Retracing the Steps: The Centennial State

Saturday, June 14, 2014

The Centennial State

What are you doing this weekend? Want to go to Colorado? Why yes!! Great, let's catch the 6am flight Friday out of CVG to DEN via Frontier airlines. http://www.flyfrontier.com/. We've landed at 7:15am MST. Now it's time to get the rental, which one do we take??

Kia Sorento

We have plans to stay the night in Gunnision, CO some 224 miles away, but over 4 hours of drivetime. We're going to heading through some high mountain passes on this day. Our first stop was southwest Denver, the town of Morrison to get the American Dipper. Tick! Then up 2 miles to the beautiful Red Rocks Parks&Amphitheater. What a place to visit or see a concert. They where even filming a commerical there.

Pearl Jam anyone?

JK&Sam with Ship Rock in back

CrossFit

In Morrison, before the dipper, we got this great owlette. No parent owls around. In the parking lot, we got this Western-Scrub Jay. I saw a couple last year in California. Very pretty. Plus, I just got the Florida-Scrub Jay in March in Florida(see earlier post). The scrub jay was split in 1996 into 3 sub-species. I still only need the Island-Shrub Jay for a lifer.

Juvenile Great Horned Owl

Western-Scrub Jay

Plenty of Western Kingbirds around in Colorado.Very common.

Western-Kingbird

14 footer

The drive down SR285 is fantastic. Highly recommend it for anyone visiting the state. The state has 53 mountains over 14,000 feet in elevation. Sawatch Range has many of the highest mountains.
We stopped at Monarchs Pass, 12,000 feet. Yea, it snowed there last week.

On Saturday afternoon, we drove back up SR285, then split off to SR9 north through downtown Breckenridge. Beautiful ski town. Can't image what this place would look like during ski season. We took that up to The Grand Army of the Rebuplic Highway, Route 6. We stopped at Loveland Pass to get the WTPT and these great pics. Wish we could of spent more time there.

Life Bird #546 in this pic

#TSB

Saturday night, we went to bed early in Brighton, CO after a celebratory life bird Sonic milkshake. We traveled up to Pawnees Grasslands on Sunday morning, and then headed back to Denver for lunch, and Cherry Creek Reservoir for the Rock Wren. By now is was 4pm and ready for check-in at DEN for our 7pm flight back to CVG. In the end, this turned out to be one the greatest trips ever for me and the guys. Thanks again. Please comment our where our #birdteam2015 should go next year. Ideas!?!

Trip Stats:
60 hours in Colorado
778 miles driven in a KIA
24 MPG
112 total species
49 FOYs--Notables
(CinnamonTeal,Clark&WstrnGrebe,WhitefacedIbis,BroadtailedHumbrd,SaysPhoebe,
JuniperTitmouse,PygmyNuthatch,YBC,Townswarbler,GreentailedTowhee,Brewerspw,Larkspw,Larkbuning,WstrnTanager,BlackheadGrosbeak,BrewrsBlkbird,CassinsFinch)
12 LIFERS, now at ABA#551

Next up: Ohio summer birding

Townsend Warble, male

Black-tailed Prairie Dog

2 comments:

AnonymousAugust 16, 2014 at 5:09 PM
did you ever find the savannah sparrow or the vesper seen and photographed a vesper this morning at sycamore plains trail Ron Clark
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ABA Life List

