Fieldnotes 3/24/2013 Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge

A Good Day for Ducks

We started across County Road 8S. Near the Refuge we saw marsh hawk, red-tailed and rough-legged hawks. At the 8S pullout, the field was filled with sandhill cranes (but fewer than this time last year). Among the Canada geese were about 30 snow geese - an unusual sighting and that many snow geese makes it that much more unusual.

Also recorded:

--Western bluebirds

Ducks and duck-like birds:

--Cinnamon teal

--Northern shoveler

--Lesser scaup

--Green-winged teal

--Bufflehead

--American coot

--Mallard

--Common goldeneye

--Pintail

--Canvasback

--American widgeon

At the first pond east of the Refuge visitor center, we saw an unusual-looking goose. It had a white patch on its side and orange legs. We debated whether it might be a Canada goose hybrid because it was near a regular-looking Canada goose that might have been its mate.

Along the auto tour we saw the thrilling yet ominous sight of two peregrine falcons feeding on what was once a flying creature. Their golden eyes and sharp claws were clearly visible to the naked eye, not 10 feet  away from the road and our car.

Our evening trip ended with the lovely spring symbol of American red-breasted robins, singing and courting.

Fieldnotes 2/10/13 South River Road, Pikes Stockad and the LaSauses WRP

We deployed the NRCS Earth Team down to the Valdez WRP, traveling on the South River Road from Alamosa. We saw bald eagles, American kestrels, juvenile rough-legged hawk, magpies, ravens and newborn calves in the winter-brown fields.

--Sandhill cranes northwest of Pikes Stockade

At the Valdez WRP in LaSauses, the frozen hard ground allowed us to explore the full extent of the entire property. We discovered a northern entrance along an irrigation ditch that will allow us to get to some prime birding habitat. On this trip we saw a bald eagle and an American kestrel, along with a black-capped chickadee, a marsh hawk hovering over the fields, sandhill cranes flying high in the sky and we heard red-winged blackbirds.

Fieldnotes 2/23/13 Riverwood Pond in Alamosa

During our daily walks we’d seen more ducks and geese coming to the open water on Riverwood Pond. We understand that parts of the pond stay melted through the winter because of warm thermal springs that flow into the pond. After our walk and prior to a trip to the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge, we saw:

--Common merganser

--Common goldeneye (male and female)

--Red-headed duck

--Canada geese

--Muskrat

We then drove to the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge for a hike along the Rio Grande River trail where we saw:

--Marsh hawk (yes, we know the accepted nomenclature is northern harrier, but we prefer the older version of marsh hawk)

--Northern shrike

--Bald eagle

--Red-tailed hawk

--Common ravens

--Two coyotes looking forlorn because they were tied to the ground by four spindly legs

Fieldnotes 2/7/2013 4:30-6:15 Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge

The cold winter had kept us inside for at least a month but a break in the weather and a warming trend sent us west to the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge.

 We saw:

 --2 rough-legged hawks

--First sighting of the season - numerous sandhill cranes crossing the blue skies. HOORAY!!

--2-3 cranes in field (intersection Rio Grande County 3E and 7S)

--Huge flock of ducks in flight (possible lesser scaup)

--10-20 red-winged blackbirds

--8-10 song sparrows

--20 pronghorns - territorial chasing

--Elk bedding down for the night

And the sun dropping below the San Juan Mountains.

 

The Last Bird Count

Total Birds Identified – 169

During our one-year Birding Odyssey we criss-crossed back and forth across the beautiful San Luis Valley – from the arid Valley floor to pinon-juniper habitats to higher mountainous areas. We drove across highways, county roads and U.S. Forest Service trails. We hiked countless trails in all kinds of weather. We even mucked through a flooded cow pasture wearing knee-high irrigation boots. We tromped through the snow, we swatted mosquitoes during the summer and we caught our breath as we crested mountainsides covered with golden aspen. We got up at the crack of dawn and we stayed out on the trail until the sun dropped behind the San Juan Mountains. We returned to favorite birding areas many times during the year and we explored areas we had never before visited. By the time our one-year Odyssey was completed on December 31, 2012 we had recorded 169 species of birds. Some we had seen before, others were new birds on our life list and a few are considered rare sightings in the Valley.

Below is our San Luis Valley Birding Odyssey list.  When we saw a particular species only once or twice we noted the location.  That doesn’t mean it is an unusual bird for the Valley, just that we had only one opportunity during the year to observe and record it. The highlight of our Birding Odyssey was on July 19, 2012 when we identified and photographed a black phoebe perched on a willow along the Rio Grande . Each and every bird we saw, however, brought us joy and excitement and even a little regret that we are unable to join these exquisite creatures in flight.

Greater White-fronted Goose – Home Lake

Snow Goose

Ross’ Goose – Alamosa Riverwood Pond

Cackling Goose

Canada Goose

Gadwall

American Widgeon

Mallard

Blue-winged Teal

Cinnamon Teal

Northern Shoveler

Northern Pintail

Green-winged Teal

Canvasback

Redhead

Ring-necked Duck

Lesser Scaup

Bufflehead

Common Goldeneye

Common Merganser

Ruddy Duck

Dusky Grouse – Rock Creek

Pied-billed Grebe

Eared Grebe – Smith Reservoir, Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge

Western Grebe

Clark’s Grebe

American White Pelican

Double-crested Cormorant – Home Lake

American Bittern

Great Blue Heron

Snowy Egret

Black-crowned Night Heron

White-faced Ibis

Turkey Vulture

Osprey – Big Meadow Reservoir, Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Bald Eagle

Northern Harrier

Cooper’s Hawk – John James Canyon

Swainson’s Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Ferruginous Hawk – Alamosa County Road 104

