San Luis Valley Fallout

[mvjo...@gmail.com]

The recent storm caused a considerable fallout of birds in the San Luis Valley. In Monte Vista, 12-14 inches of snow effectively cutoff any source of food for many migrating birds. It was not looking very good. Lisa and I did our best and cleared lawn and spread some seed for the ground scratching birds. We also put out mealworms from our mealworm mill, and that got immediately used by robins, sage thrashers, warblers, and hermit thrushes.  My sole remaining hummingbird feeder was used by 2 hummers, and I believe they would have been in big trouble otherwise.  Sadly, we had nothing to offer the swallows circling the house. On the local roads, many birds died as they huddled near the cleared road edges, but failed to escape the fast-moving vehicles. I examined some of the road-killed birds and there were mtn bluebirds, robins, hermit thrush, vesper sparrow and wilson warblers. Anyway, snows are melting and I hope the birds can get back to feeding and migrating. 

John Rawinski

Monte Vista, CO

[Ira Sanders]

As I haven't left the house in about a week, I have avoided observing the carnage of the birds on the roads.  We have however been rotating 8 different hummer feeders since Tuesday morning for the dozen or so hummers that have been sticking around our yard this week.  We had as many as 7 on one feeder at one time yesterday.  There are Rufous, Black-chinned, 1 Calliope, probably Broad-tailed and one that I thought might be a Ruby-throated but most likely is a Black-chinned.  All are juv/females.

 I've been throwing out seed for the dozen or so towhees, both spotted and green-tailed, along with an assortment of sparrows of Chipping, Brewer's, and maybe Clay-colored. There was 1 sad Wilson's Warbler in the bushes.   A Western Tanager figured out how to get into the suet cage with the chickadees and bushtits and a flock of siskins joined the goldfinch on the thistle and in the water feature.  Robins were in the backyard and I think there was still 1 Lazuli Bunting hanging around but I haven't seen any of the house wrens that had been here.  Steller's, Scrub and Blue Jays were around but the topper for the snow storm was the Bobcat that cruised thru the yard today.  

I'm looking forward to sunshine tomorrow.

Ira Sanders

Golden

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Ira Sanders

Golden, CO

"My mind is a raging torrent flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives."