Barb and headed east to the prairie today, to find and photograph Lapland Longspurs, as Mark and Glenn did, per Glenn's January 6 post to CFO Facebook. But instead of their 675,000, we managed to see ONE. But glad we didn't dip.
This eBird Occurrence Map seems to indicate that the best time to see Lapland Longspur in Colorado is November. By January they fade fast. (Wait for the map to cycle through the months): http://ebird.org/content/ebird/occurrence/lapland-longspur/
I think Mark and Glenn witnessed a huge exodus.
Some beautiful writing about Lapland Longspurs, from the 2002 book, Land of Grass and Sky, by Colorado's Mary Taylor Young:
"Two other longspur species, the Chestnut-collared and the McCown's, call the Colorado prairie home. These birds, more southerly in their range and less intrepid perhaps than the Arctic-nesting Lapland, visit primarily in summer. Only the Laplander, a bird of the polar north, considers the shortgrass a milder winter environment. At home in open and treeless lands, Lapland Longspurs migrate in fall 2,500 miles south to pass the winter on our hard prairie.
"……Why do Lapland Longspurs choose to pass winter here, on the prairie? Why don't they migrate further south, to warmer places? Why does the rancher stay on in this land of extremes? These small drab birds find what they need in this hard land, making their living on the open country just as the rancher who calls these prairies his own. Kindred spirits share this prairie. For the Longspurs as much as for the rancher, it still comes down to what the prairie will give."
Cheers,
Tom Wilberding
Littleton, CO
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