Colorado - July 19-29, 2007
Peg Abbott, with six participants, and guest lecturers Alex Vargo of Colorado Springs, and Pat Magee of Gunnison
Bird/Species Trip List

Birds
Pied-billed Grebe – we FINALLY saw adults and a stripe-headed chick our morning at Monte Vista NWR. Normally common, in this location and Yellowstone there were very few this year….
Clark’s Grebe – scope views of a textbook individual, likely several more in a large group too far for certain i.d. San Luis Lakes State Park.
Western Grebe – long distance view by scope at a reservoir on the prairie,
Eared Grebe – a single bird in the cover at Lathrop Reservoir, and then spotted by Walter at San Luis Lakes, in breeding plumage, nice!
American White Pelican – Seen well on our Prairie day at reservoirs, then again as we passed through lake and wetland areas of intermountain basins, and at San Luis Lakes
Double-crested Cormorant – First seen on the prairie, then again on several larger lakes, esp. the Windy Gap Wildlife Area along the Colorado River west of Granby. Also at Monte Vista NWR
Great Blue Heron – An intent adult was our first bird encountered at Barr Lake, then several other wetland areas revealed adults.
Snowy Egret – Prairie day, several individuals
Black-crowned Night-Heron – Lynn spotted this species as we explored the southern end of Lathrop Reservoir, also several at Monte Vista
White-faced Ibis – Just incredible views of lots of birds at Monte Vista – lovely iridescent plumage.
Canada Goose – Seen many days, in most wetland or lake habitats of our journey
Mallard – Quite common, seen almost daily
Northern Pintail – an elegant necked female with brood at Monte Vista
Northern Shoveler – fairly common at Monte Vista
Blue-winged Teal – Seen on prairie day, small pothole ponds
Cinnamon Teal – great views on prairie day, several locations, many at Monte Vista though all in eclipse
Gadwall – Fairly common, including females with chicks, along Colorado River west of Granby, also with chicks at Monte Vista
American Wigeon – wildlife area west of Granby, Monte Vista
Redhead – wildlife area west of Granby, Monte Vista
Ring-necked Duck – wildlife area west of Granby
Lesser Scaup – most numerous duck species on wildlife area west of Granby
Bufflehead – one female east of Granby
Ruddy Duck – Monte Vista – fairly common
Common Merganser – Female with one large chick resting with White Pelican west of Gunnison
Turkey Vulture – open habitats, on prairie, in San Luis Valley, around Gunnison.
Osprey – Grand Lake, Shadow Mtn. Lake
Bald Eagle – Heard only, Barr Lake, quite a ways back from the lake, but uttering its characteristic chirping call…
Northern Harrier – Seen flying over wetlands area on our prairie day at Pawnee Grasslands
Sharp-shinned Hawk – Seen harassing a Red-tailed Hawk as we stopped for a view of Lake San Cristobal near Lake City
Swainson’s Hawk – fairly common prairie day, mainly light phase birds
Red-tailed Hawk – Common, seen on most days
Golden Eagle – Morning outing for Sage Grouse, near Gunnison, great looks quite close
American Kestrel – Seen on about half the days of our journey
Prairie Falcon – Prairie day, seen on small dam of pond at Pawnee Grasslands
Peregrine Falcon – Seen driving west from Gunnison, at wetland area with several ducks and geese.
Gunnison Sage Grouse – life bird for many! We found several females, two with broods, great scope views, and close enough to hear vocalizations.
Virginia Rail – adults and young at Monte Vista, wow!
Sora – scope views and close views of adults and young at Monte Vista.
American Coot – prairie day, Grandby, and Monte Vista and San Luis Lakes where they were particularly abundant.
