To: "cobirds" <cobirds@googlegroups.com>, "Pam Piombino" <piombino.pam@gmail.com>, "Ru Wing" <rcwing@me.com>, "Carol Kampert" <carolkampert@gmail.com>, "Carol McCasland" <carolmccasland@comcast.net>, "Tina Jones" <tjcalliope@hotmail.com>, "Megan Bowes" <bowesm@bouldercolorado.gov>, "Dr Kerrie Bryan" <aussee@comcast.net>, "Paul Opler" <PAULOPLER@comcast.net>, "Eric Eaton" <bugeric247@gmail.com>, salaursen@gmail.com, "George Coffee" <georgecoffee05@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, May 25, 2018 8:01:24 AM
Subject: Weld County on 5/24
Yesterday Rachel Hopper and I went out to do shrike-impaled object photography but visited Crow Valley Campground first.
We did not get an early start and were at Crow Valley from 9:30 to 11:30am. I would call that a brief, less than thorough visit but we did cover the south and west riparian corridor and went as far north as the gate leading to the Mourning Dove Trail.
Highlights of CVCG were:
Eastern Phoebe (singing near the main picnic pavilion
Cordilleran Flycatcher (1 south of the picnic pavilion)
Least Flycatcher (1 for sure, maybe one or two more)
Ovenbird (1 south of the picnic pavilion)
Yellow-breasted Chat (1 singing in the big buckthorn bush sw of the north gate mentioned above)
Hermit Thrush (1 southeast of picnic pavilion in dry creekbed)\
Swainson's Thrush (20+)
Common Nighthawks (have returned in numbers)
Not nearly as many people as we encountered during our CFO trip out there last Sunday.
In the afternoon we found many objects impaled by Loggerhead Shrikes including:
Plains Garter Snake (headless body on one barb, head impaled separately 20 yards down the way (see below)
Lesser Earless Lizard (several, almost all missing heads)
Many-lined Skink (only a few)
Short-horned Lizard (only a few, none fresh)
Unidentified bird skull (leftover from last summer)
Redshank Grasshoppers (several, the most commonly impaled prey item)
Robust Camel Cricket (1)
Field Cricket (few)
Dung Beetle (genus Canthon, very much alive (in entomology/shrikin' jargon "swimming"), impaled thru the front of the thorax)
Blister Beetle (1, black, in genus Meloe maybe)
Ground Beetle (Pasimachus sp.)
Tiger Moth (Apantesis sp. We have seen tiger moths impaled before. Amber Carver showed me a photo of a White-lined Sphinx moth her group found impaled in the same area last weekend during their CFO trip. That would be a new one for me but I think maybe showy moths are more likely to be impaled during the period of the nesting cycle when males are trying to catch the eye of potential female mates (see pic below of the tiger moth Rachel and I saw yesterday, which experts like Paul Opler, Eric Eaton or Pam Piombino can maybe ID to species).
We noted Cassin's Sparrows have returned to the Pawnee after a few years absence. We heard and saw them along CR114 between CR49 and CR45, CR37 between CR114 and CR122. Many Grasshopper Sparrows are back on the fences (has anybody else noted they tend to sing when a car comes into their territory, sort of like meadowlarks?). A few Brewer's Sparrows were heard buzzing in saltbush (Atriplex) areas. McCown's Longspurs were on CR49 s of CR122. Chestnut-collared Longspurs were where they have been reliably for the last few years: between CR49 and CR45 on CR114. A few sleepy Common Nighthawks sat on posts and fences. Burrowing Owls west of CR49 about a mile n of CR114 in p-dog town.
The prairie is lush and green and quite spirit-lifting these days. It responds to rain quite nicely.
In closing I want to mention Rachel and I are interested in doing a public display of our shrike photographs. The photos above are mine, done handheld with a simple Canon 40D body and 60mm macro lens. You should see the equipment Ms. Hopper hauls out on the prairie, and the results of her meticulous process are impressive. We think the world, beyond just bird enthusiasts, is, or should be, ready for this. If anyone has ideas regarding a gallery or other venue that would be interested, funding sources for us to make prints, etc., please email me privately.
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
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