ACES Birding By Habitat: Capitol Creek Ranch Species List | August 15, 2019

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Thursday, August 15, 2019
Weather: Sunny
Location: Capitol Creek Ranch

Species Identified

Black-chinned Hummingbird Broad-tailed Hummingbird Turkey Vulture Red-tailed Hawk Hairy Woodpecker American Kestrel Western Wood-Pewee Cordilleran Flycatcher Say’s Phoebe Warbling Vireo Steller’s Jay American Crow Purple Martin Violet-green Swallow Northern Rough-winged Swallow Black-capped Chickadee Mountain Chickadee White-breasted Nuthatch House Wren Mountain Bluebird American Robin Cedar Waxwing House Finch Pine Siskin American Goldfinch Chipping Sparrow Vesper Sparrow Brown-headed Cowbird Yellow Warbler Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon’s) Western Tanager

Comments:

Exploring Capitol Creek Ranch is a true adventure, with its open pastures and hay meadows surrounded by ridges of oak brush and mountain shrubland, stands of aspen, pockets of cottonwoods, and riparian corridor along Capitol Creek. High mountains and ridges surround the setting, with views of shale bluffs, Haystack Mountain, the Red Ridge above Avalanche Creek, and Mount Sopris. After meeting our hosts, Steve and Molly Child, we enjoyed learning about the history of this landscape and headed off through various pastures to observe birds of the open landscape and the ranch compound. Here, we had excellent studies of mountain bluebird and Say’s phoebe field marks and behaviors. We watched these birds actively feeding on grasshoppers and other insects. Two coyotes worked the edges of the pasture, giving us glimpses of them with their fur backlit by the morning sun. A family of warbling vireos made scratchy calls that contrast with their musical song. A family of red-tailed hawks was active in this area as well, where we heard the calls of hungry juveniles and the classic ‘screams’ of the adults. A few sparrows puzzled us; we managed to identify vesper and chipping sparrows, but one or two remained mysteries. Birds abounded around the home site where feeders, water, the garden, and surrounding lush native vegetation provide rich habitat. Here, we observed hummingbirds, nuthatches, flycatchers and wrens at close range. In a large aspen forest, we were thrilled to observe purple martins calling and foraging overhead. The aspen forest was also filled with western wood-pewees, house wrens, violet-green swallows, and other songbirds. We look forward to more exploring at Capitol Creek Ranch on future field trips in the various seasons! Many thanks to the Child family for hosting us.

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide 

 

Photo by Dale Armstrong