Cobirds:
A high elevation hike today (Saturday) in Boulder County.
St. Vrain Peak - 12,162 feet at summit. To get to the St. Vrain Peak trail
go to Allenspark and follow the Ski Road up to a "Y" in the road. Go right
and 1/2 mile in you'll come to a small parking area. Passenger car safe,
but you'll have to take it easy the last half mile.
Great clouds of yellow pine pollen wafting up from Long's
Peak Trail and Twin Sisters as seen from St. Vrain Peak - it's coating the
leaves of elderberry, mountain maple, and car windshields.
Birds:
Brown capped rosy finch - 11 - including one immature - all foraging on
snow fields
American pipit - 7 - all skylarking and foraging on snowfields - To see
pipits skylarking in alpine tundra on a clear day is a defining moment in
the Colorado Rockies.
White crowned sparrow - lots, in krummholtz, singing
Wilson's warbler - 15+ - in spruce and krummholtz up to treeline
Audubon's warbler - 12 - lower down in mixed aspen and conifer forests -
singing
Hermit thrush - 6 - singing in dense conifer forests
Warbling vireo - from the parking lot up to treeline - 21 - songs, chases,
alarm calls
Common raven - 1 - of course - flying over 12,000 feet
Ruby crowned kinglet - 10 - all singing
Mountain chickadee - 11 - at lower elevations
Broad tailed hummingbird - 16 - up to treeline
Cordllerian flycatcher - 12 - songs
Dusky flycatcher - 4 - songs at higher elevations
Lower elevations near Allenspark had lots of robins, jays,
magpies, chickadees, and hummingbirds.
Flowers: Alpine flowers above 11,000 feet have just started the next two
weekends should be good, as the progression of blooms move up to 14,000
feet:
Alpine forget me not
Alpine sunflower
Dryads
Marsh marigold
Globeflower
Alpine cinquefoil
Sky-pilot
Moss Campion
Alpine phlox
Whortleberry
Elderberry ssp:
Pasqueflower
Alpine primrose
Purple violet
Dwarf clover
Alpine bluebells
Golden banner
Snow buttercup
Alplily
Pincherry
Pussytoes
Rockjasmine
And many others....
Mammals: Pika, Marmot, Mule deer, Golden mantled ground squirrel,
And by sign: Moose, Coyote, Bobcat
>From the summit: a haze of smoke and clouds to the east. Clear and blue
to the west, with dozens of snow covered mountains. An excellent day for
photographing Long's and Meeker to the north.
John T (Tumasonis), Louisville CO
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