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U.S.A. -- COLORADO
24 - 26 July 2004
by Magill Weber
Rocky Mountain National Park, the Pawnee
National Grasslands, and areas in Summit County
Arapahoe National Forest, near
Breckenridge, Colorado, Baker’s Tank Trail:
When I started looking around for birding sites, there wasn’t much info
on Summit County (which includes most of the more popular ski areas
like Copper Mt., Breckenridge, etc…), but this is a great area for
birding the “Canadian Alpine” zone, with abundant corvids, parids and
finches. Highlight was a male Three-toed Woodpecker. I have
seen this species at various times of the year, typically near the
trailhead of Baker’s Tank, though it is not reliable.
Dark-eyed Junco, Audubon’s Yellow-rump and Pine Siskin are abundant at
this time of year and large flocks of Stellers and Gray Jays and
Clark’s Nutcracker echo through the forest. Up Boreas Pass from
Breckenridge, around Baker’s Tank is a great area for grouse.
The dog scared up a fly-by Grouse, which was about 100% likely to be a
Blue, but I couldn’t rule out White-tailed Ptarmagin which is also
found up there. At about 10,500 feet, it was slightly too low for
Ptarmagin and perfect for Blue Grouse, but couldn’t be certain. I
birded the road near Baker’s Tank and the Baker’s Tank trails off
Boreas Pass Road. Great habitat and great views of the reservoir below.
This area is also good during the winter, lots of feeders along the
road leading up Boreas Pass, and a really good spot for winter finches
if you hit a good year. There were huge flocks of Juncos, and
surprisingly no Pygmy Nuthatches, but lots of Red-breasted Nuthatches.
Downy Woodpecker, Picoides
pubescens
THREE-TOED WOODPECKER, Picoides tridactylus
Common Raven, Corvus
corax
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus
calendula
Mountain Bluebird, Sialia
currucoides
American Robin, Turdus
migratorius
Yellow-rumped Warbler
(Audubon’s), Dendroica coronata
Dusky Flycatcher, Expidonax
oberholseri
Mountain Chickadee, Poecile
gambeli
Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta
canadensis
Gray Jay, Perisoreus
canadensis
Clark’s Nutcracker, Nucifraga
columbiana
Pine Siskin, Carduelis
pinus
Dark-eyed Junco, Junco
hyemalis
Steller’s Jay, Cyanocitta
stelleri
Black-billed Magpie, Pica
pica
Townsend’s Solitaire, Myadestes
townsendi
Pawnee National Grasslands, Weld
County, Colorado
This was one of the cooler places I’ve birded, just because you can
drive everywhere, right across the grass on dirt tracks (maybe not such
a good thing). You HAVE to have a 4WD car in order to go most off-track
places, particularly since it was raining a lot the day before I went
out there and the roads are all dirt and were solid mud in some
spots. It’s really in the middle of nowhere, but lots of car
traffic, and locals sitting in their cars up on any hilltop or high
area trying to get cell phone service.
I birded along Hwy 14 (the only actual paved road through the
Grasslands, which goes along the southern perimeter. I first stopped at
the intersection of Hwy 14 and CR 51 @ Hwy 14.
This is supposed to be THE spot for Mountain Plovers, but there were
none to be had. There is large active prairie dog colony on the
south side of Hwy 14. Lots of Horned Larks and Western
Meadowlarks. The Lark Buntings were abundant in this area, both
foraging in large flocks on the ground, and taking flight in clouds of
20-100+. Lots of the male Lark Buntings were still doing the
‘skylarking’ behavior. I also had a whole family of about 10
Western Kingbirds sitting on a fence line, and the only Say’s Phoebe of
the trip. I then worked my way over to Central Plains Research
station, where I picked up Sage Thrasher. (I had another out at
Murphy’s Pasture along the only man-made structure left on the
road).
