ACES Morning Birding at Hallam Lake 9/24/24

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Tuesday, September 24, 2024, 7:30-10:30 am
Weather: Sunny
Location: Hallam Lake, Aspen, CO

Fall colors are in full glory in the high country, while deciduous cottonwoods, aspens, and other trees still have green foliage in the valley. Warblers and other migratory insect-eating birds that are still passing through the area are found in these spots, feasting on tiny caterpillars, aphids, and other insects found on the foliage. Today we saw warblers high in the canopy, in both green and yellow foliage. Finches are flocking and moving about the cone-laden tops of spruces and other conifers. We enjoyed views of evening grosbeaks, large flocks of pine siskins, and house finches. Waterfowl are molting into breeding plumage, and it was interesting to see the various timing of different individuals in this process. Red-winged blackbirds were calling and singing from the back marsh, and a small flock of them appeared to be eating something associated with the cones of a small spruce near the cattails – a 1962 research paper describes red-winged blackbirds foraging on conifer seeds, but this still leaves us a little perplexed. A dipper foraging in the Roaring Fork River was another special highlight. Join us tomorrow for a fall migration birding hike from Rock Bottom Ranch to Catherine Store Bridge, a particularly rich habitat zone and scenic section of the Rio Grande Trail.

Species List: