28 July to 8 August 1992

Revised 1^st September 1997.

My second trip to the States. I arrived at Denver on 28^th only to discover that my part of luggage hadn't. I had intended to camp, but ended out having to stay in a motel in Fort Collins (opposite the Holiday Inn) for three days (28^th to 31^st July) while I waited for the relevant items to arrive. Fortunately, I had my telescope (though not the tripod) since I spent the second day at the Pawnee National Grasslands. My baggage arrived and I moved on 31^st to a campsite just outside Estes Park (the national park campsite was full), On 1^st August I drove through the park to Copper Mountain via Hot Sulfur Springs. The meeting finished on 6^th August, and I moved to a camp site at Empire. From there I visited Mount Evans and Granby Lake, Arapaho. On the 8^th I drove back to Denver finishing my trip by taking the loop round the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, as recommended in Lane and Holt where I finally caught up with a Burrowing Owl. There are a lot of countries where a foreigner "kerb crawling" round the perifery of a major military base with powerful optics would attract a lot of attention. Note that CAPITALS are used for a species seen only at that locality, and the species order used in the site lists and systematic list follows that favoured (for some obscure reason) by the National Geogrpahic Guide (see literature).

29^th to 31^st July - Fort Collins area.

Fort Collins is on the border between the prairie and foothills to the Rockies. It is a pleasant College Town, nestling under the foothills, and there are parks, lakes, riverine forest, prairie and stony hillsides. I started by visiting a park by the Poudre River in Fort Collins at the joggers hour. After breakfast I followed a recommended car birding tour from Fort Collins (the "Fort Collins Loop" in Lane and Holt), starting at the Colorado State University "Northern Colorado Nature Reserve". The reserve itself was a wonderful wilderness of riverine forest on the , lots of big fish disurbing the surface. Maybe it was so sluggish here (and low) that there wasn't enough oxygen in the water. There was an osprey release project. The Americans do not have the same scruples about reintroductions of exterminated wildlife as the Danes. The tour continued passed the one of the oldest paleface buildings in the state: a scruffy log cabin from 1864. I didn't even take photo. I spent a lot of time at various prarie dog towns scanning unsuccessfully for Burrowing Owls. Lots of Swainson's Hawks though. The tour finished up at the Horseshoe reservoir looking over Fort Collins. Cacti among the other bushes. This yielded nearly 60 species. I revisited several of the sites during the 60h I spent in Fort Collins, so the list includes species seen during the whole period.

WESTERN GREBE (Timnath Reservoir), AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN (saw several in the area, including several while driving out of Fort Collins on my way to Pawnee) , Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, MUTE SWAN (introduced?), Canada Goose, Mallard, GADWALL, SHOVELER, Killdeer, Franklin's Gull, Ring-billed Gull, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Swainson's Hawk, American Kestrel, Rock Dove, Mourning Dove, Common Nighthawk, BELTED KINGFISHER, Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird, Western Kingbird, Cassin's Kingbird, Violet-green Swallow, Sand Martin, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Swallow, Blue Jay, Magpie, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, HOUSE WREN, Marsh Wren, American Robin, Starling, Red-eyed Vireo, Common Yellowthroat, INDIGO BUNTING, LAZULI BUNTING, Eastern (Rufous-sided) Towhee, Song Sparrow, LARK SPARROW, Western Meadowlark, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Common Grackle, House Sparrow, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, House Finch

30^th July - Pawnee National Grasslands

The following day I visited the Pawnee National Grasslands, some 50 miles east. I followed the tour suggested by Lenty, later following Lane and Holt. The landscape is largely open prairie - i.e. rough grassland. This was also very rich: 44 spp. including Furruginous Hawk, pearched on a post next to the road looking like an overgrown peregrine. Then Prairie Falcon, which looks like a bleached peregrine with dark armpits. Dipped on mountain plover.

