May 4-7, 2010
Lou Mazzola and I enjoyed a successful 4 day grouse trip this week. We missed any bad weather that was around the state (hearing about snow and rain). However, winds were quite strong all week.
Tuesday 5/4
Our trip started out well. In less than 10 minutes, we found 3 White-tailed Ptarmigan under evergreen trees on the east hillside across from the pullover west of Hwy 6 at 1.1 miles south of Loveland Pass.
As we headed back north, 2 Ptarmigan flew across the road and landed on the ridge, 0.1 miles north of the pullover. We watched the pair scurry along the ridge and disappear to the north.
We checked feeders around Summit County and found many mountain species including Brown-capped Rosy Finches, Mountain Chickadees, Pine Siskins, Pine Grosbeaks, Gray Jays, Hairy Woodpeckers, White-breasted Nuthatches and Pygmy Nuthatches.
There were no Barrow's or Common Goldeneyes at the Blue River Water Treatment Plant or Angler Mountain Pond (Summit).
Therefore, we turned east and north and stopped at Windy Gap Reservoir (Grand). Quite a few waterfowl were on the lake. We managed to pick out 3 male and a female Barrow's Goldeneye for our trip list.
Other birds included Western Grebes, Eared Grebes, one Horned Grebe, American Coots, American White Pelicans, Common Mergansers, Gadwalls, Northern Shovelers, Redheads, Canvasbacks, Green-winged Teal and Mallards.
Our next stop was the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge (Jackson). We drove the Self guided Auto Tour and found many birds. Three Willets gave us great looks. A flock of Marbled Godwits added 49 birds.
A few Vesper, Song, and a Lincoln's Sparrow topped our sparrow list. Red-tailed, Swainson's and a Rough-legged Hawk were added to our rapture list.
An hour spent watching birds at Walden Reservoir (Jackson) was enjoyable. Several American Avocets were along the south shore. Eared Grebes were not far off shore.
The north side was the best. We counted 59 Marbled Godwits, 7 Willets, several Franklin's Gulls, many California Gulls, and many Ring-billed Gulls.
We explored St Johns Wildlife Area and Delaney Buttes Lakes. Found another Willet and a few Marbled Godwits. No Greater Sage-Grouse were around the Delaney Buttes lek; however, it was still quite early. I did not want to take a chance that none would show, so we headed to Jackson County Road 26.
Just after sunset, the Greater Sage-Grouse came out of the sage up CR 26. Our count was 17 males and 3 females.
Wednesday 5/5
Our first light we parked at the 2nd cattle guard up 80 Route. It was not a good memory for me as we could see the ruts from my vehicle that had been stuck for an hour last week. Fortunately, the roads were clear of snow today (however, muddy in spots).
We did not see any Dusky Grouse (but heard two). From the same spot, we could hear many Greater Sage-Grouse and Sharp-tailed Grouse.
Many Sharp-tailed Grouse were found all along 80 road. The most (14) were observed at the fourth cattle guard. This is the entrance to Jimmy Dunn Gulch Wildlife Area.
We stopped at Rifle Rest Stop (Garfield). The Great-tailed Grackles that spent years there were not found this day. The best birding spot was the northwest corner of the property.
I found a Bullock's Oriole and several Yellow Warblers. The highlight was a Townsend's Warbler!
The next 3 hours were spent searching for Chukar up Coal Creek Canyon (a.k.a. Cameo). None was found but we did see 3 Black-throated Sparrows and an Orange-crowned Warbler. Four Wild Horses were along the creek over the northeast ridge from the northern parking area.
Finally, we drove up the Grand Mesa (Mesa) and stopped at the Mesa Lodge. Dozens of Mountain Chickadees and Dark-eyed Juncos visited the platform feeder. They were harassed by many Steller's Jays. A pair of Gray Jays also made an appearance.
After dark, we headed back north and stopped at the many pullovers along the way. At three of the pullovers, we heard only 5 Boreal Owls. Winds were 30+ mph with gusts to 38 mph. This greatly hampered our attempts to see the owls.
