Lamar, Colorado

Greetings from Lamar,

I have new visitors to the feeders, as several mule deer visit the feeder area at night to eat the sunflower seeds dropped by the birds. Since I use sandbox sand under my feeders for easy clean-up, an idea from "The Backyard Bird", seeing their prints and droppings was easy. Other creatures taking advantage of the dropped seeds are fox squirrels and desert cottontails. Interestingly, the deer ate around the safflower on the ground. I feed safflower because squirrels, grackles, blackbirds, etc., are not fond of it, apparently, deer aren't either.

Have done a little birding in the last few days. Spent a day last week at LCC and Two Buttes both for birding and to climb the buttes; today I drove around Lamar and made a quick visit to LCC. Most interesting birds were: Inca Dove, Northern Cardinal, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, and Red-breasted and White-breasted Nuthatches at my feeders. At the woods were 2 Carolina Wrens, a Gray Catbird, Eastern Bluebirds, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. Around the outskirts of Lamar were the many Red-tailed and Ferruginous Hawks. Also saw one Prairie Falcon dive-bombing an injured Snow Goose north of the Arkansas River. If I had a sense of anything, it was spring is coming. Many of the male birds were actively chasing females, the Red-bellied looked like it was preparing a nest hole, and the Eurasian-collared Doves are nest building. The photos are courtesy of Dave Leatherman taken at Lamar Community College. Thanks Dave!

Best and best,
Janeal