Killdeer, Red-tailed Hawk, Swainson's Hawk, FERRUGINOUS HAWK, American Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Mourning Dove, Common Nighthawk, SHORE (HORNED) LARK, Cliff Swallow, Swallow, Mountain Bluebird, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, Loggerhead Shrike, Starling, CASSIN'S SPARROW, CHESTNUT-COLLARED LONGSPUR, MCCOWN'S LONGSPUR, LARK BUNTING, BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD

31^st July to 1^st August - Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park.

I left Fort Collins after an early morning trip at the reservoir and drove to Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park with a detour through Buckhorn Creek. The campsite there was unfortunately full and I did not have the presence of mind to get a trekking permit (I had all the appropriate gear with me and the weather was lovely). I drove back out of the park to a public campsite on the Boulder Road, wasting a lot of time, then back to trail lakes in Horsehoe Park. In 1982 the dam broke at Lawn Lake spewing debris down into the valley creating an alluvial fan and a lot of mess along the way. Marvellous walk up through the pines from a crowded car park at the bottom where a chipmunk was scrounging. Juncos and flycatchers in the trees. Lots of squirrels. When I returned to the bottom, my first Coyote crossed the road behind me giving a real thrill. It then howled up in the trees. The big-horn sheep reminded mostly of roe deer with curly horns. A mountain blubird at the bottom of the valley brightened the scene.

I arose at the crack of dawn to drive across the National Park to Copper Mountain. It took me about 4h to drive over, stopping at virtually every pull-off to enjoy the spectacular view and wildlife. Saw Pica, Beaver, Coyote hunting chipmunks in the rocks near the top and "Elk" (red deer). The plants were marvellous, with Silene acaulis reminding of the Pyrenees, Tronden and Cairngorms. There is a nature trail at 3752m. The trees really do give up the ghost at this kind of altitude. Clark's Nutcrackers are frequent at the pull-offs near here. On the way down, I stopped at Poudre Lake and the Far View Curve. The landscape to the west of the Rockies was much drier than in the mountains, with sage brush. I stopped near Lake Granby, and on the Colorado River near Hot Sulphur Springs.

Double-crested Cormorant, Canada Goose, Mallard, Goosander (=Common Merganser), Killdeer, California Gull, Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Rock Dove, Mourning Dove, Common Nighthawk, WHITE-THROATED SWIFT (Near Granby/Hot Sulphus Springs), Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker, LEWIS'S WOODPECKER (Buckhorn Creek), YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER (Poudre Lake), Hairy Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird, Western Kingbird, Violet-green Swallow, Sand Martin, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Swallow, Blue Jay, Steller's Jay, Gray Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Magpie, American Crow, Common Raven, Mountain Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Marsh Wren, Rock Wren, Mountain Bluebird, American Robin, American Pipit, American Dipper, Starling, MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE (both near Hot Sulphus Springs), Eastern (Rufous-sided) Towhee, Song Sparrow, Grey-headed Junco, White-crowned Sparrow, Western Meadowlark, Brewer's Blackbird, House Sparrow, Pine Siskin, House Finch

1 to 6/8-93. Based at Copper Mountain.

During the week of the meeting, I had several afternoon walks with other participants in the Copper Mountain area. These included a trip to the Searle pass through alpine meadows full of Blue Columbines (Aquilegia coerulea) and Giant red paintbrush (Castilleja miniata). Lots of other lovel and unidentified flowers. Picas in the rocks just below the pass. Another trip was up Birdseye Gulch (north of Leadville). We also had an afternoon white water rafting on the Arkansas River, from near Buena Vista. The best feature of Copper Mountain itself was the Hummingbird feeders.

