high altitude White-breasted Nuthatches, San Juan County

[Eric DeFonso]

Hi folks,

Not a rare species to report, but something I found surprising nonetheless. This morning while doing a bird survey in the San Juan National Forest near Coal Bank Pass just off US 550 between Durango and Silverton, I encountered White-breasted Nuthatches at the highest elevation I've ever seen them at -- 11,300 feet, just a few hundred feet below treeline (at least on the mountain I was on) and in spruce-fir forest.

I've had WBNU on a couple other relatively high-elevation surveys, but this was over a thousand feet higher than those. I know that birds don't really pay attention to altimeters as much as they do viable habitat, but still I found this interesting, and was curious about other surprising high-altitude finds people have made this year.

For example, yesterday in a very meadowy transect near Rico, CO just off Dunton Rd (Dolores County) I had several Savannah Sparrows at around 10,400 feet. One of them (presumably a female) even performed a distraction display for me when I apparently got close to the nest, although I was not able to actually find the nest. To be sure, I didn't have much time to look, as my surveys are not nest surveys.

Thanks,

Eric

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Eric DeFonso
Boulder, CO (currently in Durango)