Ending Our Summer Mountain Birding Trip

August 1-4, 2014

Richard Stevens:

August 1

Bryan and I returned to Big Green Mountain Falls (Gunnison).  Plans had changed because of predicted inclement weather or we would not have backtracked.  A Black Swift was found flying around this isolated/out of the way Waterfall.  It is a beautiful spot to visit!

Williamson's and Red-naped Sapsuckers flew around Silver Jack Campgrounds.  A search for Hooded Warblers came up empty.  They successfully nested here in 2013.

Cowboy Lake added a female and two young Dusky Grouse and another pair of American Three-toed Woodpeckers to our trip list.  A Boreal Owl was the only owl heard tonight.  Our "owl listening stations" did not pick up any owl sounds.

August 2

Today we headed to Kebler Pass by way of Crawford.  A friend had heard a Yellow-billed Cuckoo on his ranch along Highway 133 about a month or so ago.  Bryan and I were not able to find it.  He also had several Purple Martins fly over a week ago; there was no sign of them today.

We detoured to McClure Pass before heading down Kebler Pass (Gunnison).  Purple Martins had nested below the pass in previous years.  None was found today.  A detour to the road to Marble found a dozen Band-tailed Pigeons; no Purple Martin flew around the waterfall below Chair Mountain.  News of road damage on Schofield Pass encouraged us to skip driving it this trip (White-tailed Ptarmigan found in the past, 4-wheel drive vehicle a must under "good conditions").

Success for Purple Martins was better on Kebler Pass.  We relocated the Purple Martin found a week or so ago by Dennis Garrison.  A male American Three-toed Woodpecker was west of the old cemetery.

We ended our birding day by setting up our "owl listening stations" and having a barbecue on Ohio Pass.  One station picked up a Northern Pygmy-Owl calling!

August 3

Before leaving Gunnison County, Bryan and I drove down Gunnison County Road 38.  Ten Gunnison Sage-Grouse were 1/2 mile or so north of the intersection with CR 38a.

A drive around Buena Vista (Chaffee) found three Lewis's Woodpeckers.  One at S. Railroad Street and Marquette Avenue and two at Four Elk Creek at Wagon Trail Road.  The Williamson's Sapsucker reported along CR 307 by Jeff Witters on 8/1 was not relocated.

Unfortunately, the news of the Black-throated Gray Warbler at the Salida Ball Fields did not reach us until we passed through town.

A stop at Trout Creek Pass (Park County) found our first American Three-toed Woodpecker of the day!

Antero Reservoir was slow.  The couple of shorebirds were too far away to identify.  The Common Loon found by Steve Mlodinow on 6/8 was still there.

Our birding day ended up Georgia Pass Road (Park County).  A male American Three-toed Woodpecker was found at his usual spot (4.1 miles west past the Michigan Creek Campgrounds).

Our three "owl listening stations" were set up along Michigan Creek Road and we continued to Georgia Pass. 

We hiked about 1.5 miles northwest of Michigan Creek Road (CR 54) along the trail past Michigan Lake.  Several super highlights included a White-winged Crossbill near Michigan Lake and two White-tailed Ptarmigan at 0.6 miles above the Lake!

After dark, we found a Flammulated Owl near a GPS waypoint taken last year.  Our "owl listening stations" picked up two Northern Pygmy-Owls (between the American Three-toed Woodpecker location and the trail to Michigan Lake).

August 4

Bryan and I chose to attempt relocating birds previously reported by David Suddjian on Lost Park (Park County).  We could not find the Lewis's Woodpeckers and Williamson's Sapsuckers along Forest Road 211.  The Lewis's Woodpecker would have been a superb find for Park County (first county bird for both of us).

We did relocate one of the American Three-toed Woodpeckers along Forest Road 431.

With little success, we decided to hike up Twin Cone trail off Kenosha Pass.  A Dusky Grouse ran across the road at 0.3 miles east of Highway 285.  We found our Williamson's Sapsucker in the Aspen Grove where the road/trail turns from south to east.

An Ovenbird sang with the marsh about 200 yards after the turn to the east!  This is a well-defined trail; we were comfortable returning in the dark.  Flammulated Owls were heard between the cabin area and the closed gate near Kenosha Pass.

Our "owl listening stations" picked up a Northern Pygmy-Owl at the Campgrounds.  No Boreal Owls would respond to our recordings.