California Gull, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Goshawk, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD, Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker, HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER, PACIFIC-SLOPE (WESTERN) FLYCATCHER, Violet-green Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Steller's Jay, Gray Jay, Common Raven, Mountain Chickadee, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, American Dipper, CEDAR WAXWING (Arkansas River), Starling, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Grey-headed Junco, White-crowned Sparrow, Brewer's Blackbird, Pine Siskin, Common (Red) Crossbill

6 to 8^th August - Empire

After the meeting I camped at Empire for two days. I took trips to Berhoud Falls and Pass on the 6^th, where I watched a Marmot. 7/8-93 Mount Evans (14264 ft). Arose at some ungodly hour (like 4 am) and drove up to the top of Mount Evans. Saw a Prairie Falcon just below the lake (called Summit Lake). Rosy finch in the rocks. Both Bighorn Sheep and Goats. Marvellous place. Lots of people drove up to the top, some even left their cars for 2 minutes. The occasional hardy soul even walking up to the summit. But not very many. There was even a couple of people running up to the summit.

Red-tailed Hawk, American Kestrel, Prairie Falcon, Broad-tailed Hummingbird,Northern (Red-shafted) Flicker, Violet-green Swallow, Sand Martin, Cliff Swallow, Steller's Jay, Gray Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Magpie, Common Raven, Black-capped Chickadee, Mountain Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, Townsend's Solitaire, Hermit Thrush, American Robin, American Pipit, Yellow-rumped Warbler, White-crowned Sparrow, BLACK ROSY-FINCH, CASSIN'S FINCH (top of Berhoud Pass)

7^th August - Granby Lake.
There I saw a moose in the swamp (at Monarch Lake) and talked to the volunteer wardens, a retired couple who drove up from Texas every summer with their trailer. They told me a lot about the local wildlife but hadn't noticed the ospreys breeding 2 Km from them, on the just opposite the main road on Arapho Bay (Lake Grandby). Also saw an American Robin catch and kill a slowworm (legless lizard). I arose early on the 8^th - mid-morning flight and drove straight to Denver.

Canada Goose, Goosander (=Common Merganser), SPOTTED SANDPIPER, Ring-billed Gull, California Gull, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, OSPREY, American Kestrel, Mourning Dove, Common Nighthawk, Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Violet-green Swallow, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Swallow, Steller's Jay, Magpie, American Crow, Common Raven, Mountain Bluebird, American Robin, PHILADELPHIA VIREO, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Grey-headed Junco, White-crowned Sparrow, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Common Grackle, Pine Siskin,

Literature

• Burt, WH and Grossenherder, WH (1976) A Field Guide to Mammals of North America, Houghton Miflin (ISBN 0 395 241084 0)
• Clark, William S.; Wheeler, Brian K. (1987) A Field Guide to Hawks of North America, Houghton Miflin (ISBN 0 395 44112 9)
• Jones, John Oliver (1990) Where the Birds Are, A Guide to All 50 States and Canada, Morrow (ISBN 0 688 05178 2). The sites provide an excellent souce of informationas to key sites within any particular state. Ideal when you know that time is limited. I photocopy the lists and use them as a check list when I'm over there. The addresses provided with each state provide an excellent source of information (though I discovered in 1994 that a remarkably large number of the institutions concerned had moved).
• Lane, James, A.; Holt, Harold R. (1973) A Birder's Guide to Denver and Eastern Colorado, L & P Press (no ISBN). This is superceded by an edition covering the entire state.
• Lenty, Joan Easton (1989) Great Birding Trips of the West, Complete with maps and checklists, Capra Press (ISBN 0 88496 2). This is a great read, though she is presumably rather less familiar with the state than Land and Holt.
• National Geographic (1983) A Field Guide to the Birds of North America, National Geographic (ISBN 0 87044 507 3). My favourite firld guide.
• Robbins, Chandler; Bruun, Bertel; Zim, Herbert S. (1966) Birds of North America, A Guide to Field Identification, Golden Press (ISBN 0 307 33656 5). I bought this from the secon hand student book shop in Fort Collins. I was not impressed.

Maps:

CD:

Systematic list

David B. Collinge

Email: david-c@biobase.dk