FOS Grouse Trip

March 11-16, 2019

Richard Stevens:

Jan Baker and I enjoyed a strenuous first grouse trip of 2019.  Recent avalanches in the Colorado Mountains had delayed and several days were lost.

On the fortunate side, we had to reverse my usual route to avoid the hundreds of avalanches and closed roads.  We birded Colorado Eastern Plains first.  As a result, we were in and out of the areas that were hit by blizzards the next day!  In fact, we experienced relatively nice weather the entire trip!

March 11

High temperature in Wray was only 37 degrees.  Winds were calm to 6 mph.  Later the high temperature in Springfield was 42 degrees.  Winds were 5-6 mph with gusts to 12 mph.

Jan and I began with a long day, which demanded 700 miles on the road.  At first light, we scoped the Yuma County Road 45 Lek.  Three Greater Prairie-Chickens did visit the lek briefly.  However, they did not perform their mating dance.

Regrettably, we had to pass numerous interesting birding locations to get to Baca County in the early afternoon.

A drive through Cottonwood Canyon contributed some nice birds to our trip list.  We came across Canyon Towhee, Rufous-crowned Sparrow, Wild Turkey, Chihuahuan Ravens, Bewick's Wren, Ladder-backed Woodpecker and Cooper's Hawk.

I am fortunate to have a friend nearby who has one of the few Lesser Prairie-Chicken Leks still active in Colorado.  Thirty minutes before sunset, we parked a distance away from the lek and watched two male Lesser Prairie-Chickens wandered around the lek.  They briefly danced for an audience that did not show.

We passed through Cottonwood Canyon on the 400 mile drive to Gunnison.  One Western Screech-Owl called near the camping area.  While a Great Horned Owl called quite a distance to the west.

March 12

High temperature in Gunnison was 39 degrees.  Temperatures at sunrise were only 24 degrees.  Fortunately, winds were calm to 3 mph.

Shortly after first light, Jan Baker and I discovered two Gunnison Sage-Grouse walking along Gunnison County Road 887!

Note: the Waunita Hot Springs Lek is not open until April 1.  Parking on CR 887 is not allowed.   There is a legal loophole in their rules.  I will let others figure out what that is.

We searched traditional Rosy Finch spots north of Gunnison; however, none was found.

Then, we drove to Crested Butte and meandered around town.  A few Gray-crowned and Brown-capped Rosy Finches were eventually found.  Unluckily, no Black Rosy Finches were among the small flocks.

Blue Mesa Reservoir (Gunnison) was mostly ice covered.  There was no uncommon waterfowl to report.

We exhausted the last couple of hours of daylight sightseeing and searching for Dusky Grouse at the Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park (Montrose).  The road is closed near the Visitor's Center due to snow.

Eventually a male Dusky Grouse was found along the South Rim Road, just east of the Campgrounds.

March 13

High temperature was 44 degrees in Grand Junction.  Winds were something else 12-13 mph with gusts to 22 mph.  Strange however, winds on the Grand Mesa were less than 5 mph?

We stayed in Delta and visited Fruitgrower's Reservoir in the morning.  Nothing uncommon was on the lake.  We did see two Sandhill Cranes, our only cranes of the trip.

A Lewis's Woodpecker flew around west of Evelyn Horn's home.  Another was by the Eckert post office!

Highline Lake State Park was the hotspot of the day.  We missed the Tundra Swans but did find the two Trumpeter Swans, Greater Scaups and Bonaparte's Gull.

A detour to Rabbit Valley contributed a Sagebrush Sparrow to our trip list.  More importantly, this avoided the long drive up Mesa County Road 4 north of Mack to inspect their traditional nesting grounds.

We enjoyed better fortune at Coal Canyon (Mesa).  A Chukar appeared to respond to our recording played at the large parking area near the second iron pipe.

Then we headed up the Grand Mesa, Mesa County section.  An avalanche closed the highway before the Old Lodge.

An American Three-toed Woodpecker was heard and observed drumming behind the Powderhorn Maintenance building.  A Northern Pygmy-Owl responded to a recording south of the buildings near the entrance.

It took several hours; however, we did find a Boreal Owl at the second pullover south of the Spruce Grove Campgrounds!

March 14

Temperatures only reached 43 degrees today.  It felt much warmer than yesterday with winds 4-5 mph.

After a late start, we drove through the Colorado National Monument (Mesa) from the eastern entrance.

Several Gambel's Quail were found around the subdivision just outside of the entrance.  We listened for Black-throated Sparrows; however, none was found.  The Devil's Kitchen Trail just inside the entrance was quiet.  It is really a month too early for migration to come to the area.

Three Pinyon Jays and a Juniper Titmouse were found at the Campgrounds.

Continuing north, we checked around Craig unsuccessfully for Bohemian Waxwings.

Then we decided to drive to the Timberline Greater Sage-Grouse Leks near the Wyoming border (north of Craig).  Weather reports predicted inclement weather to the east.  Additional grouse may not be encountered later.

One Greater Sage-Grouse was observed walking along Moffat County Road 3.  The road did not allow us to drive all the way to the Timberline Lek; however, we were close.

March 15

Yesterday's 43 degrees would have been welcomed.  High temperature was only 28 degrees (high?).  Winds were 6-7 mph with gusts to 16 mph.

Shortly after sunrise, we drove Twenty 27 Road to the Twenty Road Leks.  Locals call the road one name while maps list it different.  Two Sharp-tailed Grouse eventually visited the lek a good hour after sunrise.  No Greater Sage-Grouse appeared this morning.

The Hayden Airport and the Carpenter Ranch did not add new species to our trip list.  It was too early for Yellow-headed Blackbirds to show.

We checked out the 80 Route Road.  Snowdrifts prevented any travel to the leks north of Hayden.

No Sharp-tailed Grouse were found at their usual wintering grounds east of Steamboat Springs.  My friend has not seen any grouse since December.

Our birding day ended at the Jackson County Road 26b Leks.  While two Greater Sage-Grouse walked the road, neither displayed any mating rituals.

Afterwards, we stopped at four Boreal Owl spots along highway 14 west of Cameron Pass (Jackson).  Boreal Owls responded to our recordings at two of the locations.

March 16

It was another frigid day with a high of only 27 degrees.  Winds were calm to 3 mph.  However, once we arrived at Loveland Pass, winds were measured at 39 mph.

Only four Gray-crowned Rosy Finches flew around the Colorado State Forest Visitor's Center.  The resident American Three-toed Woodpecker (north of hwy 14) was not enticed to appear.

A visit to a friend's ranch west of Gould found a flock of 200+ Rosy Finches (three species).  Then we headed back to Denver by way of Kremmling (Grand).

Loveland Pass was finally open after a week of storm storms.  We scoped from the top of the Summit, trying to steady our scopes from the raging winds.   After 30 minutes, we finally found a White-tailed Ptarmigan hunkered down from the blowing snow near the ragged rock line.

Then we rushed to DIA to catch Jan's flight.  Great Trip!  2318 miles!