Jeffco, Douglas, Denver - more fall out reports and a very big morning

[David Suddjian]

The Townsend's Warbler and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks continued at my yard early this morning, but were not evident late in the day.

I was out early in the snow storm and witnessed a large movement of American Robins coming down from the mountains at Deer Creek Canyon Park and South Valley Park and vicinity, along with Townsend's Solitaires. The robins were heading east at rates of 75-100 per minute wherever I looked in the first 2 hours after sunrise, totalling into the many 1000s. Consequently large numbers had moved into Chatfield and other areas where they were previously spread out in far lower numbers of nesting pairs. There were much lesser numbers of solitaires, but I saw over 50 flying east early on and encountered small numbers at many spots in the Chatfield, Hildebrand and South Valley areas where they had already departed for the spring. Clearly these birds were trying to find somewhere with available food. I imagine that as conditions improve they will return to territories already established, along with the big influx of Mountain and Western bluebirds (and probably lots of the Yellow-rumpeds are also mountain refugees). I wonder how that sorts out among neighbors...abandoning territories and then returning.

All the big numbers of sparrows and Lark Buntings continue, as others have noted, so I won't mention them further, except to say that my Chipping tally for the day was well over 1000 individuals, and several hundred each of Vesper, Brewer's and Clay-colored, 

Deer Creek at Hildebrand Ranch was very exciting, although birding conditions ranged from almost reasonable to rather challenging, depending on the rate of snow fall and wind. Despite the snow, or probably because of it, in addition to the flow of robins coming down the drainage from the mountains, there were huge numbers of warblers, and just scads of sparrows moving. Also flycatchers, vireos, thrushes and gnatcatchers. I found many species, but there were several calls I could not ID, and the birds seldom sat still for long. When I returned later in the day, after the storm broke, there were very few warblers and others. It seemed like they had dispersed. It was a remarkable change!!

But here were the highlights from about 1.2 miles of Deer Creek in the blowing snow early in the day: 1 Ferruginous Hawk, 1 Olive-sided Flycatcher, 13 Willow Flycatchers, 2 Hammond's Flycatchers, 1 Dusky, 2 Cordilleran, 1 Least, 1 Eastern Phoebe, 1 Cassin's Kingbird, 1 Yellow-throated Vireo, 2 Cassin's Vireos, 3 Plumbeous Vireos, 52 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers (likely moved down from upslope to W), 1 Veery, 18 Hermit Thrush, 14 Swainson's Thrush, 56 Virginia's Warblers (likely down slope movers), 1 Nashville Warbler, 450+ Yellow-rumped Warblers, 1 Black-and-white Warbler, 1 Ovenbird, 2 American Redstarts, 1 Yellow-breasted Chat (plus Yellow, Wilson's, MacGillivray's), 1 Summer Tanager, and 1 Orchard Oriole! And a few that got away...

I was happy to find the one Cassin's Kingbird at Hildebrand, but apparently thee was a significant movement and fallout, as I hit the Cassin's jackpot at Chatfield. There I encountered 3 at Kingfisher Parking Lot, 14(!) along the road to Plum Creek Nature Area, and 4 more at the entry road to Massey Draw. The road to Plum Creek was just loaded with kingbirds when I drove out, including a whopping 340+/- Western Kingbirds and 47 Eastern Kingbirds parked on the road. But when I drove back through an hour later numbers were down by 70%. The big numbers were there when it was still snowing, then only lesser numbers after the snow quit. 

Other birds of note at Chatfield: Northern Parula, Hooded Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Blackpoll Warbler, 1 Common Tern, 2 Forster's Terns (both tern species at a small pond west of Plum Creek).

On the theme of changing bird numbers with the cessation of the storm, I noticed that as the day went on, sparrows and other roadside species diminished markedly after the snow quit. I think many began to disperse as soon as they could. To be sure there were still many lingering in the afternoon, but numbers definitely dropped markedly.

Lastly, some brief views from the west side of Marston had 13 pretty Black-belled Plovers, 1 Solitary, and some Leasts.

David Suddjian

Littleton, CO