Birding By Habitat at Woody Creek Species List

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Wednesday, May 12, 2021 7am-11:30am
Weather: Sunny
Location: Woody Creek

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Cool weather following a day of spring snow kept bird activity a bit lower than usual, but as the sun warmed up the hillside at the base of Triangle Peak the birds began to vocalize and forage. Watching for movement and scanning likely perches, we saw most of the typical species that live in the habitats we passed through. Highlights included a great view of a black-throated gray warbler, many Townsend’s solitaires, orange-crowned warblers, mountain bluebirds, two golden eagles, and wild turkeys. Cottonwood trees in the creek bottom have not yet fully leafed out, allowing us to look from our high vantage point across the valley to a red-tailed hawk nest. We observed adults and at least two white, downy chicks at the nest.  It was a special treat to see the young birds as they raised their heads up to look around and stretch out their wings. Other highlights were a large herd of elk resting in the hay meadow below the trail and stunning, panoramic views of the snowy West Elk Mountains. We focused on understanding the birds and dominant vegetation of pinyon-juniper woodlands, sagebrush shrublands, open meadows, and streamside riparian forests, coming away with a sense of which birds are tied to these special habitats. Join us for the next field trip through the burn on lower Basalt Mountain on May 14th!

Species List: 

Canada Goose
Wild Turkey
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Red-tailed Hawk
Golden Eagle
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Violet-green Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
RockWren
House Wren
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Mountain Bluebird
Townsend’s Solitaire
American Robin
Green-tailed Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Orange-crowned Warbler
Virginia’s Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Gray Warbler

 

~ Rebecca Weiss, ACES Bird Guide

Photo by Dale Armstrong