It was hard to believe it had been almost 20 years since we were in Colorado Rockies. Looking through old photos we took then, I could tell that we were starting to show some interests in birds but mammal/nature viewing was our main focus.
Fast forward 20 years, we knew that this trip was going to be all about birds of high peaks and prairies.
June 08, 2024been far too long
Unlike our last few trips, our plane to Denver was leaving at very reasonable time of 10am so we took trusty New York subway and an air train to get to JFK Airport. Our JetBlue flight took off right on time and arrived at Denver International Airport a little after noon (2-hour time difference). Upon arrival, we headed straight to Dollar Car Rental located about 5-minute shuttle ride away from the airport. At the counter, I could not believe they actually had the exact car I reserved (a compact SUV). If you had read my previous posts, you know that I am a big fan of small cars but we needed a bigger car for this trip to hold our camping gear and food supplies.
Our first destination was the city of Fort Collins located about an hour and a half north of Denver. By the time we got to Fort Collins, I was emancipated and had to eat something quick as not to waste our birding time. On a way to our first Colorado birding stop, we picked up a wrap sandwich at a casual sandwich chain called Jimmy John's. The wrap was small and nothing to write about but was good enough to keep us going for the next few hours.
We arrived at Pineridge Natural Area around 4pm. When we reached the top of the rocky hill, we heard rather unfamiliar loud bird calls. Our dependable Merlin (bird sound ID app) immediately indicated the owner of the sound, a ROCK WREN!!! The last time we encountered this delightful songster was back in 2006 in California.
Pineridge Natural Area eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S180232291
We then drove for a few minutes to check out the area adjoining Dixon Reservoir. This area too had a few birds we had not seen in a long time. I hate to admit it but I got really excited seeing ever-so-comical always-social Black-tailed Prairie Dogs.
Western Meadowlark
Black-billed Magpie
Western Kingbird
Cottontail Rabbit
Black-tailed Prairie Dogs
Black-tailed Prairie Dogs
Dixon Reservoir eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S180242648
It was almost 7 o'clock and we were in desperate need of a real meal. Noel found an interesting Chinese restaurant nearby called Beijing Noodle specializing in noodle dishes from Beijing municipality in China. The restaurant was so packed with locals that we had to wait a bit to get a table (which always is a good sign). Let me tell you they had one of the best Chinese noodle dishes I had (and New York has more Chinese noodle shops than there are stars in the night sky).
Our plan was to find a nice campground in Fort Collins but, to our surprise, they were all booked up so we settled into a no-frill motel called America's Best Value Inn for the night. After a long day of traveling and birding, we were both exhausted and were out like a light.
Day 1 total species: 16, lifer 0
June 9, 2024legend of pawnee
We woke up nice and early-ish at 5am and left the hotel in a hurry to bird Bobcat Ridge Natural Area in Fort Collins. When we arrived, birds were singing all around us but the lush green landscape made it quite difficult to locate them. Luckily, in front of us was a group of locals birding the trail. They seemed to have no difficulty finding the birds so we sort of tagged along. Shortly after, the leader of the group introduced herself as Denise from the Fort Collins Audubon Society conducting bird survey of the area. She then kindly invited us to join her group. It was a big YES from us. Besides Denise, some of them were decent birders and some not so much but they were all as nice as can be. By chatting with a few of them, we learned quite a bit about the area as well as the birds. After 5 good hours of enthralling birding, the walk came to an end. We thanked each member and said good-bye to the group.
Bullock's Oriole
Eastern Kingbird
Red-winged Blackbird Female
Lark Sparrow
Lesser Goldfinch
Spotted Towhee
Red-tailed Hawk
Mule Deer
It was time to begin our drive to one of the most anticipated birding destinations of the trip, Pawnee National Grassland. With over 300 bird species using the grassland, the Pawnee is known as a world-renowned bird-watching mecca and we couldn't wait to experience it in person.
We arrived at Crow Valley Campground around 3pm where we would be spending the next 2 nights. As soon as we finished setting up our tent, we decided to do a quick bird tour of the area around the campground. The highlight definitely was seeing a couple of nighthawks circling right above us.
Crow Valley Campground
Western Kingbird
Yellow Warbler
Common Grackle
Eastern Kingbird
Red-winged Blackbird Female
Common Nighthawk
Crow Valley Campground eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S180464836
It was already after 4pm but we really wanted to find out what all the hype was about Pawnee. The grassland is vast spreading to nearly quarter million acres so it wasn't feasible for anyone to investigate the entire area. Luckily for birders, there is a well maintained 21-mile auto tour with multiple stops for birds of special interest. As soon as we drove into Pawnee, we were just overwhelmed by the subtle beauty of the landscape and the abundance of birds.
