ACES Morning Birding at Hallam Lake 10/06/2026

Migration has slowed in the past couple of weeks, with Birdcast showing over 6,000 birds that moved over Pitkin County last night – but that’s still a lot of birds! This number will slowly taper through the month of October, and exciting species will continue to be out there for us to find! Today’s highlights included a stand of aspens that was loaded with birds: pygmy nuthatches, mountain chickadees, Wilson’s and yellow-rumped warblers, hairy woodpeckers, and the Oregon form os dark-eyed junco. We also noted many flocks of finches moving about the tops of spruce trees, including pine siskin, red crossbills, house finches, and Cassin’s finches. These birds have been in the urban forest on the valley floor for many weeks, feeding on ripe seeds in cones. We found Lincoln’s and song sparrows in the willows, and it is likely that white-crowned sparrows were also present and just not viewed by us. Dippers were active on the Roaring Fork River, and kingfishers were present on Hallam Lake along with a few mallards. Join us on Tuesdays through the month of October as Morning Birding continues, alternating between Hallam Lake and Rock Bottom Ranch! And join us this Thursday for a fall exploration at Windstar Preserve!

Species List

Canada Goose
Mallard
Great Blue Heron
Belted Kingfisher
Hairy Woodpecker
Steller’s Jay
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Mountain Chickadee
Pygmy Nuthatch
American Dipper
American Robin
House Finch
Cassin’s Finch
Pine Siskin
Dark-eyed Junco
Lincoln’s Sparrow
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Wilson’s Warbler