Prairie Falcons, Harlan's Hawks and white geese in lower Arkansas Valley

[SeEtta Moss]

I birded some in the lower Arkansas Valley east of Pueblo today.  In eastern Pueblo County where hundreds of white (including at least one blue phase) and dark geese had crowded into one of the few ponds with open water now that cold temps have frozen much of the water where drought has lowered water levels.  On Lake Meredith in Otero County I saw more than 500 white geese with my spotting scope (that lake is closed to allow waterfowl to rest).  Surprisingly I didn't see any white geese on John Martin Reservoir (from the dam) or in fields in that area.

I found at least 2, likely 3, dark Harlan's Hawks, 3-4 Bald Eagles, 2 Prairie Falcons, several Northern Harriers and a number of typical Red-tailed Hawks in Otero County.  Lake Henry was almost totally frozen over, again related to very low water level.  There was water being moved into Lake Meredith--this is how most of these irrigation reservoirs are filled during the winter water storage plans.  Lake Holbrook was still bone dry. 

From the dam over John Martin I could see about a hundred American White Pelicans, 25 or so Double-crested Cormorants, hundreds of white-headed gulls and thousands of distant waterfowl.  Lake Hasty was mostly frozen over with a few waterfowl on the small amount of open water. 

I have uploaded photos of one of the Prairie Falcons, some of the mixed geese, and a Bald Eagle onto my Birds and Nature blog

SeEtta Moss
Canon City
Blogging for Birds and Blooms magazine @ http://birdsandbloomsblog.com/author/seetta-moss/
Personal blog @ BirdsAndNature.blogspot.com.