Killdeer, Charadrius
dubis
Western Kingbird, Tyrannus verticalis
Northern Mockingbird, Mimus
polyglottos
Great Blue Heron, Ardea
herodias
Grasshopper Sparrow, Ammodramus
savannarum
Western Meadowlark, Sturnella
neglecta
American Kestrel, Falco
sparverius
Say’s Phoebe, Sayornis
saya
Horned Lark, Eremophila
alpenstris
Lark Bunting (abundant),
Calamospiza melanocorys
Mourning Dove, Zenaida
macroura
Loggerhead Shrike, Lanius
ludovicianus
Sage Thrasher, Oreoscoptes
montanus
Still looking for longspurs, I then drove
Murphy’s Pasture, stopping every 100 yards or so. A fantastic
place, just rolling hills of grasslands and cactus. Its fenced on
both sides of the road and you’re not supposed to get out of your car,
or at least not off the road. Stray cattle roamed around right up to
the car. I also saw a few Pronghorns, which bolted as soon as
they realized humans were around. Approaching from Route 77 (another
paved road) I first entered McCown’s Longspur territory. I could hear
them off in the distance everywhere, and for a while I tried picking
some out from the abundant female Lark Buntings foraging in the
grass.
I then flushed a male McCown’s, still
mostly in alternate plumage. This would be the only one of the
day that was anywhere near alternate plumage, most were mottled in a
weird intermediate plumage, which I didn’t really expect, and mostly
females. The white retrices made them noticeable in flight, but
otherwise they were well camoflauged. Either many of the males
had left breeding territories already, or were staying low, but there
was still lots of singing going on. The females were vocalizing readily
in chips, but I assume males were what I was hearing.
As I was parked and watching some
McCown’s, I hear the ‘what-what-what’ of Mountain Plover flying
overhead. Almost as if on cue, three birds circled directly
behind the car, and landed immediately on the passenger side. I got
bins on them for about 30 seconds and then they were gone.
Awesome, and the only ones I saw all day! I had given up on them
after looking for most of the day, and getting excited about every
Killdeer that landed, so I felt like I was pretty lucky to see
them. Definitely the highlight of the day. That and a
Prairie Falcon going after a prairie dog colony.
Further down the road, I moved into
taller grass and Chestnut-collared Longspur territory. The CCs
seemed much bolder than the McCown’s, coming right out in the road as I
stood there watching them. Again, lots of basic or intermediate
plumage. There were a few males that still were pretty black on
the front, but I didn’t see any with rusty fronts.
Lark Bunting,
Calamospiza melanocorys
Horned Lark, Eremophila alpenstris
Ferrugenous Hawk, Buteo
regalis
Swainson’s Hawk, Buteo
swainsoni
Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo
jamaicensis
Eastern Kingbird, Tyrannus
tyrannus
Northern Mockingbird, Mimus
polyglottos
Cliff Swallow, Petrochelidon
pyrrhonota
Western Meadowlark, Sturnella
neglecta
Sage Thrasher, Oreoscoptes
montanus
Cassin’s Sparrow, Aimophila
cassinii
Grasshopper Sparrow, Ammodramus
savannarum
McCown’s Longspur, Calcarius
mccownii
Chestnut-collared
Longspur, Calcarius ornatus
Mountain Plover, Charadrius
montanus
Prairie Falcon, Falco
mexicanus
Barn Swallow, Hirundo
rustica
Rocky Mountain NP & Mount Evans, Summit
County
A bit higher up in areas like
Mt. Evans and the areas above treeline in Rocky Mountain National Park
we found lots of Horned Larks and American Pipits, and a few Common Ravens and California Gulls where
there was water. At both Rocky Mountain National Park and Mount
Evans I looked for Brown-capped Rosy Finches with no success. We
saw lots of Elk, Marmots, and Pika at Rocky Mountain NP above tree line.
Broad-tailed
Hummingbird, Selasphorus platycercus (Mt. Evans visitor center)
California Gull, Larus californicus
Common Raven, Corvus corax
Horned Lark, Eremophila
alpenstris
American Pipit, Anthus
rubescens
Magill Weber, Phoenix, AZ
magill_weber@hotmail.com