Blanca Wetlands Shorebirds Numbers Down

[mvjo...@gmail.com]

Lisa and I birded the Blanca Wetlands complex today and gave the area a good look. When all was said and done, Lisa, who has done shorebird surveys there for many years, noted that shorebird numbers are way down for this time of year. Usually this count and the next have the highest total shorebird numbers each year. But not this year and we can only speculate the cause...drought? Smoke and fires? Conditions in the north breeding grounds? 

We still tallied some nice birds for the day including Baird's, Western, Spotted and Solitary Sandpipers,  Greater Yellowlegs, Am. Bittern, Peregrine Falcon, and Snowy Plovers (All Alamosa County). We would add that the Snowy Plovers are still raising young so please minimize disturbance to them by viewing them from afar.

John Rawinski

Monte Vista, CO