[cobirds] Eastern Plains Rainfall

All -

I spent a fair amount of time on the eastern plains in the past couple
of weeks. As is typical with monsoon flows, the heavy rains come in
pockets. Overall, the plains are looking vastly improved over
conditions in the same areas just this past March-June.

Deb – you asked about the Karval area:

Kinney SWA, northeast of Karval, is lush and green and the trip from
Cheraw to Hugo that Joey Kellner and I did on Saturday was green and
dotted with standing water. We stopped at the crossing of South Rush
Creek on Lincoln CR 32 near CR W (NE of Karval). We found singing
Grasshopper and Cassin's Sparrows on territory as well as Blue
Grosbeak singing up a storm. It felt like June.

We both wondered if the monsoons triggered either a second breeding
cycle for these species or if they had delayed breeding until the
monsoons began (many birds in AZ do this). Perhaps someone more
expert than I can weigh in on that question.

The scene looks a bit drier, but still better than March and June in
Otero County. CO 109 south of La Junta passes through areas that look
quite good and others which still seem stressed – more of a mixed bag.

The worst area I've been in the past couple of weeks is area near
Adobe Creek Reservoir (Blue Lake) in Bent/Kiowa Counties. Some rain
obviously hit in this location, but nowhere near enough.

As for NE Colorado, there has definitely been a lot of moisture. As
of Friday, the ephemeral ponds between Akron and Anton did not yet
have water (that may have changed in the last couple of days). The
grasses on Tamarack Ranch are tall and harboring chiggers (that's a
first for me in the NE portion of the state). Numerous alfalfa fields
have Dickcissel singing and apparently on territory.

As a bonus, the shorebirds are showing up – I definitely recommend a
trip out east right now.

Good birding,
Kathy Mihm Dunning
Denver

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