[cobirds] Ladder-backed Woodpecker, 2 White-throated Sparrow & Townsend's Solitaire on Canon City Riverwalk

After being closed for sewer district work for the past year, the Canon City Riverwalk section from MacKenzie Ave to Ash Street was recently re-opened to the public.  This morning I birded the from the MacKenzie parking area to about a half mile west of that location.   I had an unusual set of unusual birds.  I found the Ladder-backed Woodpecker on a dry hillside adjacent to the MacKenzie parking area.  It was foraging in a tree cholla cactus, a usual species for Ladder-backed; however, I have never seen nor heard of a Ladder-backed on or near the Canon City Riverwalk.  Several years ago I may have spotted one adjacent to the Arkansas River a few miles from Canon City but I only saw it briefly and dismissed it as it was several miles from it's normal cactus habitat.  

Nearby was a Townsend's Solitaire, also unusual for the Riverwalk.  It flew into a small native juniper on the same dry hillside as the Ladder-backed where it fed on juniper berries. 

I found the two White-throated Sparrows immediately adjacent to the trail and only about a 150 feet west of the location where the Ladder-backed was located.  The two White-throated Sparrows stuck low to the ground in the messy vegetation.  Interestingly I spotted the first White-throated Sparrow only about 30 feet from where I found the last White-throated Sparrow on the Riverwalk several years ago.   These two traveled east on the trail together, usually within a foot or two of each other.  

Another bird of interest was a Lincoln's Sparrow in the underbrush where the White-throated Sparrows fed.  It was very active with a lot of common passerines including a lot of Brown Creepers.

Fortunately the sewer district destroyed very little of the habitat and they rebuilt the trail so it is very nice and very level for those with ambulation issues. 

I got photos of the Ladder-backed, the Townsend's and the White-throated Sparrows that I have uploaded to my Birds and Blooms blog.

SeEtta Moss
Canon City
Blogging for Birds and Blooms magazine @ http://birdsandbloomsblog.com/author/seetta-moss/
Personal blog @ BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com

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