[cobirds] Weld and Morgan County Highlights, redux

Greetings All,

So, I started today at Crow Valley in the drizzle -- excellent fallout conditions, only there wasn't a fallout. Indeed, birds from Western Kingbird to Barn Swallow to Wilson's Warblers seem to arrive at the south end and proceed north. Migrant passerines will sometimes backtrack to find suitable habitat after migrating much of the night. The fact that the were moving north (backtracking) THROUGH Crow Valley suggests that they did not find it that attractive. It was rather non-buggy.. no food, no reason to stay.

Beyond the BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER that was there, I also had my first migrant Wilson's Warblers and Western Tanagers of the season and 3 Townsend's Warblers 

At Jackson Lake State Park, I birded the trees from the visitor center to the boat launch (Ha! Mud Launch :o).

Highlights included 2 AMERICAN REDSTARTS, a startling NINE Townsend's Warblers, a Dusky Flycatcher, and a nice assortment of regular migrants. The oriole flock from Sunday was still about with a nearly 10 Bullock's and Orchards each + 1 female BALTIMORE ORIOLE.

I birded Jackson Reservoir's mudflats by parking at the Outlet Channel and walking north for a mile or two. I went as far north as the water did, and I saw a fair number of shorebirds, but rare stuff eluded me ... until my return trip. The Peregrine decided to grab a meal, which it did pretty efficiently (probably a Baird's), but a couple good swipes got many of the gulls and all of the shorebirds to swirl around. When the dance was done, suddenly I saw 4 Pectoral Sands, 2 Semi Plovers, the juv CURLEW SANDPIPER , and a BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER (probably adult) + far more Baird's than I'd tallied on the outgoing stroll. 

Final shorebird totals were--

2 Semipalmated Plovers

22 Killdeer (only!)

41 American Avocets

2 Spotted Sandpipers

108 Lesser Yellowlegs

2 Marbled Godwits

2 Sanderling

5 Semi Sandpipers

47 Least Sandpipers

1025 Baird's Sandpipers

4 Pectoral Sandpipers

1 Curlew Sandpiper

70 Stilt Sandpipers

1 Buff-breasted Sandpiper

2 Short-billed Dowitchers (juvs)

2 Long-billed Dowitchers (1 ad, 1 juv)

41 Wilson's Phalaropes

1 Red-necked Phalarope

Additionally, there were >1000 Franklin's Gulls, about 3500 Am White Pelicans, 90 GB Herons, 70 Snowy Egrets, 6 Great Egrets, and >100 WF Ibis (okay, not all ID'd to species, but many were), providing quite a scene, though one scattered over a fairly wide area.

On the way home, the Weld County Road 59 ponds, amazingly, are still brimming over with water. Loloff looks good, and had a nice assortment of shorebirds, but nothing vaguely uncommon at all.

Good Birding

Steven Mlodinow

Longmont, CO

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