ACES Morning Birding at Hallam Lake 09/22/2026

Birds were active between bouts of rainy fall weather, welcomed after a long, dry summer. Warblers foraged in certain trees and shrubs, often in loose association with chickadees, while flocks of finches flew between tops of spruce trees to feed on ripe seeds in cones. Highlights included differentiating Cassin’s finches from house finches, observing a heron actively hunting at the edge of the lake, and mixed flocks of sparrows. A dipper in the Roaring Fork River was catching small food items in one small patch of rocks, giving us a high-quality observation of this unique species. Join us on Thursday for a fall exploration at Ranch at Roaring Fork!

Species List

Canada Goose
Mallard
Green-winged Teal
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Spotted Sandpiper
Great Blue Heron
Belted Kingfisher
Hairy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Western Wood-Pewee
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
American Dipper
American Robin
Cassin’s Finch
House Finch
Green-tailed Towhee
White-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Wilson’s Warbler