A while ago, the Field Ornithologists at CSU decided that we should do a trip looking for White-tailed Ptarmigan in Rocky Mountain National Park. To make the task easier, we tried pick a date that overlapped with the birds molting into their winter plumage and the mountains having little to no snow sticking to the ground. I wonder whether the length of this overlap will increase as our climate changes. Part of our group decided to bird Medicine Bow Curve for some time in the morning, but they came up empty for ptarmigan but did see a flock of over 100 Brown-capped Rosy-Finches fly over. The other part of our group (only two brave and determined souls) decided to leave town early to reach the breezy alpine tundra on Flattop Mountain around sunrise. The lower sections of the trail above tree line are fairly rocky and did not have any ptarmigan, but as we climbed higher (a little over a mile from the summit) the habitat became less rocky and we were able to spot at least 6 White-tailed Ptarmigan. A pair close to the trail gave us very nice looks, but I was most impressed by the ease of spotting birds over 1/4 mile away through binoculars as well as a spotting scope. Have any other birders thought to take advantage of this timing for easy ptarmigan viewing? The trip was much easier than one I took this spring when we walked through the snow to find them transitioning into their summer plumage. Other than the high alpine birds, the park was not terribly birdy.
While eating lunch, we got a text about the Tricolored Heron and were able to make a detour on our way back to campus to see this rarity, and it made us wonder whether anyone else has ever seen a White-tailed Ptarmigan and Tricolored Heron in the same day. Good Birding! Andy Bankert Fort Collins, CO -- 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 cobirds+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to cobirds@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/CAMvLbkiO89-sQg-q9_KZp0dStXDXWkOdCO7-E0671fFz0r5EKQ%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
