A Varied Thrush has been sighted in the Russian olive thicket at Chico Basin Ranch. I’ll cut the suspense right off — I spent an hour and a half looking for it and never got a glimpse although another birder saw (or claimed to) it just a few minutes before I arrive, so it was almost certainly still there. It may still be.
I stopped by the prairie dog village on Hanover Road and immediately spotted a Mountain Plover, about 30 yards closer to me than I’d ever seen one. It called a few times, then flew east along the road. I wandered up that way because I could still hear it calling and soon spotted it foraging and heading in my direction. I stood by the fence, and it came within 30 feet of me.
I went to the Pueblo County side of Chico Basin Ranch next and had the area to myself for the next couple hours (because all the other birders were on the El Paso side seeing the Varied Thrush, I’m guessing). I had a welcoming committee.
Very shortly after I arrived, a Peregrine Falcon flew over the pond, saving me a trip to Red Rocks to see one. Other highlights included a rare Swamp Sparrow that I was too slow to get a photo of.
Marsh Wren
Franklin’s Gulls
Eared Grebe
Lesser Yellowlegs
American Coots doing a courtship thing I’ve not seen before.
Ladder-backed Woodpecker excavating a hole in a phone pole.
I drove over to the El Paso side to look for the Varied Thrush and met a couple other birders who told me about a Common Gallinule that was found in a pond in Fountain this morning. On my way up, I spotted a Golden Eagle soaring over the prairie.
Another birder pointed out the Common Gallinule as soon as I arrived.
A male Northern Harrier was hanging out nearby.
I saw 63 species on the day, which is very good for Colorado, especially since I wasn’t making a particular effort to see a lot of birds. For instance, I didn’t see a magpie, crow, Blue Jay … I saw a new bird for Colorado, the Common Gallinule, bringing my state list up to 343, which isn’t bad in less than six years.