Continued Birding In the Mountains

July 27-31, 2014

Richard Stevens:

July 27

Coaldale and Hayden Campgrounds hold great birding memories for me.  When I first stopped here twenty years ago, I enjoyed a fantastic spring day.  In the half-mile walk between the Campgrounds, I found 100+ Evening Grosbeaks, 50+ Western Tanagers and 25+ Black-headed Grosbeaks.  The road was lined with Wild Plum bushes; the aroma was intoxicating.

We managed to find the common birds, Western Tanagers, Evening Grosbeaks, Black-headed Grosbeaks, Warbling Vireos, and Yellow-rumped Warblers.  A pair of American Three-toed Woodpeckers was down the dirt track running south, just before the main road turns west to Coaldale Campgrounds.

Bryan and I continued our successful trip and decided to enter Gunnison County by way of Marshall Pass.  Another pair of American Three-toed Woodpeckers was found near the Summit of Marshall Pass. 

We checked on a Purple Martin nesting tree (6/20/2010) and found no activity (Saguache County).  A past Northern Pygmy-Owl nesting tree (8/4/2008) was also quiet.  One of four Flammulated Owl nesting sites was a success.  An owl called briefly in response to our recording.  Unfortunately, it started to rain, which made setting up our "owl listening stations" a waste of time.

July 28

Everything was wet from last night's thunderstorm; skies were clear and temperatures in the 60s.  Bryan and I drove up Cumberland Pass.  Pinyon Jays were once again found along the road.  Two White-tailed Ptarmigan were encountered along our hike at the top of the pass.

Five American Three-toed Woodpeckers were observed around Mirror Lake.  After dusk, we relocated a Northern Pygmy-Owl that has nested near Tin Cup (Gunnison County) four of the last seven years.

July 29

Another break in the weather was predicted, Bryan and I drove back to Old Monarch Road (Gunnison County).  I had always wanted to explore this road for owls and of course other birds.  Lack of time and a 4-wheel drive vehicle (a must) limited my opportunities.  Weather conditions were predicted to be favorable.

Several pairs of American Three-toed Woodpeckers, flocks of Red Crossbills, Pine Siskins, and other mountain species were observed.  A pair of White-winged Crossbills was above the Monarch Valley Ski Resort (at N 38 29.835, W 106 22.559).

When we reached the Monarch Ski Area Rest Stop along Highway 50, we found another three male and a female American Three-toed Woodpeckers.

Late in the afternoon, we made a major hike into the Gunnison National Forest.  Regrettably, no owls were encountered.  Our three "owl listening stations" did not pick up any owl calls tonight.

July 30

We stayed up owling all night and drove Gunnison County Road 38 before heading for some shuteye.  Five Gunnison Sage-Grouse were observed on the west side of the road just north of CR 38a.  We continued south down CR 38 into Saguache County; no additional Gunnison Sage-Grouse were found.

Early in the afternoon, we stopped by a friend's ranch and found a Yellow-billed Cuckoo nest that he had staked out.  At a stop at another friend's ranch, Bill informed us that no Yellow-billed Cuckoos were heard or seen this year.  He also had not heard the Western Screech-Owls, which had nested for half a dozen years on his ranch.

At a third private ranch, we did succeed in seeing a Western Screech-Owl.

July 31

Today, Bryan and I traveled down Cimarron Road (Gunnison County).  It is a good road to find American Three-toed Woodpeckers.  Six Three-toed Woodpeckers total at three of our stops.

Another pair of American Three-toed Woodpeckers was along the road to Fish Creek Reservoir.

Our birding day ended after midnight (8/1) back at Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park (Montrose County).  The walk to the overlook at the west end of the South Rim Drive was quite productive.  A Northern Pygmy-Owl called along the trail (at approximately just short of halfway). 

We were able to find and see a second Northern Pygmy-Owl west of the overlook.  They have nested here many years.  Several Common Poorwill were on the road as we drove to the Eastern Campgrounds.  The night was still but filled with bird sounds when we settled down for some needed much needed sleep.

Search for Scissor-tailed Flycatcher & Black-throated Sparrows

July 25-26, 2014

Richard Stevens:

July 25

Bryan Ehlmann and I enjoyed a good start to our birding day.

In Fremont County, we saw the male Scissor-tailed Flycatcher feeding the female who was sitting on the nest; 5:58 am.  We parked at the driveway of the ranch for sale, about 0.1 miles north of the nesting tree.  One of the Scissor-tailed Flycatchers called constantly from 5:48 am to 5:53 am and flew down to the driveway.  Later determined to be the male, it landed less than 10 yards from their car.  After a couple of minutes, it flew up to the telephone wires above the car.  In order to not disturb the birds, we drove the car farther north and they watched the male fly back to the nesting tree.  Clearly the birds are aware of nearby people.