Very first thing we noticed was a never-ending flow of flying Horned Larks as we drove past them. Just tens of thousands of them. The grassland was literally packed with Horned Lark adults and juveniles. Shortly after, we were absolutely thrilled to bag a first lifer of the trip, a handsome Lark Bunting dressed in Tuxedo.
Horned Lark
Horned Lark Juvenile
Western Meadowlark
Lark Bunting
Cassin's Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Pronghorn
It was getting late but we really wanted to get to the marker #9 where resident Mountain Plovers were said to frequent. We scanned the grassland around us for a while but no sign of Mountain Plover. This bird is fittingly nicknamed "Prairie Ghost", inspired by this bird's habit of freezing in place when threatened making itself virtualy invisible and was one of our top 3 must-see-birds of the trip. Considering our occasional inability to spot birds, it probably was standing still 3 feet away from us, waiting to be noticed!
It was really getting late. In order to get back to the campground before dark, we decided not to make any more bird stops along the way. We drove passed, yet again, thousands of Horned Larks foraging roadside, careful not to hit them. While driving, I noticed that some of them had beautiful white outer tail-feathers only visible in flight and assumed it was a part of their juvenile plumage. Yes, we did say no more stop but there are always exception to that rule such as seeing 3 Common Nighthawks roosting on cattle fences at eye level within arm's reach. Shortly after, we had to make another *exception* stop when we spotted 3 Swainson's Hawks perched on wooden fences (also at eye level). We were totally in a daze when we got back to our campground. The legend of Pawnee lived up to our expectations and more.
Pawnee National Grassland eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S180506871
Nearest town from Pawnee is about 30 minutes (1-hour round trip) but we already knew that. Before getting here, we stocked up on cold cuts and breads and made ourselves a nice big hero sandwich. It truly was a magical day and we could not wait to go back to Pawnee tomorrow.
Day 2 total species: 41, lifer 2 (Cassin's Sparrow, Lark Bunting)
June 10, 2024hiding in plain sight
Although our alarm was set to 5am, we were woken up earlier by a singing American Robin. We arrived at the other entrance of Pawnee Auto Tour before 6am. Pawnee was already alive with birds and we knew it was going to be another great day.
Our first order of business was to find 2 species of Longspurs, Chestnut-collared and Thick-billed. Let me mention that, due to habitat loss, the population of grassland birds such as Longspurs have been declining at an alarming rate of over 90% since 1960s. Pawnee Grassland is one of the few undisturbed grasslands left in the country and its existence is essential to the preservation and conservation of many grassland plant and animal species. Needless to say, Pawnee is one of the few strongholds for disappearing Longspurs.
When we stopped for a quick breakfast of yogurt with granola around the area known for Longspurs, a birder stopped by alongside us for a chat. We told her that we had seen Loggerhead Shrikes and Cassin's Sparrows but none of the big 3s (Longspurs, Mountain Plovers and Prairie Falcons). She told us that she had seen a Chestnut-collared Longspur flew by a few miles back. She continued on to say flying longspurs were easy to spot due to their distinct bright white feather tail. Immediately, a light bulb went on in my head. Wait a minute... So the hundreds of flying birds with flashy white tail feathers we saw yesterday and today were all longspurs 😲!!!??? Of course, I was too embarrassed to tell the birder so I just smiled and waved her a good-bye. You've got to be kidding me!!! Our breakfast was immediately put on hold and replaced by a mission to find Longspurs. We looked around and they were all around us showing off their white tail feathers. To our defense, the ones we saw were mostly females and female longspurs look just like any unidentifiable little brown birds (lovingly referred by birders as LBJ aka little brown job). It didn't take us long to spot a drop-dead gorgeous male Chestnut-collared Longspur followed by a male Thick-billed Longspur doing his aerial display. Oh wow, I wish all birding was that easy!
Loggerhead Shrike
Mourning Dove
Grasshopper Sparrow
Horned Lark
Chestnut-collared Longspur
Thick-billed Longspur
Cassin's Sparrow
Western Meadowlark
Lark Bunting
Pawnee National Grassland eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S180572019
Pawnee National Grassland eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S180603872
Thoroughly satisfied with Longspur sightings, we decided to check out a reservoir for some waterbird action. On our way to Pawnee's Adams and Bunker Reservoir Number 1, we spotted a family of Burrowing Owls in distance, living in one of Black-tailed Prairie Dog's burrows. This symbiotic relationship benefits both animals as they gain an extra pair of eyes to watch for predators.
Pawnee National Grassland Country Road 106 eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S180619870
Adams and Bunker Reservoir consisted of two small reservoirs right next to a working farm called Oasis Ranch. We were happy to see some familiar faces at the reservoir. On a way there, it was strange to see quite a few what appeared to be miniature oil rigs in many agricultural fields.
