I led a group from Boulder Audubon an a hike from just below timberline to the tundra on Niwot Ridge in Boulder County this morning. While still in the spruce part of the hike, we encountered a lively mixed flock of Mt. Chickadees, Gray-headed Juncos, Audubon's Warblers, Wilson's Warblers and Ruby-crowned Kinglets with a Hermit Thrush, Lincoln Sparrow and Hammond's Flycatcher thrown in for some spice. Many of these birds were hatch year.
Once we reached tree line, the wind for which this weather station spot is known hit us, but we kept pushing up the ridge (well, more and more of the group hung back at a "base camp"), but a few made it past the weather station and found flocks of Horned Larks and a few American Pipits. Finally, in the usual fashion, I found a family of 6 White-tailed Ptarmigan by almost stepping on them. The return to the parking area added finches and corvids to the list, Red Crossbills and one Pine Grosbeak plus Clark's Nutcracker and Gray Jay. You don't often see many birds on the tundra, but they are always rewarding. Bill Kaempfer President, Colorado Field Ornithologists Boulder -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/F90B1155A81D474890D22EEFFFA7CAE51C1B8B7209%40EXC4.ad.colorado.edu. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
