Field Notes 11.4.12

 At MVNWR  

Illness had kept me inside for a couple of weeks but I was feeling better and my good “doctor”--Diane-- needed sun and fresh air, those inoculants against cabin fever.  We headed west along Alamosa CR 8, with a Diane-inspired turnaround to see a young prairie falcon looking forlorn and motherless on a wooden fence post. We stopped at the CR 8 woodlot to eat our sandwiches. We viewed the fields and sky. Numerous sandhill cranes crisscrossed overhead, their distinctive calls magnified by the crisp autumn air.

On the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge auto loop we identified a bufflehead, American coots, mallards and northern shovelers.  We saw a hawk – probably a young red-tailed – on the wing. On the west side of Colo. 15 we watched a herd of pronghorns loping through the chico and several prairie falcons atop power poles.

At Home Lake

The lake was crowded with American coots, Canada geese and several buffleheads. Swimming among the Canada geese were four greater white-fronted geese.  These unusual geese, with their pink bills and white face patches, were distinctly different from the Canada geese. This is one of the interesting aspects of bird watching--the randomness.  Earlier while we were at the MVNWR we had talked about just heading home, but decided instead to continue on undaunted and stop at Home Lake. If we had continued home daunted we would have missed the rare sighting of the greater white-fronted geese.

Field Notes 9.30.12

Alamosa is famous for its clear sunny days and this morning was the best of the best. We hiked through Alamosa Ranch west of the golf course and were delighted to see a large variety of birds, all quite active on this colorful autumn morning. Here’s our list: white-crowned sparrows, black-billed magpies, barn swallow, American robins, mountain chickadees, Wilson’s warbler, two great blue herons, mountain bluebirds, yellow-rumped warblers, Canada geese, western grebe and ducks too far out on the ponds to identify. After our hike, we hit some golf balls at the driving range and heard sandhill cranes calling to each other as they flew so high in the blue sky that we couldn’t even see them.

Field Notes 2.26.12

A windy day – we headed east across Estrella Road, which saddles the Alamosa/Costilla county line. A bald eagle lifted off towards the morning sun, its white head and tail feathers shining in the sun’s reflection. Our destination was the open water at Smith Reservoir. Brian was planning to fish but it was too windy for a fish camp. The only thing we set up was the spotting scope.

On the west side of the lake we were struck by the large number of crows. On the water and along the shore were Canada geese, northern pintails, mallards, common mergansers, common golden eyes and redhead ducks. It was difficult to identify the ducks because they were bobbing up and down in the wind-induced waves.  We crossed the bridge to the open water at the point of land that in wetter times is an island.  Several ring-billed gulls strutted near the ice ledge. About 200 sandhill cranes lined the western shore. Four mature bald eagles and a very young bald eagle perched in the center of the frozen portion of the lake. The juvenile flew low over the lake and stirred up the ducks. Everywhere along the shore we flushed out flocks of horned larks.

Field Notes 2.25.12

Driving west on Alamosa CR 8 our goal was the Monte Vista refuge. We brought a sandwich to share for our sundown supper.  On the east side of the refuge we saw a bald eagle surveying his domain from the top of a tree.  A western meadowlark landed on the chico nearby and serenaded us with a song about spring.

We spent quite a bit of time trying to identify what we thought were dark brown sparrows flitting through the chico. Our best guess was that they might be vesper sparrows but that species usually doesn’t arrive in the San Luis Valley until mid-spring. Later at home we decided we had seen a flock of female red-winged blackbirds – a rookie mistake.

Undaunted—we continued on (Reed knows the story behind that phrase).

At the refuge viewing area along Hwy. 15 we were entertained by flocks of Canada geese and sandhill cranes landing to the east and to the west. The setting sun turned Mount Blanca red, bathing the birds in a reddish glow. The honking geese, trilling cranes and quacking ducks provided more spring music.

Before darkness arrived we headed into the refuge and parked near a big slough. This was the closest we had been to the cranes as they parachuted down from the darkening skies. We had close up views of their red caps and brown feathers on their rumps. We shared our sandwich and chips and took in the wonder of it all.

As we drove away from the refuge we made a pledge that on the next weekend we’ll return early in the morning to watch the sun rise and witness the cranes’ morning lift off.