Some NE Colorado Birds on June 28th

[William H Kaempfer]

Even without a real early start, I managed a few good things on a trip out to Jumbo Reservoir then down to Phillips County today.

Upland Sandpiper on Logan CR 71 north of US 138 between Proctor and Crook--This bird was on a fence post (big surprise) but it was right at the side of the road, basically looking right in my passenger window no more than 12 feet away from me!

There were three singing Bell’s Vireos in the south most shelterbelt between Little Jumbo Reservoir and Red Lion ponds along LCR 95.

Most interestingly and noteworthy was a LEAST TERN foraging at the SW corner of Jumbo Reservoir. Yet another up close observation.  From Nebraska?

Finally, it took me most of the day, but I found a singing Dickcissel at “Lake Linfield” on Phillips CR 2 east of PCR 29.  (This is an absolutely fascinating spot.  A few years back this was a huge flooded playa covering several acres and making the road (PCR 2) impassable under several feet of water.  Since then it totally dried out—the Phillips County side is now a winter wheat field.  But now there is a little bit of water on the Yuma side of the road and much more back at PCR 29X2.  All of Phillips County has had a great deal of precipitation over the last month—6 to 10 inches throughout as shown by http://water.weather.gov/precip/ It has been the wettest part of the state, and frankly the corn looks a little hail worn.  But it is taking a while for the water table to rise and fill in some of the playas.  Meanwhile, “Lake Roller” nearby in Yuma County is filling up nicely and had American Avocets and Burrowing Owls.  Check these spots over the next couple of months and you are likely to get some nice shorebirds.) 

Bill Kaempfer

Boulder

[David Dowell]

Having good information such as this on playa type areas could be really helpful for the first wave of migrating shorebirds in July.  I saw standing water here and there during my drive home yesterday through Morgan and Weld Counties.  Meanwhile, the water in Jackson Reservoir (Morgan Co.)  was even higher than last time I checked it, and I didn't see any shorebird habitat yet on the lake itself.

The area south of Lower Latham Reservoir down to Beebe Draw (Weld County) does still have water.  South of Road 48, a pair of Marbled Godwits and some Wilson's Phalaropes were the migrants that had joined the resident American Avocets and Black-necked Stilts.

Interesting find with the Least Tern.  They have now been seen in three locations in northeast Colorado this year.

David Dowell

Longmont, CO