[cobirds] Vogel Canyon closure

Birders,

 

On January 11^th, I went to Vogel Canyon south of La Junta (Otero County) in the Comanche National Grasslands, hoping to see some of the canyon country bird specialty species that are resident in juniper – cliff habitat there. I found a barricade placed by the Forest Service at the cattle guard north of the parking lot. Inconspicuously placed on the barricade were two sheets of laminated paper, stating that the canyon was closed on January 1^st 2015, and will be closed for at least a year. Hidden in one sentence on one of the sheets of paper was the reason: the tumbleweed hazard. There may be significant penalties or fines, even for people entering the area on foot. I’m kind of at a loss for the reasoning behind this decision to close indefinitely what is possibly the single most visited natural site in southeast Colorado.

 

The Purple Finch frequenting my feeder in Las Animas was present again on the morning of January 10^th, but not after that date. The two Rusty Blackbirds persist below the dam at Adobe Creek Reservoir (Bent County). On January 10^th, I saw a lone American White Pelican with the 30,000 Snow/Ross’ Geese at John Martin Reservoir, but the lake remains frozen solid save for the small patch of open water used by the pelican and other birds.

 

Duane Nelson

Las Animas, Bent County, CO

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