January 21, 2013
Richard Stevens:
Sean Rease (maybe spelled incorrectly) and I made the long trek up Guanella Pass (Clear Creek County). White-tailed Ptarmigan were our target birds. We drove up from the Grant side (highway 285) and were stopped at the gate near Duck Lake. From there, it was a 1.6 mile hike to the Summit.
Once at the top, our choice was to first hike down to the frozen and snow covered lake about 0.5 miles below the Summit. This has been the most successful route to find Ptarmigan this season. We were not disappointed. Two White-tailed Ptarmigan hid under the willows along the southern side of the lake.
No American Three-toed Woodpeckers were found around the closure gate (have been in the past) and we chose to try for them at Pine Valley Ranch Park (Jefferson County).
An afternoon hike to the Strawberry Jack and Parkside Trails was not successful in locating any. In retrospect, afternoon searches for Three-toed Woodpeckers have not been productive in the past (perhaps two in ten tries). Mornings are best; however, one cannot be everywhere at once.
No Northern Pygmy-Owls showed up either. Three species of nuthatches turned out to be the highlights.
Richard Stevens:
Sean Rease (maybe spelled incorrectly) and I made the long trek up Guanella Pass (Clear Creek County). White-tailed Ptarmigan were our target birds. We drove up from the Grant side (highway 285) and were stopped at the gate near Duck Lake. From there, it was a 1.6 mile hike to the Summit.
Once at the top, our choice was to first hike down to the frozen and snow covered lake about 0.5 miles below the Summit. This has been the most successful route to find Ptarmigan this season. We were not disappointed. Two White-tailed Ptarmigan hid under the willows along the southern side of the lake.
No American Three-toed Woodpeckers were found around the closure gate (have been in the past) and we chose to try for them at Pine Valley Ranch Park (Jefferson County).
An afternoon hike to the Strawberry Jack and Parkside Trails was not successful in locating any. In retrospect, afternoon searches for Three-toed Woodpeckers have not been productive in the past (perhaps two in ten tries). Mornings are best; however, one cannot be everywhere at once.
No Northern Pygmy-Owls showed up either. Three species of nuthatches turned out to be the highlights.
1 comment:
Thanks for the great advice! We went up there today (Thursday) and found two Ptarmigan just about where you said to look! Great Blog!
Marion Warren
St. Louis
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