Lake Cheraw Snowy Plover follow-u[

Yesterday I also birded Lake Cheraw which is north of La Junta. I saw a total of 10 Snowy Plovers including 2 in juvenal plumage (I could id 5 as adults but 3 were too distant to discern this age difference in plumage). What a difference the 2 weeks since I was last there makes--the tiny fluff balls that were apparently just hatchlings at that time now are the same size as the parents and look similar to them.

There were still many Wilson's Phaloropes, Baird's Sandpipers, and a few Spotted Sandpipers. That said, there could have been some other migrating shorebird species I didn't identify as I had some vitreous material separate from my retina (one of those darn age-related things, tho fortunately not serious) and have large "floaters" that make looking for detail in distant birds even more challenging than usual. If that wasn't enough hassle, there were some kids riding a dirt bike and shooting BB-guns at the Main Street observation area so all the birds in that area of the lake were distant also. There were certainly more shorebirds than when I was there July 21.

There were also 6 tern species flying around the se side of the lake. They did not appear to be Black Terns (upperparts not dark enough).

SeEtta