Adams And Bunker Reservoir Number 1
Oasis Ranch
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Coot
Pied-billed Grebe
Green-winged Teals
Blue-winged Teals
Killdeer
Red-winged Blackbird
Roadblock by Cows
Oil Rig
Adams And Bunker Reservoir Number 1 eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S180689862
Our next destination was renowned Pawnee Buttes. This was the first time we saw Buttes in person and they were magnificent. As if seeing the nature's grand creation up close wasn't enough, our visit was rewarded with an unexpected encounter with a rather conspicuous lifer, Brewer's Blackbird.
Pawnee Buttes
Pawnee Buttes
Pawnee Buttes
Pawnee Buttes Trailhead
Lark Sparrow
Horned Lark
Brown-headed Cowbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Pawnee Buttes eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S180689803
It was past 5pm and there was one thing left to do, our daily ghost patrol. A family of Mountain Plovers were spotted just outside of Briggsdale town near our campground a day before. So we basically drove/walked around the area hoping to spot them. We had spent a good hour looking for the plovers but no luck 😢 Well, there is always tomorrow.
Briggsdale eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S180689760
Day 3 total species: 36, lifer 3 (Brewer's Blackbird, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Thick-billed Longspur)
June 11, 2024ghost patrol
Today was our last day at Pawnee and we were on a mission to find the ghost. We did our homework so we knew exactly where to look. We woke up at 4:30am, geared up and commenced our final ghost patrol. We drove up and down the road where the bird had been seen. At one point, a concerned local stopped to ask us if we were all right. After hours of searching, all I can say is that effort often does not result in desired outcome. Just before leaving Pawnee, we bagged another lifer, Brewer's Sparrow, perhaps it was a consolation gift from Pawnee. Mountain Plover or not, we ABSOLUTELY fell in love with Pawnee National Grassland and were sure to be back.
Pawnee National Grassland eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S180778667
On our way to Rocky Mountain National Park, we stopped in Fort Collins for a brunch at a local diner called Doug's Diner. The food was decent and the service was very good. What impressed me most about the diner was that the server offered me a coffee to go. I did order a coffee (was on the pricey side at $3.75) but wasn't expecting to get a free refill of to-go coffee... I wonder if that is a Colorado thing or Doug thing...
After about an hour drive, we arrived at Fall River Visitor Center in Estes Park. During pandemic years, Rocky Mountain Park instituted a Timed Entry System to manage the number of visitors to the Park and the timed system continued to be used in present post-pandemic year. When we were here 20 years ago, we never felt that the Park was crowded but it was painfully obvious this time that Rocky Mountain National Park was at well beyond its optimal capacity of visitors. Earlier Timed Entry Passes immediately sold out so I could only get Timed Entry Pass at noon. Our plan was to bird the lower region then work our way up to the peak. At the visitor center, we asked the young intern ranger where is good for birds and he told us to check out Endovalley Picnic Area and we were glad that we took his advise. Endovalley Picnic Area was teeming with birds. It certainly was a bonus to see a small elk herd and a lone male moose wondering in the woods right in the middle of the picnic area.
Endovalley Picnic Area
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Virginia's Warbler
Stellar's Jay
Lincoln's Sparrow
Red-naped Sapsucker
House Wren
Elk
Moose
Endovalley Picnic Area eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S180904343
Our plan was to drive up to the peak and look for the main target of the trip, White-tailed Ptarmigan. When we got to the area above the treeline, we realized that Ptarmigan sighting definitely wasn't happening. Every overlook was jam-packed with visitors. We saw some funny looking mammals but there really was no birds. It was past 4pm and was time to head to our campground in Grand Lake located right outside of the Park. Right before leaving the Park, we ran into a mother moose with a calf crossing the road.
Stillwater Campground operated by the National Forest Services was located by Lake Gransby and we were lucky to get a site right by the lake. Who wants to stay at a hotel when we can get a stunning view of Rocky Mountain's snow covered peaks right from our tent. Listening to the sounds of water, we fell asleep in no time.
