Colorado Trip ~ June 25, 1989

Leaving Greeley, we headed up into the mountains on Route 14, also known as Poudre Canyon Road. A stop below Poudre Park produced Lazuli Bunting, Violet-green Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, Rufous-sided Towhee, Solitary Vireo, and Virginia's Warbler. Farther up the Poudre River, while hoping for a Dipper to appear, we found a Broad-tailed Hummingbird visiting its nest with tiny, down-covered young ones inside.

The Baldwin Tunnel along Poudre Canyon Road above Poudre Park, Colorado.

At a mountain meadow, we watched brightly-colored male Mountain Bluebirds feed from the roadside wires.

A Mountain Bluebird along Poudre Canyon Road, Colorado.

At another spot, we saw Steller's Jay, Western Tanager, and Green-tailed Towhee. Near the town of Rustic, we stopped at a little general store/restaurant. While we ate, we watched a minimum of 20 Broad-taileds visiting the feeders beside our picnic table.

A Broad-tailed Hummingbird in Rustic, Colorado.

Just below Cameron Pass, we found "Gray-headed" Junco, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Mountain Chickadee, Warbling Vireo, and the "Audubon's" form of Yellow-rumped Warbler. It was strange to me that the Warbling Vireos were found in the evergreens of the mountains instead of near rivers in the lowlands as they are here. A stop on the west side of the pass produced "Red-shafted" Flicker, Western Wood-Pewee, and a Red-naped Sapsucker, which eventually gave us a good look at its nape.

We started down into the town of Walden (if you consider 8000 feet in elevation "down"). The evergreens and Quaking Aspens gave way to sagebrush. In an oversized water puddle, we saw Wilson's Phalaropes. A stop at the home of a Division of Wildlife employee got us directions to the trailer that housed the Sage Grouse research team. The man in the trailer provided us with a map and pointed out where a group of 20 radio-tagged birds generally hung out.

On the way back to Walden, we stopped at Walden Lake, an alkaline lake loaded with birds. The lake held Eared Grebe, Canada Goose, Green-winged, Blue-winged, and Cinnamon Teal, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, American Wigeon, Redhead, Lesser Scaup, Common Merganser, Ruddy Duck, American Coot, American Avocet, Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, California Gull, and Forster's Tern.

We stayed at the Chedsey Motel in Walden.

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