Hi all,
Denise Landau, Tom and Kay McConnell and I had a great weekend in the Cottonwood Canyon area (where zero cell service, so apologies for lack of postings)
The male PAINTED BUNTING that Denise found on Sunday at the informal campsite at the north end of the Cottonwood Canyon continued yesterday, still singing in the same copse of oaks and cedars by the creek. Documentation photos and video obtained
Other migrant birds in the area over the weekend included a fem/1yr male AMERICAN REDSTART on Friday, ORCHARD ORIOLES, male SUMMER TANAGER, OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, a couple of WILSON’S WARBERS, YELLOW-BREASTED CHATS, AUDUBON’S WARBLERS, a COMMON YELLOWTHROAT and a flock of (tardy?) CEDAR WAXWINGS. We also heard, but did not see, two or more LONG-BILLED CURLEWS, east of Baca Rd 3. CASSIN’S SPARROWS seem to be in good numbers on the grasslands where vegetation still exists, but many areas are so affected by the drought, and by prairie-dogs, that the habitat is seriously compromised. We did NOT hear a single GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. On the other hand, RUFOUS-CROWNED SPARROWS were seemingly numerous in the rimrock areas, as were EASTERN PHOEBES, BULLOCK’S ORIOLES, WESTERN and CASSIN’S KINGBIRDS and BLUE GROSBEAKS near the water. Up to ten or more MISSISSIPPI KITES were seen daily, and we saw mating and nestbuilding activity too. Indeed, we encountered most of the breeding birds of the area, albeit in varying numbers, including a single ROADRUNNER. Despite being Memorial Weekend, there were very few people and only a couple of other birders. We met Eric DeFonso who was doing RMBO survey work, and he told us that on Saturday he had seen a singing BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER at Carrizo Creek picnic area, plus a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, and another YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO in Cottonwood Canyon on Sunday.
Amazingly we received approximately 0.5” of rain from thunderstorms on Friday night, but that is the only significant rain so far this year according to the folks on the Everett Ranch. As we left on Monday, we encountered several hundred head of cattle being driven west along Baca County road M into the canyons, as, in the words of the folks moving them, there’s no grass left anywhere else in the area. They had brought them 20 miles from the east, ie the Campo area. Tough times for all.
Footnote: We picked up (too much) trash at the Cottonwood Canyon informal campsite – which is on private property.. Not sure what the tolerance levels of the owners are to trash, but seeing as access to this site is a privilege not a right, we figured that cleaning up after others was a good move on many levels!
I’m off to the High Arctic next week, leading some ship–based birding, so after this week there’ll be no more Colorado posts from me for a while.
Wishing you all a great summer filled with good birding
Dick Filby
Carbondale, CO
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