Day 4 total species: 18, lifer 2 (Brewer's Sparrow, Red-naped Sapsucker)
June 12, 2024phantom of the tundra
Getting up at 4:30am was becoming our new routine. There was only one thing on our minds today, finding the most famous resident of high altitude tundras, meet White-tailed Ptarmigan. It was a little after 6am when we arrived at Medicine Bow Curve where a Ptarmigan had been reported on eBird almost daily. As soon as we got out of the car, I could not believe how cold and windy it was at 11,600 feet. Temperature must have been around 40° but the wind was beyond anything I had experienced. We slowly walked on the trail in piercing frigid wind, carefully examining every little rock crevice for a sign of Ptarmigan. They are notoriously famous for being virtually invisible when they stand still by blending into the background. Multiple birders warned us that the bird had to move even a little in order to spot it. Well, they were 100% right. We had been looking very carefully and diligently and saw nothing. When we walked by a bush, a chunky white bird flew out and away it went. It startled us as much as we startled it. Noel saw it better than I did but we both agreed that it was a Ptarmigan. Afterall, there are very few birds at this altitude and none looked remotely like a Ptarmigan. We, of course, looked around where it flew to but no luck. We had spent almost an hour in this hostile environment and was time to call it before we froze to death. While walking back, two chunky white birds flew by us. Our first Ptarmigan sightings were quite unsatisfactory and certainly wasn't the crowning moment we were looking for.
Medicine Bow Curve eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S181131544
We thought we had another hour to try for a better view of a Ptarmigan before a crowd takes over the tundra. Tundra Communities Trail was located about 10 minutes away from Medicine Bow Curve and was another possible place to see a Ptarmigan. Luckily, it wasn't as cold but still it was no walk in the park. We spent about an hour here as well but no Ptarmigan, just the usual suspects and a cute little Pika.
Tundra Communities Trail eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S181131596
Time had come to leave the tundra and bird more human friendly habitat. We drove down to Upper Beaver Meadows sitting at comfortable 8,000 feet after reading about it in Birds of Colorado Field Guide. Good thing that we came early in the day as the parking was almost full. When we left, there was a line of cars waiting to park. Told ya any place in Rocky Mountain Park was very crowded. Despite the crowd, the meadow was an amazing place for birds. Although we had missed a Three-toed Woodpecker by a few minutes (so we were told by birders who had seen it there right before we got there), we saw a ton of birds, 2 of them lifers. Birding was so good there we had spent about 3.5 hours exploring the trail. The only complain we had was about the place was 'it was too HOT!!!' 😆. Right when we were about to leave, we bumped into a nature guide we had spoken with earlier. He told us that he saw a Three-toed Woodpecker right behind the Ranger station in Hidden Valley and that immediately became our next destination.
Warbling Vireo
House Wren
Western Wood-Pewee
American Robin
Cassin's Finch
Mountain Bluebird
Hairy Woodpecker
Nothern Flicker
Pygmy Nuthatch
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Violet-green Swallow
Williamson's Sapsucker
Western Flycatcher
Green-tailed Towhee
Black-billed Magpie
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Hidden Valley was located about 1,000 feet above Upper Beaver Meadows. Although we spent almost an hour birding, it was rather quiet, not to mention there was no sign of Three-toed Woodpeckers.
Hidden Valley eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S181131833
On our way back, we passed Medicine Bow Curve where we had seen flying Ptarmigans this morning and we just had to stop by to check for Ptarmigans for better view. Wishful thinking...😂
Moose sighting had become a daily occurrence during our stay at Rocky Mountain National Park. On our way out of the park, there was a nice young male as well as the mother/calf pair we had seen the day before.
Before going to sleep, I, the itinerary planner, made an executive decision to extend our stay in Rockies by 1 more day. Initially, we were planning to leave the area first thing tomorrow morning to head northwest but it just didn't feel right leaving without seeing a Ptarmigan for more than a second. Let's hope I made the right decision...
Day 5 total species: 30, lifer 3 (Green-tailed Towhee, White-tailed Ptarmigan, Williamson's Sapsucker)
June 13, 2024win some, lose some
We strongly felt that we needed to get to Medicine Bow Curve before sunrise in order to increase our chance of seeing a Ptarmigan so we set the alarm to 4am the night before. Like a clockwork, we made it there right before sunrise. Surprisingly, it was a little less cold and windy than yesterday (although it was still pretty cold). We were extra careful this time not to spook the bird as we walked the trail in slow motion. We got to the end of the trail where the bird had regularly been seen and waited for a good while. Just when we were about to give up, a stunning male Ptarmigan hopped onto a rock. Oh what a sight! He stood there for a few seconds and flew away and that was the end of the brief but sweet rendezvous with a Ptarmigan.
Medicine Bow Curve eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S181276701
After that satisfying encounter with a Ptarmigan, I really felt a heavy weight had lifted off my shoulders. I can finally relax a little. We then drove down and birded Lake Irene Picnic Area. The lake was at 10,750 feet up so the area was quite icy and snowy but we managed to see some cute little guys.
Lake Irene Picnic Area eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S181276750
We had a few more hours left before we needed to be back at Stillwater Campground to reserve a campsite for tonight. We stopped at much warmer Green Mountain Trail at 8,800 feet. In front of us stood miles and miles of charred burned trees from the infamous 2020 Colorado wildfire known as the East Troublesome Fire. It was the 2nd largest wildfire in Colorado history and said to have burned nearly 200,000 acres of land. Not surprisingly, the fire had devastating effects on its ecosystem, wildlife and the people and many we had spoken to had said that the Park would never recover from such a catastrophic event.
Although it was sad to see so many burned trees, it provided us with a unique opportunity to search for the Three-toed Woodpecker as we were told by a few that the Woodpeckers often prefer to forage on burned trees. Well, that didn't seem to be the case today but we were happy to find some common birds.
Green Mountain Trail eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S181276902
We were back at Stillwater Campground by noon. Let me explain how the public campgrounds in Colorado works: Most of the sites are reserved for online booking but few are purposely left for walk-in campers. As you can imagine, campgrounds in and around Rocky Mountain Park were extremely crowded. It was so crowded that all reservable sites were sold out well over 6-months in advance. So you can understand why we were so anxious. We could not believe our luck when we realized the site right next to ours was available. We dragged our tent and it was all done! Only wish finding a lifer was that easy 😕
With our accommodation matter taken care of, we were ready to bird again. East Inlet Trail was a logical choice since it was less than 10 miles from where we were. When we arrived, we were surprised to see the parking lot occupied by so many people. Then we immediately understood the reason for the large crowd when we saw a sign for a waterfall. People love waterfalls and, don't get me wrong, I like it too but large gatherings of people generally are never good for birds so we followed the trail sign NOT leading to the waterfall and it turned out to be a beautiful quiet walk accompanied by some nice birds 😉
Western Wood Pewee
Western Tanager
Williamson's Sapsucker
Wilson's Snipe
American Robin
Mule Deer
East Inlet Trail
East Inlet Trail
East Inlet Trail eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S181276080
Do you sometimes get a feeling that you forgot something? I had been feeling that for a while.... As we were leaving East Inlet Trail, it then hit me. I was so focused on finding the Ptarmigan, I totally forgot about finding another must-see high altitude specialist, Brown-capped Rosy-Finch. It inhabits the highest peaks of the Rockies from Wyoming south through Colorado to New Mexico. Today was our last night in the Rockies and I could immediately feel the panic settling in my stomach. The only thing we could do at this point was to drive back to the summit and look for them. Rosy-Finches had been seen at the locations we had looked for Ptarmigans so we knew where to look. I cannot believe that I am saying this but the problem was the unusually nice weather at the top. In the past 3 days, the weather above the treeline was just horrendously cold and windy; however, for some reason, it was rather warm and calm. Consequently, it was just packed with visitors and it soon became clear to us that today wasn't the day.
Sort of a bitter sweet ending to our Rocky Mountain Quest but regardless, we had the greatest time. It was late and we were too tired to prepare our dinner at the campsite. At a local gas station in Grand Lake, we asked a clerk where to eat and the guy strongly recommended Sagebrush BBQ and Grill (owned by his cousin...🤔). The restaurant looked pretty nice and the place was packed (always a good sign) but the food was sadly less than stellar.
Day 6 total species: 17, lifer 0
June 14, 2024trouble with the law!?
We somehow managed to put everything away in the predawn light like 2 bats out of hell and left Stillwater Campground before sunrise. We were traveling to legendary Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge about an hour away. Stark contrast to the overcrowded Rocky Mountain National Park, Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge was remote and desolate, free of people at last. The refuge was breath-takingly beautiful and packed with wildlife. If you happen to be in Colorado, I beg you to visit Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge. Abundance of birds matched with its raw beauty will surely leave you speechless in awe. Please just go and thank me later 😉
From State Highway 125 driving northwards, we took a right onto County Road 32 following the sign for the Arapaho National Wildlife Visitor Center. We were excited to finally be on the famed 6-mile self-guided auto tour (so we thought 🤔). From the get-go, we saw birds left and right, waterfowls were especially bountiful there. The refuge is said to be one of best places to watch migrating/nesting waterfowls in the nation and it stood by its words. Multitude of waterfowls were attracted to the refuge's complex network of ditches and ponds created by Illinois River running right through the refuge. Those were the good news now with the bad: With water comes our mortal enemy, the blood sucking mini organisms 🦟. OMG there were literally millions of mosquitoes. It was especially dreadful on Moose Goose Nature Trail we took. We were under constant attack by 50 or more mosquitoes which made birding quite difficult and very uncomfortable. Holy smokes, things we put up with for birds!
Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge
Moose Goose Nature Trail
Savannah Sparrow
Wilson's Snipe
Yellow Warbler
Cliff Swallow Nests
American Wigeon
American Wigeon
Cinnamon Teals
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Common Raven
Brewer's Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Tree Swallow
Cottontail Rabbit
Wyoming Gounrd Squirrel
White-tailed Prairie Dog
Pronghorn
It was almost 10:30am and we decided to have a quick breakfast of granola and yogurt. As soon as we pulled into a small parking area leading to a hunting trail, we saw this peculiar hyperactive bird flying low over sagebrush while incessantly singing loud endless cascades of song. Merlin App immediately recognized the outlandish song as of a Sage Thrasher!!! The bird was as bold as brass singing proudly on top of sagebrush and we enjoyed his company for a bit. While watching the thrasher, we walked a few feet into the trail then a Park Ranger Car pulled up. A young tall Park Ranger in uniform with a gun and a lady got out of the car and walked towards us. Puzzled, we greeted them with "hello". He then told us we were trespassing on federal property by walking on the hunting trail even though there was no sign indicating that (his words, not ours) and we could be arrested for that. He was polite yet stern and asked both of our identifications. We handed him our driver's licenses, he took photos of them and left. One good outcome of this bizarre encounter was that the ranger told us that the auto-tour which we though were on was, in fact, on the west side of the refuge.
We bid farewell to the eastern section of the refuge to head to much anticipated Arapaho Auto-Tour (this time, for real). Let me tell you that words cannot describe how amazing the auto tour was. The entire area was jam-packed with nesting birds. At the entrance of the auto-tour, we were immediately greeted by 12 gorgeous Eared Grebes. Inside the refuge, every corner was occupied by some sort of life form. There must have been easily over 100 Yellow-headed Blackbirds. Sage Thrashers were singing everywhere on sagebrush steppe. Every bit of wetland was occupied by nesting waterfowls. We were so utterly spellbound with this refuge that spending over 7 hours felt like 10 minutes. We would have stayed longer but we had few more places to visit and most importantly had to leave an ample time to find a campsite for tonight.
Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge Map
Eared Grebe
Lesser Scaup
American Avocet
Brewer's Sparrow
Yellow-headed Blackbird
American Coot
Gadwall
Killdeer
Wilson's Pharalope
Cinnamon Teal
Green-winged Teal
California Gull
Ruddy Duck
Swainson's Hawk
Western Meadowlark
Brewer's Blackbird
White-tailed Prairie Dogs
Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S181467729
I could not believe it was almost 3 o'clock. We didn't even realize we were hungry until we left the refuge. We drove to the nearest town of Walden for late lunch. Walden was a very small town with the population of 560 and seemed to mainly serve hunters and fishermen. The town seemed rather deserted and run-down but with old western charm and I absolutely adored this tiny country town in Colorado. We randomly picked a pizza joint called Four Winds Pizza for lunch. When we walked into the spacious yet completely empty pizzeria, a lady behind the counter gave us a blank stare without a word. Feeling awkward, Noel sheepishly asked if we could order a pizza. The lady pointed to the menu on the counter with a chin nod. Feeling even more awkward, we placed our order and sat down to wait. While waiting, a UPS delivery guy came in to drop a package and she again gave him a dead stare and took the package without a word. We realized that she was, at least, not angry at us but just a grumpy individual. Just out of curiosity, Noel checked out Yelp reviews of the restaurant and all of the bad reviews were about the lady. Here are few quotes from the review.
- "The owner is rude and hateful toward children. by Jessica M."
- "The WORST. The woman at the counter is absolutely rude!!! by Rlp P."
- "Pizza was very good but the lady that runs the business is a grouch. by Linda S."
- " The lady who runs the shop seemed bothered by our presence. by Nathan B.
- " The older lady and maybe her daughter behind the counter were the rudest people I've come across in a long time. by Teresa W."
- "An older woman, presumably the owner needs a lesson in customer service. by Jenean H."
- "lady running the place has an attitude and is not friendly to customers. by Cody R."
When we came out of the restaurant, we noticed a Mexican food truck across the street with a line of people waiting to order. I guess that's where locals go and we followed suit and took out 2 burritos.
After the interesting dining experience, we decided to check out Walden Reservoir for Clark's Grebes. Although the Clark's Grebes were MIA, we found a group of dazzling Western Grebes along with many other wonderful aquatic birds.
