[cobirds] Crow Valley (Larimer) & Timnath Res (Larimer) on 9/30

Crow Valley Campground was quite interesting this morning.  My usual circuit starts near the host station at the east entrance, proceeds straight south to the southern fenceline, then west to the sw corner, then north along the west edge, out into the northern "outback" north of the Group Picnic Area (called the "Mourning Dove Trail"), then back to the Group Picnic Area, past the antique farm machinery display, southeast thru the scattered Siberian Elms n of the Main Picnic Shelter, back to the car near the easternmost outhouse.  This morning I was over half way along the southern fenceline, west of where the trail sinks below the huge overtopping cottonwood that is due south of the Main Picnic Shelter, and approaching the southwest corner when my species total stood at 4!  That's right, 4, with all the birds seen or heard to that point being outside the campground except for a very brief, muffled House Wren chatter.  Never have I seen the Crow Creek riparian corridor along the south fenceline, including the big thicket s of the Main Picnic Shelter, so devoid of birds during a migration period.  Then I heard a distant, odd call coming from the Siberian elms n of the Main Picnic Shelter.  It turned out to be a Cassin's Finch (either a female or young male), which about the time I got over to it, gained altitude and flew off to the south.  The elms were full of birds, as was the northern outback, with its scattered Russian-olives, willows, currants, and the poorly named "Wildlife Exclosure" (should be called either "Cattle Exclosure" or "Wildlife Inclosure").  All in all, the visit turned out to be average in terms of diversity, a little above average in terms of special birds.  Until the first hard freeze, I would recommend visitors not neglect checking the elms north of the main e-w road thru the campground.

Summary:
Cassin's Finch (f or imm. m)
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker? (1 first-winter, seen well, no red on nape, "golden-brown" back)
Red-naped Sapsucker (at least 4, all females, all in elms, all showing a least a hint of red on the nape)
Townsend's Warbler (1f)  getting late
Red-breasted Nuthatch (1)
White-breasted Nuthatch (1 or 2, interior subspecies)
Townsend's Solitaire (at least 20 (9 in view at one time in the "Wildlife Enclosure"))
House Wren (1) getting late
Brown Thrasher (1) getting late
Western Tanager (1)
Both Green-tailed and Spotted Towhee (1 each)
Turkey Vulture (3, lifted from cottonwoods at around 9am)
no White-throated Sparrow

Total of 36 species

Along Highway 14 near Weld CR51 (the road that goes s to Galeton) there was a nice female prairie race Merlin (my FOS).

Timnath Reservoir had a lot of Western Grebes, Double-crested Cormorants, and White Pelicans, as has been reported.  The gizzard shad population is feeding a lot of birds.  I was unable to find most of the better species reported yesterday by Nick Komar (Red-necked Phalaropes, two tern species, Lesser Black-backed Gull) but did manage to see the young Sabine's Gull.

FYI, Windsor Res (the one in the town itself) did NOT have a lot of birds on it. 

Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins