Otero County

I was in La Junta to attend meetings on the Colorado Birding Trail (coming soon, read about it here) and stayed over to do some on-the-ground research for the Comanche National Grasslands plan revision (read about it here) this week.

On the Comanche NG I saw 4 Chihuahuan Ravens, a fairly common species here, as well as 1 Common Raven that was harassing a Northern Harrier that had apparently entered its territory. There were hundreds of Mountain Bluebirds, a common species in these grassland fields. Though many think of grasslands as flat expanses there is some great canyon country with lots of junipers. In some of this canyon area I saw Townsend Solitaires and heard a Rock Wren. They also have Bighorn sheep in the canyons though I didn't see any this week. I was pleasantly surprised by a flock of Cassin's Finch in some shrubs on the grassland area above Picketwire Canyon.

In an another area of Otero Co near the Comanche NG was very large flock of Wild Turkeys numbering between 80-100. There are a number of flocks of Wild Turkeys along that live along the Purgatory River than runs through southeast Colorado. Appropriate to this semi-arid country were several Canyon Towhees, Scaled Quail, another Chihuahuan Raven, a Northern Mockingbird and a Greater Roadrunner.

At Lake Holbrook north of La Junta there was a Harlan's race of the Red-tailed Hawk in addition to a few hundred dark geese and some distant ducks.

SeEtta