Results from Previous Fieldtrips - 2008 July thru December
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 4TH SATURDAY BIRDWALK AT THE NATURE AND RAPTOR CENTER, PUEBLO: New birders, Peg Rooney, Penrose, and Barbara Sobo, Pueblo West, joined
Donna Emmons
and
Brandon Percival
on the last Nature Center hike for 2008 on a very chilly morning.....(More)
PUEBLO RESERVOIR, NOVEMBER 8, BRANDON PERCIVAL, LEADER: The weather was gorgeous - sunny, unusually warm and no wind. Twenty birders from Colorado Springs, Ordway, Rocky Ford, Canon City, Pueblo West and Pueblo enjoyed the mildest weather in the several years Brandon has been conducting this trip.
Due in part to the mild weather, there were not great numbers of birds, but we did have quite a diversity of species (48 total). Highlights were a Red-throated Loon and several Common Loons, Eared and Horned Grebes. A Great Black-backed Gull was also reported but not seen by the entire group. Also of note was a Merlin, Ferruginous Hawk, a pair of Scaled Quail, an American Pipit and a Northern Mockingbird.
Sunday, November 2, Bent's Old Fort and Rocky Ford: First stop was Bent's Fort, in Otero County, and the huge marsh just inside the gate. Fran Pannebaker, Natural Resources Program Director, talked with us about the past and plans for the future of this National Historic Site. What a welcome sight this magnificent Fort must have been to weary travelers in the l800's.
Trip leader, John Drummond, told the group about the discovery of Black Rails (first state record) in the marsh and although we knew they were gone to winter homes, we couldn't help but hope to hear one. We did hear several Virginia Rails and a Sora, A bunch of Marsh Wrens and a Sedge Wren gave us quick looks. A walk along the Arkansas River yielded a Northern Shrike, Say's Phoebe and a flock of about 25 Northern Bobwhites. Raptors were plentiful - Northern Harrier, Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawks, Red-tailed and Ferruginous Hawks, GH Owl and American Kestrels. After lunch we stopped at Lake Cheraw where the highlight was a small flock of Sandhill Cranes on the far shore, Eared Grebes and a good assortment of dabbling ducks.
We met our afternoon guide, Stan Oswald, at Lake Holbrook and found several shorebirds - Long-billed Dowitchers, American Avocet, Greater yellowlegs, a Least Sandpiper and a flock of Killdeer. Also American White Pelicans, a Common Loon, Horned Grebes, Hooded Mergansers and a few other diving ducks. On to Lake Henry and Bonaparte's Gulls and five female Red-brested Mergansers. Lake Meredith feedlot pond had a large number of Ring-billed Gulls. I had hoped to attract local birders to this trip and was gratified that 2 from Las Animas, 2 from Rocky Ford and 4 from Ordway joined us. These, in addition to the 5 from the Colorado Springs area, 1 from Canon City and 1 from Pueblo West, made for a lively and interesting group of beginning to near expert birders. We even helped celebrate the birthday of a new, young birder whose wish was to go birding with us!
Saturday, October 4 - Valco Ponds and Rock Canyon: Because a storm usually forces migrants down to rest for awhile, leader Brandon Percival, had hoped the cloudy and wet weather forecast for the weekend would move in before this outing. But, the day was clear, calm and warm (which is better suited for birders in my opinion) and even though we did not have a fall-out we did have a good many sightings that included migrants Hooded Merganser (f), Cassin's Vireo, Orange-crowned Warblers, Wilson's Warblers and White-throated Sparrow. Other highlights include Black Phoebe, juv. Golden Eagle, Osprey and Red-naped Sapsucker. Thanks, Brandon, for another good day. Complete list follows: Click here
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, PUEBLO COUNTY FALL MIGRATION COUNT: Dave Silverman, organizer and compiler, submits the following report.
Thriteen birders in 9 parties tallied 157 species in the course of the day during this the 13th annual count. Only four other Fall Counts have done better.
The team of Brandon Percial and David Chartier topped all teams with over 80 species, including 5 Sabine's Gulls and 2 Black Phoebes at and below Pueblo Reservoir. Six Eastern Phoebes were seen by all parties, representing a Count high. Four were seen by the Greenhorn Valley team in Scroggs Canyon, Colorado City, where we also enjoyed listening to bugling elk.
Chestnut-collared and McCown's Longspurs migrate thru Pueblo County and a few may regularly winter here, but they are not often seen during any season. Mark Peterson reported 2 Chestnut-collared and 7 McCown's when covering the prairies north of Boone, a somewhat under-birded area. Hopefully his report will attract birders to the area on future Counts. A Hooded Warbler at the east end of Pueblo's City Park was a great find by Leon Bright. The "Hoody" was a new bird for the Fall Count, so kudos to Leon for the discovery.