As we drove down Forest Road 386, stops were made at several Aspen Groves.  Grace's Warblers were found at two of the stops.  American Three-toed Woodpeckers were observed at two locations along hwy 67 between Custer County Line and Hwy 165.  Williamson's Sapsuckers at two locations and Red-naped Sapsuckers at three locations.

Then we headed Beulah (Pueblo County) and Pueblo Mountain Park.  The two adult Acorn Woodpeckers fed young in a Ponderosa Pine near the parking lot at Pueblo Mountain Park.  A Grace's Warbler was within 200 yards of the old tennis courts. 

Three large groups of Scaled Quail were observed along Pueblo County Road 201 on the way to Pueblo.  We drove northeast though Pueblo and back to Pueblo West where the two Black throated Sparrows were relocated below Liberty Point, Pueblo West.  The Sparrows were in and under the two trees 10 yards northwest of the orange marker with #10 on it, along the dirt track off Greenbrier Drive.  A good mile from east saddle brook drive.  The sparrows moved six trees farther south as the guys left.

A break in afternoon thunderstorms allowed us to search for owls in Fremont County.  A Spotted Owl was found in Phantom Canyon (about 2:00 am).  We backtracked to Beaver Creek Wildlife Area and found a Northern Pygmy-Owl before getting a few hours of sleep.

July 26

After getting some needed sleep, we walked around Brush Hollow Wildlife Area (Fremont) for several hours.  Highlights not only included Juniper Titmice but also a male Ladder-backed Woodpecker.

Nothing uncommon was found in Penrose and we returned to Phantom Canyon.  Again, we found a Spotted Owl (most likely the same one discovered last night).  No additional Spotted Owls called as we drove to Victor and back.

Just north of Highway 50, we stopped at one of my favorite owl locations and heard a Northern Saw-whet Owl at Oro Juno while walking a section of Phantom Canyon Road.  We camped at another of my favorite locations, Hayden Campgrounds south of Coaldale (Fremont County).

No owls called along the road and we hit the sack just about the time the sun rose.

Unsuccessful Owling Around Montezuma, CO

July 21-22, 2014

Richard Stevens:

After resting most of Monday, Bryan and I tried to go owling around Montezuma, CO (Summit County).  We spent a wet night (no surprise, thunderstorms again late in the day) at the tree line up St. Johns Trail.

No owls were found.  Because of recent road closures, our trek took much time and yielded little results.

A.M. Bailey to Quandary Peak

July 19-20, 2014

Richard Stevens:

Bryan Ehlmann and I walked from A.M. Bailey to Quandary Peak over the two days.  No unexpected passerines were encountered.  The search for owls was greatly hindered by afternoon and evening thunderstorms.

We arrived at our pickup point near Quandary Peak, wet and tired.

A.M. Bailey Bird Sanctuary

July 17-18, 2014

Sue Ehlmann:

Back from a long couple of weeks in the mountains, I left Bryan and Rich Stevens at A.M. Bailey Bird Sanctuary. They plan to walk south to Quandary Peak more or less.

On 7/17, they found an American Three-toed Woodpecker about 1/3 the way from the trailhead to the bird sanctuary. It is approximately 1.2 miles from the trailhead to A.M. Bailey.

At dusk on 7/17, they found a Northern Pygmy-Owl northwest across the creek.

On 7/18, they found a pair of American Three-toed Woodpeckers again northwest across the creek. Later they found a female White-tailed Ptarmigan with three young up the Ptarmigan Trail. GPS about 0.6 miles up the trail from the intersection of the main trail and the trail to A.M. Bailey.

Other birds seen in the area: Fox Sparrow, MacGillivray's Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Hammond's Flycatcher, Cordilleran Flycatcher, Red-naped Sapsucker, Williamson's Sapsucker.

Vail Pass Area

July 16, 2014

Richard Stevens:

On the way to A.M. Bailey Bird Sanctuary (Summit County), Bryan Ehlmann and I explored Line Shack Road and Vail Pass.  Without a doubt, the highlight was two male White-winged Crossbills near Minturn.

We observed another White-winged Crossbill up the Shrine Pass trail (Vail Pass, Summit County).

A stop by a friend's home did add some mountain species to the start of our trip.  Best were six Brown-capped Rosy Finches and four Band-tailed Pigeons.

Afternoon thunderstorms did not allow us to go owling or put out our "owl listening stations".