San Isabel National Forest near Wetmore

Just after noon I took a side trip to the San Isabel National Forest near Wetmore on my way to an appointment in Pueblo. I ate my lunch while listening to a number of rather vocal birds calling and singing in the middle of the day. The area I was in was at fairly low elevation for National Forest land at about 6,500 feet. The habitat was mixed pine (pinyon-juniper and ponderosa) with scrub oak and some willows and deciduous trees in a dryed up stream bed.

I heard a number of singing Plumbeous Vireos. An adult male Virginia's Warbler popped up into a tree from the scrub oak but did not sing. The same was true of male Western Tanager and a (as usual) shy Green-tailed Towhee. However a Spotted Towhee made it's presence known by calling repeatedly. Several Robins flew by as did a Northern Mockingbirds and a number of male Broad-tailed Hummingbirds.

I heard several White-breasted Nuthatches and watched one following a Pygmy Nuthatch from tree to tree. There were juvenile Chipping Sparrows foraging with adults. One Western Wood-Pewee flitted about the branches of some deciduous trees. I also saw 2 Brown-headed Cowbirds perched like Christmas stars on the top of a Ponderosa Pine.

I thought it was highly productive for mid-day birding that lasted just over an hour. I will be returning to this area, which is really not far from my home in Canon City. in the near future.
SeEtta