Spring Birding on Sopris Creek

Sopris Creek is home to a wide variety of native birds as it descends the lower slopes of Mount Sopris through richly varied habitats. From the Emma Schoolhouse to the top of Prince Creek Road and sites in between, we will observe birds in cottonwood galleries, aspen forest, mixed shrublands, sagebrush, spruce-fir forest, lush riparian willows, and open meadows. Some of the birds we may see include wild turkey, Bullock’s oriole, Lewis’s woodpecker, American goldfinch, downy woodpecker, plumbeous and warbling vireos, yellow and Virginia’s warblers, red-tailed hawk, black-chinned and broad-tailed hummingbirds, tree and violet-green swallows, green-tailed and spotted towhees, mountain bluebird, blue-gray gnatcatcher, northern flicker, common raven, American kestrel… the possibilities are unlimited… even Rocky Mountain canaries have been seen in the vicinity. Birders of all experience levels are welcome!

Meeting location and details will be communicated to registered participants closer to outing date.

About the instructor: Rebecca Weiss is a Naturalist specializing in birding, botany, and interpretive program development. She first came to ACES as a Summer Naturalist in 1993, later directed the Naturalist Field School and worked with ACES’ Naturalist Programs. She currently guides for ACES’ Birding Program outings and is involved with the center’s interpretive and custom programs. Rebecca is also a professional writer, developing trailside natural history interpretive signs in the Roaring Fork Valley and elsewhere in Colorado, as well as other writing projects. Rebecca is the author of Birds of Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley. She holds a BS in Biology and an MA in Environmental Education, and loves exploring the natural world with her husband, Austin, and their children Anders and Elsie.