ACES Morning Birding at Hallam Lake 7/16/2024

Tuesday, July 16, 2024, 7:00-10:00am
Weather: mostly Sunny
Location: Hallam Lake, Aspen, CO

Today was full of fledglings, mainly house wrens, of which we saw at least five families in the midst of feeding begging youngsters. The osprey chicks are getting big, and we’re guessing that they will fledge in another 2-3 weeks. The two chicks were eating in the nest, pulling off bites of fish without needing the help of a parent. We also observed a song sparrow feeding a big brown-headed cowbird chick, as well as fledgling yellow warblers high in the cottonwood canopy near their adults. The prominent dead snag over the lake had three woodpecker species in it at once, which we enjoyed through a single scope view: downy, northern flicker, and Lewis’s woodpecker. The Lewis’s is a new phenomenon this summer, possibly the same individual that has been seen at the Aspen Meadows, and could signal an up-valley range expansion of this species. A release from Grizzly Reservoir colored the Roaring Fork River opaque yellow today, nonetheless, there was one dipper in the river by the Rio Grande Trail bridge. Join us next Tuesday for Morning Birding at Rock Bottom Ranch!

Species List:

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide

Featured photo: American Dipper.