[cobirds] Yuma and Washington counties, May 24th & 25th

Hello, Birders.

David Gillilan and William Burnidge and I made a too-short trip out to the Fox Ranch, Yuma County, and back (via Last Chance, Washington County, of course), these past two days, Thursday-Friday, May 24th-25th.

Most of the time, David and I were enslaved by William way out in the lonely dune grass of the Fox Ranch. Low diversity there, but who's complaining about Greater Prairie-Chickens and Upland Sandpipers at every turn. With the low clouds and chilly temps, the songs of those birds were evocative. Grasshopper Sparrows occurred in grasshopper-like plagues; we found multiples along most of our Friday-afternoon survey transects, and we found multiples at all Friday morning-survey transects. Numerous Cassin's Sparrows, too.

William let us bird the Fox Ranch headquarters just a little, where we found some nice birds, highlighted by a singing Alder Flycatcher on Thursday afternoon. A Red-bellied Woodpecker was hanging out around the headquarters; it was an overdue addition to the Fox Ranch list. Other additions to the list, also all overdue, were Cinnamon Teal, Redhead, and Willow Flycatcher. We heard and briefly saw a male Blackpoll Warbler around the ranch headquarters. Oh, and we saw a tantalizing wood-pewee: nice and green, with a perfectly orange lower mandible and bold wing bars. But it didn't vocalize. Why it didn't even snap its bill. Then it flew away.

Some other odds and ends while William wasn't cracking the whip: 3 Wood Ducks, 2 Northern Bobwhites, several small groups of Wild Turkeys, 1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 3 Eastern Screech-Owls, several Red-headed Woodpeckers, only 1 Swainson's Thrush, 1 Eastern Bluebird, Orchard Orioles galore (even way out on the prairie), and 1 Baltimore Oriole. And, seriously, it was a marvelous treat to wander amid the Greater Prairie-Chickens and Upland Sandpipers; thanks to William for arranging this special opportunity, and thanks to Nathan Andrews for hosting us.

At Last Chance, William was most definitely cracking the whip, but we did manage to find a Yellow-throated Vireo. Many Swainson's Thrushes, too. Also Cassin's Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike, the three "eastern" mimic-thrush species, a couple of Lazuli Buntings, and several Orchard Orioles.

Ted Floyd
tedfloyd57@hotmail.com
Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado

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