Hinsdale County. 14 Aug 2010, twice saw White Tailed Ptarmigan in American Basin near Lake City, CO. This area is accessible to determined birders from the trail head to Handies Peak. Walk 1.5 miles from the trail head. Cross a stream and look in the wet area to the north of the trail. Sighted 10 in a flock at 6:30AM then two at 10:30AM. They were very tame and permitted close approach.
>From Lake City, drive 2 miles south on Colorado 149 and turn right on the Lake San Cristibol road (County Road 30). This is the southern entrance to the "Alpine Loop" scenic byway. Follow the signs to Cinnamon Pass. Drive about 20 miles to a signed fork in the road. Left is to American Basin and right is to Cinnamon Pass. Turn left. If you do not have a 4WD vehicle with good clearance, park in the pull-offs near the start of this road. It's 0.9 mile to the trail head from the start of the American Basin road. After 0.2 mile, you must cross a stream. You will need a high-clearance vehicle to make this crossing. If you do not have such a vehicle, you can park on the east side of the stream and walk the additional distance to the trail head. There is more parking in this area. At the end of the road, the trail head has a large parking area and the trail leading to Handies is obvious. Walk approximately 1.5 miles on this very good trail. The Ptarmigan were easily seen at 37 54.407N, 107 30.762W. Elevation is 12,700 feet. Rick Taylor, [email protected] -- Please consider the environment before printing this email. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/cobirds?hl=en.
