Birding Colorado June 4-12, 2001

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Birds

American Magpie ( Another ) Brown-capped Rosy-Finch , Mt. Evans Hwy below Summit Lake; Yellow-headed blackbird southeast of Fort Collins; Gray Jay, Montezuma, CO.

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White-crowned Sparrow , Webster Pass road, Montezuma (See below for more.); Western Tanager near Fort Collins; Clark's Nutcracker at Rainbow Curve on Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park; Stellar's Jay on Cow Creek Trail near Estes Park (See below for more.) Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Cow Creek Trail (See below for more.)

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People:

We are Herman, a birder, and Eva , who enjoys birding on vacations with Herman. This was Herman's first trip to Colorado. He had two target birds. We got the Brown-capped Rosy-Finch. We missed the White-tailed Ptarmigan. Both occur above the tree line, so we spent a lot of time up there, where there are only a few species. Nevertheless, we got 111 trip birds. Of the 111 species, 7 of which were only heard, Eva photographed 38. Of the 20 mammal species we saw on this trip, Eva photographed 17.

We rented a Pontiac Grand Am <16k>. It was fine driving on paved mountain roads at any altitude. There are a lot of rough unpaved tracks in Colorado. There were places where a high-clearance 4-wheel drive would have been preferable, such as the Alfred M. Baily Bird Nesting Area, and side roads near Montezuma.

Nick Komar, <29k>& Herman D'Entremont birding Strauss Cabin Lake, Ft. Collins.

The previous night Nick took us and two birders from Wash. D.C. to the foothills above the Cache la Poudre River where we heard Flammulated Owl, Poorwill, and Cordillaran Flycatcher. Nick and Herman both got their birding starts in the Brookline Bird Club in Massachusetts.

Scott Rashid and Herman <37k>; Scott bands birds at the Estes Park YMCA. Stats on the 70 species and counting he's banded there are on his website.

Another treat at the YMCA: Discovering the Walter G. Ruesch Memorial Auditorium <23k>. Woggy Ruesch was my father's friend from the University of Wisconsin, whom I met in 1960 on my last visit to the Estes Park YMCA! He was the director. I could not wait to tell my sister MaryDan about Woggy's Architectural Monument, with "Walter Ruesch" in letters 10 feet high.

Eva <19k> enjoying the Hot Sulphur Springs Resort; Another of the 22 pools <26k>;

If you cannot sleep with trains hooting, this is not the resort for you. Earplugs were standard issue on the bedside table.

Herman & Bob Abrams <23k>, old birding friends, meet by chance in RMNP!
Bicyclists<59k> atop Loveland Pass. (See below for another cyclist.)
Snowboarder <22k>, Loveland Pass. We saw a skier similarly engaged in RMNP.
Do not feed the wildlife.<19k> Rainbow Curve, Trail Ridge Road, RMNP.
Quick Time movie of a soap box derby (435k), Dillon, CO;

To improve the quality of this video, make your browser smaller while it is playing.

More Birdshots:

Two pelicans and a gull <18k>.Windy Gap, 7 miles E. of Hot Sulphur Springs.
Osprey near its nest <16k>, Colorado 9, N. of Dillon; closeup <12k>.
Swainson's Hawk <19k> not far from Denver's airport, driving towards Fort Collins.
Golden Eagle Nest <30k> near Fort Collins. Nick Komar showed us this.
Broad-tailed hummingbird <22k> being banded by Scott Rashid.
Broad-tailed hummingbird <8k>, Cow-creek trail. back view <9k>.
Red-naped Sapsucker <37k> Cow Creek Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Hairy woodpecker <12k>, female. Estes Park YMCA banding station.
Western Kingbird <6k> near Fort Collins.
Stellar's Jay flying <21k>;on Cow Creek Trail <11k>;back<15k>
American Magpie <14k> (aka Black-billed Magpie), in Fort Collins
Common Raven <45k> in the Visitor's Center parking lot on Trail Ridge Road.
Violet-green Swallows on Rte 103, Idaho Springs: male <38k>; female <18k>
Cliff Swallow <29k> nesting at the Estes Park YMCA
American Dipper <12k>seen from the bridge over the Colorado Rver at HS Springs.
QT movie of that dipper <736k>. We also had a dipper, & nest, near Ft. Collins.
Mountain Bluebird <27k>, Summit Lake, Mt. Evans; Another <14k>.
American Pipits seen near Summit Lake on Mt. Evans, and near Trail Ridge Road:

Near water <14k>;on a sunny rock <24k>; front view <6k>; singing in a meadow <34k>; pipit and his shadow on a snowfield<4k>; pipit singing on a rock <12k>

Wilson's Warbler <20k>,female; Another <26k>; Again <32k>; Tusks(?!) <17k>
White-crowned Sparrow <19k>; At Guenella Pass <32k>; From the top <7k>; <22k>
Black-headed Grosbeak <21k>, female, at the Estes Park YMCA banding station.
Western Meadowlark <16k> at Strauss Cabin lake near Fort Collins.
Brewer's Blackbird <33k> on shoulder of Colorado 9 north of Dillon.
Common Grackle showing his irridescence. Estes Park YMCA.
Brown-headed Cowbird <14k>, female, at Strauss Cabin Lake, Fort Collins.
Cassin's Finch <23k> and Scott Rashid, licensed bird-bander. Estes Park YMCA.

Mammals:

Moose <31k> near Western exit of TR Road, in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Elk <33k> in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Pronghorn <32k> near Kremmling, CO.
Ewe and lamb on Mt. Evans Highway <31k>; More Bighorn Sheep <23k>
We are calling these Mountain Goats <32k>; Seen from Mt. Evans Highway.
Coyote <32k> Near the Estes Park YMCA
Yellow-bellied Marmot <38k>sleeping; Waking <28k>;Crossing road<42k>; RMNP <48k>.
Pika <40k>, at Rock Cut on Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park. This rodent whistles.
Black-tailed Prairie Dogs (41k) Between the Denver airport and Fort Collins.
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel, Colorado Chipmunk, and Least Chipmunk(22k).
Wyoming ground squirrel <28k> on RR track in Hot Sulphur Springs
Beaver (14k) , seen on a pre-breakfast exploration of an unpaved road.

This unpaved road, which we are told leads to the Argentine Pass trailhead, were one to follow it for 5 miles, begins across Montezuma Road from the driveway of the Western Skies Bed & Breakfast (great place).

Flowers:

Yellow and dark blue flowers <43k> at Loveland Pass
Another variety of blue flowers <45k>

Non-living things:

Seems a bit Defensive <29k>
Solar phone <22k>, Mt. Evans
Mining remnant <29k> along the road to the Argentine Pass trailhead.
Baker Tank & cyclist <41k> on the well-graded former RR bed over Boreas Pass.
Downtown Montezuma, CO <64k> El. 10,400 ft; Population 67. Both streets unpaved.

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Most photos on this page were taken with my Olympus Digital Camera w/ zoom lens.

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This page has been accessed times since September 7, 2001

Last revised: August 8, 2019