Fall Birding at Difficult Campground

As fall migration ramps up, swallows and other passerines are gathering into flocks and beginning to move south. Late nesting cedar waxwings are fledging their broods, and gray, streaky juveniles are joining adults in flocks. Here in the Aspen area, these foraging flocks are exciting to find! We can enjoy extra practice with identification skills as we learn to discern adults and hatch-year birds in these flocks. Other birds, such as flycatchers, thrashers, and sparrows are dispersing following the nesting season. No longer tied to their breeding habitats, these birds are on the move, taking advantage of seasonally-available foods wherever they occur – and keeping us on our toes as they show up in unexpected places! Join us for this early fall walk through Difficult Campground to observe these autumnal avian phenomena. Following out late April Spring Primer at Difficult, this field trip bookends the latter end of breeding season and a turning point in fall migration as birds begin to pour southward.

About the Instructor: 

Rebecca Weiss is a birding guide and naturalist with thirty years of experience in the Aspen area and Colorado’s mountain regions. She is author of the local guidebook, Birds of Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley and the primary guide for ACES’ Birding Program. She is a certified interpretive guide and holds a BS in Biology and a MA in Education. Rebecca’s professional background includes bird banding, field research, and conservation writing as well as outdoor education, program administration, and guide training. Past employers and affiliations include the National Park Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Outward Bound, and the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab.