Hello all,
Dutch birder Lucas Kaaij and I birded Summit and Grand Counties today. We started at the Blue River Water Treatment Plant in Silverthorne, where at least 3 Barrow's Goldeneyes were on display. Then we headed up to Kremmling, where a flock of about 50 rosy-finches were still at 9th and Grand as reported by Todd Deininger on 11/25. Interestingly, the flock had zero Brown-capped Rosy-Finches and only one Black (an adult male). Of the rest, about 10% were "Hepburn's."
After our rosy-finch success, we headed back to spend a couple of hours on Loveland Pass looking for White-tailed Ptarmigan. The results were the same as the other time I looked: no birds of any kind, no ptarmigan tracks, no ptarmigan scat, no sign that those birds (or any birds for that matter) have ever inhabited the area. Makes me miss the good old days on Guanella.
Nathan Pieplow Boulder
