Today was the day for the (almost) annual BBC trip for winter mountain birds. Fifteen people joined me to head up to the Ward and Allenspark areas in weather that was not only warm (touching 50) but even calm.
Ward was a bit of a disappointment with few birds visiting the usual feeder spots. One Clark's Nutcracker made a quick appearance, but only a few other regular species. The Brainard Lake Road gate area was fairly full of the usual winter sports enthusiasts, but when did snowshoeing pick-up a tradition of pre-trek tailgating? One distant Pine Grosbeak called and another Clark's Nutcracker were the only birds present up on top, but as we drove back toward the Peak-to-Peak Highway most of us got a quick look at a single Gray Jay. On the road to Allenspark there were single birds here and there, but nothing anyone would call a flock. Once in Allenspark, the Fawn Brook Inn had nothing at its feeders, but our fortunes turned as we decided to walk all the way around the ski road loop. A flock of Evening Grosbeaks swooped in and then made the rounds and the feeders away from the Fawn Brook were active with nuthatches, chickadees, and a single Hairy Woodpecker (our only non-passerine of the day!). We went on to the entrance to Wild Basin which was also almost bird-less, but a feeder in the area was our best stop with another nutcracker, a Brown Creeper, and great views of an almost stationary female Pine Grosbeak along with lots more chickadees, juncos and nuthatches. The recent-years tradition of a lunch stop at Oscar Blues in Lyons was maintained. Bill Kaempfer 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/SN1PR0301MB1648F77A4D28ACEDBF01A1E2E15F0%40SN1PR0301MB1648.namprd03.prod.outlook.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
