Western Wanderings

I just returned from a trip to western Kansas and southern Colorado, a 1,530 mile round trip.  It was hot, dusty, and windy, but I found 60 new species; mostly birds.   I left Monday morning and camped at Coldwater Lake.  Species found there were Black Tern, Marsh Wren, Western Grebe and Big Brown Bats.  Tuesday I traveled to Elkhart via State Lakes in Clark and Meade counties.  A wrong turn led me down a road in Clark County where I found Lesser Prairie Chicken, a species that has been in the news lately.  Also, I saw a Common Raven just a few miles from Clark State Lake.  Upon arriving in Elkhart, I quickly located a Plumbeous Vireo and an Olive-sided Flycatcher at the town cemetery.

I drove Morton County roads early Wednesday before dawn and found three Common Poorwills, many Kangaroo Rats, and a lumbering Porcupine that crossed the road right in front of me.  I then proceeded to Southern Colorado where I saw Pronghorn, Mule Deer, Bighorn Sheep, Greater Roadrunner, Long-billed Curlew, Canyon Towhee, and Canyon Wren.  Returning to Elkhart in the afternoon, I saw a Green-tailed Towhee and Ash-throated Flycatcher at the work station, and a Black-chinned Hummingbird and MacGillivray’s Warbler at the shelterbelt. 

A trip to Elkhart and Morton County is hard core, especially considering that the area is experiencing a three-year drought.  But the rewards are great and that place draws birders from all over the area.  The trip home included Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira NWR.    The trip was great, but it is really nice to be back home where everything is green.

 

 I found groups of Yellow-headed Blackbirds in almost every county.

 

 Small groups of Pronghorn could be viewed frequently in rural Colorado.

 

 A Mule Deer that seemed to be as interested in me as I in it, also in Colorado.

This Bighorn Sheep was lounging right by the road in Baca County, CO.