New Years Day Bird Census at Palisades, Mesa County, Colorado
New Years Day Bird Census at Palisades, Mesa County, Colorado.
January 1, 1915; 2 P. M. to 4 P. M.; distance, about 5 miles along river bank and irrigation canal; day clear and bright: light southwest wind: temnerature 35. Species: Killdeer 1: California Quail 15 (ithers-heard); Pigeon Hawk I: Rocky Mountain Hairy Woodpecker 1; Red-shafted Flicker 5; Desert Horned Lark 150; Magpie 7; Western Raven 2; Pinyon Jay 12; Brewer Blackbird 7; White-rumped Shrike 2; House Finch 15; English Sparrow 30; Gambel and White-crowned Sparrows 72; Mountain Song Sparrow 29; Goldfinch 1 (heard); Mountain Chickadee 1; Pink-sided Junco 55; Shufeldt Junco 2 (male); Intermediate Junco 10; Western Robin 1. Total, 22 species and approximately 419 individuals.
Remarks: The surprise of the afternoon was the solitary Killdeer seen, as there was ice everywhere except for the narrow channel of the river and this was full of floating ice. Three species which should have been seen but were not, are: Western Redtail, Grey-headed Junco and some variety of Leucosticte; the last mentioned of these probably have not come down to lower levels yet this season, on account of there being so little snow on the surrounding mountains.
J. L. Sloanaker
Palisades, Colorado
