Crow Valley Campground (Weld) on 9/14

[Dave Leatherman]

Ken Ecton and I decided to check out Crow Valley Campground (Weld) this morning and early afternoon.  We ran into Carol and Ruth.  The four of us decided the campground itself was fairly quiet, with a decent bird here and there, but unanimously felt the northwest corner was nothing short of a migratory spectacle, at least in terms of bird numbers.  The magic Russian-olive by the temporary pond just north of the gate that goes out to the primitive camping/Mourning Dove Trail was literally alive with birds.  It was obvious a wave of birds is being pushed along by this cold front, some orienting straight down from the low clouds to the north edge of the campground. 

 

Highlights:

The burned areas are recovering pretty well, especially the willow jungle due south of the Main Picnic Shelter (MPS).

The recent rain and flowing water in Crow Creek will be of further help in this regard.

 

Yellow-rumped Warbler (at least 30, my FOS at low elevation, mostly in Russian-olive)

Townsend's Solitaire (at least 10, probably many more, all associating with Russian-olive)

Townsend's Warbler (at least 10, probably many more, in Russian-olives, coyote willows, and sunflowers)

Orioles (at least 3, one of which I feel fairly certain was a Baltimore (poor photos obtained), in Russian-olives mostly (eating them, too))

Orange-crowned Warbler (at least 15, probably many more)

Wilson's Warbler (at least 20)

Spizella sparrows (a few hundred, about an even split between Brewer's, Clay-colored, and Chipping)

Nashville Warbler (1 female, trying very hard to blend in among the more yellow-gray contrasting Orange-crowns, mostly low, in Lactuca (I think))

White-crowned Sparrow (1 imm, FOS at low elevation)

Lincoln's Sparrow (1)

Mimic Thrushes (a few Brown Thrashers, at least 1 Gray Catbird, at least 1 Northern Mockingbird, all in Russian-olives)

Gray Flycatcher (1, by the horseshoe pits s of the MPS)

Cassin's Kingbird (1 flew over the southwest corner junipers)

American Redstart (1f, mostly somewhat high in the cottonwoods between the southwest corner and the MPS)

Hammond's Flycatcher (1, under the monster cottonwood that somewhat burned where the trail dips under it, south of the MPS)

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (at least 15, mostly in the northwest corner by the cattle pond, and in scattered trees out north)

Hermit Thrush (2)

Ruby-crowned Kinglet (few)

Empidonax (undetermined, probably "Traill's" type)

Western Tanager (at least 3, all in Russian-olives)

Western Wood-Pewee (at least 5)

no sapsuckers

no Myiarchus flycatchers

very few thrushes

very few empids

no vireos

........................................

Total of 42 species

 

GR96 had a fairly large group of longspurs, all McCown's that we could determine.

 

The Weld CR100 between CR57 and Norma's Grove was crawling with birds in the sunflowers on either side (mostly the same mix as the northwest corner of Crow Valley plus at least 4 Sage Thrashers, and a Bullock's Oriole male).  Although I've seen it many times before, it always seems surprising to see Townsend's Warblers working sunflowers along a prairie road.  Norma's Grove itself was very quiet (no water) and just had a Sharp-shinned Hawk (maybe why it was quiet), a Great Horned Owl, and one Least Flycatcher.

 

Lots of Swainson's Hawks on the move, and a few Sage Thrashers seen in other places.  Does it seem like there are more Sage Thrashers on the plains than would be considered normal?

 

Dave Leatherman

Fort Collins