Date: 7/2/25 9:28 am From: DAVID A LEATHERMAN <daleatherman...> Subject: [cobirds] Feathers and wind
As someone who spends a lot of time in both Fort Collins and Lamar, one of the most striking differences (besides the very artificial construct of human politics) is the prevailing wind direction. At my patch of Grandview Cemetery in Fort Collins the clouds have a default drift of nw to se. When I gaze at the confederate flag flapping angrily over "downtown" Caddoa (just south of Lake Hasty below the John Martin Res dam), it is usually pointing straight out to the north or northeast, indicating wind from the s or sw. It is not surprising that the influence of wind direction on creatures with wings is evident in these two disparate parts of CO. Add the subtle but very real influence of climate change, and southern CO seems to be where the phenomenon of "the South moving north" shows up first and more often. Even flightless woody plants like mesquite are creeping northward into Baca County. Every farmer/ rancher in southeastern CO has an armadillo story. The last comprehensive treatment of CO birds by Andrew’s and Righter tallied 443 species. The CO state list is now in the 520s. The overwhelming majority of those approximately 80 added species have core ranges south of here.
New creatures on our lists are exciting. Some of the reasons for them, maybe not so much. But I applaud the pleas issued repeatedly here and elsewhere regarding the need for, and value of, documentation. Documentation pairs nicely with birding’s best attribute, the JOY OF DISCOVERY. May apps and gps coordinates never obscure that fact.
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