Thanks to all participants and thanks again to Brandon Percival for his help compiling these Counts. A complete list of all birds seen follows.
Dave also organizes a Spring migration count, which falls on May 9, 2009. Plan to join in!
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 4TH SATURDAY BIRDWALK AT THE NATURE CENTER, PUEBLO; Clif Smith, Brandon Percival and Clara King (from Ordway) spotted only 35 species on this morning walk. To quote Brandon, it "wasn't overly birdy". They did find a Barn Owl in a crevice in the bluffs very near the parking area. In search of more species, the group went to Valco Ponds, where it was equally "non-birdy". The highlight at this spot was a Blue Grosbeak.
Clif suggests it was just one of those interim days when the birds aren't active or migrating through. The weather was fairly warm, so the birds were staying out of the heat, perhaps. Some days are like that. Maybe the next outing, on October 25, will be more productive.
Valco Ponds, September 7, Mark Yaeger, leader: This was one of Mark's semi-annual trips for beginning birders and several novices did show up - some new to birding, some new to birding in Colorado. We also had three
Lake
Pueblo
State Park
staff join us for a walk from Valco to the fish hatchery ponds.
Large, perched birds are always good to study on such walks and Clif Smith supplied a telescope for close-up looks at any bird cooperative enough to sit still for a few moments, like
Osprey
,
Turkey
Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk., Great Blue Heron...(more)
4th Saturday Birdwalk, Pueblo Nature Center, August 23: Bill McGurn and Lura Zimmerman were co-leaders for this month's walk. Joined by new birder, Nancy Petinger, and long-time birders, Clif Smith and Brandon Percival, the group saw a total of 43 species on their walk along the river trail.
Highlights for the day were Mississippi Kite, Great Horned Owl and four hummingbird species - Black-chinned, Broadtail, Calliope and Rufous. The Solitary Sandpiper and Wilson's Warbler spotted are migrants and an indication that Fall Migration is getting underway. It's and exciting time to go birding, so get out there and see what's flitting about in your neighborhood AND join AVAS on September 7th at Valco Ponds, the 20th for Pueblo County Fall Count and the 27th for the next 4th Saturday Birdwalk. See the details for all these upcoming trips in the September Field Trips section on this website
Annual Wet Mountain Valley Field Trip - 106 species
Saturday, August 16, 2008
The Arkansas Valley Audubon Society held their annual summer field trip to the Wet Mountain Valley on August 16. This is the 24rd consecutive year that this birding trip has been held, and the organizers who have attended all 24 trips report that this was the first time that rain hampered the morning’s activities. But the hearty group persevered, and were rewarded with occasional periods in which the rain stopped. As one storm system appeared to....(more)
JUNE 14, LA VETA: The group of 18 came from as far away as Cerro and Angel Fire, NM, and Rocky Ford to spend the day birding in this lovely area. We began the day at the top of Old La Veta Pass touring the historic property of Stirling Lathrop’s family. Now called Up Top Ranch, this was once the turn-around for the extra engines required to pull narrow-gauge trains of the Denver Rio Grande line to this point (1876-1892). The original depot, a chapel built in l912, hotel and restaurant building and several other buildings still stand and are maintained by the family. Birding highlights included a pair of Red Crossbills, several very vocal Western Tanagers and a pair of Green-tailed Towhees, intent on distracting us from their nest.
In and around the town, we visited Beverly Jensen’s backyard feeders, Town Lakes, the “Lewis’s Woodpecker trees” in Wahatoya Valley and Paul and Polly Neldner’s feeders. The list below does not include Great-horned Owl, Harris’s Hawk, Swainson’s Hawk and Red-tailed Hawk we saw in a local rehabilitator’s cages. Thanks to the folks in La Veta who planned this outing and provided generous hospitality.
Cinnamon Teal
Pied-billed Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Wilson's Snipe
Rock Dove
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Common Nighthawk
White-throated Swift
Black-chinned
Hummingbird
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Lewis's Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker, Red- and Yellow-shafted
Western Wood-Pewee
Cordilleran Flycatcher
Say's Phoebe
Western Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird
Warbling Vireo
Steller’s Jay
Western Scrub-Jay
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Violet-green Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Mountain Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Western Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Gray Catbird
European Starling
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Western Tanager
Green-tailed Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco, Grey-headed
Black-headed Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Brewer's Blackbird
Common Grackle
Bullock's oriole
House Finch
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
Evening Grosbeak
House Sparrow