How do we know Baird's Sparrow has never bred in Colorado?

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I was conversing with Hugh Kingery about the upcoming publication of the 2nd Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas (a project sponsored in part by CFO). This is a birding reference book every Colorado birder should have. It is the product of literally thousands of hours of volunteer efforts by dozens (hundreds?) of Colorado birders and will provide the best information of what is the current status of breeding birds of over 260 of our local breeding species. It answers questions such as "How do we know that Baird's Sparrow has never bred in Colorado?" As suggested by the influx of Baird's Sparrows in the last 3 summers, breeding status of many birds may be changing partly as a consequence of climate change, and the two atlas projects to date document these changes here in Colorado better than any other book available. To get the best deal from the printer, we need advanced orders, so if you are planning to buy this book (and I know ALL of you are!), please pre-order now at www.cobreedingbirdatlasii.org.

You can also help ensure that Baird's Sparrow gets an entry in the next Breeding Bird Atlas by helping document breeding this Saturday. There is space for more volunteer observers on the CFO Field Trip Saturday. Reply to me privately for more info.

Nick Komar

Fort Collins CO