17 shorebird species in SE Colorado 5/1/15

[Dale Adams]

Joel and I set out yesterday to try for several new shorebirds at southeastern reservoirs and the day turned out to have a lot more in store than we anticipated.

As we were leaving the house at dawn we heard 7 species calling.  Along the drive to Holbrook Reservoir we picked up 11 more common species.

Holbrook Reservoir

We hoped to see the Snowy Plover, but after 2 hours of walking and scanning we didn't find it.  But the walk and driving along the dam produced 51 species which added 40 species to add to the daylist!  Highlights included a singing Northern Mockingbird, a singing Brown Thrasher, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Swainson's Hawk, Black Stilt, Scaled Quail and several shorebirds.  At least 5 Forster's Terns were fishing and 3 other were landed at the north side of the dam.

Cheraw Reservoir

We stopped along the west side of Cheraw Reservoir and scanned for activity which looked promising.  So we slogged through the mud to get closer and had good looks at at 7 Snowy Plovers, a Willet, and a couple of Marbled Godwits and other shorebirds.  Another singing Brown Thrasher added to the fun. 12 more species for day at Cheraw.

John Martin Reservoir

We didn't know where along the south side of John Martin to look for the Piping Plover and so drove west from the dam until we reached Point #6.  From there we hiked back east along the shore and did not see much until we came to the fenced off restricted area for nesting plovers and Least Terns.  As we were approaching we saw another birder cruising through the restricted area which was very disappointing.  He left before we came up to the restricted area.  We circled along the fence of the restricted area without seeing anything and then headed back.  Just as we were leaving the fenced off area, a Piping Plover came in and landed in the restricted area and gave us a nice look (a cool reward for staying out of it!).

Other fun birds included a couple of House Wrens, four more singing Mockingbirds, a singing Brown Thrasher, a Loggerhead Shrike, and Semi-palmated Plovers.  12 more species for the day list.

Melody and Temple Grove

Hoping to see a Harris's Sparrow, but did not have luck with that. Did not see any warblers beside several Yellow-rumped Warblers.  Western Kingbirds were everywhere along the drive throughout the day. Added 7 more species to the day list at the Grove and driving to it.

Neosopah Reservoir

Stopped in to see if there was anything and encountered a large group of experienced birders from Boulder and Denver.  We didn't want to disturb them viewing through their scopes and so were just scanning the shore for anything interesting when Joey Kellner came up and introduced himself.  He had his scope and said that they had found a Dunlin in breeding plumage and was wondering if we wanted to see it.  We gladly took him up on his offer as this was a lifer for us, and enjoyed seeing and photographing the Dunlin.  Joey epitomizes the best in really cool birders that we have encountered at numerous locations in Colorado. (6 more species for the day list including birds on the next reservoir to the north).

Neosopah had by far the largest numbers of shorebirds of any the reservoirs.  We saw 17 shorebird species over the course of the day.

Lamar Community College

We ended the day as light was fading at the College and saw the Red-bellied Woodpecker on a branch with a good sized hole in it, likely their nesting site.  Also the Broad-winged Hawk that had been previously reported made a showing.  Chimmny Swifts overhead were also a new bird for us.  A Sharp-shinned Hawk flew over as well

When we totaled up the day list, we had 99 species which is our best day so far.  My daughter also saw 6 more species at our birdfeeder during the day that we had not seen on the plains, and so the family total for the day was 105 species.  Five new lifers for Colorado and 20 FOS birds also made it a great day.

Good Birding!
Dale and Joel Adams
Fremont County

[Dale Adams]

Sorry, mistake above. The Semipalmated Plovers at John Martin Reservoir should have been Semipalmated Sandpipers.

[Gloria Nikolai]

Due to the location, the following are not birds that cannot be chased. However, it is an FYI that they are passing through the county and perhaps incentive to sign up for one of the Pinello Ranch guided bird hikes :-)  http://www.ppcf.org/pinello-ranch/ 
 
Seen at Pinello Ranch (private area, only accessible during scheduled bird walks) during a guided hike on 5/2/2015:
Dozens of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Myrtle and Audubon
4 Yellow Warblers
Many Orange-crowned Warblers
2 Black-and White Warblers
plus 52 other species
 
Seen after the scheduled hike by David Rudin and myself
Many more Yellow-rumped (and another Yellow) Warblers
Nashville Warbler
WORM-EATING WARBLER

 Happy spring migration to all!
Gloria Nikolai
Colorado Springs, Colorado (El Paso County)
 

[Dale Adams]

Christian Nunes nicely e-mailed us with a good possible explanation for the guy walking through the restricted plover nesting area.  Here is his explanation:

"There's a very good chance that any birder "cruising" through a plover closure is Duane Nelson, who is singlehandedly responsible for their protection. He actually hikes the perimeter of all the lakes in the region every year looking for nest sites. Maybe it was someone nefarious, but hopefully not."

Thanks Christian for the explanation, and hopefully it was Duane hiking the lake perimeter of the nesting area.  It was helpful to hear more about efforts that others are making to help protect endangered species.

Cheers,
Dale and Joel