Through the years Beaver Meadows has been a special spot for Evergreen Audubon and dear to the hearts of many of us. At about 9,500 ft it has open meadows, wetlands, and dense stands of willows surrounded by spruce, Douglas-fir, aspen, and four species of pine – lodgepole, Ponderosa, limber, and bristlecone. During our eleven-year study of the breeding birds of the Bear Creek Watershed we recorded 51 species breeding in the vicinity. Truly a magical spot!
Historically, the number of bird species I’ve recorded on walks here has been between 20 and 33, with an average of 25 species and 145 individual birds per outing. On Saturday we recorded 24 species, only slightly below my average, but we had only 102 individual birds, which is about thirty percent below my average. Last year’s walk in mid-June was comparable with 23 species and 100 individual birds. I mention this because it felt on Saturday as though we were having to work to find any birds at all, and over fifty percent of our birds came from just four species: Mountain Chickadee, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Pygmy Nuthatch, and American Robin. I was particularly disappointed not to see a few more Lincoln’s Sparrows and we saw no Wilson’s Warblers. It’s feeling as though there are simply fewer birds these last two years.
Both this year and last year I noticed fewer mosquitoes and other insects at Beaver Meadows so a possible explanation i that there is less food available. Remember that, in part, this is why so many migrants evolved to come north to breed; protein is a big inducement. During the fall of 2021, perhaps due to unseasonably cold weather, or all the fires that year, or drought conditions, hundreds of thousands of migrant insectivorous birds died of starvation across the Southwest. Climate change is having an horrific impact on our birds.
Two additional factors perhaps influencing bird numbers at Beaver Meadows, at least for this June, are that the cooler spring has resulted in plants leafing out later than usual (the aspen had very small leaves and the willows had almost no leaves), and it may be that the increase in our local moose population has caused a thinning of the willows. A lot to contemplate regarding possible ongoing changes up there.
As to the highlights of the morning, first of all, while driving up and right after the multitude of cow and calf elk at Evergreen Lake we had four humongous bull elk in velvet casually pruning the trees along Upper Bear Creek Rd, and soon after we had a wonderful bull moose by Corral Creek. Then, once we got on the trail we had several Williamson’s Sapsucker sightings and got to work on their call. Also, we had ample opportunity to tune into the song of the Ruby-crowned Kinglet with its multitude of variations. The true highlight, though, was that we got to see an adult Red-headed Woodpecker in an open meadow near the ranger’s house both on the drive in and five hours later in the same spot on the drive out. Generally, their habitat preference is for expansive open areas with decadent large snags, e.g., open deciduous forest, burned forest, agricultural lands, and golf courses. Also, as they are an Eastern bird, they tend to only breed as far west as the foothills. They do occasionally wander farther west than that, but our bird in Clear Creek County has to be considered somewhat of a rarity.
Good birding! Chuck
Beaver Meadows, Jun 17, 2023
9 Participants
25 species
Mallard 1
Broad-tailed Hummingbird 3
Williamson’s Sapsucker 4
Red-headed Woodpecker 1
Hairy Woodpecker (Rocky Mts.) 1
Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) 2
Cordilleran Flycatcher 2
Warbling Vireo 5
Steller’s Jay (Interior) 4
Clark’s Nutcracker 2
American Crow 1
Common Raven 1
Mountain Chickadee 14
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 18
Golden-crowned Kinglet 3
Red-breasted Nuthatch 1
Pygmy Nuthatch 10
House Wren 2
Townsend’s Solitaire 1
Hermit Thrush 6
American Robin 11
Red Crossbill 1
Pine Siskin 1
Lincoln’s Sparrow 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s) 5