I will head home from Lamar tomorrow. The past week has been clear, almost windless and a bit warmer than average, even for here. Yesterday it was in the mid-80s. Tomorrow the high is predicted to be in the mid-40s. The cranes have been dribbling over. "White" geese have arrived to some extent, and move in various directions traveling from their roosting fields to their feeding areas.
The Pine Warbler at Janeal Thompson's shelled Spanish peanut feeder hanging in a large juniper on the southwest corner of her house since the 11th, was seen at least thru yesterday (the 16th) and I think I heard it briefly today. It absolutely has no regular schedule. We think this adult male is quite likely the same bird as has been present in the south end of town since mid-summer but there is no way to know for sure. As Tony Leukering would say, in his present garb, this individual warrants the adjective "spanky". This yard also has a growing group (about a dozen as of today) of White-winged Doves that will likely roost here all winter.
The Lamar Community College Woods has a group of Northern Cardinals, perhaps numbering as many as 5. There is at least one Red-bellied Woodpecker, heard and seen most often at the south end of the woods or in the Woodland Park Subdivision just south of the LCC Woods. A few eastern or "Carolina" White-breasted Nuthatches, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and Marsh Wrens are present. The Bewick's Wren first found about 10 days ago is still present at the south end near the gate/giant brush pile but is VERY difficult to detect and observe. A few Brown Creepers were present early in my visit, may still be around. That can be a hard species to find in Lamar. No Yellow-bellied Sapsucker that I could find yet in Willow Creek Park. Usually not present until December.
Today at Riverside Cemetery on Maple Street in northeast Lamar I had a female Golden-crowned Kinglet (on the move, mostly in junipers but it did spend time in elms), a few Ross's Geese in with Snow Goose flocks overhead, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, several Yellow-rumped Warblers (which will probably overwinter on juniper berries at various locations in Lamar), kingfisher over the canal to the north, not a lot else.
At Fairmount Cemetery yesterday I had a female Lesser Goldfinch.
Thurston Reservoir north of town has a good assortment of waterfowl scattered among the zillion coots. I estimated 70 Pied-billed Grebes still present but that will likely decrease dramatically very soon. Two Wood Ducks were in the n-s canal coming off the northeast corner of the res.
A Loggerhead Shrike is along Prowers County Road CC about a mile east of US287. I would say Loggerheads are at least as common as Northern Shrikes in a normal southeastern CO winter.
The pond just north of US50 on US287 (called "Wertz Runoff Pond" by locals) had a good selection of common waterfowl yesterday, including a pair of Common Goldeneyes and a latish White Pelican.
North of John Martin Res, we had at least 5 Swamp Sparrows along Bent CRJJ just east of Van's Grove on the 14th (location described by Steve Mlodinow in his post about Sedge Wren).
Total species in the Lamar area (roughly 7 miles in all directions from the theater on Main Street): 75
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
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