Sandhill Crane – seen by Walter only, as we left Gunnison
Killdeer – seen at most locations in appropriate habitat
Black-necked Stilt – prairie day with young of varied ages, and again at Monte Vista
American Avocet – great views on prairie day, very common at Monte Vista where chicks were full grown
Lesser Yellowlegs – lone bird, prairie day
Spotted Sandpiper – seen on most days of the journey
Western Sandpiper – one bird at San Luis Lakes
Baird’s Sandpiper – two individuals seen at close range on prairie pond
Wilson’s Snipe – Lynn spotted two near Lathrop Reservoir on our first day – with luck they jumped into flight and put on a good showing
Wilson’s Phalarope – prairie day seen in flight, then abundant at Monte Vista
Franklin’s Gull – several larger reservoir and lake areas
California Gull – prairie and mountain lakes, San Luis Lakes
Bonaparte’s Gull – single bird at San Luis Lakes
Ring-billed Gull – one of our more common gulls, several locations
Rock Pigeon – urban areas and farms
Eurasian Collared Dove – several farms on the prairie day
Mourning Dove – common – seen on most days
Burrowing Owl – this bird stole the show on our prairie day, delightful looks at one adult and 6 or 7 fledged youngsters – all sitting beside their respective holes.
Common Nighthawk – seen in the parking lot of our Alamosa hotel, feeding over the lights and sweeping down to the adjacent bank’s ATM
White-throated Swift – Good looks at Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Calliope Hummingbird – good looks at a female on a feeder in Lake City
Rufous Hummingbird – subject of intense camera competition as we saw them at numerous feeders, also seen in the wild
Broad-tailed Hummingbird – the most numerous and widespread of our three sighted hummingbirds, seen almost daily.
Belted Kingfisher – prairie day (heard) and near Granby
Red-naped Sapsucker – great views of this bird, both adult and immature, on several days
Lewis’s Woodpecker – Peg spotted one in the trees outside our hotel in Gunnison, and gave a call that emptied out the dining room, come look!
Downy Woodpecker – likely our most common woodpecker, seen on many days
Hairy Woodpecker – several mountain locations
Northern Three-toed Woodpecker – great looks on trail outside of Grand Lake – posed for photos, wow! Seen again on one other mountain pass area.
Northern Flicker – seen many days of the journey
Ash-throated Flycatcher – adult seen well in tree grove at entrance to Monte Vista, some hint that it was feeding you, but tussling with Western Kingbird pair – hard to tell!
Dusky Flycatcher – Blue Creek Lodge, Black Canyon of the Gunnison – a young bird attended our picnic and posed for quite some time!
Eastern Kingbird – leader only, prairie day
Gray Flycatcher – Forest stop en between Del Norte and Monte Vista – excellent views
Hammond’s Flycatcher – seen in campground at Blue Creek Lodge, calling
Olive-sided Flycatcher – seen feeding young on trail near Grand Lake, heard several locations
Say’s Phoebe – San Luis Valley
Cordilleran Flycatcher – our most common Empidonax, seen in most mountain locations, seen feeding fledglings at stop en route to Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Western Kingbird – Prairie day and Monte Vista/San Luis Valley
Western Wood Pewee – seen feeding young near Grand Lake, prairie day, several mountain locations, Great Sand Dunes
Horned Lark – Prairie day – seen with young, Mt. Evans, Rocky Mtn NP
Bank Swallow – Barr Lake
Barn Swallow – seen on several days of the journey
Cliff Swallow – seen in good variety of habitat, good numbers
Northern Rough-winged Swallow – seen mainly along major rivers
Tree Swallow – best seen at Lake City, also using nest boxes in sagebrush areas
Violet-green Swallow – ubiquitous, seen daily
Blue Jay – Prairie day at lunchtime picnic spot, Pawnee Grasslands
Clark’s Nutcracker – surprisingly uncommon, seen at Rocky Mtn NP and Hoosier Pass
Gray Jay – seen on several of the high mountain passes, including Wolf Creek Pass
Western Scrub Jay – two birds seen at Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Steller’s Jay – our most common and widespread corvid, personable!
Black-billed Magpie – also quite common, seen on many days. Young birds very entertaining and vocal
American Crow – abundant on prairie, seen at many locations
Common Raven – seen daily
Black-capped Chickadee – seen on feeders in Georgetown
Mountain Chickadee – seen on forest hikes and in mountain areas
Pygmy Nuthatch – two individuals seen in forest north of South Fork – fun to watch!
