Hi, Cobirders.
I am sure the subject line has raised a couple of eyebrows already. At 8:10
a.m. this morning Beth Payne and I were leaving the parking lot of the Hanover
Fire Station heading south to Chico Basin Ranch. About 100 yds. down the road we
stopped to watch a Canyon Towhee scratching under some pine trees along the
road. I looked up on the west side of the road and there was a Black-throated
Sparrow. Jeanne and I have seen many of these birds in Arizona, and even in the
Canon City area a couple of times, so it was immediately recognizable to me. The
bright white markings on the face were well defined. The black throat was
brilliant. There was no streaking on the breast and no wing bars. I could not
see if the underwing coverts were yellowish, but I did see white tips on the
tail when it flew.
And fly it did. It took off eastward across Peyton Hwy and went behind the
house trailer on the east side. We tried to follow its flight, but it did not
reappear while we were there. We looked again at 2:05 p.m. when we left Chico,
but did not see it. I wish one of our camera toting friends had been along
today.
On Hanover Road on the drive out to CBR we had great views of Brewers and
Lark Sparrows and two Swainson’s Hawks.
On Chico Basin Ranch (fee area) we did not see the Hooded Warbler, but did
have some nice birds. We were joined by Mary Ellen Moore and John Balog for our
day on the ranch. In El Paso County we had Ash-throated Flycatcher and Hermit
Thrush around the banding station. In Pueblo County we had a Marbled Godwit on
the HQs pond as well as Orange-crowned Warbler.
Good birding, everyone.
Mel Goff
Colorado Springs