San Luis Valley Saturday
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Nick Moore
Aug 9, 2020, 5:10:43 PM8/9/20
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I spent the day in the valley yesterday. Highlights: Earlyish Townsend’s Warbler at Old La Veta Pass (Costilla), Snowy Plover (4) at Blanca Wetlands (Alamosa), a real push of migrants towns and fields held pewees, grosbeaks, sapsuckers and Virginia’s Warblers.
Question on the snowy plover what is their status in the valley. In old articles they breed in small numbers but there are basically no eBird reports in years. Do they still breed? I thought I had three young birds, very washed out plumage and fluffy, pretty distant to see too well.
Started at Old La Veta Pass for some forest birds. The burn on the Heurfano side actually had more birds than the intact forest. Single Townsend’s Warbler and a feeling that birds were on the move.
The towns of Fort Garland and Blanca both had migrant pewees, a Williamson’s Sapsucker, Black-headed Grosbeak and were very pleasant to bird. Blanca was swarming with Pine Siskin. Groups of a hundred or more at each feeder in town.
Smith Reservoir had no shorebirds but phalarope. The small willows held migrants. Tons of common nighthawks in the sky. Would be a great place to try and find a lesser in the evening. A field of alfalfa was buzzing with mostly Calliope Hummingbirds and a few Rufous.
Tried to bird Sego Springs SWA (Conejos) the ponds and Creek were dry so I moved on. The crisscrossing country roads were the best birding with migrant sparrows and a few other things scattered about. Nothing of note.
Zipped to Blanca Wetlands. Their website said water levels were low and yes they were. If not for one pond my checklist would have had two Ring-bilked Gulls and that’s it for water birds. I saw no ducks?! Perhaps the levels were so low the water was too saline to support food for the birds? The first pond on the way in held a flock of 2/3rds Baird’s and the rest Western Sandpiper and a single Least. As well as the aforementioned Plovers.
Rest of the day spent working my way north with much of the same.
Beautiful first time birding in this area. Learned a lot about how to improve future routes and loved the scenery.
Nick Moore
Boulder
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
Question on the snowy plover what is their status in the valley. In old articles they breed in small numbers but there are basically no eBird reports in years. Do they still breed? I thought I had three young birds, very washed out plumage and fluffy, pretty distant to see too well.
Started at Old La Veta Pass for some forest birds. The burn on the Heurfano side actually had more birds than the intact forest. Single Townsend’s Warbler and a feeling that birds were on the move.
The towns of Fort Garland and Blanca both had migrant pewees, a Williamson’s Sapsucker, Black-headed Grosbeak and were very pleasant to bird. Blanca was swarming with Pine Siskin. Groups of a hundred or more at each feeder in town.
Smith Reservoir had no shorebirds but phalarope. The small willows held migrants. Tons of common nighthawks in the sky. Would be a great place to try and find a lesser in the evening. A field of alfalfa was buzzing with mostly Calliope Hummingbirds and a few Rufous.
Tried to bird Sego Springs SWA (Conejos) the ponds and Creek were dry so I moved on. The crisscrossing country roads were the best birding with migrant sparrows and a few other things scattered about. Nothing of note.
Zipped to Blanca Wetlands. Their website said water levels were low and yes they were. If not for one pond my checklist would have had two Ring-bilked Gulls and that’s it for water birds. I saw no ducks?! Perhaps the levels were so low the water was too saline to support food for the birds? The first pond on the way in held a flock of 2/3rds Baird’s and the rest Western Sandpiper and a single Least. As well as the aforementioned Plovers.
Rest of the day spent working my way north with much of the same.
Beautiful first time birding in this area. Learned a lot about how to improve future routes and loved the scenery.
Nick Moore
Boulder
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
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