#500--Wandering Tattler 11/29/91 CA
#507--BlackVentedOriole3/7/11 TX Code5
#508--Spotted Towhee 3/3/12
#509--Trumpter Swan 3/10/12 OH
#510--Crissal Thrasher 3/24/12 NV
#511--Brandt 3/31/12 DE
#512--Bells Vireo 6/8/12 OH
#513--Glaucous-winged Gull 8/25/12 WA
#514--Buff Breasted Sandpiper 9/7/12 OH
#515--Red Necked Grebe 11/1/12 OH
#516--White-WingedCrossbill11/28/12OH
#517--Harris Sparrow 1/5/13 OH
#518--Lapland Longspur 1/26/13 OH
#519--Cackling Goose 2/7/13 OH
#520--Crimson-Collared Grosebeak 3/1/13 TX Code4
#521--Flammulated Owl 3/1/13
#522--Red-Naped Sapsucker 3/3/13
#523--Yellow-headed Blackbird 3/4/13
#524--Black-throated Blue Warbler 5/12/13 OH
#525--Red Phalarope 5/15/13 OH
#526--Yellow-footed Gull 8/24/13 CA
#527--Brewer's Sparrow 8/26/13 NV
#528--Aberts Towhee 8/26/13
#529--Hermit Warbler 8/26/13
#530--Chestnut-Backed Chickadee 9/27/13 WA
#531--Long-tailed Duck 11/3/13 OH
#532--Glaucous Gull 12/28/13 OH
#533--Nanday Parakeet 3/25/14 FL
#534--Florida Scrub-Jay 3/25/14
#535--Purple Swamphen 3/28/14 FL
#536--White-Winged Parakeet 3/29/14 FL
#537--LaSagra'sFlycatcher3/29/14Code3
#538--Spot-Breasted Oriole 3/30/14 FL
#539--Olive-Sided Flycatcher 5/13/14 OH
#540--American Dipper 5/16/14 CO
#541--Lazuli Bunting
#542--Bullocks Oriole
#543--Black-Billed Magpie
#544--Mountain BlueBird
#545--GunnisonSage-Grouse5/17/14CO
#546--White-Tailed Ptarmigan
#547--Townsends Solitare
#548--Plumbeous Vireo 5/18/14 CO
#549--Common Poorwill
#550--Cordilleran Flycatcher
#551--McCowns LongSpur
#552--Eurasian Tree Sparrow 6/21/14 MO
#553--Sedge Wren 8/6/14 OH
#554--Egyptian Goose 3/28/14 FL
#555--Gray Flycatcher 9/2/14 NV
#556--Northern Wheater 9/12/14 OH
#557--Rhinoceros Auklet 10/17/14 WA
#558--Pacific Wren 10/18/14
#559--Harlequin Duck 10/18/14
#560--Pigeon Guillemont 10/19/14
#561--Common RedPoll 12/28/14 OH
#562--Red-Crowned Parrot 2/24/15 TX
#563--Tropical Parula 2/27/15Code3
#564--Aplomado Falcon 3/4/15Code3
#565--Common Eider 8/10/15 ME
#566--Nelson's Sparrow
#567--Black Guillemot
#568--Ruffed Grouse 8/11/15
#569--Artic Tern
#570--Atlantic Puffin
#571--Clark's Nutcracker 9/10/15 NV
#572--Varied Thrush 10/24/15 WA
#573--Brambling 12/31/15 OH Code3
#574--Black-headed Gull Code3
#575--Prairie Falcon 3/17/16 TX
#576--Snowy Plover
#577--Ferrug.Pygmy-Owl 3/18/16Code3
#578--Sprague's Pipit
#579--Lucy's Warbler 3/20/16 NV
#580--Rosy-faced Lovebird 4/29/16 AZ
#581--Gila Woodpecker
#582--Mexican Whip00rwill
#583--Cassin's Vireo 4/30/16
#584--Gilded Flicker 5/1/16
#585--Red-faced Warbler
#586--CurlewSandpiper5/12/16OHCode3
#587--Redbreasted Sapsucker4/21/17 WA
#588--Barrow's Goldeneye
#589--Marbled Murrlet 4/24/17
#590--Yellow-billed Magpie 8/11/17 CA
#591--Elegant Tern 8/12/17
#592--Sooty Shearwater
#593--Pink-footed Shearwater
#594--Cassin's Auklet
#595--Buller's Shearwater
#596--Black-footed Albatross
#597--Tufted Puffin
#598--Ashy Storm-Petrel
#599--Northern Fulmer
#600--California Quail 8/13/17
#601--Ridgeway Rail
#602--Western Screech-Owl
#603--Long-tailed Jaeger 9/4/17 OH
#604--Calliope Hummingbird 11/1/17 OH
#605--Iceland Gull 1/7/18 OH
#606--Sagebrush Sparrow 3/12/18 NV
#607--LeConte's Thrasher

#608--Sage Thrasher 3/13/18 NV

#609--Northwest Crow 8/10/18 WA

#610--Vaux's Swift 8/12/18

#611--California Scrub-Jay

#612--Sharp-tailed Grouse 1/26/19 MN

#613--Pine Grosbeak

#614--Northern Hawk Owl

#615--Canada Jay

#616--Boreal Chickadee

#617--Black-Chinned Sparrow 4/25/19 AZ

#618--Grey Vireo

#619--Ruddy Ground Dove 4/26/19 AZ Code3

#620--Swainson's Warbler 5/19/19 OH
#621--Sharp-tailed Sandpiper 10/20/19 OH Code3

#622--Lewis Woodpecker 1/31/20 CA

#623--Common Black Hawk 2/27/20 TX

#624--Brown Booby 8/26/20 OH

#625--Parasitic Jaeger 10/6/20 OH

#626--LeConte's Sparrow 10/24/20 OH

#627--Brown-capped Rosy-Finch 4/23/21 CO

#628--Greater Sage-Grouse 4/24/21 CO

#629--Smith's Longspur 4/28/21 OH

#630--Mottled Owl 3/2/24 TX Code 5

#631--Roadside Hawk 3/3/24 Code 4

#632--Gray-collard Becard Code 5

#633--MacGillivray's Warbler 9/2/24 NV

Saturday, June 14, 2014

The Centennial State

2 comments:

#2024 Big Year in Review