A Cape May in Colorful Colorado

Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina) 

Pueblo City Park, Pueblo County, Colorado

Nov. 20, 2018

Of all the vagrant eastern warblers that have occurred in New Mexico, there are a few that are in a class of their own. These include Swainson's Warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii), Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea), and Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina).
Of these species, the Cape May primarily uses the Atlantic seaboard while in migration, and can be especially abundant during fall migration. There are few New Mexico records, most of which not chaseable. Even in Texas the species is tricky, requiring good winds, timing, and luck. Unsurprisingly I missed this species back in April when I birded Sabine Woods and High Island on the Upper Texas Coast. High on my list of "most wanted" species, I was excited to hear of one that had been present several days in some pines at Pueblo City Park in Pueblo, Colorado.

I have done some birding in Colorado, but never truly chased anything in the state before. Only four hours away, I woke up at 2:45 am and hit the road, headed north on an empty I-25. I had driven the route many times as far north as Maxwell to bird the myriad of lakes and ponds along this route, working on my Colfax, Mora, and San Miguel County lists. But seldom had I driven as far north as Raton, and never past there into Colorado. This was a great opportunity to see a life parulid and add several Colorado birds to me paltry state list (only 117).

Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina)

Pueblo City Park, Pueblo County, Colorado

Nov. 20, 2018

I arrived at the City Park in Pueblo, CO right around 7am. This turned out to be overkill as the Cape May usually didn't appear until about 10am or later (probably once it got warm enough for insects to begin stirring), though I didn't know this at the time, nor did I know where the bird was most often seen as most reporters had included frustratingly little in the way of location information on their eBird checklists. It was a large area, but I stuck around the Administration Building and worked the evergreen trees, sifting through the occasional mixed flock. It was interesting to hear the sharp high-pitched "peek" of what I took to be "Eastern" Downy Woodpeckers (Dryobates pubescens pubescens/medianus) which sounded much different than the "Rocky Mountain" Downies (D. p. leucurus/glacialis) I am used to hearing in New Mexico. Also interesting were several Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) which are seldom reported in the Raton/Maxwell area (but more common further east), and an immature Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) which is apparently the nominate species here, but also unusual further south in New Mexico. It is amazing what about 100 miles due North means for the composition of eastern-to-western avifauna.  

Around 9am I ran into Dan and Brandon, both Colorado birders and both looking for the warbler (Brandon had found the bird originally with his uncle Van). They filled me in on where the bird was most often seen and its apparent 10:30am schedule. With this in mind I walked down a nearby alley to kill time and look for a state White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica) without luck. By the time I made it back to the Admin Buildings around 9:30 Brandon and Dan had found the Cape May in its preferred tree. It was quite confiding and I was able to watch it for over an hour and a half as it foraged for insects at the base of pine needle clusters. It appeared to be a bright adult in basic plumage, though I am unsure of the sex. It was fun to add another New World Warbler to my life list and experience an interesting part of Colorado, so different than the parts of New Mexico due south that I knew so well.

Cape May Warbler (Setophaga tigrina)

Pueblo City Park, Pueblo County, Colorado

Nov. 20, 2018

After succeeding with the Cape May I made my way to Pueblo Reservoir to work on my Colorado Gull list. I found the large flock at the southern marina and began sifting through them. I quickly located an adult aspect Great Black-backed (Larus marinus), several Herring (L. argentatus), California (L. californicus), two Lesser Black-backed (L. fuscus), and a Iceland (Thayer's) (L. glaucoides thayeri) amongst about 700 Ring-billed Gulls (L. delawarensis). In New Mexico just seeing a single Lesser Black-backed or Thayer's Gull would constitute a good gull day, but to see multiple Lesser Black-backed, Thayer's and Great Black-backed (still unrecorded in NM) at the same site was a lot of fun. Also interesting was the mention that most of the more unusual gulls that occur here are in adult aspect. In my experience most of New Mexico's rarer gulls are usually immature birds. It was an interesting study of a diverse group of gulls, and I was proud to be able to point out and explain the identification of the Thayer's to another Colorado birder that was present (the Thayer's was an immature bird, so my limited NM gull experience was quite useful).

Iceland Gull (Thayer's) (Larus glaucoides thayeri)

South Marina of Pueblo Reservoir, Pueblo County, Colorado

Nov. 20, 2018

On my way south I also checked Lathrop Lake State Park where I added a few more Colorado state birds, including a basic plumaged Common Loon (Gavia immer) that was diving close to the shore picnic area. I very much enjoyed seeing this part of Colorado and will hopefully explore this area more in the future.

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)

South Marina of Pueblo Reservoir, Pueblo County, Colorado

Nov. 20, 2018