Southeastern Colorado to the Mountains near Eagle

November 20-23, 2018

Richard Stevens:

November 20

Temperature reached 56 degrees today.  Winds were 3-4 mph with gusts only 10 mph.  That is not bad for this late in fall.

My birding day started at Pueblo City Park (Pueblo County).  I just followed behind a couple of birders and relocated the Cape May Warbler and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.  

Neither was a first county bird; however, the warbler was my first for 2018.  I had planned to end up at Fairview Cemetery in Burlington later this trip.  Now that part of the trip was scraped.

Just west of Pueblo City Park, I added eight Bonaparte's Gulls, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a Great Black-backed Gull, a Common Loon and Curve-billed Thrasher to my trip list!

Next stop was Lathrop State Park (Huerfano) on my way to Lake Dorothy Wildlife Area.  A Barrow's Goldeneye was on the eastern lake.  A Greater Roadrunner ran around the northwestern corner of the Park.  In past years, Greater Roadrunners have nested in this Park.

To enter Lake Dorothey Wildlife Area (Las Animas) one has to drive down to New Mexico and backtrack.  A stop at the pullover just north of New Mexico added a Rufous-crowned Sparrow to my day list!

Two Lewis's Woodpeckers were at the northwest corner of Lake Dorothey.  A Swamp Sparrow was at the southeast corner.

I hiked about a mile north (uphill) and discovered a Northern Saw-whet Owl somewhat hidden in a pine tree (not quite hidden well enough for me to miss it).

My route to Cottonwood Canyon (Baca) was east from Lake Dorothey then north into Colorado.  When I arrived at the Cottonwood Canyon Campgrounds, a Western Screech-Owl responded to my recordings.

November 21

It was another pleasant fall day with a high temperature of 60 degrees.  Winds were 7-8 mph most of the day.

A walk around Cottonwood Canyon this morning found two Rufous-crowned Sparrows about 1.4 miles east of the Campgrounds.  

Other birds encountered included Canyon Towhees, Wild Turkeys, Chihuahuan Ravens, a Cooper's Hawk, and a Bewick's Wren.

A Winter Wren was found about 0.8 miles west of the Campgrounds.  A pair of Ladder-backed Woodpeckers was also in the draw here.

A hike in Picture Canyon south to North Canyon added a Northern Mockingbird, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, four American Kestrels and a Curve-billed Thrasher to my day list.

A Greater Roadrunner was observed on the hill near the entrance.

My birding day ended at the Upland Bird Management Area.  Two Lapland Longspurs flew about.  A Short-eared Owl flew by just after sunset.

November 22

High temperature at Lamar was 63 degrees.  Winds were 5-6 mph at Two Buttes Reservoir.  Temperature was 42 degrees in Eagle in the afternoon.  Winds were 9-10 mph.

A Winter Wren, Marsh Wren, Brown Thrasher and Ladder-backed Woodpecker were observed below the Two Buttes Reservoir dam just after sunrise.

A severe snowstorm lasting several days was predicted for the mountains.  Instead of birding a few more days around Lamar, I decided to rush to the Lake Creek Village Wetlands area (Eagle).  

The Sedge Wren would be a new county bird for me.  There was only one other western slope Sedge Wren record (12/19/2004 to 1/15/2005; the Preserve in Grand Junction).

After making the 360-mile drive in record time, I searched for the Sedge Wren.  As the sun went behind the mountains I was about to give up.  I played a recording for about 30 seconds.  The Sedge Wren popped up and allowed a ten-second look.  Unfortunately, it was too dark for my camera to focus on the wren.

On the return trip to Denver, I decided to do some owling in the Montezuma area, as the weather was not bad yet.

This time of year, my snowshoes are kept in my truck.  I would have preferred cross county skis, but had to do with the snowshoes.

Eventually I went about a mile up the Montezuma trail, returned to my car and went about a mile up the Hunkidori trail.  The almost full moon lit up the snow covered landscape quite well.  I could see without using my headlamp.

No owls heard or found up the Montezuma Trail.  I enjoyed better fortune on the Hunkidori Trail.  A Boreal Owl was calling without any encouragement.  Fortune continued when I returned to the parking area.  A Northern Pygmy-Owl briefly responded to my recordings.