Salida area

On my way to check out some of our Forest Service parcels that have been proposed for sale by the Administration, I stopped at Franz Lake in Salida. The large fishing lake had some dark geese. The smaller pond had a variety of ducks plus a Greater Yellowlegs. This appears to be an unusual bird for this area as the Chaffee County checklist on Colorado County Birding website notes only Lesser Yellowlegs have been seen here. Since I know they are seen at Lake DeWeese in Westcliffe, which is 40-50 miles from here, as the crow flies, it's absence on the list may be due to the fact this area has had minimal birding coverage.

As I drove up through pinyon-juniper forests near Salida, I saw a flock of Clark's Nutcracker. This species is fairly common both in Chaffee County as well as in Fremont County.

Several Stellar's Jays called as they flew around the area. Stellar's Jays are also fairly common in the higher elevation areas of southeast Colorado in Chaffee, Fremont, Pueblo, and Las Animas Counties.

SeEtta