Hi all:
We had a fabulous birdwalk at Home Lake in Monte Vista this morning. And good thing we chose "morning" as winds are howling as I type this.
I lead a group of 10 on a morning bird trip at Home Lake Veterans Center, and the birds did not disappoint.
The spruce trees were like a coliseum, with us in the arena looking up into the trees for the very active birds. Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Bullocks Oriole, Black-headed Grosbeak, Orange-crowned Warblers, Yellow Warblers, Warbling Vireo, Common Grackles, Pine Siskin, and House Finches played a symphony of songs that we tried to key on to. But the real showstoppers were the hundreds of Western Tanagers. I think this is the most impressive gathering of Western Tanagers I have ever seen. Maybe one other year was close to this in all 30 years of birding our valley. They were everywhere and gave lots of beginner birders a great look and chance to study. ...
We birded near the canal and saw Swainson's Hawk, Common Yellowthroat, and Song Sparrow. At the lake we saw DC Cormorants, which when they fly are ...well..."cormorant-like" as one pointed out. At Mary Thompson's, we saw more of the same birds including Western Kingbirds, White-crowned Sparrows, and Mourning Doves.
John Rawinski
Monte Vista, CO
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