COLORADO: Gorgeous Gunnison Grouse

It was a magical morning in Gunnison, Colorado, one where everything unfolded perfectly. We met our host at 4:30am and followed him to the Waunita Hot Springs lek. The sky glowed with the Milky Way, planet Jupiter and millions of twinkling stars. At 5am, about an hour and a half before sunrise, we were inside the mobile trailer blind, bundled with blankets and polar-weather clothing, prepared for a long, cold vigil. Astonishingly, we stayed warm and comfortable for the next three hours, as temperatures quickly rose into the forties and the wind never picked up until late in our watch.

With the blind windows raised, the sound of the nearby babbling brook, drowned out any possibility of hearing the grouse. In the pre-dawn darkness, the winnowing of a Wilson Snipe was heard as it took off from the wet meadow below the blind.

As daylight emerged, we counted 35 magnificent Gunnison Sage-grouse – 21 males and 14 females. Their lek was comprised of shortgrass meadow, dotted with low bushes. A sagebrush hillside formed the backdrop, with patches of snow in the shadows. Though the birds were over 300 yards away, we were able to get good looks through our scopes. The large males strutted about, turning different directions in their displays, not always towards a female. They fanned-out their giant spiky tail feathers, and inflated two egg-like air sacs on their chests. They raised their wings and flicked their heads forward, tossing their thick, dark filoplumes forward. Though they didn’t jump and stamp like the Prairie-chickens, they worked hard to impress the females, who seemed somewhat placid and indifferent!

A large portion of the group flushed and flew off at 6:31am, leaving 18 birds. A few more left shortly after, leaving just one female.

Only one of the 12 remaining males vied for her attention, but she barely glanced at him (above). Finally this last group started flying off, and some of them landed close to our blind, much to our delight. By 8:15am the show was over, and we were out of the blind on our way back to the hotel, energized by such a wonderful experience with Gunnison Sage Grouse.

After breakfast we journeyed north to Crested Butte, elevation 8,885 feet, in search of Rosy-finches. One feeder in this quaint town hosted Dark-eyed Juncos, White-breasted Nuthatch, Mountain and Black-capped Chickadee, along with a handful of Brown-capped Rosy-finches. Walking up and down the residential streets we saw a large flock of about 70 finches flying in a circle. We quickly followed them back to the feeder where we found two Black Rosy-finches among the many Brown-caps (above). We searched further, but could not find any Gray-crowned.

We continued west on Route 50, driving from Gunnison to Montrose and beyond. The weather cooperated with sunshine and blue skies, and an occasional large cloud to shadow the Rocky Mountains (above) and valleys. We spotted soaring Red-tailed Hawks, Clark’s Nutcracker, Spotted Towhee, Common Mergansers, and a flock of American Pipits. A probable Northern Shrike flew across the road, but was not seen again to confirm it. Mammals included herds of Elk and Mule Deer, and a single Coyote walking up the rocky, sage-covered hillside.

We were most thrilled to see a pair of Golden Eagles (above) flying high over the ridge line, with one of them stooping and soaring in marvelous display.

A brief visit to picturesque the Black Canyon (above) yielded Mountain and Western Bluebirds, Townsend’s Solitaire, Cooper’s Hawk and two more Golden Eagles.

The last part of the day was light on birds, but great on scenery, with magnificent rocky slopes and jagged, snow-capped peaks shining in the setting sun during our drive up Unaweep Canyon (above).