After getting back from a 9-day new Confederate flag survey of Tennessee and North Carolina (actually my friend Boris and I were hunting aquatic insects), I was finally able to try for the Larimer CR5 Baird's Sparrows yesterday. I got there at 7:30 and was told by a couple folks who had gotten there earlier that they heard a Baird's singing briefly far off to the west of the road at around 6am. Several of us who got there too late did NOT detect the birds at all between 7 and 11am, nor during a later check around 4pm.
We did see on CR5 between 82 and 92: many, many Grasshopper Sparrows of all ages, Blue Grosbeaks, Loggerhead Shrikes, Burrowing Owls, Swainson's Hawks, a few wandering Chipping Sparrows of all ages, Brewer's Sparrows, a few McCown's Longspurs of all ages, Sage Thrashers, Vesper Sparrows, one Northern Harrier, and then gobs of Horned Larks of all ages, Western Meadowlarks of all ages, of Lark Buntings of all ages. The Grasshopper Sparrow adults often had their beaks loaded with nestling fare, usually grasshoppers with all the legs removed (look like green cigars).
I met up with Norm Lewis and Nina Routh and we went out east to the Western Unit of the Pawnee Grasslands in search of longspurs. We saw many, many McCown's Longspurs and along Weld CR49 north of 114 found a nest of Chestnut-collared Longspurs. During our very brief peek into the nest, we think we saw two young (3-5 young is typical). I was thinking this was probably a second brood but in checking the BNA account, they are known to attempt as many as 4 (!) broods in Alberta (with 3-4 attempts usually being associated with earlier failures), so not sure which number we were seeing. I still bet second but who knows? As everybody is probably aware, longspur observation can be great at playas with water or any low spot with water from overnight storms. They seem to come in steadily and patience is usually rewarded with fairly close looks. Juveniles are tough and such spots give great opportunities to study bills and other ID characters not all that well covered in most field guides.
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
We did see on CR5 between 82 and 92: many, many Grasshopper Sparrows of all ages, Blue Grosbeaks, Loggerhead Shrikes, Burrowing Owls, Swainson's Hawks, a few wandering Chipping Sparrows of all ages, Brewer's Sparrows, a few McCown's Longspurs of all ages, Sage Thrashers, Vesper Sparrows, one Northern Harrier, and then gobs of Horned Larks of all ages, Western Meadowlarks of all ages, of Lark Buntings of all ages. The Grasshopper Sparrow adults often had their beaks loaded with nestling fare, usually grasshoppers with all the legs removed (look like green cigars).
I met up with Norm Lewis and Nina Routh and we went out east to the Western Unit of the Pawnee Grasslands in search of longspurs. We saw many, many McCown's Longspurs and along Weld CR49 north of 114 found a nest of Chestnut-collared Longspurs. During our very brief peek into the nest, we think we saw two young (3-5 young is typical). I was thinking this was probably a second brood but in checking the BNA account, they are known to attempt as many as 4 (!) broods in Alberta (with 3-4 attempts usually being associated with earlier failures), so not sure which number we were seeing. I still bet second but who knows? As everybody is probably aware, longspur observation can be great at playas with water or any low spot with water from overnight storms. They seem to come in steadily and patience is usually rewarded with fairly close looks. Juveniles are tough and such spots give great opportunities to study bills and other ID characters not all that well covered in most field guides.
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
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