target bird at the Holyoke Justice Hall was the Philadelphia Vireo.  We missed another target bird and the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (reported yesterday) but did find one of the Red-eyed Vireos.

We also missed the Purple Finch reported yesterday at Holyoke High School and had nothing to add.  The Northern Cardinal and Nashville Warbler reported at the end of Akron Street were no shows. 

The Holyoke Sewage Ponds and Fishing Hole were quiet so we swung over to Frenchman Creek Wildlife Area.  This is one of the best places to find migrating sparrows such as the "Ammodramus species".  It was a little early for peak sparrow migration.  Only one White-throated Sparrow and two Field Sparrows were found today.

Feeling that the Holyoke area was covered well, we headed back to Wray.   Our best stop of the day turned out to be Beecher Island back in Yuma County.

Many birds flew around this oasis of trees.  These included a Palm and Nashville Warblers, a Philadelphia Vireo, Eastern Phoebe and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker count in Colorado this fall is way above average.

Our day was not over. We decided to drive County Road 45 on Bob Bledsoe's Ranch.  One never knows when a Greater Prairie-Chicken might cross the road.  No Greater Prairie-Chickens were found but we had a brilliant consolation prize.  A Sprague's Pipit, possibly two were at the corner of CR 45 and CR PP; CR 45 turns south and becomes CR PP.

It was a great day of birding; it ended with a Short-eared Owl flying east of Yuma County Road 45!

October 2, 2012

Before leaving town, Bryan and I checked out a few birding locations previously visited in Wray.  Two Palm Warblers wandered around Rainbow Park.

A Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was on the Wray Community Hospital grounds.  This appeared to be the same bird we found at the Wray Cemetery on 9/30.  The 9/30, Palm Warbler was not found.  We did not find a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Grandview Cemetery, Wray.

At the Wray Fishing Unit (about 3 miles west of Wray), we found a Pine Warbler, Eastern Phoebe and relocated the Barn Owl.  Then we decided to head south to Bonny Reservoir (Yuma County).

At Bonny Reservoir, we again missed most of the uncommon birds reported by Mihm-Dunning on 9/30.  However, we found a couple of great birds of our own.  A Bay-breasted Warbler was at the old Wagon Wheel Campgrounds.

While walking the southern road along the now dried up lake, we found a red form Fox Sparrow (near the dried up pond at the picnic area for those familiar with the area). 

A pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers was just west of the Fox Sparrow spot.  Another pair of Red-bellied Woodpeckers was at Hale Ponds when we returned to check it out.

The rest of our day was spent checking some additional "Walk In Areas" for Sprague's Pipits and other uncommon birds. While many sparrows were found and a few McCown's Longspurs and two Chestnut-collared Longspurs, no rare birds including Sprague's Pipits were seen.

We made a special note to search the "traditional Sprague's Pipit location" below the Bonny Reservoir dam.

October 3, 2012

Our first birds of the day were two Eastern Screech-Owls calling before civil twilight north of the eastern Hale Pond.  The resident Barn Owl was on his territory along Yuma County Road 4.

We had to return to Wagon Wheel Picnic area to get another look at the fine-looking reddish Fox Sparrow.  All birds are beautiful, but this one is especially so.  The Bay-breasted Warbler found yesterday at the old Campgrounds could not be relocated.

It was time to leave Bonny Reservoir and we drove to Burlington (Kit Carson County).  Fairmount Cemetery presents a challenge to find birds in its thick evergreen trees.  A couple of hours of searching did find a Pine Warbler and 2-3 Townsend's Warblers.

During lunch, we noticed much activity at nearby Palmer Park (just north and east of I70 & Hwy 385).  A Palm Warbler was among 42+ Yellow-rumped Warblers.  Second largest flock we have encountered on this trip.  We got a quick look at the Palm Warbler; however, it took another 45 minutes to relocate it.

There are two "Walk In Areas" about 6 miles south and 10 miles east of Burlington.  When we found no Sprague's Pipits or uncommon birds there, we hit a few more another 10 miles south.

While we found no uncommon birds, it is always a pleasure to bird areas, which are not covered much by others.  We did "kick up" a Greater Prairie-Chicken near Yuma County Roads 56 & G.

Bryan wanted to retire early, me not so much.  I had Bryan drop me off around 9:00 pm at Yuma County Road 2 and Hwy 385, while he went to camp at Hale Ponds.

I spent the next 12 hours walking the Republican River from Hwy 385 to the Kansas border (16 miles along the winding river).  The waning moon was no longer full, but did provide much light to the hike.  Listening (and recording) the bird sounds was quite enjoyable. 

In the end, I found three Eastern Screech-Owls between Hwy 385 and Foster's Grove Campgrounds and two Eastern Screech-Owls from CR LL.5 and the Kansas border.  Great Horned Owl count won with six of them heard.

October 4, 2012

One last check on the Fox Sparrow (it was not found this morning) and we abandoned Bonny Reservoir for this trip.  Fortunately, we drove through the Wagon Wheel Campgrounds on the way out.  Bryan spotted the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker reported by Mihm-Dunning on 9/30!

A stop at Fairview Cemetery on the north side of Burlington relocated the Pine Warbler, at least one Townsend's Warbler and a Gray Flycatcher (new for our trip and quite uncommon for the eastern plains).

Our plan today was to bird Flagler Reservoir and then return to Denver.  Snow is predicted for tomorrow (Friday).  Flagler Reservoir kept our interest with a Swamp Sparrow, two Field Sparrows, a Black-and-white Warbler (south end) and an Eastern Phoebe (southeastern end).

We were tired and decided not to wait until dark for some owling.  Of course, we just could not drive straight back to Denver.  We picked out six of the twenty-two "Walk In Areas" around Siebert and searched for Sprague's Pipits most of the rest of the day.

The bird of the day was one or two Sprague's Pipits halfway between Siebert and Stratton (Kit Carson County) at 3 miles south of I70!

1 comment:

Birder Rich said...

More on the "Walk In Areas" of Colorado. These Areas are designated hunting areas leased from ranchers around Colorado. They are not necessarily the same every year.

I have called the Department of Wildlife on several occasions and received different answers to who has access.

Birding is hunting for birds, although birders do not use guns. Some rangers have said that it is okay for birders (persons without guns) to access the properties. Other rangers stated it was for hunters of specific species.

In any case, a hunter (birder) is allowed to access property to scout for areas best for their future hunts. As a birder I scout the areas and perhaps find other birds in the process.

In any case, a full Hunting License is required to access the properties. I have always purchased a license first to support the areas and also because it provides insurance in case of an emergency while accessing the property.

I also carry a pistol (I have carry permit and training) just to cover requirement of being a hunter (with I am as a hunter of birds). I do not hunt to kill and have no plans to do so.

Further information on "Walk In Areas" can be found in the "Colorado Field Notes" or on the Internet.

These "Walk In Areas" are gems for birding!

CAUTION: Always be aware of hunting seasons and whether hunters with guns are around. Brochures can be obtained at Walmarts and other stores selling hunting licenses. In some cases, I have also worn hunter orange vests and hats.

Continued Good Birding!

Richard Stevens