Prowers and Baca Birding on Saturday May 9

[William H Kaempfer]

The CFO SE Colorado Birding tour continued today with a primary focus on two areas—Lamar Community College Woods and Picture Canyon.

 

At LCCW (Prowers) we waited out morning rain until past 7:30 before we began to bird the woods from south to north.  Immediately upon enter the woods we heard a “Solitary Vireo”-type song that was rougher around the edges.  We found the bird foraging in one of the elms and identified it as a Yellow-throated Vireo.  Nearby we found a juv. Broad-winged Hawk.  Later we had perched and flyovers of Mississippi Kites, Red-headed Woodpeckers in a nest cavity  Warblers found included Black-throated Blue Warbler, Orange Crowned, Northern Waterthrush and Yellow-breasted Chat.

 

It took us a while to get to Picture Canyon (Baca), but it was worth it.  For the second year in a row on this trip we found a territorial pair of Painted Buntings.  The birds were just north of the fenced enclosure on the east side of the canyon wall.  What can be as spectacular, or almost as spectacular as a Painted Bunting?  Well, how about a Prothonotory Warbler?  We had one of those too,  It was feeding in the two small ponds along the cliff.  Other birds in the area included Burrowing Owl, Orchard Oriole and Northern Bobwhite.

 

Bill Kaempfer

Boulder