Touching Base

Thursday, for me, featured a lunch time trip to the open space near Baseline Reservoir. Nothing exceptional, but an accommodating Turkey Vulture gave me a few flyover looks. Today I made a trip out to Lincoln County. I'll get some posts up at some point, but have a trip up to the mountains tomorrow. Have a birdy weekend!

Gregory Canyon - Round 1

Peek-


A-Boo!

I went back to a Boulder favorite last evening, Gregory Canyon, in search of a reported rare resident the Scarlet Tanager. Unfortunately for me I missed it, but then I will be more likely to make special trips back to that great area if I have a carrot on a stick in front of me. Especially a brilliant red carrot with black trim.

Even missing the Scarlet couldn't keep this goldmine from producing though. I had three life birds, one of which posed for a respectable picture, and two will be hunted again in the future.

The good:

A Gray Flycatcher.


The potentially oh-so-good:

Western Tanager.


And the - through no fault of its own - ugly:

Virgina's Warbler. Note: Ugly applies to the photographic rendering, the bird itself is fantastic.

The sad part on that one is; that I have an even less focused shot that shows the yellow undertail coverts which helped me make the ID. My next frame had the perching branch in focus as the bird had just dove down the length of the tree and behind a larger clump of branches. I guess I'll just have to get faster on the focusing draw.

To finish on a cleaner note here are two better picks of more common species, a Turkey Vulture circling in the sunlight (there were 8 in the kettle), and a Spotted Towhee on what I believe is a Raspberry branch. Should be good bear and bird food later this summer!

Fortunately on this trip there were no snakes visible whatsoever. Really, it is much nicer that way.

2009 Count: 150

Lifetime:163

Saturday - Crescent Meadow and Walker Ranch

Went on an abbreviated hike on Saturday with an old school friend who was back visiting Boulder. We headed to Eldorado Canyon state park, and used the Crescent Meadows trailhead to avoid the CU graduation crowds.

The day was perfect, with clear skies and much warmer temperatures than had been forecast. Due to our late start and the mid-day Nuggets game the hike was more about getting there and back in a timely manner than it was about stopping and finding species, but it was great to get out in the sunshine regardless.

The Chipping Sparrows were everywhere in the burn area, I had this one perching on a burned out stump for several moments.

On the climb up to the Walker Ranch trailhead I had great looks at four Turkey Vultures soaring just over the ridge. Always a good sight to keep the coastal visitors moving on the trail!

The Mountain Bluebirds really stand out in the burn area. They generally perch high on the clear limbs and are a bright bit of color against the mostly drab background.

**Update: Comma**

I also had a couple of cool looking butterflies along the way, neither of which I have yet been able to id. There were three of the coppery ones above resting on rocks along the creek, and several of the type below further along the trail.

**Update: Spring Azure**

This one had a brilliant, blue back. Unfortunately it would not rest with open wings, and would not cooperate when flying.

I guess an insect guide is in my future along with a guide to mammals. Those two groups seem much more difficult to ID on the web.

Have a great week everyone, enjoy all the spring going on out there!

Walker Ranch at Dusk (Monday 1/19)

Our unseasonably warm weather continues through today, Wednesday the 21st, but I had a chance to enjoy the evening hours on Monday. As previously stated my workday ends at 3:00 on Mondays, so I have a bit of time in the afternoon to get out if I have no other pressing concerns. This past Monday I headed up to a renowned part of the Boulder County Open Space property, Walker Ranch.
I have known of Walker Ranch for years, but not really had a chance to explore it. I believe I had the first of many visits there Monday night. I parked and began walking up the Meyer's Homestead Trail. It is an approximate 2.4 mile out and back trail. I made it roughly a mile and a half up the trail before fading light made me turn back.
In the meantime I had a great evening walk. One of the first birds I saw was soaring well overhead. Squinting against the low light I took a few frames of it before it rose out of photographic range. After zooming in on him after the fact I confirmed a Turkey Vulture, Lifetime list #85.






I also realized that I had left my camera in black and white mode. I made adjustments and headed on down the trail.
While I was looking for birds I had the greatest success seeing deer.

These white-tails were crossing the into the eastern area of the 2000 Walker Ranch fire.

Further down the trail I was able to pass this Townsend's Solitaire and catch him enjoying the view from his perch at the end of a beautiful day, and a White-breasted Nuthatch, (not pictured here) doing the same.

I love Colorado for its diversity of scenery, and my trip to Walker Ranch was a welcome one-hour escape to the higher elevations. The barn ruins (above) and trail markers provide an insight to the history of the area over the past 100 years. I can't wait until the days get longer and I am able to make it all the way to the trail's end.

2009 Count: 51

Lifetime: 85