COLORADO 2011: Above the Snow Line to Below Water

Day 3 / April 9 – We returned to the summit at Loveland Pass after breakfast and quickly found two White-tailed Ptarmigan. This at least made up for all our efforts yesterday! They were positioned out of the wind above the snowline, slowly walked to the edge of a berm. Through the scope we could see their feathered feet, and when they turned their heads, the black bill and beady eye that contrasts with the white snow.

Returning to Georgetown, we ventured a few miles up the road to Guanella Pass. Our goal was to find a Dipper, but settled for a stunning male Red-naped Sapsucker (above) working the aspen trees. It was interesting to note that the throat was a bright red, while the nape it more of a rosy color. The tall rocky canyons and cliffs that border the rivers are perfect places to find Bighorn Sheep (below), and we found large male males.

We worked our way north through Winter Park and the snow covered pastures that line the bottomlands. There was a pair of Coyote’s strolling through the vast open spaces and along the road verges the occasional Black-billed Magpie.

At Windy Gap Reservoir (above), which was anything but windy on this day, there was a large open body of water. Most of the waterfowl consisted of Common and Barrow’s Goldeneye, which gave us a good chance to go through the field marks that separate these two. Surprisingly there were few other species, these being a Northern Pintail, a few Lesser Scaup and about a dozen Ring-necked Duck.

As we climbed towards, and over, our third continental divide of the day, a stop at the entrance to a ranch produced Mountain Bluebird, Hairy Woodpecker, Pine Grosbeak and Evening Grosbeak. At a bridge over a stream we watched an American Dipper (above) on a rock, dipping it body (hence its name), before flying up stream and dropping into the fast flowing water for a swim.

By the time we reached the North Park, the temperatures had dropped into the 30’s, cloud cover was ominous, the wind had picked up and there were snow flurries. The feeders at Moose Creek Visitors Center were active with many noisy Red-winged Blackbirds, loads of Gray-headed Juncos, both Mountain and Black-capped Chickadee as well as a few pairs of Pine Grosbeaks. A short distance away we encountered two Gray Jays (below) along the road, who were only to willing to hang around for a handout.

We finished the day by first checking Walden Pond for waterfowl, but with hardly any open water the only birds about were California Gulls, American White Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants. This was followed by a visit to our Greater Sage Grouse lek, where on the way we caught sight of a Wyoming Ground Squirrel ducking into the sagebrush. In spite of a steady wind we were able to find several males in different parts of the sage displaying. They were all at a distance but at least they could be seen well enough in the scope, and we would hope for a closer view in the morning when we get to watch the first of our ‘chicken’ dances.