Red-breasted Nuthatch – quite commonly seen or heard in mountain forests
White-breasted Nuthatch – Grand Lake
House Wren – quite common, seen most days
Marsh Wren – good viewing at Monte Vista, seen quickly on our prairie day, heard in other wetland habitats
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – seen in large flocks with young begging birds, numerous days
American Robin – abundant and regular
Mountain Bluebird – a trip favorite of many, most common in sagebrush habitats
Western Bluebird – first seen in Ponderosa forests north of Del Norte, then at Blue Creek Lodge feeding young
Hermit Thrush – (heard only) Forest area west of Del Norte
Townsend’s Solitaire – best seen in forest area north of South Fork, seen in flight a few other locations
Loggerhead Shrike – prairie day
Sage Thrasher – great views of family group en route to Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Gray Catbird – prairie day, then seen from car San Luis Valley
Northern Mockingbird – seen by Lynn on our prairie day
American Pipit – prairie and above treeline on several passes, best views Mt. Evans
American Dipper – adult feeding young near Grand Lake, individual mid-stream in the Rio Grande near Del Norte
Cedar Waxwing – Blue Creek Lodge, cottonwoods
European Starling – urban and farm areas
Warbling Vireo – first day of birding – good looks, also in forest area west of Del Norte
Common Yellowthroat – prairie day and Monte Vista
Orange-crowned Warbler – seen from our canoe on Grand Lake in small river channel
Townsend’s Warbler – heard only in thick grove of trees
Wilson’s Warbler – Guanella Pass at tree line
Yellow-rumped Warbler – seen on most days, one ‘Myrtle’ race spotted, all others ‘Audubon’s’
Yellow Warbler – seen several times in willow habitat
Western Meadowlark – prairie day and San Luis Valley, Monte Vista
Brewer’s Blackbird – abundant and regular
Brown-headed Cowbird – agricultural areas
Red-winged Blackbird – all wetland areas
Yellow-headed Blackbird – most wetland areas, often with vocal begging young
Bullock’s Oriole – Barr Lake,
Common Grackle – fairly common, esp. prairie day
Great-tailed Grackle – San Luis Valley
Western Tanager – another trip favorite, seen on several days and locations
Black-headed Grosbeak – great views at campground at Blue Creek
Lark Bunting – common Pawnee Grasslands
Blue Grosbeak – quick looks for one side of the van, a bright male singing from tall cottonwood on our prairie day
Pine Grosbeak – Berthoud Pass and Wolf Creek Pass
Chestnut-collared Longspur – Walter spotted a brilliant male, Pawnee Grasslands, wow!
McCown’s Longspur – quite a number of these, including some in flight song, near a windmill Pawnee Grasslands
Dark-eyed Junco – our most common forest songbird, seen daily
Brewer’s Sparrow – prairie day, sagebrush area near Gunnison
Chipping Sparrow – likely our second most common songbird in forest areas
Fox Sparrow – single bird, seen near corrals south of Lake City
Lark Sparrow – prairie day
White-crowned Sparrow – common and regular, pin-striped young a treat to see
Lincoln’s Sparrow – seen on several days of the journey, some males still singing
Savannah Sparrow – fairly common in sagebrush areas, San Luis Valley
Song Sparrow – seen several days in wetland and associated areas
Vesper Sparrow – open habitats prairie to peaktop
Green-tailed Towhee – sagebrush mixed with small scattered trees, seen on several days
Spotted Towhee – Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Great Sand Dunes, where Richard photographed an immature bird
American Goldfinch – Barr Lake and several other locations, esp. San Luis Valley
Cassin’s Finch – encountered on many forest walks, great views at corrals near Lake City
House Finch – Barr Lake, Monte Vista
Pine Siskin – incredibly common, large flocks encountered most days
Red Crossbill – best seen on Berthoud Pass, heard several other days
Brown-capped Rosy Finch – Mt. Evans, good looks
House Sparrow – urban and farm areas

Mammals:
Big Brown Bat
Black Bear
Coyote
Yellow-bellied Marmot
Black-tailed Prairie Dog
Gunnison Prairie Dog
Rock Squirrel
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel
Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel
Wyoming Ground Squirrel
Least Chipmunk
Uintah Chipmunk
Colorado Chipmunk
Hopi Chipmunk
Eastern Fox Squirrel
Red Squirrel
Muskrat
Porcupine
Pika
Whitetail Jackrabbit
Desert Cottontail
Mountain Cottontail
Elk
Mule Deer
Moose
Pronghorn

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