Month: August 2019

My nephew’s advice was to get to the park early to avoid long lines just to get in. But at 6:20 am I breezed right through. My first stop was at Alluvial Fan for the first target – American Dipper. I walked up the stream and on the way down one buzzed by me low over the water (457). I took pictures that would have been of questionable quality and would have been even better if the memory card was in the camera instead of my pocket.

First target was easy so it was on to Rainbow Curve where the book says visitors feed wildlife contrary to the rules, bringing in easy Canada Jays. But I got there too early, there were no badly behaving tourists so I headed for the high alpine zone. There I got to see my first Pika:

Birding was thin as the atmosphere up there so I beared down on the mammals. Here’s my first marmot:

I searched for rosy-finch and ptarmigan but these birds are few and far between. In fact I only saw about seven species of birds up there, the most common is pipit:

On the way back down I stopped at Rainbow Curve again and by now the visitors were plentiful. Several nutcrackers moved into position, all waiting for that one peanut, but this group of ec0-tourists was so well behaved, not so much as a crumb was offered. No jays! I tried to get a shot of the dipper back at the Alluvial but I couldn’t find it. All I could do was come back to “my” multi-million dollar “cabin” and study Red Crossbills, eat chips and drink cold beer. Tomorrow? More of the same, if I can stand it.

Every once in a while you fall into deep clover without even trying. I have found myself in the lap of luxury, and I think I deserve this once in a while. After spending the last two nights at my sister’s in Aurora I am now in Estes Park where my nephew lives for a family reunion of sorts. My nephew is a builder and this is one of the houses he built. Tomorrow I’ll get a shot of the view of Longs Peak from the back porch. He keeps close with his customers and they allow him to invite others, such as myself, to stay in these places. I’ll have to share it with others later, but for now it’s all mine. The views are spectacular and living room ceiling is 19 feet. I’m surrounded by Pygmy Nuthatches, Violet-green Swallows, and Red Crossbills. Herds of elk pass through “my” yard:

The important thing is that I added three new birds to the list today: Black-billed Magpie (454), Clark’s Nutcracker (455):

and Mountain Chickadee (456), a good start for this segment of the trip. Tomorrow I head up to Rocky Mountain National Park to track down some more montane species. High on my wish list is American Dipper, let’s see how I do.

I recently predicted that my next new bird would be magpie. These trips are so long and involve so much driving I am loathe to get off the highway and add even one more mile, it’s enough just to get to my next destination. But yesterday I looked at the map and saw what an easy day today would be (it was) I decided to go off the highway a little to a place I went to two years ago to try for Henslow’s Sparrow. I doubted they were still singing and I could not find any August records on eBird anywhere along I-80 . I stopped in the same spot I checked two years ago and sure enough I heard two Henslow’s Sparrows. (452). But after half an hour I could not get them to show and I had to see one to add it to my life list. If only a neighbor would drive by and give me permission to enter the land. I tried another area down the road and then came back toward where I was originally. I stopped when I heard something different and familiar. When I got out, I could hear two of them singing nearby – Sedge Wren (453)! I was not expecting this one this year. I saw a recent eBird report from this area but that is for those lucky people, not me. Eventually I got a good, brief look at one where two others were singing nearby. In this same field I could hear two more Henslow’s. “I need to get into these fields to see one. I need to find a neighbor who will give me permission.” By and by, a large SUV came by, slowed down, and a kindly 60-ish woman asked me if I was birdwatching. Yes indeed, with Henslow’s Sparrow at the top of the list. She introduced herself as Judy and told me I could go back to the top of the hill at the barn and walk the fields. In fact, she said, she owned everything from way down there to way up there, on both sides of the road! I had all the permission in the world to enter. It was like the parting of the Red Sea, I could now enter the realm of the elusive Henslow’s Sparrow! And so I did, and easily found one singing away:

I tried for this bird here two years ago and last year in Indiana so it was very satisfying to finally see it and add it to some lists (ABA 632), (World 2827) and the Big Year. I now have on my life list all North American sparrows except LeConte’s.

In this area I heard Red-headed Woodpecker and Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Set aside some land and wildlife abounds:

The scenery here is straight out of “Field of Dreams”, gently rolling hills covered in green, really lovely:

Hundreds of Cliff Swallows gathered on the wires along the way:

And look at all that corn! How about one more Henslow’s shot, as my camera battery was dying:

So the little detour was worth it to add two more good ones for the year. I would call this spot not just reliable for Henslow’s Sparrow, but a sure thing. And now that I have Judy’s express permission, I can wander these hills and fields at will and see all the Henslow’s Sparrows I want.

Tomorrow I log another 300 miles to get as far as Kearney, Nebraska. Monday I reach Colorado.

For the last two years I have driven right past Jamestown without stopping. A birder shouldn’t do that. Jamestown, New York is the birthplace of Roger Tory Peterson (and Lucille Ball!). I decided this year would be different. It was time to come off the highway for just a few minutes and have a look. After making my way through a residential neighborhood, I came upon this building. Inside you will find displays that connect you personally with him, like this one:

One of his first pair of binoculars and the last ones he used. Also in the display case are some copies of his ground-breaking field guide to the birds of 1934. Peterson was very important to my early development as a birder. In early childhood I received a copy of his book, “How to Know the Birds”. I still have that same copy, my oldest possession. This was all I had to go on back then- no binoculars, no field guide, no mentors, no groups or birding clubs. In fact to avoid ridicule, I had to suppress my interest in birds. Now I wave the flag, loud and proud. Here are Roger’s drawing and painting supplies:

His easel was off to the left. Notice the study skins, a screech owl and Snowy Owl. If you have time, you can watch the entire length of “Wild America”, both a book and a movie of the Big Year he ran with British ornithologist James Fisher in 1953. Sixty-six years later I am running my own Big Year.

The Hazards of the Highway:

I was making good time and just one exit from my hotel at 3:15 pm when traffic ground to a sudden halt. We were in a construction zone so I figured that was the delay. Then many rescue vehicles arrived and I knew it was an accident. A bad one. We were delayed for almost two hours, none of us mad, all of us glad it wasn’t us. I was only about 12 cars behind the site of the impacts. At least three cars were involved and one semi. A red pickup was crushed between the semi and the Jersey barriers. One of the cars was removed by a payloader, it looked like scrap metal. A medivac helicopter took away one of the victims. That’s all I have from I-80 westbound, Cleveland, Ohio. Back to the studio.