Walden Reservoir eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S181483578
Originally, we were planning to camp at Lake John's Resort but they were completely sold out partly due to June 16th being Father's Day. When Noel spoke to the owner, he kindly gave us names of few other campgrounds in the area. We drove to the nearby Delaney Buttes Lakes State Wildlife Area to check out the site. As soon as we arrived, it became obvious to us that there was no designated camping area. You just pick a spot by the lake and setup a tent. There were a few fishing people RVing but didn't feel quite right nor safe since we were the only tent campers. On top of it, there were swarms of mosquitoes feasting on whatever it moved (basically us). The mosquito situation was so bad that a couple in RV next to us told us that they were leaving because of the bugs. Yes it was *that* bad. We then made a decision to drive back to Grand Lake where there were a lot of campgrounds (including the Stillwater Campground we had just come from this morning). We checked out 4 different campgrounds and they were all sold out solid. We still had some time before dark so continued our drive south. Our final plan was to check out one last campground along the way. If the place was full, we would get a hotel room in nearby Winter Park. To our surprise, the lovely Idlewild Campground had a few sites left so we grabbed the first open site we saw. Feeling lucky and relieved, we fell asleep fast and sound 😴.
Day 7 total species: 47, lifer 1 (Sage Thrasher)
June 15, 2024wizard of the high peaks
If you can remember our last night in the Rocky Mountain National Park, I was so preoccupied with finding the Ptarmigans that I completely forgot to look for the Rosy-Finches in the tundras 😣. Subsequently, I, the trip planner, made an executive decision to change our original itinerary to replace a day in North Park with a day in snow-capped mountain top to look for Brown-capped Rosy-Finches. Let's hope we made the right decision 🤞.
Today, we were attempting to summit Mt Bierstadt standing tall and mighty at 14,065 feet! Sounds like we made a bald transition to mountaineering from birding, doesn't it? Well, Mt Bierstadt is known as the easiest 14er to conquer. Basically, anyone with a good pair of sneakers (no need really for hiking shoes) and a decent pair of legs and a lung can drive up to the trail head then hike the well-maintained 7.2-mile trail all the way up to the summit with 2,736 feet altitude gain. Not bad, eh? When we got there, there were already many mostly young hikers making their way out to the trail. Even before getting to the trail, we were already distracted by high altitude regulars like White-throated Sparrows, Fox Sparrows and Dark-eyed Juncos and we knew it was going to be a long day.
At the beginning of the trail, we were greeted by hundreds of Wilson's Warblers. What a welcome surprise that was! We definitely have a soft spot for this tiny but fierce fella with a little black cap.
Once above the tree line, there weren't many species of birds but that was expected and we just continued on our hike. After over 5 hours of searching and climbing, we kinda realized that Rosy-Finch sighting wasn't meant for us today. Just as we were starting to walk back, a large white figure appeared on the horizon. Goodness gracious, a mountain goat!!!
It was casually walking *towards* us. When it past us, it must have been only a few feet between the goat and us (we were completely motionless while this was taking place). Oh it was such a jaw-dropping awe-striking close encounter with the mystical goat! Needless to say, our disappointment with not finding Rosy-Finches was quickly replaced with euphoria from seeing the goat.
Bierstadt Trail eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S181713715
We had been on Bierstadt Trail for almost 7 hours and we were both completely spent. We made a few quick stops at Guanella Pass Rd Lakes and Reservoir at which our most notable find was a gorgeous moose.
Guanella Pass Rd Lakes and ReservoireBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S181713618
We then bumped into a small herd of Big Horn Sheeps licking the salt off of the road. Our birding quest turned into a big mammal expedition. I guess we could use a mini break from birding.
Today being Saturday, there was no campsite left anywhere around the area so we booked a room in the nearest town of Silver Plume called Historic Windsor Hotel. It was a little peculiar yet charming Bed and Breakfast.
Day 8 total species: 14, lifer 0
June 16, 2024at long last...
Today was our last day to explore the high peaks of Colorado. Noel's childhood friend's wife who is a birder living in Boulder strongly recommended us to visit Mt Blue Sky by Denver. Just like the Rocky Mountain Park, a timed pass is required for entry as it is a hugely popular destination for Coloradans. With the 8am entry pass (that was the earliest available) in hand, we were ready to bird another summit.
Unlike the Rocky Mountain Park, entry wasn't allowed before 8am so we needed to wait by the entrance for a short while and was one of the first cars to enter the park. The area was meticulously maintained and driving was fairly easy even though the road was very twisty. Our first stop was Summit Lake Park where Rosy-Finches were spotted on earlier days. The parking for the lake was already packed with young hikers. Out of the mostly hiker crowds, we spot a birder (a camera and binoculars always are dead giveaway) so we stroke up a conversation to get info about Rosy-Finches. She said that she was looking for a Ptarmigan which was quite common here but Rosy-Finches were usually at the summit and boy were we glad we spoke to her. Near the summit, we caught a small brown bird frittering on a rock on the side of the road and immediately knew it was our very first Brown-capped Rosy-Finch sighting 👍. When we got to the summit, we took a short trail walking up to the highest point of the Mt Blue Sky. There were a few Brown-capped Rosy-Finches at arm's length along with a family of Mountain Goats. Location, location, location 😉.
