Our crew of bird walk participants met at the Camp Rock Campground at 7:30 on Saturday morning, just three days after the Mount Evans State Wildlife Area was opened to the public.  The parking lot was full, a testament to how much people are yearning to get into the back country, but we found a few spots for our cars and fortunately we had carpooled.  Immediately, we began sorting through songs of the local birds.  Ruby-crowned Kinglets and Hermit Thrushes were singing from the spruce-fir forest while Warbling Vireos and a Black-capped Chickadee were present in the nearby aspen – a good reminder to pay attention to the relationship between habitat and the birds that preferentially choose that particular habitat.

The hike into Beaver Meadows begins by following a small creek through huge spruce trees.  This creek is periodically lined with tall shaded willows, and it was here that we spent some time working to get good views of a pair of MacGillivray’s Warblers.  These guys are skulkers, but our patience was rewarded, and we eventually got to see this yellow-bellied, gray-hooded warbler noted for its bold white eye arcs above and below the eye.  Back on the trail, it climbs for a short spell before winding over a little saddle and on to a south-facing slope dominated by ponderosa pine and aspen where it then follows a second little creek. It’s a delightful hike, and we enjoyed birds, butterflies, and flowers.  Along the way we were accompanied by the songs of Mountain Chickadees, Pine Siskins, and Gray-headed Juncos.

Arriving at Beaver Meadows we moved into an extensive stretch of willows with adjacent meadows.  These willows, being out in the open, provide good habitat for a few additional species, and we saw a Red-naped Sapsucker, a Song Sparrow, several Lincoln’s Sparrows, and numerous Wilson’s Warblers. As we reached the upper end of the meadows and moved briefly back into big timber we heard an American Three-toed Woodpecker and a Golden-crowned Kinglet.

As many of you know, I’m always asking about the species we didn’t see.  First, we didn’t see any large mammals – no moose.  Second, we didn’t see any waterfowl.  Historically, Blue-winged Teal, Mallard, Green-winged Teal, and Spotted Sandpiper have all nested in Beaver Meadows.  Third, we didn’t see any swallows – a bit of a surprise.  There are, of course, numerous other species that we might have seen on our hike, but these are the ones that were most obvious to me by their absence.

Good birding! Chuck

Beaver Meadows, Jun 18, 2022 
28 species

Broad-tailed Hummingbird  7
Turkey Vulture  1
Red-naped Sapsucker  1
American Three-toed Woodpecker  1
Hairy Woodpecker (Rocky Mts.)  2
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)  1
Olive-sided Flycatcher  1
Cordilleran Flycatcher  8
Warbling Vireo  11
Steller’s Jay  5
Clark’s Nutcracker  2
Common Raven  1
Black-capped Chickadee  1
Mountain Chickadee  8
Ruby-crowned Kinglet  15
Golden-crowned Kinglet  2
White-breasted Nuthatch  1
Pygmy Nuthatch  1
House Wren  2
Hermit Thrush  8
American Robin  13
Pine Siskin  5
Dark-eyed Junco (Gray-headed)  8
Song Sparrow  1
Lincoln’s Sparrow  9
MacGillivray’s Warbler  4
Yellow-rumped Warbler  4
Wilson’s Warbler  6