Baird’s Sparrow is one of the most difficult sparrows to find in Western North America. They are challenging to locate except during the breeding season when territorial males will sometimes sing their musical song from exposed perches. Uncommon breeders in eastern Montana, North Dakota and Southern Canada, Baird’s Sparrows can be found in large areas of native prairie. They prefer expansive fields of tall grass and scattered weeds. These sparrows have declined by 71% since 1966 due in large part to habitat loss and fragmentation.
Baird’s Sparrows were first detected in Colorado during the breeding season in 2015 and since then singing males have been located every year at Soapstone Prairie Natural Area and other nearby locations. It wasn’t until 2018 that nesting was confirmed in the state for the first time. This apparently new population of breeding Baird’s Sparrows in Northern Colorado (and also several areas in southern Wyoming) are hundreds of miles south of the previously known breeding range of this species. It is currently not clear why these sparrows have taken up residence in Northern Colorado.
Sunrise at Soapstone Prairie Natural Area as we hike the 3.5 miles into Jack Springs Pasture, the Baird’s Sparrow location. The best chance of finding these birds is early in the morning when the males are most likely singing and the wind is minimal. We arrived at Jack Springs just after 7:00am. The Baird’s hang out in the tall darker green grass. This area is fenced off to protect fragile habitat and is only viewable from the trail. The best way to find them is by listening and scoping from the south gate of Plover Trail. As soon as we arrived we heard the song of a Baird’s Sparrow. In this recording it sings twice from 0:01-o3 and again from 0:10-12. For comparison you can hear a Grasshopper Sparrow sing from 0:05-07. These birds are very distant so you may need headphones to hear them. After hearing the bird sing continually for almost 10 minutes, I finally spotted the Baird’s perched up on a tuft of grass far out in the field. At this distance it is hard to see any field marks even through the scope. You can just barely make out the orange tint of the face. Baird’s Sparrow had been a nemesis bird for me. Over the last 2 years I had hiked into Soapstone 3 separate times, including twice during my Big Year, and never located them. Let me tell you the hike out carrying a scope and camera feels so much shorter after finally seeing a Baird’s!While looking for Baird’s Sparrows we heard and saw numerous Grasshopper Sparrows in the same area. Grasshopper Sparrows are much more common in Colorado and can be found in most of the eastern third of the state.Throughout the morning the most abundant bird was the Lark Bunting, Colorado’s State Bird. This male has a bill full of insects, a sure sign he is feeding fledglings. Another common bird of the Western Prairie is the Sage Thrasher, the smallest thrasher in North America. They can be found in areas of scattered brush.On the hike out a friendly Horned Lizard was sitting on the path. These small lizards are perfectly adapted to arid and semiarid terrain. When approached Horned Lizards will remain still and rely on camouflage to avoid detection.What a great hike on the prairie!
Pawnee National Grassland is 193,000 acres mostly comprised of native shortgrass prairie in north central Colorado. Pawnee is a well known birding location because it is one of the best places in the world to see three localized and declining prairie species: Mountain Plover, Chestnut-collared Longspur, and Thick-billed Longspur as well as other common prairie species. It is also the best place in the state to find Sharp-tailed Grouse. Our goal for the day was to find all four of these species.
April is my favorite time to bird in Pawnee National Grassland. The combination of minimal biting insects, pleasant spring temperatures, and displaying Sharp-tailed Grouse make for incredible birding!
Our first target bird of the day was Sharp-tailed Grouse. The very northern part of Pawnee is the most reliable place in the state to find these birds. They had been lekking in the area but the only birds we saw were perched in a dead tree.One of my favorite hawks of the prairie, the Ferruginous Hawk. The largest hawk in Genus Buteo, these powerful predators feed mainly on medium sized mammals. I often see them around Prairie Dog towns.The most common bird on the grassland in early spring is undoubtedly the Horned Lark. These small birds can be found in almost any open habitat in the state. While the Horned Lark may be the most common sight on the prairie the song of the Western Meadowlark is a sound synonymous with any open habitat in the western United States. Although this robin sized songbird may look harmless, the Loggerhead Shrike is a ferocious predator. Although in summer their diet consists mostly of large insects, in winter they will eat rodents and small birds. They are famous for skewering uneaten prey on thorns or barbed wire fences to eat later.One of the strangest sights on the dry shortgrass prairie is the profile of a distant shorebird. The Mountain Plover is a unique shorebird spending almost none of its life along the shores of oceans and lakes. They spend summer on the short grass prairie of the western great plains. Like many prairie birds Mountain Plover are declining with the world population around 20,000. The fragmentation of native shortgrass prairie and decline of prairie dog towns which provide excellent nesting habitat contribute to the decreasing numbers. Pawnee is one of the remaining strongholds for this species in Colorado. Another local prairie breeding species is the Thick-billed Longspur. They breed in native shortgrass prairie from Montana to northern Colorado. Over the last 50 years these birds have declined by almost 90%. Pawnee National Grassland is the best place in the state to find these birds during the summer months. The last of our four target birds, the Chestnut-collared Longspur. They are found in native shortgrass prairie. Since 1980 these longspurs have declined by more than 80%. Of all the Longspurs in North America the Chestnut-collared Longspur has by far the most accurate and descriptive name of any of these small prairie birds.