Mt Blue Sky
American Pipit
White-crowned Sparrow
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch
Noel and his new bestie
Yellow-bellied Marmot
Jun the Mountaineer
Mountain Goat
Mountain Goat
Mountain Goats
Mountain Goat Kid
Mt Blue Sky eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S181983871
Mt Blue Sky Summit Lake eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S181984043
After spending nearly 7 hours, we had to begin our descent to find a campsite for our last night in Colorado 😭. With the weekend behind us, the campground wasn't as crowded yet we felt pretty lucky to find a site at lovely Echo Lake Campground right below Mt Blue Sky. Just when we finished setting up our tent, I began to feel a little light-headed. We basically had spent a day at the top of Mt Blue Sky which is above 14,000 ft so it was quite likely I was feeling the effect of altitude. I took a nap and took 1 tablet of Aleve which had miraculously cured my altitude sickness in Colombian Paramo in 2022. Guess what, I felt fine in an hour or so.
With renewed health, I was ready to bird the area around the campground. In my book, birding does not end till dark.
Echo Lake eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S181984113
Day 9 total species: 13, lifer 1 (Brown-capped Rosy-Finch)
June 17, 2024wildlife oasis created by chemical warfare
On our final day, we woke up before sunrise as usual, left the campground in a hurry to spend the day birding the Denver area. Our plane was leaving at midnight so we had a full day to explorer the area. Our first destination was Barr Lake State Park, touted as one of the best birding spots in the Denver metro area. It was a lovely, birder-friendly, easy-to-navigate park with many common yet delightful birds. Starting at Barr Lake Nature Center, we took the mosquito-infested Neidrach Nature Trail and our bravery was rewarded with some decent sightings.
Barr Lake State Park
Barr Lake State Park Nature Center
Cottontail Rabbit
Canada Geese
Killdeer
Bullock's Oriole
Common Grackle
Eastern Kingbird
Yellow Warbler
Western Kingbird
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Western Meadowlark
Pleased with our initial exploration of the park, we were ready to take on the main reason for our visit. Much sought after Clark's Grebes were said to be hanging out with a flock of much more common Western Grebes in Barr Lake. To our surprise, we spotted a Clark's Grebe rather quickly. The good news was that identifying Clark's Grebe was easy as it clearly was different from Western Grebes. Now the bad part, the bird was very very far, like at least a quarter mile far. We did try to get closer by driving to the other side of the park but the birds were already scared away by fishing boats. Regardless, we were still happy to bag a lifer on our last day 😁.
Barr Lake State Park eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S182081673
Our next and final destination was Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge located about 8 miles northeast from downtown Denver. There is a dark history to the Refuge. As the name, Arsenal, suggests, the site was built by the United States Army in 1942 to manufacture chemical weapons (yep, you heard it right. guess it was legal then). After the Vietnam War, the program was shut down and the facility was used to dismantle and dispose of deadly chemicals. After the Arsenal was closed in 1985, testing was done to check the soil and it was determined to be highly toxic. After the years of clean-up by the Environmental Protection Agency, the area was finally established as National Wildlife Refuge in 1992 although the area is still considered unfit for human habitation. So basically, wildlife finally benefited from evil human acts and the refuge is now a bustling hub for all types of wildlife.
Besides the Mountain Plover, we had so far been missing another major target, Prairie Falcon. It was a long shot but the falcon had been seen here sporadically so we were hopeful... After eating lunch as quickly as we could in the parking lot, we were ready to take on the famed Wildlife Drive at Arsenal. The main attraction of the drive for general visitors was reintroduced Bison but our focus was solely on birds. Standing at over 5,000 feet, I thought the temperature in Denver would be cool and comfortable but due to the nationwide heat-wave that week, the temperature topped at whopping 95°. I don't know if it was the heat or something else, but the Refuge was devoid of bird life. Towards the end of the loop, we were able to spot some note worthy birds, a family of Burrowing Owls, in distance and that marked the end of our great Colorado adventure.
Rocky Mountain Arsenal
AmericanKestrel
Mourning Dove
Lark Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
American White Pelican
Northern Mockingbird chasing Red-tailed Hawk
Deer
Black-tailed Paririe Dogs
Vesper Sparrow
Western Meadowlark
Burrowing Owls
Bison
Bison Herd
Wild Turkey
Double-crested Cormorant
American White Pelican
HOT!
Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S182142605
Day 10 total species: 49, lifer 1 (Clark's Grebe)
Before coming to Colorado, I had somewhat of low expectations in terms of volume. I was happily proven wrong. Colorado was filled with variety of captivating birds, places and people. We ended up with final tally of 127 species in 10 days and we couldn't have been happier. Who knows we may be back in 20 years!?
total species: 127, lifer: 13
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