[cobirds] BBS route summary, far SE corner of El Paso county, 6/15

Greetings, CObirders,

Conditions were very dry out there in the shortgrass prairie & ranchland... I noticed more dead trees along fence lines & buildings than I've seen before (& on the western end of the route, an increase in abandoned trailers & structures which had sprouted up during the pandemic). A woman from one ranch along the route stopped to chat while she was checking water in their stock tanks, and expressed grave concerns about their prospects with the continued, long drought--and also remarked on the unusual & frequent high winds this spring ("crazy," we agreed).

While last year's count had the greenest conditions I'd seen in nearly a decade of running the route, this year was among the driest/brownest. This is reflected in a large decrease in total number of individual birds for the count--lowest since I started in 2013, with 100 individuals below the average of 455 over 9 years . The 28 total species (30 the previous day when scouting the route) however, was at the upper end of species counts for the years since 2013. 

Twelve of the 28 species were present in lower than average numbers (including Scaled Quail, Mourning Dove, Horned Lark, Cassin's Sparrow), with most of the other species roughly average in numbers. Most of the decreased numbers of total individuals is accounted for, however, by the absence of one species: Lark Bunting (actually this species was present, as one sole individual each day-- likely two different ones, based on the distance between their locations the two days). The only species present at an increased number was Rock Pigeon.

As for the two iconic shortgrass prairie species I always love seeing, after a boom last year of 13 Mountain Plovers, they were back to an average this year of 3; and Burrowing Owls, whose numbers also see-saw, were at their minimum since 2013 of 2 individuals observed (I've had just 2 present for three different discontinuous years, with a high of 13 in 2015).

No Grasshopper or Brewer's Sparrows this year (tho numbers of both are normally rather low on this route).

Curious to hear about other eastern plains BBS route results.

To the birds! (& maybe a monsoon?)

Marty Wolf

NW CO Springs

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