Thursday 5/6
At first light, we drove the subdivision just outside of the eastern (southern) entrance to the Colorado National Monument. Several Gambel's Quail walked around. Unfortunately, we still could not find a Chukar.
We skipped most of the overlooks and went directly to the Campgrounds. Black-throated Gray Warblers were everywhere. There were at least 10 of them singing away.
Several Juniper Titmice also sang from the snags. A couple of Pinyon Jays flew by and gave us good looks. White-throated Swifts flew below the overlook.
Our next stop was Escalante Wildlife Area (Delta). Unfortunately, there was bridge work over the Gunnison River and we could not get into the Canyon. Therefore, I did not get the chance to add to my unsuccessful Chukar hunting streak of 32 hours in a row.
We walked along the river and railroad tracks looking for Sage Sparrows; without success. A Black Phoebe was seen flying along the river (where the river turns to the east).
At Fruitgrower's Reservoir, there were many Western Grebes and a couple of Clark's Grebes. Marbled Godwits and Willets were in the northwest corner.
A Dowitcher walked along the north side of the causeway. When it took off and called, it was revealed a Short-billed Dowitcher. The American Bittern also briefly came out of the cattails.
We ended our birding day at the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park (Montrose). Here, five male Dusky Grouse came out to display around sunset. Several had success and brought out 2 females from the woods to check them out.
Friday 5/7
It was going to be a long day with a planned drive of 700 miles in the works. At first light, 19 Gunnison Sage-Grouse displayed at the Waunita Hot Springs Lek (Gunnison). They did not stay more than 15 minutes after civil twilight. Indicates that the displaying season maybe coming to an end.
We did not have much time for birding with all the miles we had to go. An hour stop at Lamar Community College (Prowers) was just about all our birding today.
It was worth the stop. We added a pair of Northern Cardinals, a Mourning Warbler, a Northern Waterthrush, a male Summer Tanager and Least Flycatchers to our trip list. Then we had to move on toward Wray.
At sunset, four Greater Prairie-Chickens displayed at the Yuma County Road 45 Lek. Then we drove the 200 miles back to Denver. A total of about 1850 miles for our four day trek!
Lou Mazzola and I enjoyed a successful 4 day grouse trip this week. We missed any bad weather that was around the state (hearing about snow and rain). However, winds were quite strong all week.
Tuesday 5/4
Our trip started out well. In less than 10 minutes, we found 3 White-tailed Ptarmigan under evergreen trees on the east hillside across from the pullover west of Hwy 6 at 1.1 miles south of Loveland Pass.
As we headed back north, 2 Ptarmigan flew across the road and landed on the ridge, 0.1 miles north of the pullover. We watched the pair scurry along the ridge and disappear to the north.
We checked feeders around Summit County and found many mountain species including Brown-capped Rosy Finches, Mountain Chickadees, Pine Siskins, Pine Grosbeaks, Gray Jays, Hairy Woodpeckers, White-breasted Nuthatches and Pygmy Nuthatches.
There were no Barrow's or Common Goldeneyes at the Blue River Water Treatment Plant or Angler Mountain Pond (Summit).
Therefore, we turned east and north and stopped at Windy Gap Reservoir (Grand). Quite a few waterfowl were on the lake. We managed to pick out 3 male and a female Barrow's Goldeneye for our trip list.
Other birds included Western Grebes, Eared Grebes, one Horned Grebe, American Coots, American White Pelicans, Common Mergansers, Gadwalls, Northern Shovelers, Redheads, Canvasbacks, Green-winged Teal and Mallards.
Our next stop was the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge (Jackson). We drove the Self guided Auto Tour and found many birds. Three Willets gave us great looks. A flock of Marbled Godwits added 49 birds.
A few Vesper, Song, and a Lincoln's Sparrow topped our sparrow list. Red-tailed, Swainson's and a Rough-legged Hawk were added to our rapture list.
An hour spent watching birds at Walden Reservoir (Jackson) was enjoyable. Several American Avocets were along the south shore. Eared Grebes were not far off shore.
The north side was the best. We counted 59 Marbled Godwits, 7 Willets, several Franklin's Gulls, many California Gulls, and many Ring-billed Gulls.
