We made it back to Cincinnati this week, leaving the 100 degree temps and the out-of-control mosquitos behind in Texas.  The recent tropical storm that hit the Texas / Louisiana gulf coast made for perfect mosquito hatching conditions.  Unfortunately, it did not result in good birding conditions.  A couple of outings around Cincinnati for migrating warblers have not yielded any new species for this year's count.

For the entire trip, we have observed more than 200 species but only 34 new for the year.  This leaves the YTD count at 464.  Getting to the 2024 goal of 500 is looking unlikely at this point.

A few of the species we observed on the trip that did not count as new for the year include...

Brown Creeper

Gray Jay

Black-bellied Plover

and Prothonotary Warbler

We're looking forward to arriving in Key West this week to finally unpack the household and start the backyard landscaping effort.

In my previous post, I showed a photo of a Sage Thrasher ruined by a branch across its face.  Yesterday, I got a much better look on our way to Taos, NM.

Previous look

New look

Before leaving Colorado, we picked up three new species for the year including the Townsend's Warbler.

Upon entering New Mexico, we made a beeline to the Taos Ski Valley to hike the trail from the base of the slopes two miles up to Williams Lake at an elevation of 11,040 feet.  This Hermit Thrush greeted us at the trailhead and lead us up the first 20 yards of the trail before losing interest in our company.

After scanning hundreds of trees during the hike, the American Three-toed Woodpecker with its yellow cap become life bird #533 and the 62nd of 2024.  We have searched for these in the winter in Minnesota in vain.  And, I have to say, looking for them at 55 degrees and cloudy is much better than -10 degrees and sunny.

We were welcomed to Williams Lake by thunder and light hail.  So, like Clark Griswold at the Grand Canyon, we took a picture with 13,167' Wheeler Peak in view and said, "That's nice."  Then promptly hoofed it back down the mountain.

This was our first trip to Taos, NM.  And, it got me to thinking that there is a difference between 'historic' and simply run down.  Taos is mostly a run down tourist trap.  I had said earlier in the day that we should be able to find a good Mexican restaurant in Taos, NM.  Unfortunately, the spot we settled for was the worst Mexican food we have encountered.  Most of the town was dealing with a power outage so, our only other choice appeared to be McDonalds... which isn't a choice as far as we are concerned.  At least we didn't end up with a case of Montezuma's Revenge.

In Santa Fe this morning we picked up four more birds for the year at a superb Audubon birding center including this Rufous Hummingbird.  

Tomorrow we'll be birding in the Organ Mountains near Las Cruces and Carlsbad Caverns before heading back to familiar territory in south Texas, hoping to add to the current YTD total of 453.

With family birthday parties completed in Daytona Beach and Cincinnati and a flawless visit to the dentist completed in Charlotte, we sprinted from Cincinnati across Indiana and Illinois toward our next destination... Boulder, CO to babysit the man cubs for a few days.  Our first birding stop was near St. Louis where we picked up the Eurasian Tree Sparrow.  This bird is found throughout Europe and Asia but has very limited range in North America, primarily around St. Louis of all places.  The black spot on its cheek and its burnt orange red cap separate it from the very common House Sparrow found throughout North America.

In Kansas, I spotted an Upland Sandpiper in a recently plowed field while rolling along at 60 mph.  They blend with the dirt very well, so, I was fortunate to spot it. The sandpiper was nice enough to hang around while we did a couple of U-turns and switched drivers so I could take pictures from the road.

In all, we added on 5 new birds to the 2024 tally across Missouri and Kansas. This was well short of our target list of 21 species.  

We made it to Boulder last Thursday after leaving Cincinnati on Monday.  The birding here has been tough as well.  But, I did pick up the unassuming American Pipit.  It isn't a sparrow.  It isn't a warbler or a thrush.  So, I guess that means it's a pipit.

Life bird #532, the Sage Thrasher, came this morning on an outing with Henry.  We were ready to call it quits when a young lady from Oklahoma asked us if we knew our thrashers.  She was observing three birds in a small tree directly in front of our parked car.  We confirmed for her that she had indeed found the sage thrashers.  I got a couple of quick pictures before they took off but, as is so often the case, there was a branch positioned perfectly in front of the bird.  So, I'll have to try for a better shot of this species on another day.  Yet again, we were lucky she was there or we probably would not have noticed them.

Henry enjoyed the prairie dogs during our outing.  I couldn't tell if Henry was trying to decide how to catch one or what he would do with one if he did catch it.  If my good buddy Judson is still reading along, the prairie dog is not a bird.

Meanwhile another lady all geared up with hiking poles to walk the flat gravel road asked if the trail around the lake was open.  She indicated the gate is usually closed.  I indicated it was open and she said she did not think it was.  I advised I had walked the trail yesterday myself and that the gate which was 10 feet in front of us was wide open.  She still wasn't sure.  So, I read the sign on the gate which said closed between April 30 and August 31.   I said it's after August 31 so she should be good.  By now I was trying to refrain from just laughing at her.  She finally said, why yes it is after August 31 so I should be good.  I tend to think it's just further evidence that there are too many cannabis dispensaries in the Denver area.

The YTD bird count stands at 439.  Tomorrow, we head into the heart of the Colorado rockies in search of mountain birds with an ascent of 14,000 foot Mount Blue Sky.  Yes, by car.  I'm not walking up that one.