Rough-legged Hawk

Golden Eagle

American Kestrel

Merlin - Alamosa

Peregrine Falcon

Prairie Falcon

Sora - LaSauses

American Coot

Sandhill Crane

Snowy Plover – Blanca Wetlands

Killdeer

Black-necked Stilt – Johnson Lake at Russell Lakes State Wildlife Area

American Avocet

Spotted Sandpiper

Greater Yellowlegs

Willet – Home Lake

Lesser Yellowlegs

Western Sandpiper

Baird’s Sandpiper – Alamosa Ranch

Long-billed Dowitcher – flooded farm field east of Splashland, Home Lake

Wilson’s Snipe

Wilson’s Phalarope

Franklin’s Gull

Bonaparte’s Gull

Ring-billed Gull

California Gull

Black Tern – Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Forster’s Tern – Russell Lakes State Wildlife Area

Rock Pigeon

Eurasian Collared Dove

White-winged Dove – Medano-Zapata Ranch

Mourning Dove

Great Horned Owl

Burrowing Owl – Colorado Highway 15 south of Monte Vista

Common Nighthawk

Black Swift – Zapata Falls

White-throated Swift – South River Road

Black-chinned Hummingbird – Underwood feeder

Calliope Hummingbird – Underwood feeder

Broad-tailed Hummingbird

Rufous Hummingbird

Belted Kingfisher

Lewis’ Woodpecker – Keen’s Grove in Rio Grande County

Downy Woodpecker

Hairy Woodpecker

American Three-Toed Woodpecker – Big Meadow Reservoir

Northern Flicker

Western Wood Pewee

Willow Flycatcher – Conejos River near LaSauses

Cordilleran Flycatcher – trail to Zapata Lake

Black Phoebe – Rio Grande State Wildlife Area

Say’s Phoebe – San Luis Lakes, Fort Garland

Western Kingbird

Eastern Kingbird – Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Loggerhead Shrike

Plumbeous Vireo

Warbling Vireo

Steller’s Jay

Western Scrub Jay

Pinyon Jay

Clark’s Nutcracker

Black-billed Magpie

American Crow

Common Raven

Horned Lark

Tree Swallow

Violet-green Swallow

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Bank Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Barn Swallow

Black-capped Chickadee

Mountain Chickadee

Bushtit – Zapata Lake Trail

Red-breasted Nuthatch – Great Sand Dunes National Park

White-breasted Nuthatch

Rock Wren – John James Canyon

House Wren

Marsh Wren

Ruby-crowned Kinglet – Big Meadow Reservoir

Western Bluebird

Mountain Bluebird

Townsend’s Solitaire

Hermit Thrush

American Robin

Northern Mockingbird

Sage Thrasher – San Luis Lakes

European Starling

American Pipit

Cedar Waxwing – Rio Grande River near Adams State University

Orange-crowned Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Common Yellowthroat – LaSauses

Wilson’s Warbler

Western Tanager

Green-tailed Towhee – Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge

Spotted Towhee

American Tree Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

Brewer’s Sparrow

Vesper Sparrow – Costilla County

Lark Sparrow – Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge

Black-throated Sparrow – John James Canyon

Sage Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow – Cumbres Pass area

Song Sparrow

Lincoln Sparrow – Cumbres Pass area

White-crowned Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Black-headed Grosbeak

Blue Grosbreak – Pike’s Stockade

Lazuli Bunting – Pike’s Stockade

Red-winged Blackbird

Western Meadowlark

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Brewer’s Blackbird

Common Grackle

Great-tailed Grackle

Bullock’s Oriole – Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge

Brown-headed Cowbird - Alamosa

Pine Grosbeak – Summitville Road

Cassin’s Finch

House Finch

Pine Siskin

Lesser Goldfinch – Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge

American Goldfinch

House Sparrow

12.27.12 Odyssey End

Our last field trip in our San Luis Valley Birdwatching Odyssey was along the dry Chicago Ditch at the Alamosa NWR. 

At the Refuge we saw song sparrows in the brown grasses and a raptor in a distant tree. A waddling porcupine amused us by sliding backwards down a steep, snowy slope in its haste to return to its grassy den along the irrigation ditch. In the distance we heard the yipping and howling of a family of coyotes.

The Refuge is a fitting place to end our Odyssey. It is at the Refuge where Diane and I started first started birdwatching thirty years ago and it was at the Refuge where we hatched a plan to return to the Valley and once again make it our home.  

Like Ulysses we heard the siren’s songs-- the crane’s call, geese’s glee.  And we once ran across a one-eyed farm dog that was as mean as heck.

Like the Hero we returned home at Odyssey’s end. Our Odyssey was not as harrowing as the Hero’s. To us it was a grand experience and we loved every minute of it.

Christmas Bird Count 12/15/12

Christmas Bird Count Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge.  We started out at 8 a.m. from the refuge office. We were teamed with Mike and Peggy on their 14th MVNWR Christmas Count.  We were on our first Monte Vista count. Our count area was the northwest quadrant with the Refuge office being the center of a circle. With the aid of Peggy and Mike’s sharp eyes we saw western meadowlarks, rock pigeon and an American goldfinch at a feeder.  We drove down county roads where there were plenty of horned larks.  We drove to the Monte Vista lagoon to see many, many mallards, green-winged teals and Canada geese.  At a small irrigation ditch with open water we saw a killdeer and two Wilson’s snipes. Song sparrows, ravens, crows and magpies were frequently sighted along with a number of American tree sparrows.  The surprise of our country tour were two emus in a farm yard. 

Within Monte Vista city limits we saw a multitude of house sparrows. A red-tailed hawk eyed us from the top of a high spruce tree.

Our total species count was 28.