October 10, 2010
Richard Stevens:
Neil Saunders and I went up to Guanella Pass (Clear Creek County). While winds were mild, (unusual for 11,200 feet), we did see rain and snow.
Luck was with us, it only took 20 minutes to find 2 White-tailed Ptarmigan! The birds were 50 yards south of the intersection of the Rosalie and 603 trails, and 25 yards west of the Rosalie Trail.
We stopped near the pipe gate (about 1.2 miles south of the summit) to search for the American Three-toed Woodpecker that spent last winter in the area; without success.
A detour to Kenosha Pass (Park) did not find any Dusky Grouse. We drove to the closed gate on the east side of Highway 285.
Our last stop was Pine Valley Ranch Park (Jefferson). Our luck was not quite a good as on Guanella Pass. We hiked up the Buck Gulch trail to the Parkview trail and then to the Skipper trail (long steep hike) without finding a Three-toed Woodpecker.
Fortunately, on the return trip, we heard the distinctive drumming of an American Three-toed Woodpecker. A male Three-toed Woodpecker was 10 yards south of the Strawberry Jack trail at 100 yards west of the Parkview trail.
Continuing west and south, we heard a Northern Pygmy-Owl call. Following the sound, Neil and I finally got good looks at the Northern Pygmy-Owl at about 20 yards south of the Buck Gulch and Strawberry Jack trails! Unfortunately, it was too dark for any good photos.
Richard Stevens:
Neil Saunders and I went up to Guanella Pass (Clear Creek County). While winds were mild, (unusual for 11,200 feet), we did see rain and snow.
Luck was with us, it only took 20 minutes to find 2 White-tailed Ptarmigan! The birds were 50 yards south of the intersection of the Rosalie and 603 trails, and 25 yards west of the Rosalie Trail.
We stopped near the pipe gate (about 1.2 miles south of the summit) to search for the American Three-toed Woodpecker that spent last winter in the area; without success.
A detour to Kenosha Pass (Park) did not find any Dusky Grouse. We drove to the closed gate on the east side of Highway 285.
Our last stop was Pine Valley Ranch Park (Jefferson). Our luck was not quite a good as on Guanella Pass. We hiked up the Buck Gulch trail to the Parkview trail and then to the Skipper trail (long steep hike) without finding a Three-toed Woodpecker.
Fortunately, on the return trip, we heard the distinctive drumming of an American Three-toed Woodpecker. A male Three-toed Woodpecker was 10 yards south of the Strawberry Jack trail at 100 yards west of the Parkview trail.
Continuing west and south, we heard a Northern Pygmy-Owl call. Following the sound, Neil and I finally got good looks at the Northern Pygmy-Owl at about 20 yards south of the Buck Gulch and Strawberry Jack trails! Unfortunately, it was too dark for any good photos.
No comments:
Post a Comment