October 2-3, 2011
Richard Stevens:
Our choice for birding and owling this afternoon was the old Teller City Ghost Town (Jackson County). The history of the area as a Silver Mining town is quite interesting. For a short period of time, over 200 miners and "friends" occupied the town. Remnants of the old town are highlighted with a self-guiding tour. Parts of the "house of ill repute" still stand.
Two American Three-toed Woodpeckers were heard drumming along the northern trail. The resident Northern Pygmy-Owl called at dusk; however again eluded our eyes.
After dark, we made one of our longest hikes. The Jack Creek trail hike as a little over 6.0 miles (one way), elevation 9300 feet to 10,800 feet.
Winds calmed down tonight (well most of the night); skies were mostly clear.
Boreal Owl count was good. We took waypoints on 9 owls. There is no way to calculate how many of the total Boreal Owls were in the area covered. Surely, we did not find all or perhaps 50 percent? It would be great to be able to know or calculate.
It should be mentioned that driving from highway 14 to Teller City requires a 4-wheel drive vehicle. I would not attempt it in any car that I liked or wanted to keep. It is not a good place to break down either (I expect AAA does not visit or charges a fortune for retrieval).
Our owling for the night was not over. We decided to sleep in our car back in the Colorado State Forest. For the third time in the last 10 years, both a Flammulated and Boreal Owl were heard at 4:30 am! One of my favorite places to camp!
Richard Stevens:
Our choice for birding and owling this afternoon was the old Teller City Ghost Town (Jackson County). The history of the area as a Silver Mining town is quite interesting. For a short period of time, over 200 miners and "friends" occupied the town. Remnants of the old town are highlighted with a self-guiding tour. Parts of the "house of ill repute" still stand.
Two American Three-toed Woodpeckers were heard drumming along the northern trail. The resident Northern Pygmy-Owl called at dusk; however again eluded our eyes.
After dark, we made one of our longest hikes. The Jack Creek trail hike as a little over 6.0 miles (one way), elevation 9300 feet to 10,800 feet.
Winds calmed down tonight (well most of the night); skies were mostly clear.
Boreal Owl count was good. We took waypoints on 9 owls. There is no way to calculate how many of the total Boreal Owls were in the area covered. Surely, we did not find all or perhaps 50 percent? It would be great to be able to know or calculate.
It should be mentioned that driving from highway 14 to Teller City requires a 4-wheel drive vehicle. I would not attempt it in any car that I liked or wanted to keep. It is not a good place to break down either (I expect AAA does not visit or charges a fortune for retrieval).
Our owling for the night was not over. We decided to sleep in our car back in the Colorado State Forest. For the third time in the last 10 years, both a Flammulated and Boreal Owl were heard at 4:30 am! One of my favorite places to camp!
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