ACES City of Aspen Open Space Birding at Moore Open Space 06/18/26

This is always a special birding experience because it begins in the cottonwood forest around the Aspen Chapel where we find yellow warblers, black-cappee chickadees, and other birds in the leafy canopy. After walking across the pedestrian/ski bridge, we spend the majority of our time on the loop trail that circles through the Moore Open Space’s sagebrush shrubland with scattered islands of scrub oak and serviceberry where we find a rich community of dryland breeding birds, including Brewer’s sparrows which are sagebrush obligates and only nest in this ecosystem. After a May field trip with CPW biologist Brett Walker, we know more about the Brewer’s sparrow’s life history, and appreciated the relatively small territories of the many singing males we encountered. With plenty of time to linger and study the birds, we were able to find and get good views of a Virginia’s warbler. We also took our time with the sparrows: vesper, chipping, green-tailed towhee, and spotted towhee, in addition to the Brewer’s. We noted their unique field marks and voices, gaining confidence with identifications. We also enjoyed many hummingbird observations, noting that the black-chinned hummingbirds were perching on prominent shrubs as if on territory, and the broad-tailed hummingbirds seemed to be flying over the area. Other highlights included red-tailed hawks, mountain bluebirds, and a turkey vulture. This relatively small open space property is teeming with vibrant birdlife, and we thoroughly enjoyed exploring it at an optimal time of day and time of year to experience its community of breeding bird species. Join us next week for Morning Birding at Hallam Lake!