July 12, 2011
Richard Stevens:
Helen Gelon, Ana Wells and I were at Mt Evans Byway at first light. We hoped to be the first car up to the top; we ended up second car. The goal is to find Ptarmigan before they are chased far from the road by cars and people.
No White-tailed Ptarmigan were found along the drive to the top or at the top of the mountain. This forced us to walk the field east of the first pullover north of the entrance to Summit Lake's parking area. As luck would have it, within 15 minutes we found 2 White-tailed Ptarmigan approximately 300 yards east of the road.
The hike along the north side of Summit Lake did not find any Rosy Finches. We sat down at the northwest corner. It took about an hour and 10 minutes; eventually a pair of Brown-capped Rosy Finches flew to the hillside above us!
A walk around Echo Lake Campgrounds did not find any American Three-toed Woodpeckers today. Broad-tailed Hummingbirds and a Rufous Hummingbird visited the feeders at Echo Lake Lodge. A Calliope Hummingbird would have been nice, but not today.
Lincoln's Sparrows wandered around the west side of Echo Lake. A Green-tailed Towhee was south of the building. American Three-toed Woodpeckers were missed along the western trail. As a consolation, a pair of Pine Grosbeaks stopped under the telephone wires. Great contrast between the red male and greenish female.
On the trip back to Denver and Red Rocks Park, we stopped at Genesee Mountain Park (Jefferson). A pair of Williamson's Sapsuckers was found near the snag and flagpole at the top.
Red Rocks Park added a few Western Scrub-Jays, Dark-eyed Juncos and a Lazuli Bunting to our trip list.
After dropping the birders off, Rebecca Kosten and I went for an early dinner. The storms had stopped for a while by 6:00 pm and we decided to go for a drive up to Boulder.
When we arrived at the Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks office off Cherryvale Road, all that was found was many mosquitoes. I tried to scan the fields to the east for Bobolink; however, the mosquitoes won and made the decision to leave a priority.
Just before leaving, we decided to walk to the back of the buildings. A loose flock of House Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows and one Canyon Towhee was on the gravel road. The Canyon Towhee eventually went into the parking area with all the trucks. It later flew over the buildings where I (Rebecca ran for shelter in the car) relocated the towhee north of the horse corrals.
As far as I can determine, this is only the second Canyon Towhee record for Boulder County. Thanks to Ryan Prioreschi for finding the bird!
Weather was still pleasant at 7:30 pm and we drove over to the Teller Farms parking area off Valmont. Where I could not convince Rebecca to leave the car (later could did not blame her as mosquitoes were horrific).
A speedy walk down to the canal ditch relocated the Dickcissel reported by Jack Harlan about a week earlier. I quickly scan the fields to the west and found at least one male Bobolink, then hurried back to the car for respite from the mosquitoes.
By the time, we came back to Denver, rainstorms with much lightning had returned also.
Richard Stevens:
Helen Gelon, Ana Wells and I were at Mt Evans Byway at first light. We hoped to be the first car up to the top; we ended up second car. The goal is to find Ptarmigan before they are chased far from the road by cars and people.
No White-tailed Ptarmigan were found along the drive to the top or at the top of the mountain. This forced us to walk the field east of the first pullover north of the entrance to Summit Lake's parking area. As luck would have it, within 15 minutes we found 2 White-tailed Ptarmigan approximately 300 yards east of the road.
The hike along the north side of Summit Lake did not find any Rosy Finches. We sat down at the northwest corner. It took about an hour and 10 minutes; eventually a pair of Brown-capped Rosy Finches flew to the hillside above us!
A walk around Echo Lake Campgrounds did not find any American Three-toed Woodpeckers today. Broad-tailed Hummingbirds and a Rufous Hummingbird visited the feeders at Echo Lake Lodge. A Calliope Hummingbird would have been nice, but not today.
Lincoln's Sparrows wandered around the west side of Echo Lake. A Green-tailed Towhee was south of the building. American Three-toed Woodpeckers were missed along the western trail. As a consolation, a pair of Pine Grosbeaks stopped under the telephone wires. Great contrast between the red male and greenish female.
On the trip back to Denver and Red Rocks Park, we stopped at Genesee Mountain Park (Jefferson). A pair of Williamson's Sapsuckers was found near the snag and flagpole at the top.
Red Rocks Park added a few Western Scrub-Jays, Dark-eyed Juncos and a Lazuli Bunting to our trip list.
After dropping the birders off, Rebecca Kosten and I went for an early dinner. The storms had stopped for a while by 6:00 pm and we decided to go for a drive up to Boulder.
When we arrived at the Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks office off Cherryvale Road, all that was found was many mosquitoes. I tried to scan the fields to the east for Bobolink; however, the mosquitoes won and made the decision to leave a priority.
Just before leaving, we decided to walk to the back of the buildings. A loose flock of House Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows and one Canyon Towhee was on the gravel road. The Canyon Towhee eventually went into the parking area with all the trucks. It later flew over the buildings where I (Rebecca ran for shelter in the car) relocated the towhee north of the horse corrals.
As far as I can determine, this is only the second Canyon Towhee record for Boulder County. Thanks to Ryan Prioreschi for finding the bird!
Weather was still pleasant at 7:30 pm and we drove over to the Teller Farms parking area off Valmont. Where I could not convince Rebecca to leave the car (later could did not blame her as mosquitoes were horrific).
A speedy walk down to the canal ditch relocated the Dickcissel reported by Jack Harlan about a week earlier. I quickly scan the fields to the west and found at least one male Bobolink, then hurried back to the car for respite from the mosquitoes.
By the time, we came back to Denver, rainstorms with much lightning had returned also.
No comments:
Post a Comment