Return trip home

I birded my way back home yesterday. I checked CR10 that goes to Blue Lake to see if the Swainson concentration was still present. Since I didn't have a lot of time, I drove only 3 miles up this mostly dirt road and saw 3 Swainson's--this would seem to indicate that the Swainson's are still pretty abundant and likely fattening up for their long migration.

I found some more great healty stands of shortgrass prairie further west this area. I think all the recent rains have really enhanced the grasses all around southeast Colorado. Though not near the numbers I saw south and east of Blue Lake, I did see 5 Swainson's Hawks in this area. I also found a large stock pond with 8-10 Long-billed Curlews. The curlews foraged on the grassy areas around the pond, and I watched two bathing in the water. It looked like flock was composed of both adult and immature birds. I also saw what looked like 3 Upland Sandpipers, but they were distant and flushed when I got out to scope them.

Along the way I saw a large snake moving rather quickly across a county road. Though it bore a resemblance to the Western Prairie Rattlesnake I saw in Sand Canyon a few days, it was actually a lookalike Bull Snake pictured in the second photo (the first photo is of the rattlesnake)--both were big, more than 3 foot long and several inches in diameter.
SeEtta