We explored St Johns Wildlife Area and Delaney Buttes Lakes. Found another Willet and a few Marbled Godwits. No Greater Sage-Grouse were around the Delaney Buttes lek; however, it was still quite early. I did not want to take a chance that none would show, so we headed to Jackson County Road 26.
Just after sunset, the Greater Sage-Grouse came out of the sage up CR 26. Our count was 17 males and 3 females.
Wednesday 5/5
Our first light we parked at the 2nd cattle guard up 80 Route. It was not a good memory for me as we could see the ruts from my vehicle that had been stuck for an hour last week. Fortunately, the roads were clear of snow today (however, muddy in spots).
We did not see any Dusky Grouse (but heard two). From the same spot, we could hear many Greater Sage-Grouse and Sharp-tailed Grouse.
Many Sharp-tailed Grouse were found all along 80 road. The most (14) were observed at the fourth cattle guard. This is the entrance to Jimmy Dunn Gulch Wildlife Area.
We stopped at Rifle Rest Stop (Garfield). The Great-tailed Grackles that spent years there were not found this day. The best birding spot was the northwest corner of the property.
I found a Bullock's Oriole and several Yellow Warblers. The highlight was a Townsend's Warbler!
The next 3 hours were spent searching for Chukar up Coal Creek Canyon (a.k.a. Cameo). None was found but we did see 3 Black-throated Sparrows and an Orange-crowned Warbler. Four Wild Horses were along the creek over the northeast ridge from the northern parking area.
Finally, we drove up the Grand Mesa (Mesa) and stopped at the Mesa Lodge. Dozens of Mountain Chickadees and Dark-eyed Juncos visited the platform feeder. They were harassed by many Steller's Jays. A pair of Gray Jays also made an appearance.
After dark, we headed back north and stopped at the many pullovers along the way. At three of the pullovers, we heard only 5 Boreal Owls. Winds were 30+ mph with gusts to 38 mph. This greatly hampered our attempts to see the owls.
Thursday 5/6
At first light, we drove the subdivision just outside of the eastern (southern) entrance to the Colorado National Monument. Several Gambel's Quail walked around. Unfortunately, we still could not find a Chukar.
We skipped most of the overlooks and went directly to the Campgrounds. Black-throated Gray Warblers were everywhere. There were at least 10 of them singing away.
Several Juniper Titmice also sang from the snags. A couple of Pinyon Jays flew by and gave us good looks. White-throated Swifts flew below the overlook.
Our next stop was Escalante Wildlife Area (Delta). Unfortunately, there was bridge work over the Gunnison River and we could not get into the Canyon. Therefore, I did not get the chance to add to my unsuccessful Chukar hunting streak of 32 hours in a row.
We walked along the river and railroad tracks looking for Sage Sparrows; without success. A Black Phoebe was seen flying along the river (where the river turns to the east).
At Fruitgrower's Reservoir, there were many Western Grebes and a couple of Clark's Grebes. Marbled Godwits and Willets were in the northwest corner.
A Dowitcher walked along the north side of the causeway. When it took off and called, it was revealed a Short-billed Dowitcher. The American Bittern also briefly came out of the cattails.
We ended our birding day at the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park (Montrose). Here, five male Dusky Grouse came out to display around sunset. Several had success and brought out 2 females from the woods to check them out.
Friday 5/7
It was going to be a long day with a planned drive of 700 miles in the works. At first light, 19 Gunnison Sage-Grouse displayed at the Waunita Hot Springs Lek (Gunnison). They did not stay more than 15 minutes after civil twilight. Indicates that the displaying season maybe coming to an end.
We did not have much time for birding with all the miles we had to go. An hour stop at Lamar Community College (Prowers) was just about all our birding today.
It was worth the stop. We added a pair of Northern Cardinals, a Mourning Warbler, a Northern Waterthrush, a male Summer Tanager and Least Flycatchers to our trip list. Then we had to move on toward Wray.
At sunset, four Greater Prairie-Chickens displayed at the Yuma County Road 45 Lek. Then we drove the 200 miles back to Denver. A total of about 1850 miles for our four day trek!
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